rferrebee

Today was our first day we weren't on a dead run and we could wake up at our leisure and not be rushed! Our apartment was in a great location right in the Old Town part of the city, so we just had to walk out our door and history was everywhere. Split is a part of the Dalmatian coastline on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. If you find Rome on a map and cast your eyes east across Italy and the Adriatic Sea, you will find Split. Split was founded in the 3rd or 2nd BC and became the site of the Palace of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. It then became a Byzantine city and later became part of the Republic of Venice. Then it was caught in the middle of the struggle ... read more

Today was a travel day. We were leaving The Balmoral House Hotel and London. We would return to Heathrow and fly to Split, Croatia. This was going to be a whole new adventure as I have not been to any of the areas we visit for the next two and a half weeks, except Rome. We started the day with our full English breakfast. We went down to the breakfast room earlier so there was no waiting today. We bought the kitchen staff a big box of biscuits (cookies) from Harrods. They were so appreciative!! We hugged and said our goodbyes and headed back to our rooms to pack and repack for our flight. I stopped in the office after breakfast just to visit with Flavio. Another couple came in and I apologized and said I ... read more

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 was a travel day. We met in St. Mary’s, loaded the car, filled up with gas, and headed to Dulles airport. It was much cheaper for us to fly from Dulles to London and back then to fly into any other city in Europe or from any other city in the US. Over the course of three weeks, we will travel eight different times; by plane,boat, and train. Many of you know me so well that you wouldn’t be surprised that we couldn’t drive by Dairy Creme Corner. So we stopped for ice cream and then hopped back in the car heading east. We didn’t stop again until we got to Winchester. Shealyn kept us entertained by telling tales on her mother…..Oh My!!! We stopped for a bathroom break and to gas up the car ... read more

We are staying in a lovely hotel in Lucerne, Switzerland. It is just beautiful!! Breakfast was at 7 am and bus call was 9 am. I learned late last night that Terry’s 97 year old mother, who is in the nursing home, wasn’t doing well, so Nanci and I decided to leave the tour and head back home to West Virginia. Family is far too important to be away at a time such as this….so we met the tour guide, said sad goodbyes to our group as they headed off for a fun packed day of exploring and we went upstairs to pack. Neither of us regretted our decision. We have had a great trip and Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and The Czech Republic will have to wait till another time. I spent several hours cancelling plans ... read more

Today we leave Ireland and our EF Go Ahead tour group! We met some people we dearly loved spending time with plus we loved our tour guide and bus driver. We hated to part ways but another adventure with a new group was waiting for us in Switzerland. In order to get to the airport at Dublin, we had to take a bus from Galway which drove clear across the country. Now Ireland is not that big, but Galway is on one coast and Dublin is on the other.it was about a 3 hour ride. Our flight was at 12 noon, so we left Galway at 6:30 am. It wasn't a bad ride, it was a local bus with several stops. We made it in plenty of time. The airport wasn't busy, but they did things ... read more