I'm back from Europe!!
 

We got back this past weekend, but I have been fighting jet lag since we got back, ugh! Fortunately, it wasn't this bad going over!

It was a whirlwind, it was extremely fast paced, but boy did we get to see a lot!
We were in London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Karlsruhe/Germany, Lucerne, Innsbruck, Venice, Rome, Montecatini, Nice & Paris!
We had such a fabulous time and we couldn't have asked for a better tour group, we laughed and enjoyed each other so much!!
It's just amazing how different all the countries are from the people, landscape, architecture, etc..
We had two 1/2 days of rain in London & one day of rain in Rome, but great weather otherwise!
The only bad thing. Paris unions went on strike two days before we headed there and we were scheduled to go on a first class TGV train ( 5 1/2hrs) from Nice to Paris. They were only running 2 trains the day we went and we had to go 3 hours earlier and we didn't have reserve tickets for that time.
Well in France, once you are on the train, they can't ask you to get off, but you have to move when people who do have reserve tickets come on.
So most of the group either shared seats or some stood for 3-4 hours!! It was the train ride from h*ll, but it was our only choice to get to Paris!
Unfortunately the strike canceled our excursion to Monte Carlo/Monaco, which broke my heart! :( It was the reason we picked this trip over another.

I really enjoyed all the areas we went, there is just so much beauty & history to be found everywhere. I would love to go back and travel more through Germany, Austria & Switzerland!
I think almost everything looked the way I had always imagined. I think the only thing that really took me by surprise, I thought certain landmarks were out a little ways or more secluded. Not right in the middle of the city and so visible. (i.e. Rome ruins, Buckingham Palace, etc..)
Food is sooo expensive, especially Paris! We paid 6 Euros for a diet coke (they call coke light) which is over $8! :eek:
I actually lost 1 1/2lbs while I was gone, I was so shocked!! I certainly ate enough gelato, chocolate & macaroons!

I think what is so amazing is just the history. Seeing things that are a thousand, two thousand years old. It's surreal. I can remember walking through the Forum & colosseum in Rome and thinking it looked like something Disney would build!
We all said that a lot on the trip how so many of the homes & buildings looked like Disney villages. :D

It was an awesome experience that I feel blessed to have shared with my Mom. It was a long time dream!

Thank God you made it back! I was so worried... the day after you left the US released an alert that terrorists would be targeting visitors in Europe and for US citizens to stay home if possible!

So glad you had a good time.... :D

I think we turned the tv on a couple of times the whole trip. (most of the time we couldn't find any English stations.)
We left London the day after those alerts and several people on the tour were so nervous when we were sitting to board the Eurostar to Belgium. London was added after we left and they went on strike the day we left!
A couple were thinking of flying home before we reached Paris since France & Germany were mentioned on the alert.
Germany downplayed the whole thing and France basically said they weren't involved in the alert and they were both mad at the US for posting the alert.
It's strange how different it is when you are out of the country.
I think the strike was a bigger ordeal overall! I appreciate the concern.
The day we flew home from Paris, there was the concern over the fuel due to the strike. I was just relieved to make it out of the airport!

So glad you had such a wonderful time and are back safe and sound!! :D

Your trip sounds fabulous! Welcome back! :D

I'm glad you had a wonderful time. I bet it was the experience of a lifetime. Paris is ridiculously expensive. I was there an extra week when the volcano erupted and boy did we spend a ton of money.

i was worried too!

""We were in London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Karlsruhe/Germany, Lucerne, Innsbruck, Venice, Rome, Montecatini, Nice & Paris!""

You hit a lot of places. Sounds great. Too bad about the Strike in France. I have some friends that arrived in Paris on Sunday for 2 weeks of business. I sent them an email that they may have to swim the channel and fly back thru London.

Did you notice how old world parts of Rome Smelled? You can tell it is old. Rome is my Favorite for history, but I love Florence for the beauty. Someday I want to return to Lao's, and Viet Nam, and also see Cambodia. So far, my wife is not buying it, but I have time to get her to see the light. Northern Thailand is also beautiful, you just want to make sure you go during the right season.

I was telling our group about you while we were there! I thought we were going to get stranded too!
Do you remember the hotel you stayed at in Paris? I didn't like our hotel there at all, not a good location for walking at all. The Nice hotel wasn't a good location either, but the other hotels were all good!
I really feel for what you had to spend!
This cafe in Paris tried to screw us on the meal by charging us 2 Euros for a bunch of croissants they placed on our table, that we didn't order.

The hotel I stayed at overlooked the Eiffel Tower. While that sounds incredible, it was a terrible walking area. I can't remember the name, which is crazy because I was there forever!! Tough crowd in Paris, huh? How did you like London? I've never visited the other cities you toured.

Oh my gosh, I hope your friends don't get delayed. I know when we were there, they said the airports would be out of fuel within a couple of weeks!

Rome didn't smell, actually none of the countries did! A few people on our tour had been to Rome & Venice and were expecting that. Our tour guide said they had really improved things.
We walked A LOT in Rome and it was fine and Venice was too!
I think what I found really disappointing was all the graffiti in Italy & Paris, what a shame!
Florence was nice! We stayed in Montecatini which was about 30min. from there and it was beautiful!

Next trip to Europe will be Scotland/Ireland & hitting the outskirts of London!

So your wife has no interest in visiting any of those areas? I've heard Thailand is beautiful.

I'm glad you're back safely and had a great time!:)

Glad that your back and you had a wonderful time, any photos? :D

Our hotel was a terrible walking area too. It was almost down by an industrial area. The only thing close was a McDonalds with a water park.
I LOVED our London hotel (Park Plaza Westminster Bridge) it was brand new and our room looked out at Big Ben & Parliament. It was so easy to walk to things. My favorite hotel!
I rode the London Eye, which I never thought I would do since I have a fear of heights, but you don't even feel like you are moving!
Going up in the Eiffel tower didn't scare me either, I was shocked!
I think the French people I didn't feel as much as a connection to as the other countries. :(

I have a lot of pics to go through! I'm not the greatest photographer, so I have to wade through all the shots of tunnels, sides of trucks, trees, etc..!
I'm glad that I can share photos with other people on the tour, since we had better photographers there!

That's where I stayed in London! :cheer: The buffet breakfast was not the best though LOL. I also rode the London Eye and it was awesome. I'm native from NYC so London was amazing to me. I just didn't "get" Paris, but I can appreciate the architecture.

I'm glad you had a wonderful trip! I am going to keep reading and learning from this thread :D You're making me excited for my trip next year!

I know what you mean about how things are so different in different countries with news coverage and alerts. I even find a huge difference watching news in the USA compared to here in Canada!

Actually, I thought they had one of the best breakfast, lol!
Paris was horrible! They ran out of food by 7:30am and were turning people away from the dining room! :eek:

I think Paris architecture is beautiful and I love all the historic landmarks, but there is a different feel from other cities we visited.

I would go back to all the countries we visited, but I know Germany, Switzerland & Austria I want to spend more time. The mountains, the castles, churches. It was breathtaking! It was like looking at a picture book!
My Mom didn't even want to go to Germany and she just fell in love. She thought she would love Paris and it was her least favorite. She enjoyed London, but she liked the feel of smaller cities better.
Some of the surprises. Hotels don't provide sheets or wash cloths, lol!
The tubs/showers & toilets were different.
I love history and all the architecture and it's just everywhere and at times overwhelming!
Keep in mind everything is more expensive then you think it will be!

Sounds like a dream trip for sure! I would love to travel and see some of the places I have read about. I am probably the only Navy retiree that never left the US! (I was a career recruiter most of my time). My brother took his honeymoon to Germany and they have been back a few more times. He loves visiting there. I keep saying as soon as I see Alaska, I am going overseas. :)

Look forward to some pictures!

I'm thinking Alaska or Ireland will be my next trip!
I've yet to meet someone who went to Alaska & didn't love it!

Also whats the deal with the strikes and stuff in Paris at the moment?
My brother flew out today, just wondering if he will get back as hes only going for 4 days.

Welcome back and glad you arrived safely. Your trip sounds incredible. :)

The refinery workers were cutting the fuel supplies to the airports. When we were there, they thought if it continued they would be out in about 2-3 weeks.

They want to raise the retirement age in France from 60-62yrs. That's what the strike is about!

Ah I see.
They are talking about raising the retirement age for women to 66 here. :rolleyes:

WELCOME back :)! Your trip sounds like it was so much fun. I just love traveling to EU and wish I could do it more and more, it's so exhilarating. It sounds like maybe you went w/ a tour group...? I have always wondered about doing that, bc it seems nice that all the arrangements are taken care of; at the same time, I always wondered if a group would make me feel too limited and/or overly social when I didn't feel like it. What do you think of it? How did you like Amsterdam, btw?

From what I've read even raising the age to 62 would still make that the most or one of the most generous ages for retirement in all of Europe and probably a lot of other countries!

What is the retirement age for men in England?

I agree!
At the moment the age for men is 65 but they are making a lot of changes, ive pasted them below. :p

The State Pension age is 65 for men born before 6 April 1959.
For women born on or before 5 April 1950, State Pension age is 60.
The State Pension age for women born on or after 6 April 1950 is increasing to 65 between 2010 and 2020.
From 6 April 2020 the State Pension age will be 65 for both men and women.

Changes from 2024
Between 2024 and 2046 the State Pension age will increase for both men and women. This increase will be gradual, happening over two years every decade. The changes will mean that:
State Pension age for men and women will increase from 65 to 66 between April 2024 and April 2026
State Pension age for men and women will increase from 66 to 67 between April 2034 and April 2036
State Pension age for men and women will increase from 67 to 68 between April 2044 and April 2046
The age you can get your State Pension will be determined by when you were born.

Yes, we did go with a tour group and honestly, I loved it!! We had the best group and quite a few we will keep in touch with and several I would love to travel with again.
We actually had two other groups from Ohio, which was funny. All but three were from the USA. Two were from New Zealand & one from Australia.
The convenience of having someone else handle our luggage and not having to wait in line to get in to places like the Vatican, Versailles, Colosseum, etc.. was so worth it!
Plus since we had never been, it was nice having other people to go around with!

We actually loved Amsterdam! We didn't go to the red light district or visit a coffee shop, lol. Though quite a few did from the group, but I found it charming!
Loved our canal cruise! The bicycle parking garages blew our mind! We were lucky that no one from our group was taken out by a bicycle though! :D
We had an excursion there to a fishing village called Volendam. We went to an old windmill, cheese farm & then ate at a restaurant for dinner on the water. It was sooo nice and a real hi-light of the trip!

I can't remember were you the one who told me I had to eat macaroons?
Yummy!! We tried so many flavors in Switzerland & France and they are so delicious!!

The group thing really does sound so convenient! You went to VERSAILLES?????????????? Omg, dream of mine! I love reading about Marie Antoinette (did you see her bedroom? oh my!), and Versailles in general. Did the Versailles tour include Le petit Trianon?

Yes, lol, I am the one who salivates over macarons! Aren't they just out of this world? You can find them here in the U.S. at some specialty bakeries now, and they're such a treat. There is a bakery here that has a caramel flavor...and I swear...it's so good you almost want to scream out loud in ecstasy :p.

I've tried making them too, and they take a lot of practice! Not easy.

We did see Marie Antoinette's bedroom & the king's bedroom, hall of mirrors and several other rooms. It did not include Le Petit Trianon. Versailles is so over the top! The ceilings and everything is so ornate and everything is to excess.
You know what stunk though! They stuck all this weird modern, pop art right in the middle of these old historic rooms. It was so strange!
It was so strange to allow an exhibit like that in there!
The macaroons were incredible! They cost about 4 Euros each! We had salted caramel, pistachio, chocolate, coffee. I can't remember all the different ones, but they were fantastic! As soon as I saw them, I said someone on YT said I have to try these and then I was hooked!
It's funny because this week I got my Cincinnati magazine and it features top bakeries in the area and there is a bakery here that makes them! I have to try them out!!