rferrebee

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

Today was a typical start to the day.....breakfast at the hotel then on and gone by 8:30. We were headed to Blarney Castle as we got flooded out yesterday. We were trying to fit 2 days of sightseeing and activities into 1 day. If we were among the first at Blarney Castle, then we would beat the lines and be on and gone quickly. We were the first bus to pull in, so that was perfect. There was no line ahead of us. The hardest part of Blarney Castle is climbing to the top if you want to kiss the Blarney Stone. This was a big bucket list item for Nanci. I was worried about her foot holding out (she had 2 surgeries) as she climbed the 127 narrow, winding stairs to the top. She was ... read more

Today we had a breakfast time at 7:30 for a Hotel Breakfast Buffet. The buffet consisted of eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, baked beans, blood pudding, potatoes, a variety of cheeses, cold, cuts, fruit, cereal, porridge, yogurt, and cold cereals. there was something for everyone! I did have to laugh at the “luxury” granola!! Our new watch phase of this trip is on and gone. What that means is we were to be on the bus and pulling out at the designated time each day. So if the time was 8:30 the bus would pull out at 8:30 not 8:31! Today we were joined by a local guide for a tour around Dublin. She was a good guide, and very funny, but it seemed everything she pointed out, was on the right side of the bus… Of ... read more

Today was a travel day. We would leave our home in London, as that’s what The Balmoral House Hotel has become, and fly to Dublin to join our Ireland tour group. We were in no hurry as our flight wasn’t until 3:30, however we had to check out at 11:00. I went to breakfast, not only to eat, but to say my goodbyes! I had bacon, toast, and coffee and took some pictures of our friends. Once back at the room we finished packing and headed down to check out! A few years ago I met Israel Mora, an animator who has worked on Cats, The Lion King, The Mandalorian, and Prehistoric Planet. To my surprise he was standing in the office! I got a chance to Talk to him about his new projects…The Lion King ... read more