Made it home from my whirlwind tour of Europe. Seem to be suffering from some jet lag but other than that, it's all systems go. It's great to be back home sleeping in my own bed and not living out of the suitcase, packing and unpacking nearly every day.
I went with two of my former colleagues from the high school plus the lady colleague's mother. We took the European Jewels Tour with Cosmos. We started in London, crossed the English Channel into France, then hit Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Paris and back to London for the flight back home. The tour was ten days in length plus a day coming and going. Obviously we covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time but we spent two nights in London, Florence and Paris. In addition to the scheduled tour we had options to sign up for like a trip on the Rhine River and Lake Lucerne.
We did see the European Jewels: London Bridge and the Parliament, the canals of Amsterdam, the Alps, the Palace of the Medici's, the Basilica of Santa Croce and the interior of Brunelleschi's Dome in Florence. We saw castles and Christmas Markets out the wazoo, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe and the Palace of Versailles. And the capper of the trip, the Eiffel Tower lit up at night in all its marvelous splendor.
Obviously I've got much to be thankful for this holiday season. I've completed a journey to Europe that had only been a dream for many a year. Fortunately, my health and finances allowed that dream to come to fruition. Mostly it was made possible, however, by a very loving and understanding wife who stayed home and literally kept the home fires burning while I was gone for almost two weeks traipsing around the Continent. Tomorrow I'll be blessed again with the opportunity to spend time with friends and family. Hopefully the rest of you will be as richly blessed.
Merry Christmas to one and all.
4 comments:
I haven't been able to get La Bamba out of my head since Saturday night. Not a bad thing, though.
At least you speak Spanish so you actually know the words. I've just been trying to go through the pile of mail and newspapers and help the Missus finish up a few Christmas details. Small price to pay for being able to go on such a wonderful trip.
I'm so glad you were able to have this opportunity. Much deserved. I wish you many more blessings in the coming year. Happy New Year!
Thanks so much. I hope you'll be able to make a similar trip some day. As a craftsman, you'll be blown away by the buildings and artwork. I'd still like to go to Barcelona and see some of the work by Gaudi and Brussels for Horta and return to Paris to see more of the Art Nouveau work by Guimard and, well you get the idea.
There's a bronze star set into the plaza in front of Notre Dame marking the city center. Legend has it, if you rub the star you'll have good luck for a year and you'll return to Paris in the future. You can believe I shined that baby up real good, so a return trip may happen someday.
Again, thanks for the kind words and Felice Anno Nuovo!
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