Still in London

We woke up to sunny weather but the rain has finally come - so its a bit more like typical London weather today. Just did the British Museum and Wallace collection today - Jason has been so spoilt with armour to look at. Off to avenue Q tonight, so I have to run and get ready for dinner. Ciao for now....

Finally Online!

Hi Guys! Sorry for the long silence - blogger has changed from a beta version, and as every page I have been using has been in German or French, it was impossible to decipher...In fact, it took me 20 min when the page was in English! So, we are back in London after our Trafalgar tour finished today. Europe was wonderful and we couldn't have asked for better weather at this time of the year. Italy and France were amazing - we saw so many things that you see and read about...but the tour is just a sample - there is so much more to explore- it would be great to be able to come back one day. Christmas passed with little ceremony, as we were back on the road as usual, driving between Nice and Lyon. The medieval walled cities of St Paul de Vence and Avignon were fascinating, despite everything being shut on Xmas day. Tomorrow Jason is off to Leeds by the fast train, to see the armour at the Royal Armoury, and I am going to visit the Tate Modern and the Globe Theatre. I am looking forward to the first sleep-in in 2 weeks tomorrow (although Jason has to get up at the crack of dawn to catch his train). We hope everyone is well at home - give the dogs a hug from us Rog :) Ciao for now.

Here are some pics from Italy & France....

Switzerland

Hi all. I just realised how much we are cramming into everyday..... when I apologised for not writing i thought i had missed about a week - it feels like we did that much! Today we drove into Switzerland, went up a mountain in a gondola, took a cruise on Lake Lucerne, drove through the black forest, had a snowball fight on the top of the mountain at 7000ft - lots of fun. The only disappointment was the weather closed in and we could not see any of the alps - just a white wall a few metres in front of us. Into Italy tomorrow. Well, others are waiting for the PC, so short today. Ciao!

These photos were taken from the bus the next day...when we could actually see the Alps!

Tour Time

Hey everyone! Sorry its been a few days, its been a little hard to get internet access lately. We have been having a ball, but its pretty hectic and we are crashing early every evening. After Vienna we spent a day in London. By the time our flight landed and we navigated the tube to find our hotel, it was lunchtime. We checked in with the Trafalgar folks then headed off to the Tower of London. That was great (more armour for Jason, he is being spoiled). It was much larger than I had expected: We looked around there for a few hours and then headed back to the hotel, but via Kings Cross station to pick up Jason's tickets to Leeds we had pre booked. I am thinking I might try and get a matinee show that day.....hmm, what shall I see Spamalot, or Wicked?

Anyway, we started the tour the next day - wake up call at 4.45 *gasp*...... We drove to Dover and did the channel crossing to Calais in perfect weather - calm, blue sky, perfect! We then drove to Brussels, where we had Belgian Waffles and I had the most awesome Hot Chocolate from a chocalatier - wow! The Grande Palace was awesome - there was a light show on the old buildings in the square... I guess it had the potential to be really tacky, but it was actually quite beautiful.

Today we drove into Germany and did a Rhine Cruise, and then stopped at Heidelberg for awhile. There we hit our 4th Christmas market so far, but that's not a bad thing, as they all have a regional flavour and different items and foods for sale (and don't forget the mulled wine!). Tomorrow we head into Switzerland.... Some small bad news today - I found out I won't get to Murano in Venice after all - we see a glass demo on the mainland, and apparently I don't have time to get to Murano. :( Its disappointing, but you have to go with the flow when travelling - at least I got to Lauscha. Ok, running out of time - have to go - best wishes to all! PS Mum, I saw the pub where they filmed The Student Prince today - I've had 'Drink, Drink' stuck in my head all day..... :)

VIENNA

Hi all. Here we are in Wien (Vienna). This city is huge, and was a bit daunting to begin with. But we have spent the day wandering the museum precinct and the imperial palace, and it is a truly beautiful city. This morning Suz went to the Spanish Riding School to see the Lippizzanners and Jason went to the museum to look at armour (surprise, surprise). He tells me he walked into the first room filled with Maximillion armour and started to shake with excitement. :) We then wandered through another christmas market and walked around the city looking at the amazing architecure. This evening we may head back out to the imperial palace, if our feet hold up (lots of walking today). We are definately planning a carriage ride around the city though. Yesterday we left Lauscha at 5.20am and caught the train back to Nurnberg, and then a train to Vienna - 10 and a 1/2 hrs all up.....so not much time for anything else. We collapsed in a heap once we got to our hotel :). Tomorrow we fly to London, to meet up with our Trafalgar tour, which starts on sunday. Ciao for now....

Lauscha

Hmm, I am having trouble using blogger when the screen is in German.... I think I keep deleting posts instead of posting them.... Anyway, we arrived in Lauscha last night, and had a lovely dinner with Carol Anne from LE and her friends. Today I will visit the glass factory and maybe do some torching. This morning Carol's fiancee has taken Jason in search of blacksmithing tools, so I am going to wander around the town and shop and take photos. Tomorrow we are off to Vienna. Right now I am sitting behind the hotel desk to use their internet - I hope no one comes in and wants a room, LOL!

The view from the train..... Lauscha....Lauscha is famous for making glass Christmas decorations.....

What a day!

Hello again, wow, what a day we have had. A word of advice - when you are travelling around the world and visit a city for just 2 days, for the express purpose of visiting a museum...check the museum is open on that day first!!!Yes, thats right, Nurnberg's museum is shut on mondays! So, change of plans today.... we went on an 'Amazing Race' style trek to the suburbs by train in search of a hardware store and, you guessed it, hammers for Jason. Yes, I said hammers.... We also went to the Christmas Markets though, which was amazing, and I bought myself a set of beautiful spice drawers - hand painted ceramic drawers in a wooden shelf, beautiful. Jason also had an amazing find at a second handbookstore...so we both shopped well today. This is actually Mondays entry, as it didnt work for some reason.....

Finally....

Whew, we made it! After almost 48 hrs travelling, we are in Nuremberg. It was a very long trip, but we had a good 12 hours sleep last night, so we are good to go. This morning we went for a walk around Nurnberg, and we are about to go to the Museum to see the armour. This afternoon we will see the Christmas market, for which Nurnberg is famous. No snow here yet, but still very cold. It is going to take some getting used to the weather - boil inside with heaters on and wearing thermals, freeze outside..... Anyway - lot to do so I'll say bye for now. Guten Tag!

The day has finally arrived.....

Well, its here. Finally. Our departure date. Time is still dragging though, as we dont leave until 10.30 tonight. Everything is organised, now I just want to go, what a slow day...... Hopefully my next post will be from somewhere a little more exotic than my study :).