Mexico Cruise July 26 to July 31, 2008
So we are back from our Mexico Cruise. It wasn't what we had expected therefore we just had an o.k. time. The boat itself was very nice but just not nearly enough to do for us busy "on the go" people. Cabo San Lucas we got off the boat andKevin ended up not feeling well and went back to the ship, while Stefano and I went parasailing, Nikki and Robert walked into town and to the beach. They met up with us after our excursion and said they were ready to go back to the ship...too many little kids asking them to buy things. Parasailing was awesome. It was so cool and it didnt even feel like you were up that high. The views were amazing. Once we got back onto the boat we all took a little rest (most of the day). Ensenada wasn't bad. We headed for Papas and Beer and it wasn't at all what we had thought so we ended up just walking around town and shopping. We all ended up getting henna tattoos, so that we could tell everyone that they were real. That didn't work so well... no one believed us. We are very glad to be back in California on dry ground.
Rhino Ride 7-13-08
Today Kevin and I took his new Rhino UTV up to the Sly Park area and drove around for part of the day. The area that we went in was kind of boring. But some of it was really neat. He was just trying to put some hours on the engine before he leaves for Colorado hunting.
On Our Way Home 7-8-08
We arrived at Gatwick Airport to go through about 5 different checkpoints (we have 1 checkpoint they have a ton of them). The flight was 10 hours and very long but again with the help of Tylenol PM I was able sleep most of the way and the flight wasn't that bad. We just arrived through customs in houston. We are safe and sound. Very tired. Sorry I did not contact you all while I was gone but my phone did not end up working while we were there. So I was disconnected from life as I know it. I made it though. We had a fabulous time seeing all the sights. I am not sure what was my favorite yet. I need to look over pictures and remember all that we went to. It was all pretty amazing. Met lots of new people on the trip. Well I will arrive in Sacramento around 8 pm tonight (Sac time). Sorry again for not staying in contact.
London, England (Day 2) 7-7-08
We ate breakfast and then headed for a 2 hour bus tour. Our tour guide Heather was hilarious. She was an awesome guide. We stopped at St. Paul's Cathedral (where Princess Diana was married). We snuck inside to get a peak. It was so beautiful. Then we stopped near Westminster Abbey (The place where Princess Diana was laid to rest). We also got to see Big Ben and the Parliment Buildings from that stop as well. We also saw the largest Ferris Wheel in the world called "The Eye". Unfortunately we did not have time to ride it. We also went past the Tower Bridge (which is commonly confused by people that it is the London Bridge). It was so amazing. After the bus tour we dropped off the part of the group that wasn't going to Windsor Castle. Then the rest of us headed out to the castle. It was amazing. By far the best castle that we have seen on this trip. Also the only castle that is still inhabited as well. The Queen had just left the castle shortly before we arrived. Bummer. We shopped around Windsor and had lunch and then we toured the castle. It puts versailles to shame. After the tour we headed back for dinner and then headed to the huge soccer store it was so cheap. we bought another suitcase because I had used a luggage scale and I was way overweight. After that we headed back to the hotel to pack (some of the group went and saw Wicked) and get some sleep for our 4 am wake up call to get to the airport.
London, England 7-6-08
We too the Eurostar train. It is so cool. It goes about 180 mph (240 km ph). We are all tired since we got about 4 to 5 hours of sleep last night. We arrived in london to catch a bus to our hotel. Our bus never showed up so we lugged our luggage to the tube (metro or subway). That was an experience. Once we got to the hotel the rooms weren't ready so we had to lugged everything upstairs to a holding closet room. Then we headed for the city on a walking tour. We walked past Big Ben, The Parliment and Trafalgar and Leichester Squares. We ended our tour in Convenant Garden. It used to be a market. After our tour we had a little free time before dinner. We had a snack (hamburgers and the most amazing mashed potatoes), we were a little homesick for American food. Then we walked around some more. After dinner Seth took us on an adventure to a fabulous 6 story soccer store that is cheap. But by the time that we got there it was closed. So we headed for the hotel. Most of us went to bed early.
Paris, France (Day 2) 7-5-08
So our day started early again. Breakfast was ok. It actually had yogurt this time. I was pretty happy about that. After breakfast we headed for the bus. We took a 2 hour bus tour of the city. We had the tour guide from hell. She thought she was so funny and really no one could understand her. So everybody was asleep for most of it. After that we were dropped off for about 45 minutes to get lunch. We again had hamburgers and fries. Chelsea had escargo. After that we got back onto the bus to head to Versailles. Again we had the same tour guide. Versailles was gorgeous and the gardens were amazing. After versailles we headed back to the city center and were dropped off by the opera house. We had 45 minutes free time. We pretty much sat there and looked at everyones pictures on their cameras. After that we headed to an early dinner. We had dinner crepes. They were pretty good but not completely filling. We also had crepes for dessert. Those were amazing. I am so learning how to make crepes. By far the best authentic meal we have had in Europe. After dinner we headed to the Eiffel Tower via the metro again. We got into line to go to the top and the police arrived and cornered off an area. We found out that someone had left a duffel bag unattended. They must get this a lot because it was taken care(blown up we heard the explosion) of within about 45 minutes but our group was impatient so we decided to go on our river cruise first. That was cool and really nice to sit down for an hour. We met people from Atlanta, GA. Thet were very nice and somehow they new we were from northern california. After the cruise we headed back to the Eiffel Tower. It stays light late so it still was not lit up. We took one sideways type elevator (similar to the Cograil) to the first level and then we stood in line forever to catch the second elevator. But the views were amazing. I could see how it could be romantic up there. The lights came on as we were on it. It was so cool. After we got to the bottom we met up with the group. About 6 of us laid on the grass nearby and stared at it in ahhhh. It was amazing with lights. Every hour for ten minutes the have blinking lights so we laid there in amazement and watched that. It was so cool. After all of that we headed for the metro and to our hotel. Bed late up early, AGAIN.
Paris, France 7-4-08
So we arrived in paris and checked into our hotel. As soon as we were settled in, we met downstairs and started on a walking tour. We took the metro(subway) to get to our destination. So we walked for about an hour. We saw Notre Dam (no Hunchbacks though) and a few other churches and sites along the route. We had a little bit of free time and we did a little bit of shopping and got our first taste of a French Crepe. Not knowing what the menu board said we ordered what we thought was sugar and chocolate. It was actually sugar and coconut. Of course we all tried it and I have to say it wasn't that bad and I am not a huge fan of coconut. Then we met at our meeting place and talked with Steven (our very knowledgable tour guide). He is so amazing, I really think that he knows everything. He is from Kentucky and lives near Heidelberg, Germany now. He is thinking about moving back to the States at the end of this year. Then we were off to dinner. We ate a little cafe. It was ok. Then after that we walked up a hill and a million steps to a church with a view of the city. It was gorgeous. But we never found the Eiffel Tower from there. We were looking in the wrong direction. There was a little shopping area at the top and so we had some free time to go and get souveniers. We had our 2nd crepe of the trip (plain chocolate). After that we headed back to the metro to get to the hotel for bed. It was a very long day.
Colmar, France (Alsace Region) 7-3-08
Well it rained in Colmar but fortunately it was pretty light by the time that we got there. We did a walking tour of the city and then sent out on our own. We immediately went to eat. Breakfasts haven't been to filling, so we were all starving. Most of us had a hamburger and french fries. It was pretty good. They don't really understand us very well, by far this has been the hardest place as far as the language barrier. After that we did some shopping and then we went to the museum of the person (Bartoldi) that built the Statue of Liberty and gave it to the United States. It was pretty neat they had a replica of the ear of lady liberty life sized. That was cool. After that we headed for a park in the area with fountains and a merry go round. It was there that we encountered some real french kids that thought it was funny to follow us and call us "be-ach"(that bitch in American). They continued following us for a few minutes. Chelsea had a flyer from the museum in her back pocket, and they got daring and ran up and took it out of her pocket and ran away. We were laughing because we new what it was. They stopped a little ways down and looked at us and ripped the paper up and walked away. It was quite a funny experience. After that experience we headed for the bus to drive to our hotel for the night. It was an early night in the hotel. Monique (my roommate) and I played on the computer for a long time, then we went to dinner, then we played on the computer some more and then we went to the cold tub. They don't believe in hot tubs here. So it was the same temperature as the indoor warm pool. After that we went to bed.
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