Home • Europe • with Cynthia! • '93 Jun: A Taste of Europe

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	August 1993 (A selection of pictures scanned from an old photo album and written up in March 2012.) Cynthia at LAX awaiting our international flight... Day 1 and Day 2
	...to begin our Taste of Europe Tour, operated by Globus/Cosmos Tourama. Oh YEAH! Day 3 Novotel, London
	Arriving in London late we went straight to the hotel (I think?) and then on the morning of Day 3 we enjoyed (quoted from the brochure) "morning sightseeing with a professional London guide includes all the famous landmarks: Royal Albert Hall and Albert Memorial, Kensington's splendid museums, Chelsea, Knightsbridge with Harrods, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben beside the River Thames. "Highlights are a visit to Westminster Abbey...time in the afternoon for independent activities."
	We loved Picadilly. (postcard)
	Shots from the bus. Big Ben and cool scenes.
	Nice.
	Westminister.
	and More.
	In the evening we went to see Mousetrap which was good fun. It opened in 1952 and has been playing ever since!
	Next morning we boarded the Hovercraft to speed our way past the White Cliffs of Dover and across the channel to France. Day 4 Hotel Pulman, Bruges
	We then joined the Big Bus for a drive through Flanders to Bruges in Belgium... (postcard)
	...where we would "enjoy the beautifully preserved medieval heart of Bruges, a once-important wool trading port."
	Bruges is a great destination for looking around.
	We liked it here!
	Then the next day we are on to Brussels, "the proud capital of Belgium... Day 5 Holiday Inn, Amsterdam (postcard)
	...where we would admire the ornate Baroque guild halls of Grand Place...
	...and see the famous Manneken-Pis."
	And then on to Amsterdam for two nights. We loved Amsterdam too!
	One of the highlights for Cynthia was a tour of the Anne Frank house. The museums were fantastic... Day 6 Holiday Inn, Amsterdam
	...and I was particularly thrilled by our bike ride through town and along the canals and the Rijksmuseum and the Vincent van Gogh Gallery.
	oops, where was this?
	We were always running into our tour people around the towns. There was plenty of time to kick it on our own and it was fun to see 'our' people, like running into neighbors at the market.
	Amsterdam = bikes.
	After Amsterdam we travel by bus "through the heavily industrialized Ruhr area, backbone of Germany's economic might. (I wonder if that is still true 20 years later?) "Lunchtime we arrive in Cologne for a visit to the awesome Gothic Cathedral. Its twin 515-foot towers, five naves and splendid stained-glass windows are powerful testimony to the quality of medieval engineering and craftsmanship."
	"Next drive through Bonn to the ruins of the bridge in Remagen where American troops breached Hitler's West Wall."
	Traveling with the crowd.
	A truck stop pee break and snack opportunity.
	"After reaching the wine center of Koblenz, there is still time for an optional excursion to Marksburg Castle, the only one in this area never to have been destroyed." (1/2 postcard)
	Travel pals.
	?
	We were out walking and thinking cool on the decorated tunnel. Day 7 Hotel Scandic Crown, Koblenz
	We had our Rhine cruise today, Koblenz to Trier.
	I'm not remembering how we ended up on bikes - maybe there was a stop along the way to rent a ride for an hour or so?
	Ridin' on the river.
	With castles and vineyards and half-timbered towns.
	We spent the night in Trier, a very lovely town, and took a tour of the Roman town of Porta Nigra. Day 8 Hotel Scandic Crown, Trier (postcard)
	We're out this morning on our way from Trier through Luxembourg...
	We stopped here...
	...and here...
	...and in PARIS. Our longest stay would be in Paris and it was the perfect place to linger.
	?
	?
	A tour of Mumm. Everyone had a great time.
	After our tours it's Gay Paree! Day 9 Hotel Opera Cadet, Paris
	Ahh, Notre Dame.
	Lighting candles because why not.
	Gargoles!
	And the Eiffel Tower! We walked!
	More sights around Paris. We had such a good time. Our hotel was just around the corner from the splendid Opera House.
	Day 10 Hotel Opera Cadet, Paris
	Let's go let's go! We didn't really have enough time to get through the whole tour so we had to go go go. (postcard)
	The glass pyramids had just gone in in 1989 and this was 1993 so they were still a controversial eye-sore, not the beloved icons they are today. We thought they were great.
	More.
	A coin operated public toilet right on the sidewalk. Gotta try a thing like that.
	The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, the Sacré-Cœur Basilica and it was SO entertaining up there that night.
	Day 11 Hotel Opera Cadet, Paris
	Our neighborhood.
	For our last day we took public transportation out to Versailles...
	...and it was grand.
	More, but nothing from inside.
	Cynthia LOVED the food in France...
	...especially the bread. There was a bakery and a pastry shop just around the corner from our hotel and we stopped there often!
	The Team with the occasional addition of a local guide and local hotel people to help with the bags.
	Thanks, it was Swell!
	I think this tour was a great choice for both of us. We didn't have much time but we got to see so much and never had to stress about how to get there or where to stay plus we had plenty of time to fit in what we particularly wanted to do and to eat as we liked. Back in 1993 I stopped ragging on tours. Day 12 Hotel Opera Cadet, Paris