First day...

Interesting highlights from day one.


1. We were able to get a mere 2 hours or so of sleep, so the whole day is somewhat of a zombie presence.


2. I knew about sporks, but had no idea until our flight that a knife/spoon or spife(?) existed.

4. Here is a photo of John on the Heathrow Express.  We arrived at hour apartment (accommodations) at about 1:30 pm local time.  

5. After a nice lunch (which seemed to take forever on account of our tired state), we took a nap.  Maybe not the best idea...but seemed like a good idea at the time.

6. After our nap we went to see Henry V at the Shakespeare Globe Theater.  We also were able to see a few highlights at the Tate Modern before the show.  Here is a photo of the stage at the Globe.  (I'm not sure it is kosher that I took this photo, but here it is).

7. Here is a legitimate exterior photo of the Globe theater...built in 1997 in true Shakespearean fashion.

8.  Due to our exhaustion, we decided to leave at intermission.  At which point we felt our time was better served at a pub.  I tested out the ciders, which I will report back on later in the trip and John opted for the Honey Dew beer.  

I'd say sleepiness aside, day one was a success.

We're off!

We are about to board and ready for our 7.5 hr overnight flight to Dublin. Then by midday tomorrow we will be in London!

Let's do this!!! I'm SO ready!

And we made it to Dublin after a 6 hr 45 min flight and only 2 hrs of rest. I wouldn't call it sleep. That would be too generous.

First photo upon departure. Second photo upon arrival in Dublin.

Aerial Photo of London...Something Doesn't Belong

I was looking at an aerial photo of London today to find the nearest tube station to our accommodations.  This is what I saw:

Don't see it?  Try this one...zoomed in a bit more:

I look at A LOT of aerial photos in my line of work and this is a first!!  Had to share.  

Wardrobe

I have been stressing over my wardrobe for this trip.  Here is a photo of most of the items that I intend to bring/wear while I am there.  Let me know if you think something is WAY off with my fashion sense.  

3 skirts (4th skirt not pictured)

1 dress pants

1 shorts

1 capri pants

1 linen pants (not pictured)

several t-shirts with no print on them

several sleeveless shirts with no print on them

1 dress

1 dress shirt

I am probably totally over thinking this!  

Before you tell me that I'm packing too much, I've packed it all into my bag and I have a great deal of room to spare.  So please no snarky comments about how much I'm bringing.  The fact that it is summer time and I'm not a large man are helpful. :)

Any additional items that I should pack or things the you think I won't need shown above...let me know!!

Count down: TWO WEEKS!!

Exchange Rates

I'm not thrilled about the exchange rates creeping back up! Just last weekend they were at:

$1.53 per GBP
$1.23 per EUR
$1.03 per CHF

Today they are back up to:

$1.55 per GBP
$1.26 per EUR
$1.05 per CHF

I hope that at the very least the Euro drops a few cents before we leave in three weeks!!

Here's to hoping!!

Gearing up for the trip of a lifetime!

We are getting more and more excited each day about our 3 week trip to Europe this summer!!  I thought I would start this blog by showing a map of our travel plans.  


We are truly covering a great deal of territory in only 3 weeks.  Here is a list of our planned destinations:


1. London, England - Very excited to visit the place I called home for a semester of college.  It has been a very long 12 years since I have had a chance to go back.


2. Paris, France - We can't miss the Eiffel Tower and authentic Parisian Cuisine.


3. Sankt Leon-Rot, Germany - South of Heidelberg & Mannheim....SO excited to visit Nikki!!!


4. Geneva, Switzerland - Nearest city to the Tour de France stop in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, France (Stage 10).  And, we are going to check out CERN...think physics meets best selling novel.


5. Milan, Italy - Italian city that I have not yet visited and it is near Cremona, Italy.  Can't visit Italy without checking out the home town of the world's most famous violin makers!!


6. Dublin, Ireland - Can NOT wait to visit the most friendly city in all of Europe!!  I KNOW that I will have to make a more extensive trip here in the future, but this will give us a taste.  Of course, I have to see the Cliffs of Moher.  I can't go to Ireland and NOT see one of the most beautiful landscapes on earth.


We are looking forward to experiencing new cultures and seeing many fantastic landmarks!!