rferrebee

So we arrived, without any problems, at Heathrow Airport. We went through Passport Control without any problem. We bought tickets for the Heathrow Express…a nonstop train that goes directly to Paddington. We’ve been to London together three times and I’ve been here another two times, so we are quite familiar with the area. It’s almost like our home away from home! We made our way through the streets to our Favorite hotel, The Balmoral Houde! We couldn’t wait to see our favorite friend, Flavio Martinez! We met Flavio back in 2019 on our first trip here and we just love him!! He’s one of the reason we always stay at this hotel. True to form, Flavio was waiting for us and had everything ready for us. While it was early, our rooms were ready! My favorite ... read more

Today we start the long journey home. We got up at 7:00 am our time which is 1:00 am home time. We fly out at 1:35 pm Switzerland time (7:35am USA). It’s a 9 hour flight scheduled to land at 4:30pm USA (10:30pm Swiss). We then have customs, new security, and fly out of JFK at 8:15 pm USA (1:15am Swiss). We land in Pittsburgh at 10:15 USA (4:15 am Swiss). Then we pick up bags and a rental car and drive home fir 2 hours. We’ll get home about 1:00am USA (7:00 am Swiss). So you see it’s a 24 hour trip home! I hope to sleep some in the long flight but we shall see! We get to the airport and find out that the Delta counter doesn’t open until 10:30…..3 hours before our ... read more

So today we fly out to Switzerland to join another EF GoAhead tour. We will be traveling through Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. We had to be at the Zurich airport before noon to catch a transfer to our hotel in the alps. So we spent the night at the Hilton Garden Inn at Heathrow Airport since it is a short 10 minute walk to Terminal 2, Our flight out was for 6 am (its the only one I could find to get us there on time). Everything I read about Heathrow said to be there 3 hours before your flight. I know, from experience, that Heathrow can be crazy in the early morning. I set my alarm and set up a wake up call for 2 am so wed have an hour ... read more

Today was a moving day to Galway, so bags out at 7:30, then breakfast, then on and gone by 8:30. On the way to Galway we stopped for a comfort stop (restrooms, snacks, and drinks). The place we stopped was just in front of Bunratty Castle. It’s a place Marsha, Shealyn, and I visited on our trip to Ireland! What a coincidence! We also drove by a golf course. Now I’m not a golfer but this was the toughest looking golf course I’ve ever seen. Look at the pictures. I’m not sure a golf cart would go across that land. Our first goal was The Cliffs of Moher. These cliffs are absolutely breathtaking!! They rise above the ocean 702 feet and you can climb up the left side or right. We opted to take the golf ... read more

Today we were up early as it was a moving day. We were leaving Dublin for County Cork and the surrounding area and we had to have our suitcases outside our door by 7:30 AM. One thing nice about this company is they porter your luggage, as long as you have it where it supposed to be at the appropriate time. We couldn’t be late or we’d have to drag our luggage downstairs onto the bus by ourselves! We again have a breakfast buffet, and we’re to be on and out by 8:30 AM Today it was chilly. Plus it was raining. It wasn’t just a drizzle, but it wasn’t a hard rain…. Yet! Well I don’t mind riding the bus in the rain, but it makes it hard to take decent pictures! It was a ... read more