Nice, France. Thursday 31 May 2007

Thursday 31 May 2007 Nice, France

Day 7 Kumuka Tour

Set the alarm to wake us up at 6.30am, as Shirley has arranged for us to go to the laundromat together at 7.00am before breakfast.
Janet washes some of her stuff with Shirley's and Roy.  Seems they have different size washing machines, 6kg, 8kg, 10kg and they all cost different amounts.  We use the 8kg machine which costs us Euro4.20.  You need to select the machine number from a box on the wall and insert the amount when it asks for it and then the machine will start up. After starting it, we head back to the hotel for breakfast.

In the breakfast room, Jim and Tracey are already having breakfast.
After breakfast we head off to collect the laundry. Need to put it through the dryer. Drying cycle is 10min for Euro0.90. Need to put it through 3 cycles. Meet Kasey and Dana there waiting for their clothes to dry.As we wait for the clothes to dry, Casey, uses his laptop to check email.

After we bring our clothes back, we head on down to the old town.  Shirley gets me to lead the way as she is always hurrying, and this is suppose to be a leisure day.  We make our way down the main Rue de Republique, which is currently undergoing major road works...looks like they are laying down tram or train lines.

9.30am We follow the signs to the Chateau, going past a little square that has a fish market, which is on a hill over looking the city. It has panoramic views of the city.  We need to climb stairs and a sloping path.  We've taken the back way up.  It leads us to the cemetery and from there we make our way to the highest point, which has great views of Nice.

10.30am From the Chateau we can see the markets where we are off to next.  So climbing down the many steps we make it down.  Lucky we came up the back way, not as many steps as the front way.

11.00am Get to the market and they have lots of different stalls selling fruits, bread, meats, fish. sweets and confectionery. There is also a flower market section. Roy buys a huge punnet of strawberries. Janet buys some raspberries and cherries.  Jim buys some cherries and Shirley and Casey buy some bananas, as well as some pastries.

From the markets we head into the old town, coming to a cathedral. Walking down narrow pathways, with lots of shops, clothes, jewellery, food, past lots of ice cream shops. Roy and Casey end up buying ice cream at Euro2.00 for one scoop.

We find ourselves walking back past the fish markets which has packed up.  Some of the group are busting for the WC, I'm on the look out for lunch and Shirley wants to go sit and eat lunch by the sea.  We get to the seaside and it is cold, no one is on the pebbly beach, so we decide to go back to the market place and find a cafe or restaurant where I can order mussels and the rest some form of drink so we can sit in the shelter away from the rain.

1.00pm After checking out all the restaurants/cafes we end up at a place called Restaurant Atmosphere Cafe. The first place we had looked at. I order the Moules Frites Marinare - mussels in white sauce with a side dish of fries, while Janet orders the Frito Misto -seafood basket fried which has calimari, whitebait, prawns and fish cubes. Roy orders a pizza and Casey orders a Calzone (folded pizza). Sit and eat our lunch and watch the world go by in the drizzling rain.

2.00pm After lunch we split up and Casey, Shirley and Roy head back to the Hotel. Jim, Tracey, Janet and I go for the hunt of post cards...walking past shops on the way.  I buy my Eiffel Tower gold charm Euro59.00 which I eyed previously, while Janet and co bump into Mark and Selina eating at a place just opposite the jewellery store.

3.00pm Get back to the hotel.  Decide to go use the free internet at the laundromat and spin dry some clothes that at still wet. Have problems with connection until I remove my IP and DNS. Chat to Justin.  Send emails.

5.00pm Back at hotel. Typing up diary, while Janet takes a nap, I join her at 6.00pm setting the alarm just in case...but get up before it goes off.

We try the kettle again, but still not working, so borrow the element off Casey and Shirley to boil our water and have our 3 minute noodle.


7.30pm Have dinner of 3 minute noodles and vegies bought at Monoprix supermarket on the way back. Watching Who Wants to be a Millionaire in french. Shower, pack and continue typing up diary.

11.00pm Sleep.

Emails from Nice, France

Email sent Thursday 31 May 2007

"Bonjour
Janet and I are currently using free internet at a laundromat waiting for clothes to dry, nope..sorry..clothes have dried..we're now just using free net.
Although it has been great so far, our trip has been marred by rain. In Paris, we got caught on the Eiffel Tower when a huge electrical thunderstorm blew in while we were queuing to get to the top..only got half way and Janet and I had to climb down the stairs in the rain, because the lifts weren't working. Janet and I decided early on to go down, while the rest of our group were queuing to get to the top, but somehow they beat us down and were already on the bus. When we got down, we couldn't find our tour bus...as it was we were running late, panic!!! we ran all around the base of the Eiffel Tower looking for the dammed tour bus. At least we weren't the last ones down. We bused it to dinner with 4 people missing..the bus had to go back for them after dropping us off at the restaurant. That same night we went to see the show at Moulin Rouge. The bus dropped us off, but we had to make our own way back to the hotel after the show...gee is it hard to get a taxi...especially for 4 people..they just won't take you, in the end, we had to split the group up, and some of us went with other people on the tour. Janet, Roy and me, managed to get the first taxi, hailed by Casey and Shirl, because they had 4 (Casey, Shirl, Mum and Dad), didn't get back to the hotel until after 1am in the morning.
Also, in Interlaken, Switzerland, we never made it to the very top of Europe either. We were suppose to catch a cog railway train up to Jungfraujoch, but due to a freak snowstorm..we got caught half way and had to wait it out up there, with no power, because the trees, heavy with snow had fallen onto the train power lines. Saw lots of fresh snowfall...like 1-2 metres in 5 hours. Heard tell, it was the 2nd time in 12 years that the locals had seen snow fall like that. When we did manage to get a train down, it stopped at the changeover and again, we had to wait it out...felt certain that we would never make it down that day, some of the people in our tour group asked a publican to line up beds for the night, just in case. What an adventure.
We visited Monaco and took photos of the Casino last night. It was a beautiful day and night, unlike today..which is again raining. Headed out this morning, overcast, to the Chateau which overlooks Nice and has panoramic views of the city. From there we went to the markets and flower markets. Walked the many narrow streets full of shops. Had lunch in the marketplace, sitting in a cafe. Ordered Mussels and Fries, while Janet had the Seafood platter..all fried. Casey and Roy both had pizzas. So yummy..that pot of mussels was huge. Anyway the rain must be following us around Europe. Because of the rain, can't do much sightseeing when you're walking, so we decided to come to the laundromat to dry off our washing from this morning.
Tomorrow we head for Florence and continue to Rome, Venice, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris,London and then back home.
If I get time, I may forward some of our pics to you guys.

Ok..time to go back to the hotel."

Annecy, France to Nice, France. Wednesday 30 May 2007

Wednesday 30 May 2007 Annecy, France to Nice, France

Day 6 Kumuka Tour

6.00am Wake up. Had set alarm for 6.45am

7.30am Go down to breakfast. Sneak an egg and ham roll for lunch and an orange.

8.30am Checkout. On the coach and on the road travelling to Nice. Not sleepy, so take out laptop and try to update diary entries.

10.30am Piss stop, 20 min break...I don't need to go, so I sit outside and try typing up diary on laptop.

11.00am On the road again by 11am.

1.00pm Lunch stop.  Only given 30 mins for lunch. We stop at a huge rest stop that has a dining area over the highway.  As I don't need to pee, I go straight to some outdoor seating area to have my bread roll and a packet of chips "Fritelle" Legeres and Croustillantes - like french fries but chip style.  Also eat my orange.

1.30pm Back on the coach and on our way.  Julia puts on a dvd, Shrek 1, the movie.  I doze off, Janet also dozes off.

4.00pm As we come into the Nice, the weather looks great, the sun is out and the beaches are full of sun bathers...topless ones too as we are pointed out too, while in the coach. The sea is so blue. We reach the Hotel Apogia in Nice by 4.30pm.  Check in and because we are going out to dinner tonight, we take out our finery to wear.  Janet has a shower.  I soak our washing, ready to wash and hang up when I have my shower after the night out.

5.30pm We meet out in the lobby.  Everyone is dressed up to the nines, although some are still more casual than dressy...those that are not going into the Casino in Monte Carlo. On the coach we go from Nice to Monaco with one photo stop on the way.

We are dropped off in a parking lot which is under the Oceanographic Museum or Aquarium.  We need to walk pass the church where Prince Rainer and Grace Kelly got married.  The restaurant, Saint-Nicolas, where we are having our meal is just opposite the church, near a fountain.  Since we are early, Julia takes us to the Royal Palace which is further up some narrow paths.  We take photos of the palace, the guards as well as views from the outlooks.

7.00pm Dinner.  Sitting at a table for eight, we are joined by Julia. We start with our drinks order.  Janet gets a pineapple juice or ananas jus, while I get a Orangina...fizzy orange drink. Our entre is a tuna salad...scrumptious as we are all starving.  Next we are served beef buillabaise or is it beef bourginon??? anyway, it's stewed beef with rice on the side.  Roy, because he can't eat beef gets a special order...he orders fried white bait and fries.  For dessert we are given the option of cheese, fruit salad (JT and TK), ice cream (RL, CT, JK) or creme caramel (MT, SK). We all order one of these except for the cheese.

After paying for our drinks we are back on the coach to be dropped off at the back of the Casino...have to go around a building, up a lift, and then to walk to the entrance of the Casino.  Those that are going in have to pay Euro10.00 each, as well have have their passports ready to be checked. We are told to meet back at the coach drop off by 10.45pm, otherwise the coach will drive off and you will need to catch a taxi back which would cost approximately Euro160.00

Shirley's dad goes in, while the rest of our group decide not to be tempted, and instead walk around outside.  Because they have just held the Grand Prix, scaffolding and seats still line the roads and fences and barriers block pedestrian access.  We do some window shopping outside stores such as Celine, LV, Prada, Chanel, etc.  Casey takes photos of all the expensive cars parked on the side of the road.

We kill time until 10.15pm, then we sit outside the Casino, on a shop column, flower box, killing time, trying to spot anyone famous, unfortunately, no one famous is in town.  We're fascinated by a traffic stopper that is right in the middle of the road, which I sit on, but say in jest that it might just go down on me, as it is at a road entrance. Later on, we see valet parking come along, move a metal object to a certain point and the thing goes down. As we are walking back to the coach, Shirley and I both go to where we think it was that the metal object was moved over, as we both point our toes, the thing moves down...abracadabra...Roy wants to try too, but then is conscious that he is being watched.

10.45pm All on board the coach.  Drive back to the hotel, and I have my shower and wash the clothes.  Don't get to bed until after 12 midnight.

Interlaken, Switzerland to Annecy, France. Tuesday 29 May 2007

Tuesday 29 May Interlaken, Switzerland to Annecy, France

Day 5 Kumuka Tour

6.20am Wake up.

7.00am Seated for breakfast, and have scrambled eggs with saugages. Make myself a ham, devon sandwich, and grab a hard boiled egg as well. Have cereal with apricot an peaches for brekkie.

8.30am Checkout. Need to carry own bags to lobby. Load our bags onto coach.

8.45am Travel to Lake Geneve.  As we head out of Interlaken we pass a car that has run into a tour bus, we all thank god it is not our tour bus...that would have been the last straw.

It was still raining when we left Interlaken, but as we drive to Geneve, it clears up, although clouds remain. Need to go through lots of tunnels, and pass many fields and farms of poppies, lavender, etc.  Apparently, not much commentary, unlike our Canadian tour.

12.00noon Arrive at Geneve. We have 2 hours for lunch. So we walk around the old town after visiting the Information Center.  Mark and Selina decide to follow us, as they have no idea where to go.  After walking round the town, we head back to the lake, taking photos of the spouting fountain - a bit like Canberra's, and pass the floral clock. We have our packed lunch by the lake, check out the souvenir stalls on the lakeside. 

2.00pm Back on the coach and on our way to Annecy.

3.00pm Arrive at Annecy. Check into hotel? We are first to get our room 211, have 15 mins to freshen up and its into town to walk around the old town. Stop in at post office to buy stamps for postcards. While we do that, Shirley and Casey look at shoes, Shirley ends up buying a pair. Visit the Chateau, the Isle d' Palais, buy ice cream, and walk the canal to the lakeside for the views.  Very cold, but refreshing.  Sprinkles now and then, but rains holds off...sun even comes out.

Walk back to hotel, but pass shops along the way. Buy postcards and some necklaces for gifts.  Pass a shopping center called "Courier", pop in looking for supermarket, and go into Monoprix to buy water, chips, fruit.

6.00pm Back at hotel for quick shower.

7.15pm Meet in the foyer for group dinner. Julie takes us the long way to the restaurant.  We are seated with Casey, Shirley, Tracey and Jim.

9.00pm Head back to hotel, the quick way. Transfer photos and write up diary.

11.30pm Sleep.

Interlaken. Monday 28 May 2007

Monday 28 May 2007 Interlaken

Day 4 Kumuka Tour

7.55am Meet in lobby to walk (15min brisk walk in rain) as group, up to train station, Interlaken Ost, to catch train to Jungfrau. It is raining, and as we begin our journey up, the rain turns into snow, it looks like a winter wonderland, with the snow gently falling.

Need to change trains twice, before we get to Kleine Scheidegg, where we need to catch last train up to Jungfraujoch, but apparently they have a power failure, trees have fallen onto powerlines, and it may take some time to be fixed, so in the meantime, we are given a free drink voucher and herded indoors to the restaurant area.  There are quite a few tour groups stuck here.  Also find out that there are more people stuck up the top of the mountain as well as on a train half way up.  Seems they haven't seen snow like this in the last 12 years.  From the time we get there to the time we leave about a metre of snow has fallen.

Because we are a low priority group, they have put us to the end of the list to get down.  There is no going up to the top.  Once they get the trains running, we still need to wait around. seems like we're the last ones down from that station.  Anyway, while we wait we look around the souvenir shops.  There is a small one attached to the station, which doesn't stock much.  I end up buying a beanie for Justin here. Hope he wears it.  As I wait for Janet and Tracey, I notice a man ploughing a pathway to some shops further up.  Decide to go investigate...seems there is a bigger shop, which stocks so many knick knacks and souvenir items. Janet ends up buying some swiss bread/cake holders, and is given an eidelweiss flower plus a discount.

Others in the group just sit in the restaurant or bar areas and drink and chat to pass the time. It is still snowing, at times, falling fast. Like being in a snow dome.

2.00pm We're finally told we can catch a train down, have to trudge through snow and icy path to get to the train.  Very slippery. Because there are so many people trying to get down, we end up having to stand. Get to Wengen and told to change trains. Hop onto train, but they announce that there is a problem and we will have to wait until 4.00pm before trains may start running again, so we hop off and go for a wander of the shops at Wengen.

Casey walks into a watch/jewellery shop, intent on buying watch for Shirley. We end up going in as well, and end up buying necklaces and swarovski crystal (Missy Moo - crystal cow) Shirley's mum buys the pink version. In the end, Shirley, Casey & Jim end up buying a watch each. We all buy something from this one shop.

4.00pm We head back to the train station, to be told that trains are still not running, and we will have to wait and see, so we all head off to a bar where some of the others have been passing the time. The bar is run by a kiwi, called Colin.

5.00pm Comes around there is still no good news, so Vaughn takes the initiative and asks Colin to book accommodation for the whole group (34 of us, including Coco the bus driver) at the YHA, just in case we are stranded here for the night.  After some urging from us, we get Coco to find out what is going on, apparently the trains are running but it will only get us to the next stop which is Lauterbrunnen and from there we will need to get a bus back to Interlaken. That's fine with us, so long as we get down, so at 5.20pm, we head to the trains. Because there are 3 trains on the platform, we all want to get on the one going down first.  There are already people on many of the trains, they have been sitting there all that time.  Finally we are directed onto the train that will be heading down first, lucky it is the one, that no one has thought will be going first, we all rush for the doors, laughing at those in our group that have got on the other train.  As the train starts up and leaves the station, we all give a cheer. Finally on our way down.

Get to Lauterbrunnen, would have been great to walk this little village, but we all just want to get back to the hotel and we have to queue for the bus.  Jeers are given to those who want to cut in front. But when the buses arive, there is enough for all of us. The bus takes us back to Interlaken Ost, From here we all walk back to the hotel looking forward to a shower and a hot meal. We are all happy to hear we will be getting a full refund of our money.

Get back to our room looking forward to a bowl of 3min noodle, but Janet has problems getting the kettle to work, so we end up going out to buy doner kebab and fries takeaway.

Paris, France to Interlaken, Switzerland. Sunday 27 May 2007

Sunday 27 May 2007  Paris, France to Interlaken, Switzerland

Day 3 Kumuka Tour

7am Breakfast.

7.50am Checkout and on the bus at 8.00am ready to go.

9.50am is our first stop at a service station, 20 mins piss stop. Lucky there are lots of cubicles. Also buy a salad to go with our ham rolls.

10.10am Back on the road and Julia gives us the tour spiel.  What she doesn't do...hand hold, no first aid, not a bank, etc.  What she does do...takes us from one point to the next, gives us basic information and leaves us to do our own thing. She has only been doing this for 2 years with this being her 2nd trip doing this tour...she had just finished her first one.

After her spiel, she asks for a volunteer to start off telling us about themselves and why they are on this tour. When they are done, they need to pick another person, etc. This passes the time and before we know it, we have reached our lunch time stop at 12.15.  Only given 30 mins for lunch.  We decide to eat outdoors, whilst most of the group go indoors to buy hot food. Roy buys hot chips.

2.30pm We cross the Swiss border.

Another rest stop at 3.30pm

4.15pm Drive through Bern

5.00pm Arrive at Hotel in Interlaken. Given room which is not in main part of building...again have to cart luggage to furthest part.

5.30pm Meet in lobby to go for a walk on our own as a little group.  Given vouchers to free souvenir spoon, so head for the shop.  End up buying swiss army knife & torch, as well as tweezers.

Walk up and back, checking out souvenir shops along the way. Get back to hotel at 7.00pm, to get ready for dinner.

8.00pm Meet in lobby for dinner.  Walk down street to Bebbe's Restaurant which serves traditional Swiss meal.  Start with salad, followed by cheese fondue (which has schnapps in it) eaten with pieces of bread.  We sit as a group of 7. Given 2 servings each time. This is followed by hash browns and chicken with mushroom sauce...very salty. For dessert, it's a chocolate fondue with pieces of fruit (banana, apple, strawberry and pear)..very nice...not too chocolatey.

10.00pm Get back to hotel and wash clothes. Sleep.

Paris. Saturday 26 May 2007

Paris Saturday 26 May 2007

Day 2 Kumuka Tour

7.30am Wake up - almost sleep in. Free day on our own.

8.00am Breakfast of Croissant, ham on bread, yoghurt, orange juice. Try to boil a hard boiled egg, but not successful..must be frozen eggs. Join Tracey and Jim for breakfast.

9.00am On the bus to get dropped off at the Musee d'Orsay.  Roy misses the bus.  We almost miss it, but because there are several of us, it stops to pick us up as it is just about to drive off.

Sms Roy to meet up with us at the Musee d'Orsay.  He has the catch the metro.  We walk to the Louvre, so sms Roy to meet us there.  The others go in to the Louvre, while I wait outside.  I walk around the outside, studying the facade.  The others are in the Louvre working their way into see the Mona Lisa...lucky we arrive pretty early to miss the crowds.  They get lost trying to find their way out.  Roy arrives 15 mins later, seems he caught metro from Cour St Emillion to Pyramides station.  He goes in, while I continue to wait outside.

11.00am they finally come out.

Walk to Notre Dame past Concierge and St Germaine.

Go into Notre Dame, but don't climb the steps.  As we are taking photos outside, Janet spys, Ange and Marie, Bindy is also close by.  Take group photos, before we split and they go their way and we go ours.  Walk around the Notre Dame to catch Metro to Montmarte, Chateau Rouge Metro, which is at the back of Sacre Coer. Walk up street using GPS and get to the back steps of the Sacre Coer. The Khors are tiring.  Go into Sacre Coer. Free to go in. Impressive mosaic on ceiling. Walk around to artists corner, looking for impressive views that Quan recommended.  Cannot find, so walk back to the Funicular.  It is out of order, so we walk down the front steps and down the street to the Anvers Metro to catch the metro to the Arc de Triomphe at Charles de Gaulle station. The Khors stay down, while the rest of us tackle the circular staircase to the top.  Because it is an overcast day, the views aren't too great.

After we get down, we head back to the Metro to catch the metro to Tolbiac. We need to change stations twice. Get out and Casey and Roy lead the way.  They apparently walk the other way to where we should be heading, only realise it when we are like 2 blocks away and the streets are not corresponding to the map. So we turn back and walk the other way.  Pass a fruit shop, so we buy some fruits, for the trip. Sms Bindy to find out where the restaurant is...seems we walked straight past it, and walked in the opposite direction, the Khors, Janet and I refuse to walk further, whilst Roy, Casey and Shirley go in search of the restaurant.  As we're waiting, the Khors and Janet wait in a laundromat..using the seats.  I position myself with my GPS trying to find the streets that Bindy has given us. Hear Bindy's doc doc sound...and spy them on the corner..she points out the restaurant...we are standing directly opposite it.

I sms Roy telling them to head back to where we were...apparently they thought we were following them.  Have pho at Restaurant Pho 14. Can't all sit together, so we have 2 tables. Order small pho, and ice lemon tea (not very sweet). Also share a plate of fried egg rolls - like spring rolls.

Mr Khor pays for us all treating Ange and Bindy and Maria.  We pay him back when we are in Interlaken.

After dinner we say farewell and catch the metro back to the hotel...with Roy leading the way, as he knows how to get there from this morning.

We only have 30 minutes to get ready to meet the rest of the tour group for our River Seine cruise. The bus leaves at 8.00pm for Bateaux Mouche and our 1 hour cruise of the Seine. It is overcast and sprinkling, but holds off while we are on the boat.

10.00pm After getting of the boat and waiting for 10 mins, we watch as the Eiffel Tower is illuminated with sparkling lights. Take photos, before boarding the bus back to the hotel.  Back at the hotel at 10.30pm. Packing at 11.00pm with sleep soon after.

London to Paris. Friday 25 May 2007

Train to Paris Friday 25 May 2007

Day 1 Kumuka Tour

5.45am Wake up. No time for breakfast, we are dressed and out the door by 6.15am. Need to carry our bags down 3 flights, cross the road and up Bus #73 to Pentonville Rise Stop PM. Walk down Weston Rise with our bags, no sign of hotel, so Janet goes into the Travel Lodge to ask directions. Need to keep walking down the street, a few more blocks..he said we couldn't miss it.  As we walk, getting hotter, so Janet stops to take her jacket off.  As she's doing that I see Casey, Shirley and co walking towards us on the other side of the road. We get to the Holiday Inn at 7am, right on time.  The guy there asks us for our Insurance forms.  In the end we need to fill out our details individually.  There are already some people there, but as we wait, more and more people arrive, from the accents, they are mostly Australian. We hope the guy is not our guide. He isn't very helpful. There is no meet and greet, there is no morning tea. When the coach arrives we all need to carry our own bags to the coach and help the driver load up.

The Coach drives us to Waterloo Station. We get there at 8.45am, again we have to carry own bags a far way to the station entrance. We have to wait at the inside entrance until 9.10am before we can go in through the ticket gates. After going through the automatic ticket gates, there is a security check. We need to carry our luggage up onto a conveyor belt and put our hand luggage through as well.  I set the alarm off going through the gates. Forgot I was wearing my metal belt. They frisk me and check my shoes. Collect my stuff and walk through passport control.  They check passports, then walk through another passport control, oops...I've missed getting my passport stamped, so am called back. Janet also missed getting hers stamped as well, so goes back to get it stamped. Once inside we need to wait for the guide who leads us to the other end of the terminal to a waiting area.  When its time to board the train, we go up escalators, but find that we need to lug our bags all the way back down the platform. My arms about to drop off, don't know about Janets. When we do get on the train, most of the luggage racks are taken, but the guide manages to make room for Janets, I get him to move some backpacks which can be placed on the overhead racks, so he can sling my bag on to the rack.

We have a 2 seater, but share our table with 2 others, one from our tour, her name is Leah, it's her first trip overseas on her own.

2.00pm We arrive in Paris.  Again we go to one entrance to be told to follow our guide, Julia to another entrance where the coach is waiting. The bag is getting heavier and heavier. Need to wheel it to the coach parked across the road from the station, need to negotiate the gypsies asking "can you speak english".  The coach takes us through Paris to the Hotel Kyriad Bercy, which is in Bercy by 3.00pm.  We're told we have 30 mins to freshen up and we're back on the bus for a tour of the city. There is one photo stop for the Eiffel Tower and then back on the bus for more city tour.

5.00pm, we get to the Eiffel tower.  It's Euro11.00 to go up. All of us go.  We're told to meet back on the bus at 6.00pm.  I'm thinking there is no way we can go up and be back down that quickly.  By the time we get up to the 2nd floor, big black clouds roll in and and electrical storm is upon us.  Rain pelts down.  Janet and I decide to head back down.  Visibility is zero.  We look for a lift that is going down, finally we're directed to go down the stairs to the next floor.  There we find a queue for the lifts, but after waiting 30 mins, there is still no sign of the lift.  We are joined by a girl from our tour, Christina. She heads off to find another way down.  In the meantime I get a sms from Roy or Casey saying they are already on the bus and waiting for us.  Panic buttons, oh no..better find a way to get down. Finally go through some gates to the stairs, run all the way down to the first floor.  Again we can't find stairs that aren't blocked.  So again we go through the gates and run down to the bottom, as we go down we're trying to find our coach. The three of us head to where we think it's parked, but it ends up that it is not our coach, oh no...keep running, we end up going all around the base of the tower, looking for a familiar landmark. Finally see the avenue which we walked up, so head down towards it, and bump into Julia heading towards us with an umbrella.  Apparently there are others who still haven't returned to the bus.  She directs us to were the bus is going to be, as it is coming to park closer to the tower. Have to wait in the rain. Board the bus looking like drowned rats.  Lucky my pants and top is quick drying.

As we head off to dinner, we're missing 4 from the tour group.  The bus drops us off at the restaurant, and goes back to pick up the missing 4.  We have dinner at Le Peirot, sitting with Leah and Celeste. We have a choice of entre...most settle for the vegie soup.  Then I have steak, while Janet has chicken, for dessert I have Chocolate mousse (very chocolaty), while Janet has the lemon tart.

9.30pm After dinner we are dropped off back at the hotel, so we can shower and change ready to get the bus back out to the Moulin Rouge Euro89.00

10.30pm Back on the bus to the Moulin Rouge.  Need to queue...don't remember lines this long. When we get in, we're seated at tables which are behind poles and don't have to good a view of the stage.

1.30am After the show we need to catch a taxi back to the hotel. We end up having to walk the length of the street away from the Moulin Rouge looking for a taxi. Casey hails a cab, but it won't take a group of 4, so he gives the taxi to Roy, Janet and I. We get back to the hotel by 2.30am.  Find out that they eventually get a taxi but need to split the groups and share taxis.

What a long day.

Chelsea Flower Show, London. Thursday 24 May 2007

Thursday 24 May 2007 Chelsea Flower Show

Wake up early, still not used to time zone.  Hang up washing from last night and put in load of dark colours to wash.

After breakfast of cereal, Bindy, Ange, Ange's mum, Marie, Janet and I  head off to the Chelsea Flower Show.  Walking down to Angel, we catch the bus to Sloane Square, and walk to the entrance...following the crowds all heading to the show as well.  Just like the Easter show only more people.  There is a bag search before we get in, then there is a sea of people. Can't believe that so many people would be interested, but looks like there is.  The people cover the path which is lined on both sides by stalls selling gardening stuff, floral displays, artwork, etc.

We head towards the outdoor exhibits, looking for the Aussie stand - not impressive, but won a silver award. After seeing some of the ouside exhibits we head into the Main Pavilion at 11.35am to see the floral displays. We split into 2 groups. So many flowers with many colours of the one variety. Roses, Irises, Paeonies, Pansies, etc, Janet knows them all.  Even cactus, mushrooms, exotic tropical plants, bonsais.  We all take photos madly of the sea of colours...so many will end up as screen savers. Only have seen the outer displays, we save the inner ones for after lunch.

1.00pm We have lunch in a restaurant/cafeteria. I have a chicken/mayo sandwich, while Janet has a ham roll.  We share. Bindy has salad. After lunch we split up again, and continue looking at the displays.

2.40pm We line up to get into the floral/bouquet art display. One way traffic and very stuffy.

3.15pm Back outside and we make our way towards the exit. Looking at the many stalls and displays which we haven't seen. Janet looks in the souvenir stalls, but they are chockers, with people queueing so ends up not buying anything.

4.00pm We catch a taxi to Harrods, Ange calculates the it would be cheaper than catching a bus. and we end up paying $5.00 for the taxi ride. At Harrods we head straight for the food court.  It's like David Jones but bigger. We split up with Bin, Ange and Marie, having a coffee break, while Janet and I walk the many floors of Harrods, checking out how the other half lives.  Find out there are so many different escalators, all with different themes.

5.30pm Head back to Bindy and Ange's. Split up again, but Ange and Marie beat us back, they ended up catching the tube, while we catch the bus. On the walk back we stop to buy water for our journey the next day.

When we get back collect washing, fold and put away.

We invite Roy over to join us for dinner, as Casey and Shirley are going out to see Mary Poppins.  Roy says he'll only come over if he can cook, so we say sure.  He ends up cooking the stir fry vegies. We have left over duck with pancake, BBQ chicken, steak and sausages as well as some of the leftovers from last night.

9.00pm Roy leaves so he can have time to pack.  I download my day's photos, as well as copy Bindy's.

Pack our bags, ready for our Europe trip.

11.30pm Go to sleep.

Bath to Portsmouth. Wednesday 23 May 2007

Bath to Stonehenge, Salisbury and Portsmouth. Wednesday 23 May 2007

Today is Roy's birthday.

7.30am Breakfast. Reheated pasta by Casey and Shirley.

8.00am Checkout and we're on our way at 8.30am.  Heading to Stonehenge, we use the GPS to get us there.  Roy driving and Casey following behind.

Get to Stonehenge before 10am.  Shirley is reluctant to go in, due to costs $6.30, but I say we've come all this way, why not. So we all pay and get our audio handsets.  Do the circular loop, taking photos as we go around.

10.50am We leave for Salisbury. On the way we stop at Old Sarum 11.15am $2.90, the Original Salisbury. Here we walk around the ancient ruins, taking in the views.  From here you can see the spire of the cathedral in Salisbury.

We get to Salisbury at 12.00noon and walk to the Salisbury Cathedral. They are carrying out restoration work on it and it is covered with scaffolding on the side. Also walk around Salisbury Cathedral Close, a square which has house on 2 sides.

1.00pm Drive to Portsmouth. No time to stop for lunch.  It's munchies in the car.

Shirley's dad, Jim wants to visit his old college in Gosport, Fareham.  We have trouble locating it, until we come across a sign.  After lots of backtracking and roundabouts we get to it.  Because it's a naval institution, it is restricted access.  He can only take photos from outside the gates. But he is happy that we found it and stopped there. Next up we are off to Portsmouth. He also wants us to stop at the hospital which Tracey worked at, looks far on the GPS and it looks like we'd need to catch a ferry, but in order to make our 3.50pm train departure, we need to be able to drop the cars off and get back to the station.

So we head straight to Portsmouth.  Traffic is horrendous, crawling pace and we don't know whether we'll get there in time. On the way, we accidentally go past the Hospital, a quick drive by. Look for a place to park to drop off Shirley, Jim, Tracy and Janet with the luggage, while, using the GPS, Roy, Casey and I take the cars to the drop off. It turns out to be a 10-15 min walk back to the station.

We catch the 3:50pm train to London, Waterloo.  When we get out, we're not too sure where to catch the bus. Janet takes us out the wrong entrance and we need to back track, walking around the block to get to the bus stop.  Catch the bus back to Bindy and Ange's apartment.

7.00pm Arrive at their appartment.  They are just about to prepare dinner.  We have drinks up on the rooftop terrace. Dinner is served at 8.00pm.  We have 123 pork, eggplant with chilli pork, chicken and wintermelon,5 spice tofu, duck, gai lan and pork bone soup.

They leave around 10.00pm after having fruits and a birthday cake for Roy. Roy is given a pair of London boxers for his birthday.

I download my photos at 11.00pm, and we do our first load of washing. Set to run overnight.

Bath. Tuesday 22 May 2007

Tuesday 22 May Bath

Pay for breakfast and then we head out to Bath.  Casey, Shirley, Tracey and Jim take the car and drive there to do the Roman Baths, while Roy, Janet and I decide to take a walk.  We ask at reception which is the best route to take and we're shown a shortcut which takes only 20-30 mins.  So with map and GPS in hand we head off in the direction of the City.  Find the two houses which we need to cut through and it leads us to the back of houses and a huge paddock which is fenced off.  We decide to take the rocky path, until Roy spies someone walking through the fields, so we do a backtrack and go through the cattle gates, trudge through the long grass and back to a gate which met up with the path. Down the path, which leads to steps, and down the steps to a canal, which has canal boats travelling through the locks. Then back on the path and down steps, cross the road and down the street, heading to the Information Centre.

We find out the time for the free walking tour, and because we have time to spare we walk around the town. Going through the Guildhall, which has little shops and deli's, also spy a craft/hobby shop, which has scrapbooking stuff, but not buying anything.

Wait outside Roman Baths for free walking tour, huge group, broken up into 3 smaller groups.  This is suppose to be a 1.5-2 hour walk. We end up doing more than 2 hours.  The guide is full of facts, and we visit the St John's Hospital (which is not a hospital, but free accommodation for the elderly), walk pass a section of the old wall, stop outside the Jane Austen Centre, walk through gardens, visit a Georgian garden, end up at the Crescent and circular residence.

After walking tour go for lunch in shopping centre, which also houses the library.  Lunch in the Californian kitchen...apparently have special lunch deal. I have fried scampi (like chicken nuggets but with scampi) with chips and salad.

3.00pm Visit the Roman Baths $10.25 in the afternoon. Audio tour. Lots of people, and school kids on excursion.

Visit Pump Room, look through souvenir shops, then go to shopping centre to buy groceries before catching the bus back to the YHA.

4.00pm $2.50 donation visit the Abbey

After doing some shopping in the supermarket, we catch the Bus #18 for $1.00 back to the YHA...lucky we don't have to walk back up that hill.

6.00pm, we join, Casey, Shirley in the YHA self kitchen.  They are preparing pasta for dinner.  Roy pitches in. We offer to help, but told to go away.  End up sitting with Shirley's mum and talking to 2 ladies from W.A.

7.00pm Dinner, spaghetti with tomato, mushroom, peppers, onions and pork sauce.  Accompanied with garlic bread and slices of avocado and orange juice.  $3.00 per person to Casey.

Continued chatting to two ladies after dinner before turning in at 10.00pm, as we need to take turns using the shower, I go first, then Janet and then Roy.

Oxford to Bath. Monday 21 May 2007

Oxford to Bath Monday 21 May 2007

Pick up 2 rental cars and drive to Bath.

Casey drives one car with Shirley and parents and Roy drives the other with Janet and I.

Stop at Strathford-upon-Avon. Visit the birthplace of Shakespeare.

Stop at Bourton on the Water and visit the miniature village

Stop at Castle Combe and have late lunch early dinner

Arrive at Bath and check into YHA in Bath. Situated outside of the city.

Email from London

Transit Singapore Airport 19 May

"Hello all
We are currently transiting in Singapore after an 8hr flight from Sydney. Have another 13 hours to go to reach London.

Oh..I got randomly frisked in Sydney...pulled aside and patted down and bags swabbed...and no..I'm not a drug courier..they didn't find anything...hehe."



Email sent 23 May 2007
"Hi all

We're currently in London.  Having dinner which my Cousin, Bindy and her friend Ange, prepared for us...so yummy.
We've just gotten back from a few days driving around UK.  Started off by taking the bus to Oxford and taking in the sights there.  Stayed overnight in the YHA, which was pretty good. Visited a few of the colleges, such as Exeter, Merton and Christ Church - Harry Potter dining hall and staircase was filmed here.  Lots of Cathedrals and quadrangles, also lawns where croquet was being played - Lewis Carroll and Alice in Wonderland country. Found out a lot of famous people, writers are associated with Oxford, such as Tolkien and Philip Pullman.

From Oxford we picked up our hired cars and drove to Bath, along the way we stopped at Stratford-upon-Avon, where we visited Shakespeare's Birthplace, toured his house and gardens.  Also stopped into Bourton-on-the-Waters, a nice little town, which has a model village that is so realistic, it even has a model of the model village.
We then continued our journey to Bath stopping at Castle Combe. Now this is a picturesque village...not as touristy but very hard to find.  Thank goodness for GPS...without it we wouldn't have found this village. Had dinner here in a tavern called The White Hart...Mussells in white wine and BBQ ribs with chips and salad...lucky Janet and I shared this meal..couldn't even finish it...Roy helped finish the chips for us.

We arrived in Bath around 7pm..still light..it doesn't get dark here until about 9pm. Also stayed here at YHA which was situated on Bathwick Hill which overlooks Bath. It's a 15-20 min walk into the town centre if you take the local route through fields and paths. Great views and worth the walk. We took in the sights of Bath with a free walking tour which is held twice daily..decided to take the first tour.  Suppose to be for 1-2hrs...ours took 2 1/2 hours..walked all over Bath. In the afternoon, we visited the Roman Baths and the Abbey.  Lots of photos so far.
Today we drove to Stonehenge, took the audio tour and after that we drove to Salisbury, stopping in to see Old Sarum, which is the ruins of the Old town of Salisbury.  Visited the Cathedral, but it is being renovated and the sides are covered in scaffolding.  After that we drove to Portsmouth to drop the car off and take the 2 hour train trip back to London.
So as you can see we've been pretty busy with the sightseeing. Got to go and have some fruit now."

London to Oxford. Sunday 20 May 2007

Sunday 20 May 2007 London to Oxford

4:30am Wake up, thinking it's 5.30am.  Slept on Bin and Ange's couch, while Janet slept in Bindy's bed. Bindy slept with Ange.

While waiting for others to get up, I download photos and repack my bags.

Don't bother with breakfast, at 6.50am carry luggage down 3 flights of steps and cross the road to bus stop to catch the Bus#38 to the Victoria Bus Station. Need to walk to the Greenline Coach station bus stop #10 to meet up with Casey and Co for 7.50am. When time approaches and still no sign of them, we walk to office of Greenline Coach to see if they are waiting there. No sign, but as we are walking back to bus stop, we see them.

8.05am A bus approaches the stop, but it doesn't have Greenline on it, Shirley asks the driver if this is our bus and apparently it is. So we board.  It's double decker, but bottom seats have tables, so we occupy 2 tables and the parents occupy a seat for 2.  The bus picks up passengers on the way to Oxford. During the journey down we share a seat with a pink lady (she had just finished a breast cancer walk in London and was heading home).  She gave us a few suggestions of what to see and do whilst in Oxford.

9.30am We arrive at the Bus Station in Oxford.  We have to walk at least 20 mins to YHA.

10.00am We arrive at the YHA in Oxford. But we can't checkin until 2pm, so we put our luggage in the lock up storage, and head off into main part of Oxford to the Information place. We arrive just a little too late to join the first walking tour, so we buy tickets for the 11am tour.

11.00am We visit Exeter College and Merton College as well as shown the major buildings in Oxford, like the Bodlian Library, not open, because it is Sunday. We finish the tour at 1am at the War Memorial Gardens, just near Christ Church College.

Walk to Cornmarket Road to use toilets at Maccas. They buy Cornish pasties, while we have Bindy's banana bread and mandarin.

After lunch we pay the entry fee to Christ Church and do a self tour of the college.  Visit the main dining hall which was used in the Harry Potter films.

4.30pm Visit the Science Museum. Lots of interesting scientific and mathematical instruments.  Was the former university science labs.

On the way back we stop into a Tesco to buy water, etc.

5.30pm We check into the YHA, room 105. Sharing it with Roy.  It has 2 bunk beds, a shower and toilet as well as TV.

After refreshing ourselves, we go down to check out the Boathouse Restaurant, but it doesn't open until 7.30pm and we are starving, so we go for a walk up the road to the shops which we checked out on the way back to the YHA. Decide to try out the Oriental Condor Chinese Cafe.  I have the ginger and shallot steam chicken and BBQ Pork with rice for 6 pounds and ice lemon tea 2 pounds.

After dinner walk back to YHA and after quick shower, write up diary, in bed by 9pm.

Sydney to London. Saturday 19 May 2007

19 May 2007

Had to go to Hurstville to collect my glasses and do some last minute snack shopping for Bindy.  By the time I got back it was like 1pm. Time for lunch. Lily, Mark and Janet were just about to head out the door, so I joined them and we went to Canton Noodle House to have lunch with Mar Mar.  Whilst there I get a call from Qantas...the flight has been delayed for 3hrs due to mechanical difficulties, so we don't need to rush.

At the airport we checkin and go through customs...after the security check, I get randomly pulled aside for a further drug check...need to read a release form and agree to it, before they pat me down and swab me and my bags. Stop over in Singapore is short..get off the plane and only have time to go to ladies and take a few snapshots before its time to go through security and board again.

After almost 14 hours of flying from Singapore we finally reach Heathrow airport.  Due to high winds, plane needs to circle and circle before landing. Queue through passport control, before having to wait for our luggage...takes at least 1/2 hour wait if not longer then its time to find the Underground and catch the Picadilly line to Kings Cross station.  When we get to Kings Cross station the exits confuse us. JT ends up ringing Bindy to find out where we are suppose to catch the bus.  We make our way to the exit and find that we are at the right place to catch the bus to Bin and Ange's place...catch the #73 bus and get off where directed by Bindys map.  As we are walking up, we spy Bindy and Ange approaching us (they couldn't wait
any longer?) anyway, they help us up the 3 flights of stairs with our bags, not realising that they are so heavy, 19 and 20.5 kgs.

Tour of their place, before we both have a shower, while Ange cooks us brunch. By this time it is 1pm.  Have brunch of bacon, eggs, sausages, mushrooms and baked beans on toast. All filled up we go for a walk down to Angel shopping district. Where Bindy shows us the local street market held every weekend.  Sell fruit and vegies, fish, as well as other household goods and clothes.  Bin buys 2 punnets of raspberries for 1.20 pound.

We then catch the tube to London Bridge, where we go to see the Borough Markets...lots of food and local produce...samples galore..of cheese, fruit and vegies, breads, cakes, etc.  JT buys 2 punnets of strawberries. Walk to London Bridge to take photos of Tower Bridge.

Catch the tube to Westminister, take photos of Big Ben, London Eye, the Cathedral, Abbey, then walk down past Downing street on Whitehall to the Horse Guards...take photos of the guards...miss the opportunity of taking one through the arch way, but end up taking one with both Janet and I.

Then walk to Trafalgar Place...more photos of Nelsons column and the National Gallery.

Then walk up main procession street through St James Park and up to Buckingham Palace. More photos.

Walk through Green Park to get to Picadilly..go shopping..no buy, walk through Leicester Square then up to Chinatown, Gerrard Street.  Buy a drink for 65p..they wouldn't accept my old 5 pound note.

Meet up with the rest of our group at the New Mayflower Chinese Restaurant on Shaftesbury Road.  Where we have dinner consisting of Cornish crab with noodles, Shantung Steak, Chicken, Snow pea sprouts with salted and preserved egg, salt and pepper squid, egg with lots and a tofu bowl. Ange pays, but Janet pays her back.

Then we walk to Trafalgar Square...walk a bit more pass the Soho district before boarding a bus to Kings Cross station to check out the hotel Casey and co are staying at.

Make way back to Bin and Ange's by bus.  Long wait but catch a bus to Angel and then another to their flat.

Have another shower and then pack stuff for trip to Oxford and outer London.

Get to bed after 12midnight.

Europe Tour 2007

Shirley's Itinerary for our European Vacation

Date	Time	Depart	Local Time	Arrive	Provided Meals	Tours
Thursday 17 May	2:35pm	Shirley, Casey, Roy, Tracy, Jim leave Sydney on Virgin Atlantic Flight	N/A
Friday 18 May	4:55pm	Janet, Megan leave Sydney on Qantas Flight	5:30am	Shirley, Casey, Roy, Tracy, Jim arrive London via Hong Kong		$4081.25 per person
Saturday 19 May			6:45am	Janet, Megan arrive London via Singapore
Sunday 20 May	8:05am	Bus from London Victoria to Oxford	all day	Oxford sightseeing YHA Oxford 2a Botley Road Oxford		1 Room, 4 beds, Ensuite BandB GBP$86 Janet, Megan, Roy sharing 1 room
Monday 21 May	8:00am	Pick up cars from Oxford and drive to Stratford Upon Avon	Afternoon	Cotswolds villages and arriving in Bath in the evening. YHA Bath Bathwick Hill Bath		Castlecombe Shakespeares birthplace 1 Room, 4 beds, Ensuite GBP$64.50 2 days GBP$129.00
Tuesday 22 May	all day	Bath sightseeing
Wednesday 23 May	Morning	Drive to Stonehenge and end in Portsmouth (drop cars off)	3:50pm	Train from Portsmouth to London Waterloo
Thursday 24 May	8:00am	Janet, Megan, Belinda, Angela and Maria go to Chelsea Flower Show - all day ticket.
Friday 25 May	7:00am	Shirley, Casey, Roy, Tracy, Jim, Janet, Megan start Kumuka tour at Holiday Inn Kings Cross, depart London Waterloo via Eurostar	Afternoon	Paris, France Kyriad Bercy Village, 17 Rue Baran Le Roy, 75012, Paris, France	Dinner	Free afternoon 3:00pm group meeting Seine River Cruise
Saturday 26 May		Paris, France	Afternoon	Paris, France	Breakfast	Paris City Tour Free afternoon and evening Optional tour - climb Eiffel Tower, Dinner, Moulin Rouge Show
Sunday 27 May	Morning	Paris, France	Afternoon	Interlaken, Switzerland Chalet Oberland Postgasse 1 CH-3800, Interlaken, Switzerland	Breakfast Dinner	Coach drive through French countryside and Swiss mountain
Monday 28 May		Interlaken, Switzerland		Interlaken, Switzerland	Breakfast	Free all day. Optional Tour Cog railway to peak of Jungfraijoch. Ice Palace and Sphinx Observation Hall and town of Lauterbrunnen.
Tuesday 29 May	Morning	Interlaken, Switzerland	Afternoon	Annecy, France via Geneva B.W. Hotel International, 19 Avenue du Rhone, Annecy, France	Breakfast, Lunch??by Lake Geneva	Lake Geneva
Wednesday 30 May	Morning	Annecy, France	Afternoon	Nice, France via French Riviera Apogia, 26 Rue Smolette 06300, Nice, France	Breakfast, Dinner	Riviera, Monaco orientation tour.
Thursday 31 May		Nice, France		Nice, France	Breakfast	Free all day
Friday 1 June	Morning	Nice, France	Afternoon	Florence, Italy via Pisa President Via Simintendi 201-50047, Prata Italy	Breakfast, Dinner	Campo dei Miracoli and Leaning Tower
Saturday 2 June		Florence, Italy		Florence, Italy	Breakfast	Florence City Tour, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza Michelangelo, Duomo. Free afternoon and evening.
Sunday 3 June	Morning	Prato, Italy	Afternoon	Rome, Italy via Tuscany Torre Rossa Park, Via di Torre Rossa 94 00165, Rome, Italy	Breakfast, Lunch??in Tuscan Winery	Coach drive through Tuscan towns and winery.
Monday 4 June		Rome, Italy		Rome, Italy	Breakfast	Free morning. Afternoon Rome City Tour, Forum, Pantheon. Free evening
Tuesday 5 June		Rome, Italy	Afternoon	Rome, Italy	Breakfast	Optional Pompeii Day Trip
Wednesday 6 June	Morning	Rome, Italy		Mestre, Italy, via Orvieto Rossott Via Orlanda 4 30173, Venice, Mestre, Italy	Breakfast, Dinner	Coach drive through medieval town. Optional funicular ride to top of hill.
Thursday 7 June		Venice, Italy		Venice, Italy	Breakfast	Rialto, St Mark's Square. Free afternoon and evening
Friday 8 June	Morning	Mestre, Italy	Evening	Munich, Germany Tryp Paul-Heyse-Strasse 24 D-80336, Munich 2 Germany	Breakfast, Dinner	Marienplatz, English Garden, Munich orientation tour. Optional tour Neuschwanstein Castle
Saturday 9 June		Munich, Germany		Munich, Germany	Breakfast	Free all day.
Sunday 10 June	Morning	Munich, Germany	Afternoon	Vienna, Austria via Mauthausen concentration camp Bosei Gutheil-Schoder Gasse 7B A-1100, Vienna, Austria	Breakfast, Dinner	Mauthausen Tour in morning. Vienna orientation tour late afternoon.
Monday 11 June		Vienna, Austria		Vienna, Austria	Breakfast	Free all day
Tuesday 12 June	Morning	Vienna, Austria	Lunchtime	Budapest, Hungary Ibis Vaci Ut Dozsa Gy Ut 65 H-1134, Budapest, Hungary	Breakfast, Dinner	Budapest City Tour, Hero's Square, Chain Bridge, Fisherman's Bastion, Parliament House
Wednesday 13 June		Budapest, Hungary		Budapest, Hungary	Breakfast	Free all day
Thursday 14 June	Morning	Budapest, Hungary	Evening	Prague, Czech republic via Bratislave Slovakia Top Praha Blazimska 1781/4 14900 Praha 4 Prague, Czech Republic	Breakfast, Dinner	Coach drive through 2 border crossing Slovakia and Czech Republic
Friday 15 June		Prague, Czech Republic		Prague, Czech Republic	Breakfast	Prague City Tour, Charles Bridge, Wenceslas Square, Stare Mesto (Old Town). Free afternoon and evening
Saturday 16 June	Morning	Prague, Czech Republic	Afternoon	Berlin Germany via Dresden Quality City East Landsberger Allee 203 D-13055 Berlin, Germany	Breakfast, Dinner	Berlin City Tour, Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin Wall, Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate
Sunday 17 June		Berlin, Germany		Berlin, Germany	Breakfast	Free all day
Monday 18 June		Berlin, Germany		Berlin, Germany	Breakfast	Free all day
Tuesday 19 June	8:30am	Berlin, Germany	Evening	Amsterdam, The Netherlands Artemis John M Keynes Plein 2 1066 EP, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Breakfast, Dinner	Amsterdam City Tour, Red light district, Clogs and Cheese. Final group dinner.
Wednesday 20 June		Amsterdam, The Netherland		Amsterdam, The Netherlands	Breakfast	Free all day
Thursday 21 June	Morning	Amsterdam, The Netherland	Evening	Paris Gare de Nord, France via Belgium	Breakfast	Coach drive through Belgium then into France
Thursday 21 June	7:19pm	Paris Gare de Nord Eurostar train terminal	8:54pm	London Waterloo International Station		Overnight stay at Bindy and Ange's
Friday 22 June	10:30pm	Shirley, Casey, Tracy, Jim, Roy depart London on Virgin Atlantic Flight
Friday 22 June	12:15pm	Janet, Megan depart London on Qantas Flight
Saturday 23 June			6:50pm	Janet, megan arrive Sydney via Singapore
Sunday 24 June			6:30am	Shirley, Casey, Tracy, Jim, Roy arrive Sydney via Hong Kong