SORRY ABOUT THE PHOTOS SOMETHING HAPPENED TO THE PHOTOS WE TOOK ON THESE DAYS Interlaken June 11, 2008 Today is a rainy day and it is time to prepare for tomorrow's drive into France. We biked to town and on the way home got drenched. St. Seine Abbey, France June 12 We drove all day from Interlaken, Switzerland to the St.Seine Abbey Municipal Camping, France. Densole, Great Britain Black Horse Camping June 13, 2008 We actually had reservations to take the "Chunnel" tomorrow, but when we arrived at the port, we had the option to cross the Channel within the [View Full Entry]

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Interlaken, Switzerland Interlaken to Niederhorn After some early morning fog, everything is clear. So we are off to the cable cars to Niederhorn. On the bus and train we chatted with folks carrying gear to wind-sailing from the top of Neiderhorn. First the bus, then the train, then the cable car, the day is clear and we stop to watch the wind-sailing folks take off...WOW what a rush!! From the top of Neiderhorn, we began hiking down the Alps. Howe many hiking trails are there in the Alps??? We met some folks from Switzerland ...Fred and Eva and as we approached [View Full Entry]

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Switzerland Interlaken up to Jungfrau Peak One of the most famous peaks in Switzerland is the Jungfrau 11,333 feet, and that is our destination today. We got the bus outside the campground to the train station, Interlaken Ost. The train takes us to Lauterbrunner, and we switch trains to a cog railway, up to Kleine Scheidegg, and switch trains again for the final cog railway through the tunnel to Jungfrau. As we approach on the train, there was a video of Jungfrau today and how it was built, quite fascinating. As we disembark, we are still in a tunnel under a [View Full Entry]

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Lake Como to Interlaken, Switzerland We had a driving adventure today. The roads and drivers in Italy are unique. The roads are so narrow and there are walls on both sides. Well, we don't have a small vehicle but we see tour buses? The stone walls are unforgiving, so we ricocheted off the uneven rock walls in a tunnel, in an attempt to avoid on-coming traffic. The crunching sound was awful, and we were going slowly. The damage is minimal, but the sound still echoes in our mind. A few scrapes and scratches but everything works fine and no other driver [View Full Entry]

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Italy, Venice to the Lake Region Lake Como, Domaso Camping Gardenia June 5, 2008 It was a very long rainy day driving from Venice to the Lake Region of Italy, Lake Como. This is set in an idyllic landscape with a fine view of the Alps. We are staying in the north town of Domaso at Camping Gardenia right on Lake Como. Wind surfing is very popular here because the weather conditions create great winds for this sport. Several of our neighbors are here with this in mind. It looks like it requires very strong leg muscles to be able [View Full Entry]

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Venice, the City of Canals The ferry took us back to Venice and we returned to St. Mark's, now we are experts on finding our way. St. Mark's is the third church to stand on this site. Originally built to enshrine the body of St. Mark. It was destroyed by fire and the second was destroyed to make way for this existing church. Today the dark interior is clad in wonderful mosaics. Many treasures were "brought" to St. Mark's after the 4th Crusade in1204. Bob has been enjoying the strong espresso coffee of Europe, and today he found his own little [View Full Entry]

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Florence to Venice Camping Fusina After a quick trip into Florence we are on our way to Venice. The drive to Venice was easy!! Camping Fusina has camping spots overlooking the lights of Venice. This campground has a ferry just across the street, so we walk to the ferry and into Venice. Venice was created on a series of mud banks in a lagoon with canals in place of roads. Venice originally a province of the Byzantine Empire and through its control of the spice and silk trade from the East became the richest nation in Europe. Arriving in Venice we [View Full Entry]

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Assisi to Florence "Happiness is not in arriving at your destination, but in your way of traveling there" We had coordinates, but it was a nightmare finding the campground. The roads were soooo narrow and had walls on both sides. We lived to tell about it and are now at Michaelangelo Campground. Florence is a monument to the Renaissance, the artistic and cultural reawakening of the 15th century. The wealth of the Medici family provided the impetus for unparalleled artistic growth. Today is a holiday in Italy, something to do with the Republic. We began the wal [View Full Entry]

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Rome Italy to Assisi Morning time to clean the vehicle, etc. etc. Then on to Assisi. We had coordinates for Camping International Assisi, but wound up on a very narrow farm road at the bottom of the mountain. After some "navigational discussions" we got to a main road and finally spotted signs for the campground. St. Francis was a monk who denounced wealth and lived a life of charity and poverty. Art, religion, nature and history meet in Assisi the Peace e Capital of the World declared by UNESCO. We quickly settled and got the shuttle to the walled city. The [View Full Entry]

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The Vatican Rome, Italy Back to the train station and the metro, we are off for the Vatican Museum/Sistern Chapel. Having been warned, we are off early... it is necessary to get in line for the Vatican Museum and the Sistern Chapel tickets. The line moves along quickly and before long we are inside the museum. I truly had visions of 110 degree temperature, wall to wall people, pick-pockets, beggars, etc. etc.... but thank goodness this was not the reality. It was quite pleasant, maybe a wrong choice of words for such an world renowned collection of art. This is [View Full Entry]

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