Blogs from Europe - page 11697

This was a shot taken on Sunday morning outside our upstairs bedroom window - fantastic view of the garden and pool.We had a lot of sightseeing to do and Sunday we got started by going to L'Isle sur la Sorgue. The river Sorgue surrounds the city and it has several canals running through it's center. And check out the video of this cool water wheel we ran across by clicking the video link to the left. More information can be found at: http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/vaucluse/islesorg/islesorg.htm It was market day and we did our part - Zdena bought some sandals and cheese. We all met up about an hour later and headed to a great restaurant Terry had picked out and ate outside along one of the canals. Besides having a great meal, we had an experience I won't ... read more

We have been on the road for over 7 months now. We have met a lot of amazing people and experienced many great adventures. However, we also have missed some big events back home. Unfortunatelly some not very happy ones, as both of us have lost a grandmother. Others very happy ones! Andy's cousin got married, CONGRATULATIONS to Sally-Ann and Paul. As this was the first wedding amongst the second generation of the family it was a big event for the Thompson's that we would have loved to be part of. Other lucky ones tied the knot including Emily and Paul and Jennifer and Simon, CONGRATULATIONS to you too! Before we left for our trip, my best friend Carmen got engaged in July 2006. Being friends for years we always wanted to experience each others weddings ... read more

I woke up just before the alarm went off and decided to get up and finish packing the last minute stuff and have some breakfast. Steve and I went up to breakfast while Alice finished getting ready. I’m really going to miss the breakfasts at the Lilium! By the time we ate and went back to the room to make a final check it was pretty much time to drag the luggage up 2 flights of stairs (Steve!) to the pool area and go check out. We got to the Santorini airport about an hour and 15 minutes before boarding. Security seemed more than a little relaxed (to say the least!) than in the States or even Athens . We boarded a bus from the gate that took us to the 737 out on the tarmac, ... read more

An evening excursion down the road from Nice to a little place called Monaco. This country is famous for its Formula One race, dodgy tax rules and the Monte Carlo casino. The city itself though is absolutely spectacular at night, and the amount of money in this tiny place is astounding! To own one of the yachts in that harbour… we’ll keep dreaming! The casino itself isn’t actually that big on the inside, quite old fashioned compared to the brash cheapness of Star City. But the stakes are not small, and some people bet very big! We lost 50 euros quick smart on roulette before earning most of it back on the old school pull-down poker machine which was quite fun! Outside of the casino was packed with luxury cars - Ferraris, Rolls Royce, Bentley, BMW, ... read more

Take the train to Deutschlandsberg in the Southwestern part of Styria on Sunday. There is the opening of the regional wine festival taking place in the Castle (on top of a steep hill). The event is quite fun - the castle exhibits are open, free wine and food samples from the region, a lederhosen band, beautiful sunshine - and magnificient views of the Sulmtal (valley) which is described as the Tuscany of Styria. After the opening of the festival - the speeches go on about Styria´s two trademark food products - Schilcher (a rose wine) and Kernoel (pumpkin seed oil) - the latter is present in great quantity on all salads in the region and for sale at many farms in the region (there is obviously an oversupply) - we continue on our bicycles (without ... read more