<Derik> London is a place that is close to my heart as I spent a semester there during my junior year in college.  It is a place that Cathy and I have shared together but seeing it through the eyes of the girls was awesome.

Our hotel's location was great as it was right on the south bank of the Thames near Waterloo station. This left us with a view of the London Eye from our room and a quick 5 minute walk to Parliament,, Westminster, & Big Ben.

We ended up our first evening with a pub dinner at the Red Lion near 10 Downing St (home of the Prime Minister) and then for some fun in and around Trafalgar Square.

Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament

Trafalgar Square

taking out the garbage

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The next morning we jumped on one of the double decker red buses and got to see alot of the sights throughout.  We hopped off for some chocolate at Harrods and a dog (stuffed) purchase for Camryn at a great the great toy store Hamleys.
We were also able to visit the Tower Bridge and have the good fortune to be at the top of the bridge when the lower decks raised to see a large sailboat go beneath.  Sort of rare in that the bridge only raises up a handful of times a week.

Callie sitting on the plexiglass 100' above the vehicle deck of the Tower Bridge

We enjoyed the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace:

We toured both Westminster Abbey and St Paul Cathedral including the 1052 steps to the top and back down for some great views.  Kiddos were troopers.

Westminster Abbey apparently now allows dogs

View from atop the dome of St Paul's Cathedral  - Tower Bridge in background

One of the best highlights of our visit was our afternoon at the Savoy Hotel for high tea which was awesome.  We were able to choose from 40+ different teas, and were served a wide assortment of finger sandwhichs, scones, followed by a sweets course and both girls were given a cute Savoy stuffed animal cat to remember their time.  Very memorable experience and the girls (including Cathy) felt like royalty for the day.

Afternoon Tea at the Savoy Hotel

We followed up tea with a visit to the Theatre and saw the Lion King which was a big hit for the girls.

The last afternoon we took a break from the big sites and headed for Hint Hunt.  It is a little hard to describe but it is basically a timed problem solving, puzzle, riddle, timed escape event.  You are given some basic instructions, placed into a themed room (ours was Tokyo) the door is locked behind you, and the 60 minute clock on the wall starts ticking down.  We had a GREAT time and it was fun to see how we all worked really well together.  The success rate is 50% and we were so close.  We finished our last clue and opened the door 30 second late.  A partial success in my book but a complete success have a really outstanding time with my peeps. Easily a highlight for the girls also.

Top of the London Eye - Big Ben 

We closed our visit with a ride on the London Eye and a second visit to the Bleecker St Burger stand (underneath the Golden Juilee Bridge).  I had a Bleeker Black - which is a double cheese burger made with aged beef and classic american cheese with a layer of black pudding (google it).  While I was in a line 15 deep, a local
convinced me to give it a shot and it was well worth the risk - really good.

Some newly made Italian friends experiencing their first ever hamburger

Wow good :)

All in all an amazing stopover in London, England.

 

Vatican in the background

 <Callie>  Chow (Ciao)!  Our family had a wonderful time in Rome! So many things to do, see and taste! We rented an Airb&b for the time we were there - it was small but it worked. There was a little upstairs/loft and also a little loft with a bed. The kitchen was about the size of an airplane bathroom. The temperature was close to 100 degrees the whole time we were there and the AC worked just a little bit.

Our AirBNB

     My favorite part of the apartment was the elevator.  It was the coolest and oldest elevator I've ever seen.  It was made around 1905!!! You had to manually open and close the door and you could open the door while it was in motion (even though you weren't supposed to).  I loved it!  If I was bored I would just ride it for fun!  It was really loud though.

     Let's get to the interesting part, the food. The food was amazing! The pizza, the spaghetti and gnoochi, and I'll never forget the delicious gelato! Every night we went to bed with a full stomach and a voice in our head saying why did you eat that last slice of pizza, the third ice cream cone (DAD!), the big bowl of spaghetti.


     I loved how there were so many things to do and see, everyday we had a new plan! We went to the Colosseum one day and it was cool because you always see so  many pictures of it.  Then you saw it and it was so big and amazing. Fortunately, we got our tickets at a little corner with a very little line other than the very very long line for tickets at the Colosseum.

     When we got in it felt like you were transported back to the time it was used.  The Colosseum was used for fighting against Gladiators and animals like tigers and hippos.  Inside was a huge stadium where people would come to watch the fights.   Under the stage floor you could see lifts and secret passageways where animals and gladiators would come out of the floor. It was very amazing!

Pantheon

Pantheon Dome

     We went to the Pantheon which is a church with the biggest unsupported dome in the world.  At the top of the dome there is a big hole purposefully put there and if it rains, the water comes right inside the Pantheon.  The floor is slightly slanted so the water runs right out to the drainage system that was part of the original design.  I thought it was interesting.
   
We had a tour of the Vatican one day and the guide brought us around to see Michaelangelo and Raphael's art in the Sistine Chapel and also in St. Peter's Basilica.  When we stepped into St. Peter's, I couldn't believe how big and beautiful it was.

St Peter's Square - Vatican.  So close to our place!

St Peter's Basilica

 In the dome of the church you could see a little person up in it; they looked really small and gave me perspective for how huge it is.  Our guide pointed  to a window and said that if the window was opened, the Pope was in Rome.  He was!
     Rome was my favorite place we visited.  I had a wonderful time!

Palatine Hills - ancient Roman ruins

Our great friends - Post Belgium

Ella, Thomas, Callie & Camryn - Tiger area - France Zoo

<Derik> We landed a bit tired after our one hour flight from Koh Samui to Bankok and 12 hour flight from Bangkok to Zurich Switzerland.  The time change wasn’t as bad as we had previously, only 5 hours.

A super quick dash through customs and snatched up the bags, a local sim card, and rental car pick-up, and we were on to a local hotel for the evening.

No Santa sightings

The next morning we were up at 6:00am (no alarm necessary, thank you time change) and were on the road by 7:45am.  Driving in Europe is a piece of cake, although my manual shift clutch work took a an hour or two (and a sore neck) to smooth out. 

You tend to forget the geography of Europe is a lot different than home.  Over the course of the drive from Zurich to Post, Belgium, we left Switzerland into France.  We decided to take a 20 minute detour and travel into Germany where we had lunch in a cute little village named St. Nikolas.  We went to a small restaurant for some schnitzel and beer which was great.

The Blockhaus restaurant -  Germany

From Germany we made a quick drive through Luxembourg and then to Post, Belgium where we met with Annaleen and Jacque and their children, Nicholas, Thomas, and Ella.  It had been far too long since we’d seen them and to have both families together was truly memorable.  Amazing meals, wine, laughs, and a trip to a great zoo made for a tremendous visit.

Sleeping is hard work

cheese fondue - Laussane, Switzerland

Fondue in a 300 year old resturant

Breakfast - Post Belgium

We then were off to Lausanne, Switzerland on the shore of Lake Geneva/Leman.  It is a gorgeous city on a great lake.  We took a ferry across the lake to Evian, France for a crepe lunch, toured the Olympic museum, rented a peddle-boat with a slide on it and went out into the lake for swim to cool off as it has been in the mid 90’s here.  We wrapped up our time with a farewell dinner of cheese fondue and some great beer which was amazing even in light of the high temperatures.

On the Lake and cooling off! - Lausanne, Switzerland

View from Olympiqu museum - Laussane, Switzerland

Crepes in Evian, France

We are off to Geneva by car, dropping off the rental, and then heading to Rome by air.  Here we go!

Our Hotel's Beach!

 

<Cathy>  Koh Samui is an island off the East coast of Thailand – what a great place to relax and play!  It’s plenty tropical, very relaxed, and all about slowing down and taking life as it comes.  We stayed on Choeng Mon beach –Northeast corner of the island.  It was significantly quieter than other parts of the island, yet with enough restaurants and action to keep it fun.  We were right on the beach and spend most days deciding whether we would hang poolside or beachside – tough choices I know! 

Thai Foot Massages

There are Thai massages offered everywhere.  If you’ve never had a Thai massage, it’s a cross between a massage, sports stretching regime, and acrobatic routine.  Don’t be deceived…these petite Thai women can pack a powerful blow.  I’m pretty sure we all had a foot massage or Thai massage every day we were in Koh Samui and it felt amazing!  They run about 200-250 Thai baht for an hour massage – roughly $6-$7.50.  

On Thursday, we caught a 10 minute ride into center town and just hung out at the beach while the kids bodysurfed the day away.  Such a fun and relaxing day for all of us.  We haven’t seen temps below 85 degrees since leaving Minnesota and at the heat of the day, it was mid to upper 90s most of the time.  The water was pretty warm and salty, but still refreshing. 

Night Market!

Jet Skiing in the Gulf of Thailand

On Wednesday night, we walked around the little town and much to our surprise, there was a night market and the town had sprung to life!  Food vendors, jewelry, lanterns, incense and essential oils, etc.  I tried these sweet & sour peanut pot stickers – and had to go back for seconds.  They steam the wrap on a piece of plastic wrap stretched across a boiling pot of water.  Next add the filling, gently close it up and serve with a sprinkling of toasted garlic.  Seriously good eats.

<Callie> July 10^th - Today was definitely my favorite day in Koh Samui for many reasons, one was that I turned 12!  Here’s how the day went: we woke up, went to town and stopped at a Starbucks to get breakfast.  After that, I decided I wanted to explore the town a little more, so we went and walked around for a while then took a Saong tow (Truck/Taxi) back to the resort. We rented a jet ski and we each got 20 minutes to ride. It was really fun, especially in the ocean!

Afterwards, Camryn and I swam in the ocean for only a minute.  Then mom and dad brought us to a little boat which brought us to a big catamaran boat with sails.  There were 3 men on the boat named Bernie- Captain, Fred-Helped with sails, and Phillip- the cook. They would take us on a 6 hour boat ride around the islands!  Camryn and I had no idea, what a great surprise! 

Callie at the helm!

Birthday Kisses!

Phillip made us some really great snacks and also a surprise Oreo birthday cake! They took us to a private beach area.   We didn’t go on the beach but we jumped off the side of the boat and had a good time…except for one thing.  Every time you jumped off the boat in a matter of seconds little dots of pain would come to you.  We all assumed it was from the saltwater but it was painful and felt like something was burning you. We asked Bernie what it was and he said it was little plankton or jellyfish attaching to you that caused the pain!  They brought us back and we watched the sunset then said our goodbyes.