Horgen and Zurich

On the train from Paris to Zurich

David and Simon

Erin in Horgen

Walking up to Simon's house

Still walking up to Simon's house

View from the trail by Simon's house

Street Fair in Horgen

Sign in Zurich - this is where Lindt is made!

The "Heidi" cow in downtown Zurich!

View from Grossmünster church tower

View from Grossmünster church tower

Erin sitting in a window seat at Grossmünster Church

Standing on a bridge in Zurich

View of Horgen from the boat before we docked

We have truly enjoyed our time around Zurich!  We rode the train from Paris to Zurich and I think the kids enjoyed their first actual train ride. By the end of our Europe trip the kids will be pros at train travel!  We played Pinochle on the train and took photos of the passing countryside. In Zurich, David's former roommate from the International House (Simon) met us at the train station and we walked UP and UP to his house high on the hillside overlooking Zurich Lake. He grilled us a wonderful dinner of Swiss sausages and veggies. The kids finished all of the available food!  We also ate some wonderful Swiss ice cream.

Today we took the train to Zurich and walked around old town. We also went into Grossmünster church and climbed the tower to the top for a wonderful view of Zürich. Then we rode the ferry back across the lake to Horgen. 

Tomorrow we get to go for a hike in the Alps with Simon and his family.  I can't wait!

Paris

Erin, Daniel, and David in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

Our Hotel Room

So, we have enjoyed our time here in Paris.  Yesterday we got off the plane, checked into our wonderful hotel-- Hôtel Marignan (they were so nice here!), and then headed out to see the sights.  We saw Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, and the Louvre.  By then end of it, everyone was tired and sore from walking.  So, we ate a quick dinner and went to bed early (8:30 pm) and then got up at 8:00 am.

Stained Glass Window at Notre Dame

Window at Sainte Chapelle

Outside the Palace of Justice
(Do you hear Pink Panther music?)

Today we headed to Versailles and then to the Eiffel Tower.  Versailles was beautiful, but the fountain show was a disappointment because the main fountain was under repair and you couldn't hear the classical music over by the other fountains.

Gate at Versailles

Our shoes at Versailles

Daniel, Erin, and David in the Gardens of Versailles

David and Erin at the Park next to the Eiffel Tower


Daniel, Heidi, and Erin at the Eiffel Tower Promenade

On our way

After waiting half an hour for a flight running late from Los Angeles, we finally left Montreal around 10:25 last night. It was so nice to be on a Boeing 777--Daniel and I actually had enough headroom and didn't have to duck going down the aisle. (I first got an autocorrected "Boring 777"--but I can't say that it was, since everyone got headphones and could watch TV & movies and follow out progress on an interactive map.)  And our seats were correct this time, so we were all sitting together. 

We were starving by the time food was served--a hot dinner--small but hit the spot. I think we all slept reasonably well off and on through our short night across the Atlantic. We just had a "petit dejeuner" (emphasis on "petit")--a piece of rather tasty banana bread. [Hey, my kids know that food is the highlight of every vacation for me, so I may as well start my reviews!] 

It looks like we should land in Paris in about half an hour--around 9:50. We just passed within 100 miles of Cork, Ireland

And then we passed right over the western tip of England, west of Plymouth. 

We just passed Cherbourg (and near Normandy) and have started our descent. Hopefully we can stay awake for some sightseeing today--Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, and the Louvre (open late tonight). Our first day in Europe begins! [David]

Traveling through Canada

At the Atlanta Airport

Waiting in Montreal. 

So far it's been an adventure!  We didn't have any problems in Atlanta, but we were not impressed with the little plane. Our carry-ons barely fit in the overhead bin sideways. The boys couldn't stand up in the plane and the seats were barely wide enough for me. It also was really loud from the engine noise and we couldn't see outside because there was no window next to us. 

Then, when we landed in Toronto we had to go through customs. We had to declare our beef jerky and have them okay it (apparently it is okay if it is packaged in the USA). The customs officer also have us a lecture about pickpockets in Paris.  Then we had to get our checked bag from baggage claim and recheck it to Montreal and Paris. But, our bag never came off the conveyor belt. We waited for 45 minutes or so and then sought help. They finally found it and said they were going to put it on Carousel 10. So we watched that for another 10 minutes and still didn't see it. Erin happened to look behind us at the oversized baggage and it had popped up there!

Then we decided to get something to eat because we were starving and had planned to eat an hour earlier (we had around 2.5 hours for our layover).  So, we got the bag rechecked and found food at a 7-11. We still had 20 minutes before the flight boarded, so we sat and ate and got some water for our waterbottles at the drinking fountain. Then we went upstairs with 5 minutes to spare and encountered...another security checkpoint!!!  The line at least went fast, but David had to dash out of line to dump the water bottles out and we had to reconfigure our liquids bags again. We did make the flight though, so I am impressed!

Now we are in Montreal and I like it much better than Toronto. It feels more worldly and laid back. Also, since everyone is speaking French it feels more like a foreign country. The funniest thing here is the number of pay phones in the airport. I thought pay phones were almost extinct, but there are tons of relatively new ones (they even take credit cards).  That is the most unique thing here so far!  Next stop Paris!!!!!

Last Minute Packing

As usual, it always takes until the last possible minute to pack. Only 4 hours till we have to get up. Hope we get some sleep on the plane!

We sure will miss Kira and Sandy as they catch their flights home tomorrow!  At least they got to spend the night with some of their other EF Exchange Students!  

Trip Outline

Here is the map of our trip!  The dashed lines are flights. We start and end in Paris. 

The country order is:

USA

Canada

France

Switzerland 

France

Italy

Austria

Germany

Denmark

Sweden

Norway

Finland

Spain

Germany

Czech Republic

Netherlands 

Belgium

France