My Two Week Europe Trip with my Dad and Oma!

Hello all my Family and Friends!

So, it's been a little while since I wrote about any adventures. The reason for this is because I was getting ready and saving up for my latest one, which I am going to tell you all about now. Two and a half weeks ago I caught a train to London Heathrow Airport to meet with my Oma, who was staying for two weeks, and my Dad, who was staying for a month. I was very excited to see them as I hadn't seen them, besides skype, for over eight months. Upon leaving the airport we took the train to the London Luton Airport area where we stayed at the Stockwood Hotel for the night. We had a mixed grill and black pudding for supper at an irish pub nearby before calling it a day.

The next morning we were up very early as we had to be at the airport for 4am to catch our 6am flight to the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Once we arrived in Paris we made our way to the Boissiere Hotel. After checking in we took a taxi to the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower turned out to be very popular that day. It also didn't help that one of the elevators was out of service due to repairs. The line up ended up taking over two and a half hours. Since we were in line so long we decided that there was no point in only seeing the first couple floors of the tower and took the elevator all the way to the top. The view from the very top was something I would encourage everyone to see. When we left the Eiffel Tower we took a cruise on the River Seine and passed by such landmarks as the Louvre Museum and Notre Dame. After our cruise down the river was done we took a taxi back to our hotel, had supper at a nearby restaurant, and then went to bed.

When we woke up the next day we had a complimentary breakfast at the hotel and then caught our train to Bayeux, where we were going to the nearby Juno Beach Centre, the only Canadian museum in Normandy. When we got there we walked around the beach and area where the Canadian forces landed on D-Day. After a fairly good walk around the area we went into the centre itself and had a very educational tour of the museum. The museum contained a lot of information on the Canadian contribution and influence on the Second World War. Oma said it brought back a lot of memories. We then exited through the gift shop and took a cab back to Bayeux, where we had supper. After supper we caught the train back to Paris.

The next day was mostly a travelling day as we left France from Paris Orly Airport to fly to Switzerland. We touched down in Geneva where we caught a train to the capital city of Bern (Just a side note: my Great Grandpa Stauffer was born in one of the surrounding towns outside Bern). When we arrived in Bern we took a short walk to the Sorel Hotel Ador. After booking into our hotel we went for supper and then went back to our hotel to relax after a long day of travelling.

We started to see what Bern had to offer the next day when we went to the bear park where bears have been kept in the city since 1513. The legend goes that the city founder named the city after the first animal killed during a hunt when the city was founded in 1191. After a good visit at bear park we bought some souvenirs and ice cream. We then took the Gurten Bahn trolley up to to the top of Gurten Mountain where we walked around the park on top before heading back down for supper at the Spaghetti Factory. When we finished supper Oma gave a call to the father-in-law (Ernst) and mother-in-law (Hedi) of one of Dad's friends (Urnst and Doris) from Stettler to see if we could go for a visit the next day. Oma made the call because Ernst and Hedi only speak swiss and not a word of english and Oma's trilingual (English, Swiss, and German). Ernst and Hedi said they would love to tour us around the area they lived (40 minutes outside of Bern) and have us for lunch the next day. So, Dad and I went to train station to buy tickets for our next day journey.

The next morning we took the train to the municipality of Belp, where Ernst said he would pick us up from the train station. Before we went to his home in Riggisberg (That's really close to being Rigginsberg, don't you think?) Ernst showed us around the area. He first took us to a farm where they kept cows and goats and then continued onto his son and daughter-in-law's place where his daughter-in-law showed us around their dairy farm. We then stopped at the church where Urnst and Doris got married and then walked through the cemetery where we found the graves of a few people with the last name Stettler. We then made our way to Ernst and Hedi's house (also dairy farmers) where we met his son, Andrew, who was in the process of sawing and splitting wood. Before going into the house for lunch Ernst and Andrew gave us a little tour of the farm with one of the highlights being the big wood splitter on the back of the John Deere tractor. We then went into the house for lunch where we met Hedi who had prepared us a delicious meal of salad with noodles topped with veal and then finished with swiss cheese. They were very hospitable. I'm sure they would have fed us all day if we had let them. After the meal they showed us pictures of their family and we had a nice long visit. Oma did a great job translating so Dad and I could understand. We then had a group picture, said thank you and goodbye, and then we jumped back in the car and headed back to the train station. On the way back to the station we stopped at the cheese factory of the second best cheese makers in the world and bought some swiss cheese. When we arrived at the station we said thank you and goodbye to Ernst and headed back to Bern. Upon getting back to Bern Oma bought some swiss chocolate before we had supper and then finished the day at the hotel.

On our last full day in Switzerland we had breakfast at the hotel before catching our train back to Geneva. When we arrived in Geneva we checked into the Hotel St. James and then went for lunch. After lunch we went for a nice walk along the shore of Lake Geneva. Next we hung around the hotel for a bit before going for cheese fondue for supper. When we finished supper we went back to the hotel and played some cards before going to bed.

It was another early morning the next day when we left the hotel and caught a taxi to Geneva Airport. Our flight landed at the Venice Marco Polo Airport, starting the Italy part of our trip. Leaving the airport we caught the shuttle bus into Venice where we checked into the Hotel Locanda Salieri and proceeded to have the first of many pizza, pasta, and gelato dinners. When we were done lunch we took the water bus to St. Mark's Square. At the square we walked around for a bit admiring the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica before taking the elevator to the top of the Campanile. While we were at the top of the Campanile the bells went off thus experiencing the first and and only time I've been at the top of a bell tower when the bells have sounded. Next we descended the bell tower and took the water bus back to the Piazzale Roma for a supper of carbonara and tiramisu before going to bed.

After breakfast Dad got to check a life long dream off his bucket list when we took a gondola ride down the Grand Canal to the train station. Shortly thereafter we caught our train to Florence. After a couple hour train ride we arrived in Florence. We then checked into the Hotel Etrusca, had a supper of pizza and gelato, played some cards, and then had even more gelato. We then went back to the hotel and got ready for our next full day in Florence.

The next morning we got up bright and early to get a good spot in the line at the Galleria dell'Accademia, "The Museum where David Lives." On our way there we stopped at an Italian coffee shop for breakfast and then still managed to be within ten feet of the front door of the museum. Seeing the original Michelangelo's David has always been something I've wanted to see and I'm very happy I got to see it. As it turned out it was very good thing that we showed up early as when we were leaving the line for the entrance was half way down the block. We continued on down the street and came to the Duomo (The Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower). We spent some time admiring the inside and outside of the basilica before continuing on to the Piazza della Signoria, where we had lunch at a restaurant where Kathleen and I had lunch while we were in Florence. After lunch we looked at some of the copies of statues in the square such as David and Hercules and Cacus. We then walked around the streets of Florence for a bit before having yet another supper of delicious pizza and gelato.

We caught another train the next day from Florence to our last Italian stop, Pisa. Our day in Pisa was wonderful. We first checked into the Hotel Francesco and then bought an all day access pass to all the museums and sights that the "Field of Miracles" had to offer. We toured through the Cathedral, the Baptistry and the Camposanto cemetery before Oma took a rest in the shade while Dad and I climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa. After Dad and I took in the views from the top of the tower we climbed down the tower and went and saw two nearby museums. We then went for supper and then spent the rest of the evening at the hotel where we could see the leaning tower from our balcony.

When we woke up we went and had omelettes for breakfast. Halfway through breakfast I heard someone yell "Hoagie!" from across the street. My initial reaction was that I was hearing things. It turned out to be one of those "it's a small world" moments when Darrel Baltimore (my Uncle Joe and Auntie Joan's nephew from Uncle Joe's side of the family) and his wife Mari-Anne walked across the street and said hello. After a short visit with them we finished breakfast and then checked out of our hotel. We then proceeded to catch a taxi to the Pisa Airport and then a plane to London Stansted Airport. By time we took a train to Collingham Place and got checked in it was time to take Oma for a Mother's Day supper and then go to bed.

For our day in London we started off by taking the tube to Westminster Station and seeing Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben. We then had a lunch of fish and chips at a traditional English pub and then took a ride on the London Eye. After the ride on the London Eye we took the tube to Baker Street and visited Madame Tussauds. Out of all the wax figures that we took pictures with Dad seemed to enjoy getting his picture taken with the Beatles and Elvis most of all. After a nice tour of Madame Tussauds we went for supper and then finished the day back at the hotel with a few games of spite and malice.

The last day of our trip we took our time getting ready. We went and had a traditional English breakfast and then headed to the Heathrow Airport to drop Oma off for her flight home. Once we got Oma through airport security Dad and I caught our train to Melton and then walked to my house in Bromeswell. Dad stayed the night and the next day we got him on a train for the west coast of England where the son of one of his friends is touring him around. Dad gets back to Bromeswell next week and then he's here for a week before he goes home. It was an amazing trip with my Dad and Oma and I'm really happy that I got to spend time with them.

Till next time,
Rocky