Europe in a Nutshell

I don't have an excuse to put this off any longer. We had a great time in Europe. We started off flying to Toronto (and wish we could have seen Jordan Rozsa - that's where he's serving his mission). After a 4 hour lay over we left for Italy. The tower in Pisa really leans. There's a fence on the top floor balcony so those brave enough to venture out there don't fall off.

Then it was off to France. We took the train to Monocco to see the Monte Carlo Casino. Gene and Marc liked that part, even though they couldn't enter. You have to have on a tux and pay a $200.00 cover charge to walk through the door. Mimi and I preferred the Prada store.

Our next stop was Portugal. That was very emotional for Gene and me as Kelly served his mission there. (We have now been to each place our boys served their mission - New York, Texas, and Portugal.)We toured for a few hours, not taking enough money with us to purchase the beautiful handmade tablecloths we would have purchased for each family. The handwork (handmade lace, beautiful cross stitching) was the most intricate hand work I've ever seen. By the time we got back to the ship, there wasn't time to go back to shore to shop. We enjoyed the pastries that were highly recommended by Kelly and Gus. As we left, I got a glimpse of how Kelly felt when he left the beautiful country.

Next stop, France again, but this time we spent 5 hours walking around the beautiful city of Paris. I've seen pictures - experiencing it was another thing. The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre- we got a picture of the Mona Lisa just to say we were there - the Arch of Triumph are amazing. I found it captivating that they actually exist! We walked both side of Champs-Elysees. The sidewalk cafes are as popular as our fast food. We enjoyed a crepe and a diet coke. (When you cruise you never really get hungry.)

Then we were off to England, specifically the White Cliffs of Dover, which actually start in France. We enjoyed a great walk around the old town and had some fish and chips, just to say we had them in England. (I think Marc and I enjoyed this more than Gene and Mimi.) At this point in the trip, we realized that each place we visited had beautiful weather - not what we had heard. No gloomy, wet, rainy days. Sunshine, blue skies, a few white clouds. We also realized that souveniers were not something that would be easy to find. We didn't want to purchase something just to do it. Mimi and I could just imagine Becky calling Jodie. "Did you get a package from Mom? What are you going to do with it?" Then Jodie and Heidi going through the same conversation. Needless to say, Gene and Marc were very proud of us.

The next stop was Holland - the land of tulips and windmills. The only tulips we saw were wood (not the tulip season) and the only windmills were the ones that look like the Mercedes Benz insignia. We did see, however, tons of wooden shoes. All I could think of was Shirley Temple.

The next day we spent traveling down the Kiel Canal in Germany. An oom-pah band was there to great us. They boarded the ship to entertain us during the trip. There were people all along the way, just to wave. Germany was beautiful. Green and lush.

The next trip off the boat was in Finland. Another beautiful country. We again were reminded of beautiful weather and how clean everything was. The fruits and vegetables were beautiful and huge. The cherries were close to the size of an apricot. At this point, I should let you know that the sites of all of the places we visited were awesome. Cathedrals, museums, landmarks, people.

The next place we went was Russia and I have to say that I have no desire to return. It's very controlled. The only way we cold leave the ship was to be on a 'controlled' tour. The passport agents didn't smile or welcome us. Marc suggested that there is a Russian conspiracy and I agree. We joked about writing a book, but it would never be allowed to be published. The best thing about Russia was a young man asking me if I was a Mormon. He said he could just tell. He knew the past Mission President and was studying with a few Mormon missionaries. I don't know if he was taking the lessons, helping them with the language, or what. The next best thing about it was leaving!!

It was then on to Estonia. It was a very old but quaint little country, only their own country for 40 years. They had been owned by Germany, Finland, and Russia. There is no love lost between them and the Russians. They are in the process of removing Russian monuments. This was the only day we had rain, but it didn't stop us from walking to the center of Tallinn.

Our last stop was Sweden. This is also a beautiful country, much like Germany. The women are as pretty as the pictures I've seen. They are also tall and shapely. We had a great time with Marc and Mimi and each other. Dad liked that we traveled so many bodies of water - the Mediterranean Ocean, Ligurian Sea, the Dover Strait, the Gibraltar Strait, the Bay of Biscay, the English Channel, the IJ-GEUL Channel, the Kiel Canal, the Baltic Sea, and the Gulf of Finland.

There is so much more to this trip that what I wrote. We took almost 400 pictures. We're glad to be home - and we're ready for another adventure!!!