Rome

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We arrived in Rome Monday afternoon April 28. Although we were exhausted from the flight we were too excited to sleep. From our hotel we walked to the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. I would have loved to have thrown a coin in but I could not get near it. Even in the off season Rome is crowded.

The next 2 days we spent exploring the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Thursday we were going to the Vatican but May 1st is Labor Day in Italy and all the museums were closed. We walked around The Vatican but we did not go into St Peter's or any of the museums.

http://www.terragalleria.com/europe/italy/roma/roma.all.html

http://www.terragalleria.com/europe/italy/vatican/vatican.all.html

Florence

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Since everything was closed in Rome on May 1 we took a train to Florence. In addition to the normal holiday crowds there was a soccer game that night so an extra 20,000 drunken fans from England showed up which explains the Union Jack on the town square. The last 5 pictures were taken from the Ponte Vecchio. Florence is beautiful. Tuscany reminded me of the California wine country. We will have to return someday to explore it.

http://www.terragalleria.com/europe/italy/firenze/firenze.all.html

London

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We arrived in London Friday May 2 and stayed with friends that night. They live on Abbey Road just down the street from the Beatles studio. Surprisingly I did not get any pictures of the most photographed crosswalk in history. What was I thinking???
Saturday and Sunday nights we stayed at a hotel in Kensington. Sunday morning we went to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace (pictures 1-4). The next 4 pictures are at Kensington Palace where Princess Diana lived.
The next picture was taken on the Millennium Bridge with St Paul's Cathedral in the background followed by a picture from St Paul's looking down on the Millennium Bridge. Note the Globe Theater to the left.
http://www.terragalleria.com/europe/london/

Cosmos Tour

This is the coach that took us all over Europe with our Driver Josie and our tour director Sylvia. Below is a map of our route.
http://www.cosmos.com/product.aspx?content=map&trip=84420&source=map-2
The link below has the itenerary. We saw a lot of Europe in a week!
http://www.cosmos.com/product.aspx?content=overview&trip=84420

Brussels

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After crossing the English Channel at Dover, England on Monday May 5, we met our tour director and driver in Calais, France. We then drove to Brussels which is the capitol of Belgium and the European Union. We went to the city square for dinner (first picture). Belgium is famous for its waffles, fries and chocolate. We had all three for dinner! Not healthy but delicious.

According to the Belgians, American troops fell in love with their fries but the soldiers thought they were in France and mistakenly dubbed them "french fries". I do not know if that is true but we had the best fries ever in Brussels. The Belgian waffles were also great and for desert we had Belgian Chocolate.

The second picture is Brussels beloved statue Mannekin Pis. There are lots of stories about this statue. One is the boy defused a bomb by peeing on it. Another is that a witch caught him peeing on her door step and she turned him into a statue. Who knows. We saw it and I got a picture.

The third picture is the former palace. It is now used for the cabinet and presidential offices. Across the street is park which used to be the palace's backyard. It is now Brussels Central Park. The last picture is the White Cliffs of Dover taken from the ferry.

http://www.terragalleria.com/europe/belgium/brussels/brussels.html

Rhine River Cruise

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I was looking forward to the Rhine River cruise more than anything. My favorite memories from my first trip to Europe were of the castles along the Rhine. There are hiking & biking trails along the Rhine as well as trains. There are numerous camp grounds and towns along the way with hotels and B&B's. I brought my binoculars so I could really see the castles. Our river cruise began in Boppard and ended in Bacharach. Here is a link to a map of the Rhine River
http://www.world-tour-orion7.com/images/RhineCruise2.jpg

Rothenburg

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The Romantic Road is so named for all the medieval villages along the way. We stopped at Rothernburg. The walled town was like a museum. We could have spent all day there just roaming the streets. The link below has some spectacular pictures.
http://www.terragalleria.com/europe/germany/rothenburg/rothenburg.html