The Night Train

A highlight of the London, Paris, Florence, and Rome Tour is taking a night train from Paris to Rome. The night train is always an experience! This one failed to disappoint! We already knew that we were not going directly to Florence. Instead, we would stop in Milano and 5:00 AM and switch trains and be in Florence by 8:00. On the way to the Gare de Bercy, Chris told us that a tunnel in Switzerland had closed and that the journey would take longer than planned. Trains leave from Milano to Florence every half-hour, though, so we would be fine. We were told to make sure we had plenty of water and plenty to eat, though-we could be on the train awhile. As soon as we got to the station, I bought the biggest Evian possible, a big muffin, and a bad of M&M's. My muffin was the last muffin available, and fairly soon after I bought it, the bakery closed because of such high demand due to the tunnel closing. The station, too, was unusually crowded due to the tunnel. Time came to load the train. In my car were Armon, Aaron, Stephen, Josh, Claudia, and me. That too, added to the experience. For supper, we were given sandwiches. As we pulled out of Paris, everything was going smoothly. Everyone was in their couchettes chatting, eating, or playing cards. We were near the bar car and it was nice to go get Cokes, Sprites, and candy. Around nine, the train stopped. We paid no attention to it, we just thought it was a stop for people to either get on or off. A few hours later, we felt that something must be up!       Later, we found out that there had been a death on the train!
     But, then we started moving, and everything was fine. We just kept hanging out. There isn't much else to do on a train. About 1, we all started going to bed. I was on the top bunk, above Armon, who was above Aaron. On the other side, (top to bottom) were Stephen, Josh, Claudia. 
     "WHO DID THAT?" Shouted, the Hawaiian group leader for the entire train to wake to. The train had come to a rather sudden stop, I looked out the window, and we were not in Milan, but somewhere in the alps. We had stopped at a train station and even though we had been told NOT to get off the train, the Hawaiian group leader and some of hers did. I decided that this was OK because, she was so smart, and appeared to know everything about traveling. Returning to the stop, there was a rumor that one of the Hawaiian children had pulled the emergency alarm as a prank. Later in the day, though, after thorough questioning from Armon, the Hawaiian group leader told all that a piece of their luggage had fallen upon it. I would love to see a suitcase do that. There is a shelf in the top of the couchette, above the door for luggage. Sticking out from that are a few knobs and handles. One of these handles is the Emergency alarm. However, it read "PULL IN CASE OF EMERGENCY!" Again I say, I would love to see a suitcase pull it. However, I would never doubt the word of the Hawaiian group leader. This was roughly 7 AM. Around noon, we finally pulled into Milano Cintrale! We were overjoyed. Our 18 hour train ride was over! 
       

Palaces of Paris

My favorite day of Paris, was possibly the last. That morning we visited the Louvre. Of course we headed straight to the Italian paintings for all to crowd around the Mona Lisa. In the same room though, is one of my favorite paintings, The Marriage at Cana. Then we took in the French paintings. This hall houses among others, The Coronation of Napoleon and Liberty Leading the People. After paintings, a few of us went into the Apollo Gallery and saw France's crown jewels. After that, we went to the sculpture galleries, located on the floor below. Highlights of sculptures included the Nike of Samothrace, Venus, and Athena. We grabbed a bit to eat, after spending sometime in the Denon wing, and made our way towards the Sully wing to see the Egyptian Antiquities. This was quite impressive. I was taking Western Civ. I  at the time and had just studied Egypt. This made the Mummies and other Egyptian artifacts all the more meaningful to me. We just had time to rush by all the other Antiquities.

We all met back at the inverted pyramid, a favorite stop for pictures. From the Louvre the strolled down the Avenue de l'Opera to the Palais Garnier. Home to the Paris Opera and the infamous Phantom. The Opera House was incredible. The Grand Foyer rivales the Hall of Mirrors, and ever better, we were the only people there. From our group the only people to tour l'Opera were Mother, Jackson, Stephen, Cici, Sarah, and me. This was because of the proximity to Cafe de la Paix, Galleries Lafayette, and some other good shopping. The Grand Staircase was magnificent. The porch offered splendid views of the city. We made a quick stop of the gift shop and then went to Zara, just across the street, a favorite store of mine. Afterwards we went to the hotel to grab our luggage and head to the train station.

Day 2 of Paris

The next morning, we had our bus tour of Paris. It covered most of the highlights of Paris, including L'Opera, the Louvre, the Pantheon, Luxemburg Gardens. We had photo stops at Les Invalides and the Eiffel Tower at the Palais de Challiot. After the morning tour of Paris, we went to Versailles and had lunch near the chateau and embarked on out tour of the Chateau. There was an exhibit of thrones from all over the world. I was not too impressed with this and saw is mostly as a nuisance because it took up so much space. It was a wonderful experience to visit Versailles with my family and some very close friends. The rest of the afternoon was spent near Notre Dame in the Latin Quarter. Claudia, Stephen and I skipped out on the Cathedral in an attempt to go into Saint Chapelle. The line there was too long, though. We walked across the river to Shakespeare and Company, an English book-store. I bought The Great Gatsby, and got the famous stamp. Then the Tenacious Three crossed the river Seine, snapping pictures at every step. Once back, we strolled around the Cathedral, an incredible structure. That night we went to Montmartre. After going through the Basilica, Sarah and I bought a few paintings and had crepes at La Boheme, a cafe on the Place du Tetre.   

Paris!

The next morning, it was time to head to my favorite city in the world, Paris! We got a wake-up call at 5. I decided I would lie in bed "a few more minutes." A few minutes turned into an hour. At 6, Dad came to wake Jackson and me. I had packed most of my belongings before bed. We made a mad-dash and quickly got our stuff out, managing only to leave behind a few belongings. I was very thankful that we had made such a rush because we ended up sitting and waiting for at least half an hour. Finally our coach rolled in and we headed to St. Pancras Station. Once we cleared customs, I bought breakfast/lunch at Cafe Nero, an Italian-coffee shop popular in England. 
    Then, it was time to get on the train. All but one of us boarded the Eurostar. There was one group from Hawaii on the trip. One of the girls in that group left her suit case at the hotel. The Hawaii leader had to take a taxi all the way to the other side of London, get the girl's bag and take another take back to the train station-a 30-minute taxi ride at that. Sadly, she missed our train. During the trip over, the group took power naps. As we all started waking we realized that we had crossed the Channel and were in France.
    Next think we knew, we were pulling into Paris's Gare du Nord, the busiest train station in Europe! After getting of the train we boarded a new coach and went to our Aparthotel, the Adagio. As we were checking in, the Hawaiian leader appeared in the lobby and exclaimed, "Je suis est ici!" (I am here!) We were all relieved and glad to have her back in our midst as she was an expert and very interesting to be around! There I roomed with cousin Stephen, and two boys from another group. Chris, the tour director,  planned for everyone in the group to rest that after noon. 
      However, Mother had our group headed to the Place de la Concorde, and stroll up the Champs Elysee. Highlights of the walk included stopping at the place de la Concorde, a Creperie, macaroons at MacDonalds, and finally stopping the the Arc de Triomphe. Next, dinner was served near the Moulin Rouge. That night included the Seine River Cruise, the Eiffel Tower, and one of my favorite activities, the Paris by Night bus tour. 

The Grand Tour: Day 2, A Royal Tour of London

After a restful night at the Ibis, we boarded our coach and began our tour. Our guide, Barry, was  entertaining and informative. Our first stop was St. Paul's Cathedral. Sarah and I paid the admission fee and gained access to the Nave, Choir, and stunning views of the domed ceiling and High Alter. We then descended to the crypt. After stopping by the tomb of the Duke of Wellington, we went in to the gift shop, took pictures outside and then boarded the coach. As we continued on the tour we passed the Savoy Hotel, Charing Cross, The Tower of London, and finally stopped at Westminster Abbey. Since we had toured the Abbey the previous day, Mother, Stephen and I toured the smaller St. Margaret's Church. It is the parish church of the House of Commons and popular wedding venue for English aristocrats. After taking even more pictures of the Abbey and Big Ben, we walked through St. James's Park with its stunning views of Buckingham Palace. Once we reached the Mall we passed St. James's Palace and Clarence House. We the reached Buckingham Palace as the guards were marching through. After the Changing of the Guard we boarded the coach and headed to Windsor. The bus ride was close to an hour so we were able to try to catch up on some much needed rest. When we arrived in Windsor Barry recommended us a restaurant named Cinnamon. The item of choice was a jacket potato, or a baked potato. I also had huge piece of chocolate cake. I was nervous about how the cake would taste; luckily it was amazing. After eating we walked to the castle. We walked past the Round Tower and  former mote, now a flourishing garden, to the entrance of the State Rooms. The interior of Windsor was stunning. St. George's Hall with the knights upon the wall and coats of arms on the ceiling were most impressive as were the original portraits and paintings of which I have only seen recreations. After we exited the Castle we headed to St. George's Chapel. It it the chapel of the Order of the Garter the highest order of chivalry in England. St. George's was my favorite part of Windsor. The ceiling and choir were most impressive. We also passed the Guild Hall, wedding site of Charles and Camilla. After checking out a few gift shops we motored back to The City, where our dinner was held. After dinner we too the Tube to Trafalger Square. There, we made pictures with the lions at the foot of Nelson's column and admired its base reliefs and views of Westminster Palace and the The Mall. Next, we marched on to Leicester Square. There we had free time to sit at a pub and have a bit of desert. Stephen, Claudia, and I found a place with outdoor seating. I was still hungry so I ordered a waffle topped with a drop of ice cream. Stephen and Claudia had something to drink, I can't remember quite what. After Leicester Square we made the short walk to Picadilly Circus, a bit like New York's Times Square. There we found a great gift shop named Cool Britannia. I purchased a short book about England's Kings and Queens and a coaster that reads "Don't Panic You Can Still Marry Pippa!" Conveniently, the basement of the store is connected to the tube station. After another tiring day we headed back to the Ibis. This time, everyone made if off the train.

The Grand Tour Part 1: Londinum, Day 1

On Just 6th, British Airways Flight 226 touched down at London's Heathrow airport at 10:15 A.M. Our group of eighteen could hardly imagine what awaited us. After clearing customs we were greeted be an EF tour director who took us by coach to our hotel, the Ibis London Excel. She gave us a wonderful introduction to The City. After a quick stop at the hotel we boarded the Tube and headed to Westminster Abbey.Westminster Abbey if one of my favorite churches considering all the events that have taken place there and all the people buried there. The Coronation Chair, Queen Elizabeth I's tomb, Henry VII's Lady Chapel, Poets' Corner, were some of my favorite parts of the Abbey. 

After taking pictures outside, we boarded the Tube to Baystown, where our dinner was. We made a brisk walk through Baystown, where the great Winston Churchill once resided, we arrived Mr. Fish. We were greeted by Chris. He was our tour director in 2009. Because we toured the abbey we were a bit late to dinner. However, I must add that the dinner time was 4:30.  Thus, we ate our tasty fish and chips outside on the side walk. After we ate, we took the Tube back to Westminster Station, crossed the Westminster Bridge and boarded the London Eye, one of my favorite London attractions. While riding the Eye we had stunning views of Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, St James's Park, St. Paul's Cathedral, Horse Guards, Westminster Abbey, and of course Westminster Palace, home of the British Parliament. After the Eye, we decided to call it a day and started the long ride to the Ibis. After taking the Underground to Tower Hill, we changed to the Overground to reach our hotel. As we neared the Ibis, a few of our group members were having a discussion of about Sarah, Duchess of York "Fergie" and toe-sucking. They became so engulfed with laughter that Stephen and Toby did not make it off the train. However, since we had already been given instructions on what to do if one does not make if off the train, were proceeded on to the Ibis where they arrived shortly. After we finally got our keys we headed up to our rooms to get some much needed rest.