We Love Europe, But There's No Place Like Home!

After an  extraordinary  trip three years ago, we didn't know if another one would live up to our expectations.  Well, this one did and then some!  Even though this trip was two months shorter than the last one, we packed a lot into it.
We were so blessed to have many good friends join us at various places along the way.
In London, we were honored to have dinner with Max and Jean, the friends we met in Spain.  We had dinner at the famous Simpson's-in the-Strand and drinks at the equally famous Savoy.
In Glasgow, we  were so very excited to see Ian and Mary and introduce them to our friends from home.
We were delighted to see Michele and Stephane, our dear Parisian friends.  A favorite last time, and even more so this time was a visit to Laval, France to visit with Olivier and Claire.  He's Michele's brother.  We loved having dinner with our friend, Donna and lunch with Pat and Barbara's daughter, Megan while in Paris.
We were so fortunate to meet up with George and Bj's daughter, Shannon and her family and in-laws in Budapest for drinks at a roof top bar.  In Vienna, we were happy to see Tom's friend, Mike and his wife Gail, for a nice dinner and time to talk over old times.
One of the most special times during this trip was when our friends from home were able to come to  Europe and join us.  In Scotland, George and Bj, and Pat and Barbara were with us.  In Italy, Kay and Susan and Rick and Joy joined us.  Sharing this time with our friends meant everything to us.
All of the apartments were clean, comfortable and in good locations.  However, we have never climbed so many steps in our lives.  Every place we stayed had so many steps, we were always able to work off all that gelato!
We were enchanted by the town of Bruges, Belgium .  Walking along the canals at night was so special.  In Bruges, our apartment was a thousand year old "tower house"--again with lots of winding stairs, but so worth it.
We were also captivated by Kraków, Poland.  It was more beautiful than we ever expected.  The Wieliczka Salt Mine just outside Kraków will always be a favorite and we have a salt lamp from the mine as a reminder of a beautiful time.  Tom had to rewire it when we got home.  The US and European plugs are different!
We wanted to see the North Sea when we were so close in Belgium.  After  dinner, we asked our server about the best way to get down to the water.  With a bit of a language barrier, she asked if we would drive, doing a steering wheel motion, or "go with your feet".  We thought that was so cute, and so was she.
Another memorable moment was when Tom had to quell a little confrontation on the bus.  Two women got into a bit of a shoving match.  Tom told them, "knock it off"!  Even though they didn't understand English, they did understand that.
When we were in Paris, Prague and Budapest we stayed in the middle of town, where it was noisy and lively.
Some of our favorite places however were in the small quiet little villages.
On the Amalfi Coast in Italy we were in Furore, between Amalfi and Positano.  It was so calm and peaceful and perfect to return to after a day of sightseeing and shopping.  It was the same at Lake Como, in the little village of Colonno.  Both of these places had terraces overlooking the water, perfect for relaxing.
Another one of our favorites was the London Eye.  Watching London light up at night was spectacular!  Sprinting up the hill to see the Prime Meridian will not be soon forgotten.
More of our unforgettables were the Robert Tatin museum in Laval, Sacre Coeur and the Eiffel Tower in Paris at night, Rothenburg, Germany, the American Cemeteries, swimming at Trogir, Croatia, exploring Ravello, Cosmo's at Relish with Rapheal and dinner at  Serafina,  just to name more than a few.
We are so blessed to be healthy and able to take a trip like this.
We appreciate all the wonderful people of Europe that were so kind and patient with us.
And an extra special "thank you" to my editor, proofreader, picture placer, my partner, my beloved husband, Tom.  I couldn't have done my blog without you.  Thank you for staying up late so many nights to make sure the blog got done.  You're the BEST!
Can't wait for our next adventure!

Another Trip to Cernobbio, A Good-bye, and on to Chamonix Mont-Blanc

We had been to Villa D'Este in Cernobbio earlier in the week for a delightful lunch and look around the grounds.  Yesterday, we went back for a better look at the rest of the town.

We found a good parking place (even though we found out later, someone had sideswiped our car)!
This was a charming little town with lots of character.

We enjoyed checking out the shops, peeking down the side streets and enjoying a yummy gelato.

 

But it was time to go back and pack up.  Our trip is winding down, as Rick and Joy go to Rome, then back to Dallas and we go to Chamonix Mont-Blanc, Paris and home.  This morning, we took Rick and Joy to the train station in Milan and we headed for Chamonix.

It was sad to say good-bye to them.  They are great friends, we had a wonderful time and we will miss them.
Back on the road out of Milan we're on our way to the mountains.

There are lots of tunnels through the mountains in this region.  We passed through several and then came to the longest one of all.  It's 11611 meters long (that's 7 and 3/4 miles) and it took us more than 10 minutes to drive the length of it.

As soon as we were through the tunnel the glorious mountains rose before us.  Mont-Blanc stays snow covered year round, so majestic!

You can see the glacier on the left.

This is an awesome mountain resort.

When we were here 3 years ago and we had cheese fondue in the main square.  I was so looking forward to a repeat and it did not disappoint!

We even watched the hang-gliders like we did before.

This place is a favorite for sure.
Last time we tried to get into the Casino, but we didn't have our passports with us.

Today we did!  No table games like Tom prefers were open (I think only at night) but there were slot machines.  Oh well, we'll give them a try.  I put in €5 for 5 tries.  On number 3, I won €178.40!!!  Tom's turn, he put in €5 and won €20, we quit!!  Walked away winners!  Not bad for 15 minutes work.  We like Chamonix!

Today, Milan

Three years ago when we were here, we planned to see Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper", but not having reservations or tickets, it was not to be.  Wiser this time, reservations and tickets in hand, today is the day.  Rick and Joy had not been to Milan, so we were excited to show it to them.
Tom did a masterful job of maneuvering the downtown streets and we were lucky to find a close,
reasonable parking garage.
We walked through the giant archways into the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II with its glass domed arcade and very upscale shops.

This in itself is an eye-opener, but when you come out into the main square and see the Duomo, it will knock your socks off!

It's the 4th largest church in Europe.  It was built to hold 40,000 worshippers.
But we have to meet our tour guide for the "Last Supper" tour.
The guide explains that we will see several things before we get to the "Last Supper".

We head over to the financial district.  First the Bank of Italy.

Next, this building was built in the 1940's under Mussolini and is now the Italian Stock Exchange.  Italy has had its financial problems of late.  Mauricio Cattelan, sculpted the controversial hand that's flipping the bird!  Supposedly, this is how 99 percent of society feels about the corporate power in Italy.  It was supposed to be temporary, but the locals liked it, now it's permanent.

Well, moving on....  Next, we pass the most famous bakery in Milan, Marchesi.

The pastries look fabulous!  The locals are a little sad, because the bakery has been bought by Prada, and it's just not the same.
Moving on, we come to the Church of San Murizio.  It's part of a 9th-century convent built into a surviving bit of Milan's ancient Roman wall dating back to the 1500's.

Inside, every inch of wall space was painted  with Bernardino Luini frescos.

It is particularly significant because it survived the bombing of WW II virtually undamaged.
The church was a convent for cloistered nuns, but no longer serves as a church or convent.
Finally, we are more than ready for the promised crown jewel of this tour!  The Church of Saint Maria delle Grazie houses the ultimate masterpiece of the Renaissance.

Because of Leonardo's experimental fresco technique, deterioration began within 6 years of completion.  The church was bombed in WWII, but--miraculously, the wall holding the Last Supper remained standing.  A 21 year restoration project (completed  in 1999) peeled away 500 years of touch-ups, leaving Leonardo's masterspiece faint but vibrant (From Rick Steves' book).  It is a masterful and emotional piece, moving some to tears.

We were only allowed in the room for 15 minutes.
We were so glad we finally got to see this magnificent work of art.
At this point we separated form Rick and Joy as they wanted to go back and see the Doumo and we had seen it the last time we were here.
We wanted lunch!
We reconnected a few hours later.  They were wowed by the splendor of the Doumo and we were happy to have had some lunch.
Tom wound us back out of Milan and back to our apartment, where we were able to put our feet up and recount our wonderful day in marvelous Milan!

Bellagio--"The Pearl of the Lario"

Bellagio is right in the triangle where the 2 branches of Lake Como come together.  It was chosen as a residence since ancient times by authors, artists and poets fascinated by the spectacular view and climate.  We were impressed by that fact, but today we came to shop.
We got our tickets and boarded the ferry for Bellagio at the Villa Carlotta stop near our apartment.

It's probably the most beautiful and most upscale of all the little towns around the lake.

There are grand hotels, wonderful restaurants and shops!

The narrow passageways are hardly big enough for a car to drive through, but they do.

Joy and I checked out as many shops as we could before meeting the guys for lunch.

We did take time to peak into the church.  The 12th century church is the Bacilica of San Giacomo renovated in the 17th century.

Rick picked out a great place for lunch called la Punta (The Point) as it was on the farthest point of Bellagio.

There were people picnicking on the grass just beyond the restaurant.

We had an excellent lunch of assorted fish from the lake, but time to move on.

There was only a little time left to finish up some last minute shopping before we had to get back on the ferry for our return trip.

Tonight we prepared a yummy dinner of veggies and a nice white wine.

What a way to end a delightful day.