Waaler
We have been thinking of going to Europe for a while. We knew it would be expensive but waiting another year or two wouldn't make it more afordable. And the kids are at the age were they will remember the trip.aknj
So, here we go!
Travel Blog Posts
August 5th 2010
Today we went to Ben Nevis, the biggest mountain in the UK. We went up in a gondola. After we came down dad, Nicole and I went on a high ropes adventure where you chose 3 out of 5 courses to go on. My favorite one was the last course because it had a really long zip line. Cool!!!!!!!!!! ... read more
Ben Nevis
Published: August 5th 2010Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Inverness-shire » Glenfinnan
August 5th 2010
Didn't travel far today. About 40 minutes to get into the Ben Nevis area. Look it up on google. Incredible mountain. Ben means mountain and Nevis means vicious or malicious. We took a gondola up to 2,150 ft and then walked up to Aonach Mor (an even higher peak). The walk was tough (except for the kids) who were ahead of us all the way. Then we made our way to the hotel and had an early dinner (6 pm). What will we do when we get home? Dinner is usually at this time and vacation has screwed up our time zones and eating habits. We're in for the night at Glenfinnan House Hotel and there is a band tonight playing celtic music. We can hear them from our room. Tomorrow we're off for the Isle ... read more
August 4th 2010
Drove through Glencoe today. Absolutely incredible to see, especially with the history from the 1600s. There's a gorgeous waterfall and river (called Coe), running through it. It seems so quiet and we pulled over many times for pictures. We arrived at our hotel - completely wiped out and ready for dinner. There is an interesting custom here in the UK. Many places give you the menu and want you to order at the bar. Then they bring it to your table. You're still expected to tip! We also made it to Loch Lomond-beautiful. There were a bother and sister jumping from the pier down into the Loch. It was colder that our lakes up north! Our hotel was quite nice (2 separate rooms again) on 2 separate floors. At least we didn't have to share any ... read more
August 2nd 2010
Long drive today from London to Gretna, Scotland. Wow-just to see SCOTLAND on the travel sign. It was really something. The landscape is beautiful. Rolling green hills and sheep everywhere! There are many service stations on the travel route. Once we got out of London (which is a terrible rats nest of roads and nothing runs straight), it was much easier. Arne did all the London driving and got us well onto M1. I was able to drive the rest of the way, continuing on the M6 to our B + B. The B + B is called Barrasgate House and it's very nice. The kids are in bunks and we're all in the same room with an attached sunroom. Private bathroom as well. Our hosts are very quiet and let Jon and Nicole play with ... read more
August 1st 2010
We spent the last 3 days running through the old city (London) and the new city (Westminster). Thank goodness we had great guides. If you're ever in London, try the free walking tour. An amazing afternoon walking through Westminster area: Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park and the Parliament. Our guide was terrific and he gave us all the gossip everywhere we went. Perfect way to see London. Our next tour day was more old city: Tower of London, St Paul's Cathedral (beautiful), Convent Garden, River cruise and finishing with the London Eye (130 metres in the air). Long day. Today we slept later, ate lunch at the hotel and headed out to wander a bit. Arne wanted to find a building he saw from the Thames. And we did - last stop. We ... read more
July 30th 2010
Just a short note and this might get out of order but we landed safely at Heathrow on July 29th. Lots of security measures to get through this airport if you ever come. British Airways was a great flight and we watched the flight travelling on a GPS map while in the air. Arne just loved that. We bid a sad and happy farewell to the Waaler's and Mero's of Norway on July 28th. We spent 2 fantastic days meeting and reaquainting everyone. Big thanks to Cecelie - without you're organizing, we wouldn't have been able to spend our family days together. Hanna...tak! The waffles were great but not as good as the company we shared. And everyone else, we were so happy to meet you all. We'll see you on Facebook, Skype and email for ... read more
July 30th 2010
When we arrived in Oslo, Norway we checked into the hotel and then my dad got a phone call from his cousin Jonn. He told us that he was going to met us in a half hour in the lobby of the hotel. When he came went went out for dinner and sat and talked. My dad hasn't seen Jonn (except on Skype) for over 30 years. The next day we went to Bergen, Norway. We took a train to Mrydal then anther train down the flam railway then a cruise in the sognefjord. All you can see when you look out the window in the trains were rocks or you would go into a tunnel for what seemed like forever. The cruise was very cool. There were so many waterfall you couldn't count. We stayed ... read more
July 25th 2010
We headed back from Bergen on July 25th. Pooped from the night before but we got to sleep in a little to make up for it. We had until about 3 to be tourists. Our most important thing for Bergen was to take a trip up the side of the mountain in the Floybanen. It's a tram similar to the Niagara Falls one. So for anyone who knows that I'm afraid of heights, I've now gone to the 2nd level of the Eiffel Tower and up the Floybanen. There are picture to prove it! Bergen is a beautiful place on the west coast of Norway and sits on a fjord. Let's face it, many places in Norway sit on a fjord. But this one has the hustle and bustle of a city with a small-town feel. ... read more
July 24th 2010
Sorry for the delay on Norway info everyone. Everything went so quickly. We arrived in Oslo and were shuttled to our hotel by an "uncle-like" man who dropped us off and picked us up wherever we were booked. So glad because everything is so different there. Spent the afternoon/evening with Arne's cousin Jonn Mero begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting. They've be "skypping" each other for a while now and we were finally able to meet in person. Had a great time catching up and laughing with Jonn before he had to leave. We should have gone straight to bed though because we were picked up the next morning at 7:30 am to go to the train station. This turned out to be our busiest and longest day. We took a train from Oslo to Myrdal / transferred to another train ... read more
July 22nd 2010
So to start off the flight was very long but very cool because of the TV's in the head rests. Also there were not many people in the plane so I could stretch my legs out on a whole seat and lay on my moms lap. It wasn't easy to watch my movie this way and I didn't sleep very well. I watched Alice in Wonderland on the plane(good movie). When we arrived at the Charles de Gaulle Airport I got my very first stamp in my passport. When the taxi guy picked us up from the airport and drive us to the hotel we taked to him in a combo of English and French. We also noticed the driving in Paris. It is crazy. If you are not paying attention you are going to get ... read more
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