*London* (click headers to see more pictures)
Luckily for us, we had top notch accommodations in London with another one of our great friends who recently moved there. And it never hurts to have a local who knows where all the good food is. We certainly ate our way through London... which was a welcome change after all my complaining about Swiss food. We visited a great market, had all you can eat sushi (where CJ definitely ate all he could), and half-priced steak. One great thing about traveling outside Switzerland is that most things seem much less expensive by comparison.
Other than our constant eating, we managed to see pretty much every major site London has to offer. I could list them all for you, but it might make your head spin! As anyone who knows me will tell you, if it is historical and humanly possible to see, I am going to try and get there. I was actually very impressed that we were able to see so much... without too much complaining. :) Also, I was sick for part of our trip which made things less pleasant for me. However, I think I was a trooper - if I do say so myself. Even though seeing so much meant a lot of early mornings, I think in the end everyone was happy not to miss anything. I know I always feel really lucky when we have the opportunity to take such a wonderful trip, and want to make the most of it. And I think this whole trip was especially great because we got to share it with friends!
Here we are in Trafalgar Square
CJ and I at Tower Bridge <3
Our London weather was less impressive than the sites. Even though our pictures don't seem to reflect this at all, it rained quite a bit. I blame much of my weather disappointment on the weather people, who predicted the temperatures would be roughly 10-15 degrees warmer than it actually was. I don't think I would have minded the weather quite as much if I had been prepared for it, and knew to pack more sweaters than tank tops. But oh well...
Other thoughts about London:
- I don't know how people ever plan their day using the tube. It seemed like there was always a closing that you never know about until you show up at the tube stop. But, I must say, the tube by FAR surpasses the public transportation in Rome - which is barely a step above the RTA in Cleveland. We are just spoiled by our trains here in Zurich.
- It was phenomenal to hear English being spoken everywhere! I think it was a welcome change for both CJ and I. And I have to say, it was very comforting to be able to understand people around you, be able to read a menu or a street sign, or see stores that you recognize from home. (I'm talking to you Gap... time to open in Zurich!)
The boys at Stonehenge - note the poncho!
Even though we got to see and do so much on the London leg of our journey, it is definitely a place I would go back to! But, we had more places to see. Next stop, Ireland!
*Ireland*
So we essentially traveled the entire Republic in only a few days. This required renting a car. First of all, the Irish equivalent of a "van" is certainly not a real van. There were six of us crammed into a car that had a foldout seat in the third row (next to the luggage). This trip definitely required some luggage finagling. We were staying with Will's sister in Dublin, and while we were there we had to just repack the essentials into duffel and book bags so that we could all fit in the car.
The other thing about Ireland is that you cannot be prepared for the driving until you actually experience it! Thank goodness for GPS. We were on roads that looked a lot more like paths. The funny (as in funny after you arrived safe at the pub) thing was that these narrow paths were actually two lane roads that were labeled 100 km/hr. This seemed insane to us... and was probably the first time I ever saw my friends as cautious drivers! But, shockingly, no dents, scratches, or accidents. Whew! Thankfully our weather was a little better, because I couldn't imagine doing that drive in the rain.
Navigating the road... and the sheep!
Our trip through Ireland took us to:
1. Dublin - Since we didn't have a ton of time to spend in Ireland, our first stop was of course the Guinness Storehouse. This place was a must for Guinness lovers, but not the most impressive brewery tour I have ever seen. But I must admit, even though Guinness isn't usually my drink of choice, it was the best one I have ever had. And this was probably due to the fact that they serve them extra cold. Also, the Gravity Bar had an awesome view of the city. All in all I would have to say though that a trip to Ireland doesn't really give you the sense of how incredible the place is unless you get outside of Dublin and into the countryside!!
Guinness makes you STRONG! 2. Blarney - Going to Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone is extremely touristy. But, since we were tourists that never bothers me. Personally, I thought it was extremely worthwhile. The grounds were really pretty! And yes, even though I was literally petrified, even I kissed the Blarney Stone. Although thankfully I had Big Will to hold my legs!! I was not leaving my fate to the 80 year old man holding me as I dangled over the side of the castle...
3. The Ring of Kerry - Really beautiful! Also really busy which tends to slow traffic to a crawl. We weren't able to travel the entire ring (which supposedly can take all day), because we were headed to Dingle for the night.
4. Dingle - Dingle, to me, was what I pictured in my head when I imagined what Ireland would be like. It was so cute and quaint, and the bars were a LOT of fun! One of the things I miss most living in Switzerland is lack of live music out at the bars, and so I was in my glory! I think Jess and I made the guitar guys night with our constant dancing and singing along... at least that's what I'm telling myself.
5. The Cliffs of Moher - Okay, another MUST SEE! And I didn't know this until Will's sister Anne pointed this out, but they were filmed for the cave scenes in Harry Potter 6!!
6. Galway - Galway was also so much fun! It was more like a college town with lots of other young people and even more bars. We even met one of the bouncers who spent time in Cleveland and was a Browns fan!
7. Back to Dublin - On the way back to Dublin we stopped at Trim Castle (from Braveheart) and Powerscourt (which were suggestions from my friend Erin). Both were extremely beautiful and well worth stopping.
Might be my favorite picture!!
Overall spectacular, and I am so happy that whenever I want to relive it, I can just ask Will to put on his new Irish outfit:
*Amsterdam*
When we arrived we were in for a shock. In all my travels, I had honestly NEVER seen such a dirty place! I mean, no joke. I was almost glad the weather was cold, because if it was hot we wouldn't have been able to leave the hotel due to the smell. I cannot emphasize this enough... it was DIRTY. Piles of garbage everywhere. I was about to write Amsterdam off as just a place where they play hard, and so dirt just piles up. Then on the second to last day we found out they were having a garbage strike, and the trash hadn't been picked up in well over a week.
In the city I was constantly shocked when we saw people who were maybe our parents age or even older. I am glad to have gone, but don't think I'll need to go back. And I certainly couldn't imagine going back when I'm Babci's age!!
Posing with the Red Lights!
There were a few places not to be missed though! Definitely a walk through the red light district is a must! And I must admit, the evening *ahem* entrepreneurs were much better looking then I would have guessed! We also got to tour the Heineken Brewery. That place was well worth the time and money! The tour is FAR superior to the Guinness one, and I must admit, halfway through I was really craving a Heineken!
Extra Cold!!Anne Frank's House is probably the most well known attraction in Amsterdam, and another must see. It was extremely heart wrenching, but very worthwhile. It is hard to imagine the setup from reading the book alone, so being there was eye opening.
Outside the city we went to Keukenhof. It is an enormous flower garden, and only open about one month the entire year. It was beautiful, and especially nice to escape the dirty city. We didn't actually get to ride bikes in Amsterdam, but they are everywhere!! And that is about all I am able to reveal from our trip to Amsterdam... I have been sworn to secrecy.
The last stop on the tour was back to Zurich. The Wills were with us here at home for quite a few more days, and they got to experience true Swiss living! Our bad weather luck did not change once we got home, so although we went up a mountain, it was quite foggy, and they didn't get a great view. Although they did get to experience the
I think they also appreciated one of my favorite things about Zurich... being able to drink on the trains and while walking around the city. Nothing passes a two hour train ride faster than sharing a couple bottles of wine. And we do have some great wines here! Although I think they had some sympathy for us after helping carry all the groceries home.
CJ being the considerate host he is, made our guests some delicious horse steaks! Yum. And Little Will and I tried tartar. He was the only one brave enough to try with me! In general it was great to have friends here, and to get to see familiar faces!!! And we will only have to miss you all for a couple weeks more, as our long trip home is right around the corner. Until then, I guess I will have to suffer through sampling lots of yummy chocolates so we don't bring home any duds.
See you all soon!!!
