Europe Taster Tour with Expat Explore

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Europe Vacation 2023

Friday and Saturday October 6th and 7th

Exhausted does not begin to describe how tired we feel at this moment. The start of our whirlwind trip was a bit more like a hurricane. We left for Atlanta in what we thought was plenty of time to make our plane. Even after the major slowdowns with Friday afternoon traffic in Atlanta, we still made it to the airport 2 hours before our departure time. Then we had to find a parking spot. The international side has undergone a lot of changes since the last time I had to park there and what we discovered is that unless you have a prepaid reservation the chances of getting in an international side parking garage is slim to none. For us it was none. We were directed all the way over to the Domestic side to park. It was at least a 15-minute drive. Then we had to find a spot, wait on the shuttle and then change shuttles at the Domestic terminal. It all took over an hour and a half. We did not make our flight.

Luckily for us, Virgin airlines managed to get us seats on a flight leaving just an hour later. As soon as I had the flight number and arrival times in London, I contacted the Welcome Pickup driver that they said was assigned to us. I sent a message on both his Welcome pickups contact as well as to his WhatsApp number. He never responded. I tried not to worry about that as we struggled to get some sleep aboard a fully packed flight. The flight itself was actually quite nice, with provided dinner and breakfast, but sleeping on a plane is just "plane" hard. I got perhaps 30 minutes of sleep and Rob said he got about an hour or two.

We were hoping to get right to the hotel and beg to check in early so that we could take a nap before hitting the town. It did not happen that way. First off, I got a call when we landed from our new assigned Welcome Pickups driver who knew nothing about our change of flight. It was already 7:45 and our pickup time was for 7. I explained to her what happened and that we would not get to her before the 1 hour wait time was up as we had just landed. She hemmed and hawed and said that she would have to call her boss and then just hung up. I never heard from her again. I tried calling her back at least 10 times. I messaged her and I left a message on her voicemail. I got crickets. She never acknowledged me again at all. I spent at least 30 minutes at the airport exit going back and forth looking for our driver and trying to find a number for Welcome Pickups customer service rep. We had no luck at all.

We finally used the Uber app to find a Uber driver nearby. Uber to the rescue. We were immediately given a driver and he was there to pick us up in no time. I am kicking myself for ever calling Welcome Pickups. They were a lot more expensive and not nearly as reliable as Uber.

We finally reached our hotel, which was over an hour's drive away. It is a nice hotel and the lady at the desk was super friendly. Unfortunately, they were booked from the night before and could not let us check in early. They did let us drop off our luggage and we changed clothes and decided to go into the center of London despite our growing fatigue.

It is a half mile walk from the hotel to the dock where we were to catch the Uber Boat for our ride up the Thames River. On our way we found a nice little fish and chip cafe where we enjoyed our delicious Authentic English style fish and chips. He asked if we could pay in cash. We told him we only had Euros and he rolled his eyes, groaned and then told us that the credit card was fine. LOL.

We stopped into a gift shop along the way as well and picked up a few souvenirs. The Thames runs right by the heart of Greenwich. Along the pier in Greenwich, it was hopping on a Saturday, especially with the absolutely perfect weather we were having here today. There were all kinds of pop-up shops, an artisan fair and a bunch of food trucks, along with a whole bunch of people. And dogs. They really like taking their dogs out in London.

It was fairly easy to pick up the tickets at the counter for the UberBoat and then it was just a matter of waiting in line for a bit for a boat going our way. The ride up the Thames was every bit as enjoyable as I was hoping it would be. It is the perfect way to see London. All of the main attractions are along the water. We saw the Shard, the Sky Garden, the Tower Bridge (which we sailed under), the Tower of London, the London Eye, the Globe Theatre, the Parliament and Big Ben all from the water.

We got off at Westminster for a better look at Big Ben and the Parliament and so that we could walk to Westminster Abbey. I decided that, as tired as we were, that trudging through a museum, even if it was the British Museum was just not worth it. We instead walked through the crowds of people to see the main sights and also do a little people watching as well. We stopped at the Westminster Abbey gift shop (we were not able to go into the church as they were having services) and then walked beside the river for a bit for some photo and video ops.

When we just could not stay standing any longer, we caught the Uberboat back to Greenwich. I think both of us slept a little on the boat ride back. The walk from Greenwich Pier back to the Novotel seemed infinitely longer on the way back than it did going out, but we made it. We were able to check in and have been hibernating in our room ever since. We even decided to just call room service rather than go back out. It was more than 24 hours between the time we awoke the day before and finally got to rest in our hotel.

We will likely go to bed fairly early tonight as we meet our Expat tour at an early 0630 in the morning.

A few observations on London (such as it was for just one day)

1. The people we met were all friendly and very helpful.

2. There was a lot to see with people watching: Crazy outfits, low cut tops and tourists dressed up for Instagram shots.

3. They were not at all afraid to protest. We saw several distinct protests going on in the city center.

4. There was a crazy juxtaposition of the ancient and the ultra-modern side by side.

5. On a sad note, we saw some very elderly people trying to survive on the streets. It was heart breaking. One man with a severely bent back could barely walk and was clearly homeless. That just shouldn't happen anywhere. An elderly woman, maybe in her late seventies or early eighties was trying to sleep on a metal bench as crowds passed by. I didn't know what to do so I was one of those passersby. I wanted to cry. I thought of my mom being in that position. Ugh.

Sunday, October 8th

We went to bed early and slept the best we could in a new place. We felt quite a bit better after the long sleep. We met our Expat tour at 6:30 and we all boarded the bus and headed out of London. We drove a little over an hour to Dover where we caught a ferry for the crossing of the English Channel. We had to go through French border control before getting on the ferry, but it allowed us a chance to get our passports stamped. Once on board, we were surprised that Expat provided us all meal tickets for breakfast on the ferry. It was a traditional English breakfast with Eggs, Sausage, salty ham, and beans and hashbrowns. I opted out of the beans. Rob went ahead and had the whole kit and caboodle. It was good and we were plenty full.

We headed out to the back of the ferry to catch some shots of the White Cliffs of Dover as we departed England. It was really pretty; they are very white for certain. We did a little browsing at the on-board shop and then I went outside to watch as we neared the shores of France. We landed in Normandy, but the D-day beaches were a bit further west than we could see from the ferry. I met a friendly older English chap who obviously liked to meet new people. He told me all about the several movies that he got to be a part of over the years where he met Michael Caine and Merryl Streep among others. He was a fun person to talk to and now I have to go back and watch those movies to see if I can pick him out.

After leaving the ferry we drove for a few hours across the pretty French countryside and finally made our first stop at a travel plaza. The stop had several restaurants including McDonalds and also a few shops. We ate at a Patisserie (pastry shop). I opted for a ham and cheese sandwich on a brioche loaf and Rob had a spicy wrap. I was surprised to find that they make their ham and cheese with butter. It was actually pretty good. We also picked up some Macrons from that shop and bought a few waters for the bus. It was a pretty cool introduction to France.

I took more pictures and video along the drive to Paris, but eventually both of us nodded off. Our tour guide, Michalina arranged a way to wake everyone up as we got near our destination. She began to play music over the speakers on the bus. It worked.

We arrived in Paris about 4pm and the first thing that we did was a driving tour, making stops at the major landmarks. We first went to Arc de Triomphe. I was glad we got to get out there because it is not on our itinerary for tomorrow. We then went over to the Eiffel Tower. It was a really cool view from the top of the plaza overlooking it. We got a ton of pictures and video and did a little people watching then had to get back to the bus to head out for our next destination, the Louvre. Before we headed out, though, I took advantage of the time we had waiting on the others to do an Expat X shot with me and Rob in front of the bus. It was fun. Then it was off to the Louvre. We only went there for photo ops outside of the pyramid. Michalina arranged for us to do a few group photos. They turned out great and it was a lot of fun. We took a little time to take some pictures of our own, then we were all off again. The drive to the Louvre took us along the Seine River, so we also saw a lot of other landmarks and interesting scenery all along the way.

After the Louve, the driver tried to get us to our restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately, all the roads around the restaurant were closed for some kind of festival. He made some very impressive turn arounds in the extremely packed and narrow Paris Rues but was finally able to get us close enough to the restaurant that we could easily walk to it. I am sure the driver was very stressed trying to find a clear way to the restaurant and all the extra time it took, but I was really enjoying the beautiful architecture and interesting shops and people crowding the downtown areas.

Dinner was at the Bouillon. There was a crowd of people outside waiting to get in, but our tour was arranged in advanced to we all walked right past all the waiting people and were led to an upstairs room prepared for us. We all chose what we wanted for dinner long before and Machalina had called it in in advance. So, we were not seated long before our starters started coming out. I had egg magonaise and Rob had the pea soup. In fact, Rob was the only person of 50 who opted for the pea soup. haha. I guess I am not the only one who is not a fan of peas. Rob and I both had the pork main course. It was just okay. The desserts were mousse for me and rice pudding for Rob. They were pretty good, but the real star for us was the amazing Sauvignon Blanc that we ordered. I have never tasted wine that good. It was genuinely delicious. I guess that is why France if famous for wine.

It was a long day, and we were glad to finally be checking into our hotel at 9pm. The rooms are very small....very, very small, but they have everything we need. So we are just chilling, blogging and then getting ready for bed. We are on our own tomorrow in Paris, so wish us bon chance.
Monday, October 9 We opted to spend the day in Paris on our own today. That gave us the chance to sleep in a little and take our time enjoying the city our way. We called for an Uber around 10 am and he got us to the Louvre by 10:40. By the time we got to the entry point they were lining up for the 11:30 entry, so our timing was perfect. We stood in line for about 25 minutes, which wasn't too bad considering, so getting reservation online in advance was a smart move. Rob had been to the Louvre before, so he let me choose what to see this time, and I wanted to see the antiquities. I didn't expect the Louvre to be quite so massive and so much of a maze inside. The Egyptian antiquities section encompassed almost an entire wing and they had everything Egyptian that I could have hoped to see and more. That section alone took up most of our time there. We finally made it through that and on to the Greek and Italian antiquities and the statuary part. We went through that part a little faster as we were getting tired. There are so many stairs there. First you go up a set of stairs, then back down, then up again. It was pretty tiring. Everything was amazing though, and I was especially impressed with the opulence of the building itself. There was a lot of art on the ceilings and gilded Mouldings. It was beautiful. The Nepoleon Hall was spectacular and included the French crown jewels. After an hour and a half, I was getting so tired that we decided to move on to the river boat part of our day. We had to navigate the maze back out to the exit (which took us through the underground mall) and finally outside to the garden area. I found a vendor where I picked up a beret for Abby and a hat for me to wear walking around that I will likely give to Laurel. We still had quite a walk to the river where we just missed the Botoboat. We had to wait another 45 minutes for the next one but were able to pass the time people (and dog) watching. A couple highlights were a dog running leash free beside his mom on a bike and a guy on what was apparently a powered skateboard. The boat was not air conditioned and was not shaded either so although we did get to rest our feet, we were also kind of hot. As long as the boat was moving, it wasn't too bad. I filmed some of the sights along the way and chatted with a couple of ladies from South Carolina. They had done three days in London and were nearly done with their three days in Paris. It is always nice to have other Americans to talk to as we discovered that not everyone in Paris speaks English like we were assured. We got off at the Eiffel tower exit and made it to the bottom of the tower for some under the tower shots and then we headed up to the overlook plaza where we hoped to find a nice cafe where we could eat and kill time until the Eiffel tower lit up at dusk. The way to the overlook was up a long ramp and then several sets of stairs. We were already tired and hot, and the climb just about did us in. We did find a restaurant for lunch, and we ordered food, but it was still quite hot in the non-air-conditioned restaurant, and I started feeling a little queasy and lightheaded from the heat. I was only able to eat a few bites and I encouraged Rob to get the bill so that we could find some shade to sit in outside. Right next to the restaurant was a pleasant little cafe where we found a table in the shade. It was perfect. Even better was that they had ice cream and so we ate ice cream and did some people watching as I cooled down and finally got feeling better. We both were able to go to the bathroom in the cafes which was good because there are just no public toilettes anywhere that we could find in Paris. As we were people watching and waiting to go over to the plaza after the sunset to view the lit-up tower, some police started showing up in droves. Then army guys with assault rifles showed up. Then they blocked of the rotunda, and then they cleared the plaza. They were also searching the backpacks of anyone that happened to come into the area. Obviously, something was up. I did my best to ask a policeman in French what was going on. He tried to tell me in broken English that there was going to be a big protest against the war. We weren't sure what war, as there is the war in the Ukraine and a recent skirmish in Israel. He didn't say, but it really didn't matter. What mattered was our planned viewing area was being shut down. Another nice policeman directed us up the road and around a corner to a really lovely garden area with an amazing view of the tower, and there were hardly any people there. Occasionally a few people would show up for an Instagram shot and then go on their way. A really friendly couple from Utah came by. The had a beautiful baby they named Poppy and she was adorable. The man had a poppy tattoo on his arm in honor of her and they both had Gucci snake tattoos on their arms in honor of their aunt. As we were waiting for sunset a woman and a photographer showed up to do a photoshoot for Glamour magazine of South Africa. I think she was and influencer who was being given the front cover of the magazine. We moved out of the way for them to do their shots and she chatted with me for a bit and gave me her insta so that I could see the cover when it came out. She was really sweet. As the sun set, the wispy clouds behind the tower made it look like a dream. We got some amazing sunset shots of it, but we were there to see the twinkle after twilight. We hung out until it got dark, and the tower was lit with a dark blue light. Every hour on the hour every night, the Eiffel tower does a dazzling sparkle lightshow. Except on this night. Apparently, because of the protest, there was no sparkle. I can't say that I wasn't disappointed, but I did get to see it at night and at sunset and it was truly stunning. We called another Uber to drive us back to the hotel so that we can get some rest for our long drive to Switzerland tomorrow! Can't wait.

We found out the reason the Eiffel tower did not sparkle, but instead just lit up blue and white was in solidarity with Israel. The Hamas had attacked a music festival killing over 200 citizens and the whole world lit up landmarks in solidarity. The White House was also lit up blue and white. So, although we did not see the beautiful sparkle on the Eiffel Tower, we were there to witness the country's show of support. That kind of made it special.

Impressions of Paris:

1. Although the Parisians seem to have a judgmental air about them, everyone we spoke to was friendly and helpful. We didn't encounter any rudeness at all.

2. They appreciate it a lot if you at least try to speak some French.

3. There were a lot more people than I expected that did not speak English.

4. I would NOT want to try to drive in Paris. The driving is a free for all. I was really impressed with Florin for his ability to navigate a huge bus in that city. He even had to turn around once and did it really well, we all cheered.

5. It really is an incredibly romantic city. Even more that I expected.

6. They all dress nice. All the time.

7. There are a lot of stairs.

Tuesday October 10th

We woke up early to eat breakfast and meet our tour by 7am. I think just about everyone fell asleep as soon as the bus started moving. I brought along my neck pillow just for that. Michelina had to play the "Find your People" song to wake everyone up for our first rest stop. It was just a quick bathroom break and then it was on to Beaune.

Beaune was a lovely middle century town with narrow cobblestone streets and French country charm. It was to be our last chance to buy souvenirs in France, so we spent most of our time there shopping. I finally found a lovely artisan made perfume for Laurel and we got a local Burgandy wine. We will be sampling that tonight. We had lunch from a small cafe and then had to head back to the bus for the crossover into Switzerland. I had still been feeling pretty run down since our long hot day in Paris, so I napped again on the bus until we got close to the Swiss border.

Because Switzerland is part of the agreement with a lot of other countries (even though they are not part of the European Union), we didn't have to do anything to cross the border. The border agent asked Florin a few questions, took a photo of the bus's license plate and we were off. There was no sleeping after crossing into Switzerland, the views were amazing. Also, Michelina had whoever would come to the front of the bus and introduce themselves and tell something about themselves. The first guy said he like karaoke and so he sang for us. 😊 Everyone had funny anecdotes. Another guy was a DJ, so he did a little rap for us. Rob told everyone that although he is a massage therapist and they were likely very sore from all the walking, not to bother trying to get him to work on them, they couldn't afford him. haha. He was so funny. It was a lot of fun. I am glad that Michelina thought to do that.

When we started to get into the Alpine region, the views were so stunning. Most everyone had their phones out taking pictures and video. It was heavenly. We came through one of many tunnels and saw this lovely quaint village with the majestic Alps rising up all around it. That was Wilderswil, where we will be staying to the next two nights. It was so breathtaking; it was like a fairy tale. Our room in the Alpen-Rose hotel is on the 3rd floor, which was hard on the knees and aching body, but with an amazing view out of our windows. The first thing I did was open the windows wide and just stand and stare. The sun was setting, but the sun still lit up the snow-capped mountains that tower over this valley. I felt like Rapunzel in her tower. I can't imagine a more perfect Swiss experience. Definitely the highlight of our trip so far.

We all met back down in the hotel restaurant for dinner. We found out that one of the founders of Expat is also the owner of this pretty little chalet. I hope that we will get the chance to meet him. Because he is from South Africa, our dinner tonight was South African, beef curry and rice. It was the best meal we have had so far. So good. We shared a table with a lovely couple from Australia. They were from just south of Sydney along the coast. We really enjoyed talking with them.

We checked out the garden afterwards and especially their hot tub. It was already closed for the night, but wow, what a setting for it. It sure would have been nice to try it out. Then we trudged back upstairs to our adorable room and are planning to just chill for tonight. We meet up for the Jungfraujoch to in the morning.

Wednesday, October 11

We got up on time to catch a traditional and delicious Swiss breakfast in the hotel. Everything tasted so fresh and homemade. As we ate, we caught a glimpse of paragliders coming down from the cliffs above the town. Two of our tour compatriots were among them, 2 brave young ladies. Then we met up with our tour for our trip up to Jungfraujoch. We walked the short couple blocks to the train station to catch the first train and on the way a gentleman was singing on a bench. Just an example of one of the many happy people in Switzerland. The first train was crowded, and we ended up having to stand on the 30-minute first leg, but the breathtaking gondola ride totally made up for it. Everywhere you looked it took your breath away.

After the gondola, we caught another train that runs up through a tunnel to the Jungfraujoch overlook. Expat reserved us our own car for this part, so we all had seats this time. The view from the shop at the roof of Europe was stunning. We walked the loop through the mountain that took us to all of the vistas and special displays. The first stop was the Sphinx overlook, the highest point. You could look down on the glacier and out to the mountains towering over the villages in the valley below. There are no words to describe the beauty. We had just arrived at the overlook when a young Swiss man who spoke perfect English asked us if we would do a quick survey for UNESCO, that included Jungfrau as a part of it. As a thank you for doing the survey he said he would give us a Swiss chocolate bar. We said yes, of course! Rob filled out the survey and I chatted with the man who couldn't have been much more than 21. Then we set about taking pictures.

After we took a ton of pictures there, we went back down the fast elevator to the cave loop. The next stop was the Ice Palace. It was an adorably decorated all ice cave. The floors were a bit slick, and it was quite chilly, but so pretty and the sculptures and ice incased photos were cool. The next stop was the plateau. That is the area outside in the snow where they had a Swiss flag you could stand by for photo ops. We had to wait in a short line, but it was iconic. I will definitely be telling everyone that I climbed up that mountain to stand next to that flag. haha

After the loop, we went back to the shop area where we found a nice seat to eat our packed lunch with the incredible views all around us. We had just enough time do a little shopping before we had to meet the group again for the ride back down. It was all trains this time, no gondola, but we had our own car and we all had seats and fantastic views all the way. I got a lot of pictures from the train. We had a brief stop at this small little town with more breathtaking views, so we all got even more pictures there.

We ended up stopping at Lauterbrunnen for a chance to see the Grendelwald waterfall. The waterfall was nearly dried up this time of year, but the town was amazing. It had a river running through it and quaint little shops and picturesque homestead. It is situated in a valley surrounded by the Alps on all sides. It was impossible to take a bad picture there. We shopped a little, walked a lot, and finally met back with our tour to head back to Wilderswil. It was just another 20-minute ride to our lovely town. My feet and knees are aching, but it was so worth every step.

After a few hours' break, we met back down at the dining area of the Alpen-Rose motel for dinner. We had traditional Swiss fondue for the starter. Our server told us that in the old times, they didn't let anything go to waste, so they melted down some hard cheeses mixed with wine or spirits and dipped the stale bread in it to make it more palatable. It was truly delicious. We then had a beef and potato meal that was also good and chocolate mousse for dessert.

We didn't waste much time in our room before heading off to bed because we were both tired. Tomorrow, Germany.

Impression of Switzerland

1. Everyone was really friendly and proud to share and show off their country. I think that the country's neutrality and a balanced government really help to keep the peace there making everyone really happy. That, plus they do well financially, and they live in a beautiful country.

2. Everything is so clean.

3. Even the tap water is delicious.

4. The fit the Swiss stereotype of a lot of blonde haired, blue eyed, beautiful people.

5. The vibe there was relaxed and peaceful.

Thursday, Oct. 12

We got an early start in Wilderswil, having to meet for breakfast by 6:30 so that the bus could leave just after 7am. The sun was just coming up as we were leaving our lovely little town and the views in the pink of the sunrise were truly beautiful. We all hated to leave the Alps behind, but there is much more of Europe to discover.

We were out of the Alps in no time and made only one more quick stop in Switzerland where we found some Lindor truffles with flavors that we can't find in the US. Leaving Switzerland, we had to cross a little of France and then finally into Germany. Michalina played music that we requested on the bus, but most of us slept some more. It was pretty long bus ride day before we got to the Rhine River Valley and the views became breathtaking again. We stopped in a small town where we were to meet our river boat for the Rhine River cruise, but we had just enough time to stop into a famous Cuckoo Clock shop for some souvenirs from Germany. That poor little shop went from nobody (as there was hardly anyone walking around in that town) to a whole crowd of enthusiastic shoppers.

We boarded a very nice riverboat with an enclosed area down below and a top deck with open views. Several of us made a beeline for the top deck, but we hadn't been up there for a minute when it started raining pretty hard. Fortunately, the views down below were equally beautiful. The rain was off and on. When it was "on" it came down pretty hard, and there was no in between. It was either raining hard or not at all. It never rained for very long, so we all got a chance to get some pictures from up top. In the meantime, down below there was a bar with drinks and ice cream. We shared a sundae and Rob had some wine that came with a souvenir glass. It was a lovely cruise, and the hour we were on it went by way too fast.

The town we ended the cruise in was Boppard. It was a lovely quintessential old German town, with a towering church and a pretty little town square surrounded by shops and cafes. We stopped with the tour at a little wine shop where they let us try some of their fine wines. The first was a nice Reisling, the second was a red ad the last was an Ice wine. They were all super good. Then we were given a little free time to shop around and check out the beautiful church. Like all churches in Europe it seems, it was grand with towering steeples and vaulted ceilings with stained glass windows all around. We lit a candle for a safe and enjoyable journey and then met back with our tour group to head to Koblenz for our overnight stay. Later tonight we will meet again with the tour group for dinner, but we had a few hours break for now, which I will use to rest my feet. 😊

We met the rest of the group at 7:50 and we all walked together through the clean and lovely town of Koblenz. It is a modern city with some new structures, but the city center is still in the Old World style. We stopped at a beer hall called Konigsbacher for dinner. It was really crowded, but we were ushered right in to where they had table pushed together for us. The poor wait staff did there best to keep up with us plus the rest of the people in the restaurant. We sat next to Florin and across from Grace, Rey and Mina, so we had good conversation. Well, as good as you could have in such a loud place and with everyone's different accents. We did pretty well, I think, though. I learned from Florin that the language in Romania where he is from is a mix of Spanish and Italian along with a unique language to them. He is from Transylvania, so we teased him a little about being a vampire. I am sure he has never heard that one. haha.

The food there was just so-so, but we had plenty, and the company was the best part. After dinner we walked back through the city center lamenting on how nice it would have been to be able to go into all the amazing high-end shops that lined the streets instead of just window shopping as we were. I found out on the way to dinner that the huge building labelled Forum across the street from our hotel was a mall. I wish I had known; I would have loved to have checked it out. Everything was closed by the time we left the restaurant.

It will be another long day tomorrow, so it is off to bed for us.

Impressions of Germany

1. We weren't there long, so my impression is just a snapshot

2. They are so clean, and everything is so organized. Even the public toilets were cleaned after every use. It was cool, sanitizer was sprayed onto the seat and then it was rotated.

3. But you have to pay to use the bathroom.

4. The beer house where was had dinner had a lot of young men hanging around outside and they all looked like rugby players, tough and muscular. Apparently, that is just a type there.

Friday, Oct 13

We were up early again, breakfast at 6:30 and then we were off by 7:15. Most of us slept the first two hours before our first stop, and since there was not really any great scenery to see, it wasn't a hard choice to do so. Our first stop didn't have a lot, but it did have bathrooms (the same, pay to pee, seat sanitizing, rotating toilet seat type). We all used the toilet and grabbed a few snacks and stretched our legs and then we were off again.

Our lunch shop was in the Netherlands. It was very much like a cafeteria, with a lot of options for food spread out. I was still pretty sleep and not too hungry, so I just had tomato soup and some bread. Rob had a sandwich. It was good enough.

When we got close to Amsterdam, we turned off the main drag and were taken to a small family-owned cheese and clog making farm. It was pretty cool. The whole family was enthusiastic to share their farm and what they do there. First one of the sons gave us a clog making demonstration using 100-year-old machines that can crank out a clog in no time at all. Then the wife (who was an expat American) showed us how they made their cheese. The farm and their processes were all totally traditional and organic. We got to taste the different cheese flavors and then were let loose in their adorable shop that had all kinds of cool souvenirs. I was able to buy a cute apron for Elizabeth as well several cheese for us and a few other trinkets. It was the highlight of our day, for sure.

Right after that, we stopped at a vintage windmill for a group photo and a chance to get other photos as well. I felt bad that we were all over around that windmill that actually happens to be a private residence now. We weren't even the only bus load there. Well, I guess if you buy a scenic windmill to live in, you have to expect tourists.

Our next stop was Amsterdam. We were dropped off in the city center for 3 hours of free time. It was raining and very windy, so being outside wasn't extremely pleasant, but we still walked around the city center. Amsterdam is like Las Vegas on steroids. In Las Vegas, prostitution is legal, here it is put on display. Literally girls standing or sitting in windows showing trying to lure men into their brothels. That is the red-light district. All through the downtown area, sex is on display. Shops had dildos and male barbie type dolls with dicks and naked ladies on everything.

In Vegas, people drink and do drugs. In Amsterdam, you smell pot everywhere. I was worried about getting exposed to secondhand smoke and testing positive for it at work, there was so much of it. It is also flamboyantly on display as well. They even had what they called coffee shops that are actually pot smoking hangouts. There were also pride flags everywhere and hundreds of bars. There were also a few homeless around and just a mass of crowds. It was definitely not my cup of tea.

Expat did their best to make the experience in Amsterdam as good as possible, however. We went on a canal tour that was actually quite nice. The architecture around the city center is actually quite pretty, especially along the extensive canals. They call it the Venice of northern Europe for a reason. So many canals, and very pretty buildings all along them.

After our tour, we were led to a very nice restaurant in the huge, beautiful train station. It still functions as the primary train station, but also has a small mall and many restaurants. The restaurant looked very old world extravagant and left us feeling very spoiled. There was even a pretty white parrot sitting on the bar as we walked through. Expat arranged a meal for us that had three courses and mine was actually delicious. A couple from Sydney Australia joined out table and we had such a lovely time talking to them.

We were all so completely exhausted when we got back to the hotel that we all just crashed. Of course, I also blogged.

Impression on Holland

1. I learned today that the windmills were used to pump water away from the boggy land. All of that part of the Netherlands is below sea level and therefore very wet. The windmills pumped water into canals and allowed them to create dry land to live and grow crops on. They also used the windmills for many other things, like milling grain.

2. The countryside people are very different from over-the-top liberal Amsterdam people, and I won't judge them all based off of that city.

3. They speak very good English. Twice I mistook a Dutch person for someone from the US because they spoke English so perfectly with no accent at all.

4. Dutch people are tall. We were told that they were, but boy did they definitely stand out. They were tall and most were very pretty red heads or blondes with a few light brown haired.

5. There is a lot of water. Canals, rivers, irrigation ditches and boggy wetlands are everywhere.

Saturday, Oct. 14th

This is the last day of our tour with Expat. It has been such a wonderful experience. Everyone on our tour was amazing, and so friendly. We met some people from all over the world. What an amazing vacation.

We left our hotel at 7:15 after a nice breakfast and we were off again, headed to Belgium and then ultimately back to London. We were so tired that almost everyone slept for the first two-hour drive. We had a quick stop for a bathroom break at a roadside stop where Rob and I both got drinks, he a cold latte and me a hot tea. It was only another 1.5 hours from there to Brugge.

We had to park quite a way from the city center and walk more than a kilometer into the town, but it was such a beautiful walk, we didn't mind at all. Brugge is just an amazing medieval town from the 1300's. The architecture is mostly gothic and truly spectacular. I was in love with it. Rob and I decided to skip lunch so that we would have more time to walk around. I took so many pictures of the old gothic churches and buildings, the horse drawn carriages and of all the narrow cobblestone streets. There were a lot of people as it was a pretty (albeit cold) Saturday. The whole town smelled of waffles and chocolate and the church played songs with its bells like a giant music box. Add to the clop clop of the house drawn carriages and the ambiance in Brugge was enchanting. We went into a beautiful church famous for its relic said to be a cloth containing the blood of Jesus. It was kept in a silver ark with a sculpture of a little lamb on top. The church was everything you would expect from a medieval church with stained glass windows and extravagant paintings.

After the church, we stopped to try some Belgium waffles with dark chocolate on top. I had mine with whipped cream. So I had a Belgium waffle, with Belgium chocolate and Belgium cream. It was delicious. We found some souvenir shops to spend our Euros in. We came away with two bags of stuff. We then met up with the rest of our group and made our way back to the bus. I had to run to the bathroom and when I got out it had gone from sunny skies to pouring rain. I struggled to pull on my jacket as we ran for the bus as we were the last ones. Somewhere in that struggle my watch came off. Someone in Belgium will be blessed with a pretty little watch from Mexico.

A couple hours later we were going through British customs and then getting on the ferry to Dover. Expat once again provided tickets for a free meal, so we are going to enjoy our journey across the Channel and have a little dinner.

We ended up arriving back at the Novotel in Greenwich an hour earlier than originally expected, so we had to wait at the hotel an hour for our Welcome Pickup driver to get there. Again, I wish that I had not ordered Welcome Pickup and instead had just done an Uber. You live and learn. The traffic was so bad that we were running the risk of not making it to our bed and breakfast in time for the 10 o'clock deadline for check in, so I had to call the B&B and let them know that we were running late. He seemed annoyed but agreed to wait on us. Our driver did her best to get us there in time and she was really helpful. She was a very typical Londoner, very talkative and enthusiastic. She talked non-stop pretty much the entire drive. I enjoyed talking to her, though and learned a lot about the English. She was originally from Uganda, which is an English Commonwealth, but had been in London long enough to completely adapt to the Londoner way of life. She was fun.

The gentleman that greeted us at the Bed and Breakfast was in stark contrast to our driver. He was more of a country Englishman. He was quiet, seemed almost emotionless and very demure. He made no attempt to engage with us and instead just quickly showed us our room and went his way. The cottage looked very old. We learned from our host the next day that it was actually built in the mid 1600s. The ceiling was not even 7 foot high and made with ancient looking beams of painted wood. Despite the age of the cottage, care was taken to make sure that the room had everything a traveler might need. The bathroom was modern, there were charging stations for your electronics and the bed was comfortable and warm.

The only complaint I could possibly put in was that the toilet system was loud and took a long time to clear. Flushing was followed by a whooshing sound, then the water would run into the toilet for a really long time and in the middle was a loud thrump as the sewage was pumped up from the low place that our room was to the sewer lines above it. I dreaded the thought that our late arrival and loud toilet probably woke everyone in the B&B.

We slept wonderfully, however and the host drove us to the airport in plenty of time. Heathrow was crowded and very huge, but we got to our gate in time to load and our flight went smoothly. Even the return to our car in Atlanta and our drive back home went well. Altogether, it was a lovely trip.

Overall Impressions of Europe:

1. There are a lot of modern conveniences that we take for granted here that they just don't have there. Elevators, air conditioning, and even fresh produce year-round were not readily available there.

2. Their food tasted better because it lacked the over processing we have here in the States.

3. Each country, even though so close together and small, was so unique and different from the surrounding countries.

4. Seems like the reason they do not have the problems with weight that we have here is because they walk, or ride bikes a lot and eat fresh, non-processed foods.

5. Traffic there is crazy. There are few rules to the roads, and there are a lot of cars crammed onto small narrow roads.

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Photos

Fish and Chips
Authentic fish and chips in Greenwich.

Cutty Sark
Cutty Sark museum in Greenwich

Big Ben
Big Ben shining in sunlight.

Westminster Abbey
A great shot of Westminster Abbey.

Tower Bridge
Note the juxtaposition of the old and the new in London.

Expat
Meeting up with Expat

Ferry
The White Cliffs of Dover from the ferry.

Arc de Triumph
Selfie at Arc de Triumph.

Fearless Leaders
Michalina and Florin. They were the best tour leader and driver ever!!

Eiffel Tower
The tower from the plaza

Expat
Us doing the Expat X pose.

Napoleon Room
Napoleon Room, home of the crown jewels at the Louvre.

Winged Nike
Winged Nike, and icon at the Louvre.

Dramatic Eiffel Tower
The very photogenic Eiffel Tower.

At Sunset
The Tower at sunset.

The Blue Tower
The Eiffel Tower lit up blue and white in support of Israel.

French Countryside
Beautiful French countryside from the bus.

Fortress
A fortress that once protected the border between France and Switzerland.

View
The view from our room in Wilderswil, Switzerland as the Alpen Rose Chalet.

Gondola
Gondola up the Swiss Alps to Jungfraujoch.

Alps
The top of Europe, Jungfrau mountain.

Swiss valley
The gorgeous countryside of Switzerland. The towering cliffs over the green lush valley. The pictures don't even do it justice.

Lauterbrunnen
The amazing little town of Lauterbrunnen. So beautiful.

German Castles
A black and white shot of a castle along the Rhine River in Germany.

Estate
An old estate along the Rhine River in the Rhine River Valley, Germany.

Boppard
The streets of Boppard.

Church
The beautiful church in Boppard.

The Netherlands
The wet countryside of the Netherlands.

Cheese and Clogs
The adorable farm where they made cheese and clogs.

The cheese
Cheese making demonstration.

Windmill
A classic Dutch windmill.

Amsterdam
The sunset cruise of the canals was the best part of Amsterdam.

Brugge
The Venice of the North. The most beautiful city I have ever seen.

Brugge 6
So classic.

Brugge 4
Gothic Cathedral straight out of the 1300s.

Ferry again
Our ferry ride back across the English Channel.

Cottage
Our cottage B&B in London. Built in the 1600s

Brugge 2
Medieval Streets of Brugge.

Brugge 3
The streets smelled of Belgian Waffles and Chocolate.

Brugge 5
Horse drawn carriages and magnificent architecture.

Brugge 7
Entrance to the church.

Brugge 8
Inside the ancient church.

England
The stunning English countryside at sunset

Expat 1
Ray and Grace

Expat 2
The whole gang at the cheese factory.

The Eye
The London Eye as seen from the River Walk.

Repunzal
Me in the window of our room at the Wilderswil Chalet.

Ah, Paris
In front of the Eiffel Tower.

Switzerland
A beautiful lake in Switzerland from the bus.

Swiss Alps
A stop on our way back down the mountain.