Europe Trip 
June 25 - July 13, 2004. Mulerts, Kellys & Liz Simons
(Click on any image for photo pages, or Click Here to view a single slide show of ALL of pictures.)
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 Slide Show |
Thank you Gammy/Liz! The link on the left will display a slide show of all of the pictures. The links below will take you to each day's pictures. ENJOY! |
 Fri 6/25 |
Friday June 25, 2004 We left for the airport at about 7:15pm. First bad luck: Claire forgot her custom-burned music CD at home. "The trip is ruined", according to Claire. But, Tina came to the rescue and hand-delivered the CD to O'Hare before we departed. THANKS TINA! First good luck: Our upgrades came through and we flew business class on a 777. |
 Sat 6/26 |
Saturday June 26, 2004 An uneventful flight. We arrived as scheduled around noon. The driver Tony found us 'strite-away' (pronunciation) and delivered us to 57 Holland Road in Kensington. Liz was already there. Kris, Bruce, Bryan and Caroline were visting friends in Wimbledon. Did not do much other than nap, have dinner and plan for Sunday. Liz's cousin Suzi was there to visit and help us settle in. We had dinner at Alounak's, A Mediterranean restaurant around the corner from the house. |
 Sun 6/27 |
Sunday June 27, 2004 Had breakfast at home. Struck out on the cabs to the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast. The Tower of London is one of the most historical sites in London. Great tours are given by the Beefeaters, but the kids were too antsy. Liz saw some of the grounds, but waited while the others climbed steps. It only rained on Liz a little bit while we were inside. ;-) Mark directed the kids out a fire-exit while viewing the Crown Jewels. Fortunately, the guard was understanding and we were allowed to continue the tour. The many weapons held the most interest for Kevin. Only Mark and the kids went up the Tower Bridge. Kris, Bruce and Lee waited on the ground and missed out. Liz left for home to wait for us. The kids most enjoyed searching the floor of the Tower observation decks for money and other British souveniers. Why was the bridge built with the towers? Answer: So that people could walk up and over while the bridge was open. We then walked a few blocks to the HMS Belfast, a retired WW II battleship. Very cool lifelike figures all around the ship. Got rained on, but found shelter, snacks and a Starbucks for Lee and Bruce. Quote of the day: Claire would "SO not want to wear armor!" |
 Mon 6/28 |
Monday June 28, 2004 First stop, the The London Eye. A 140 meters high ferris wheel built for the Millenium celebration With 32 cars that can hold about 25 people each. The views are Very nice, even though it was an overcast day. We ate lunch along the river with a sidewalk painter, a dancer and two performers dressed as statues. The kids were amazed that they were actually alive. Watch for poses the kids performed at Hampton Gardens later in the trip imitating these mimes. |
 Tue 6/29 |
Tuesday June 29, 2004 Train to Hampton Court. Very cool hedge bush maze and great outdoor gardens. The palace was taken over by Henry VIII from Cardinal Woolsey. There were actors dressed as characters from various periods prepared to answer curious questions and demonstrate how their clothing and swords worked (guess who was interested in each of those?) The inner rooms were interesting to the adults, if not kids. Nice lunch at the Tiltyard Garden Tearooms. Dinner at Giraffe was a highlight. Best dinner ever by a family of 9 with T-Shirt & CD purchases. Even the throw-up incident did not detract from the experience. |
 Wed 6/30 |
Wednesday June 30, 2004 No Tube (subway) due to a 1-day strike. But the bus lines were more than adequate.After breakfast at home, we bussed and walked to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard. We were a bit worried that it was too slow for the kids, especially after Bryan spent several minutes photographing Claire's feet and the ground, but there was enough activity to interest them. Lunch at Garfunkel's was so-so. Then to the theatre for a matinee performance of Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat. Liz joined us by cab. Great performance. We then walked around Covent Garden for a bit. Saw some street performers and browsed touristy gift shops. Dinner that night was at Live Bait. Very good sea food. Bryan proclaimed it his "best meal of the trip." He'll have to get lobster every dinner. ;-) This was the first night all 4 kids went to sleep without a melt-down of some sort. It hasn't been unbearable, but it hasn't been pretty. We figure they're adjusting to British time zone and the beds just in time to leave for France on Saturday. The trip is going GREAT! Quote of the day: Upon completion of the changing of the guard, Claire commented, "That was nice show!". We'll have to let Queen Elizabeth know that they "put on a nice show." Another by Claire at lunch: "Hey, they spelled colour wrong." :-) |
 Thus 7/1 |
Thursday July 1, 2004 A less "jam packed" day. Lee and Kris went shopping just in time for the big sales; included a stop at Harrod's and the Lady Di' Memorial, both of which were very tacky.Bruce, Mark, Claire, Kevin, Caroline & Bryan went on a Double Decker bus for an open-top bus tour. We had pizza for lunch. A highlight with the kids. But not for Bruce and Mark. A final stop at Hamley's toy store was a big hit. Dinner that night home for 13, including Liz's cousins from London, some of whom she had not seen since childhood. |
 Fri 7/2 |
Friday July 2, 2004 Train to Windsor. Lego Land visit. Windsor is a beautiful little town. Windsor Castle is awesome from the outside. Lego Land far exceeded everyone's expecations, despite the intermittent downpours. |
 57 Holland Rd |
57 Holland Road Photo's from the house we stayed at. |
 Taxis |
Taxis Photo's of London Taxis. |
 Sat 7/3 |
Saturday July 3, 2004 4 cars ARRIVED AT 6:00 AM to take us to the airport. We had only reserved 2. Oops! Travelin with this group of 9 is like 1) leading a tour, 2) herding cats, or 3) a fire drill. Answer is all of the above, depending on your point of view. Fly to Paris. Lunch in Gif-sur-Yvette. Drive to L'Ejumeau, our home in the Loire Valley. You have to look at the pictures. Words cannot describe the place. L'Ejumeau is a 3 building French country manor. This used to be an active hunting lodge. many remnants of the hunting activity can still be found along the trails of the 300+ acres. We stayed in the 6 bedroom main house (4 full baths) with a pool, tennis courts, fresh laid chicken eggs, fresh-picked vegetables, and fresh baguettes and croissants each morning delivered by the caretaker. She was appalled when Mark put goat cheese on a croissant. On top of all that, it is only 30 minutes drive from Chambord, 35 minutes to Chenonceaux and 45 minutes to Bourge. Amazing! Laundry challenges led Bruce to expect that his jeans would suds up if it rained.Lee & Bruce cooked steaks for dinner. |
 Sun 7/4 |
Sunday July 4, 2004 The beautiful sunny day began with a delivery of fresh bagettes & goat cheese. Lunch in the yard followed by swimming and a visit to a local chateau, 5 Km's away, the Chateau du Moulin. We went fishing in the backyard pond. Kevin caught the first fish and Bryan caught a monster! We had dinner at an outdoor table at Au Bourge restaurant in Lassay-sur-Croisne. When we arrived early for dinner they presented us with a 6 inch skeleton key to the chapel next door and we had a private visit to a several hundred year old chapel. |
 Mon 7/5 |
Monday July 5, 2004 A leisurely breakfast of fresh laid eggs, fresh baked croissants and baggettes and french cheese. (That description is going to get boring. We did the same every day.) It was only a 30 Km drive to Chambord, the largest of the chateaus we visited. At over 400 rooms it may be the largest in the Loire valley. It was primarily of 'hunting lodge'. Francois 1st's symbolic salamander is seen in many places. One of the kings, sorry I don't remember which, was said to arrive with over 500 falcons to hunt with. We also saw an equestrian exhibition which was somewhar touristy, but hey, we were tourists. If there was any doubt, one look at Mark was sure to confirm that fact. After Chambord, we drove to Blois, on the Loire River. The Blois Chateau is built high atop the bluffs overlooking the river and the town is built around the chateau. The kids were not up to another historical visit so we did a drive-by and found an outdoor cafè for glace and cafè. Mark grilled pork chops for dinner. |
 Tue 7/6 |
Tuesday July 6, 2004 We drove through Montrichard on our way to visit Chennenceaux. Our lunch spot was a picturesque outdoor creperie in the centre ville. After lunch we visited the chateau. Tuesday's dinner was breaded chicken breasts prepared by Lee & Bruce.Chateaux Chenonceaux: The most beautiful chateaux in the Loire region. build on a bridge over the Cher river. It is only 35 Km from L'Ejumeau. Highlights were the boat rentals so we could row under the chateau and lunch in the centre ville creperie. Goat Cheese Farm: Josseline took us to the goat farm a few minutes away from which our fresh goat cheese came. |
 Wed 7/7 |
Wednesday July 7, 2004 Paris. We drove 2 hours to Manu and Evelyn Schecter's home in Gif-sur-Yvette. After a brief hello it was off to the Metro train for a 30-minute train ride. We started at Notre Dame. Had lunch in a Cafe on the bank of the Seine. A downpour forced us to linger over lunch for awhile. But the storm cleared and we then made our way to Tour Eiffel. We arrived under cloudy skies. By the time we made it to the top the clouds were clearing. We left under blue sky. After a long walk for glace (ice cream). Kris, Bruce and Lee headed for Musee D'Orsay, but missed the last entry time. We had pizza at the Schecter's and drove back to L'Ejumeau. Quote of the day, 'These French don't know how to spell very many words correctly. Only ticket and hotel.' |
 Thus 7/8 |
Thursday July 8, 2004 We visited Bourges, with a Cathedral built circa 1200 AD and a centre Ville built upon a Roman Town, circa 500AD. Quote of the day: 'Did we go to Paris today?' Home-cooked French Dinner: Josseline prepared a 5-course meal with 2 wines, champagne, white table cloth and candles. What a treat! This made up for the laundry which left soap deposits on each piece of clothing. |
 Fri 7/9 |
Friday July 9, 2004 Friday was left open in our plans. And we made the most of it. Mark picked up Nate Kaiser at the train station in Blois. We returned to L'Ejumeau for some fishing and made our plans for the day. We had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the Tour de France. So we decided to try to get to thge route to see the race in person. Nate arrived with a schedule for tour's route for that day through the Loire Valley. So Mark, Nate, Bruce and 4 kids headed off. We calculated where we could intercept the Tour and picked the tiny village of Monplaisir, about 75 kilometers away. As we drove we plotted the Tour's expected progress, based on Nate's printout from a web site, against our progress in the car. 1 and 1/2 hours later we arrived at our destination 20 minutes ahead of the riders. Enough time to park at the side of the road and find a spot to watch. The town had one intersection and about 6 buildings. We estimated about a thousand spectators were there. The first 4 helicopters to fly overhead at about 400' made it apparent this is a big deal. We had a great view of the riders and the dozens, if not hundreds, of support vehicles. It was over very quickly, but well worth the drive. The afternoon finished with several fish catches and, happily, all kids caught at least one fish. We finished the day with pork cutlets on the grill and packing for our departure on Saturday. |
 L'EJumeau House |
L'Ejumeau A 3 building French country manor. This used to be an active huting lodge. many remnants of the hunting activity can still be found along the trails of the 300+ acres. We stayed in 6 bedroom manor with a pool, tennis courts, fresh laid chicken eggs, fresh-picked vegetables. On top of all that, it is only 30 minutes drive from Chambord, 35 minutes to Chenenceaux and 45 minutes to Bourges. Amazing! |
 Sat 7/10 |
Saturday July 10, 2004 Today is the day that Liz and the Kellys head for home. Mulerts and Nate head to Paris. We stopped in Orleans for lunch, shopping and a surprise cathedral. |
 Sun 7/11 |
Sunday July 11, 2004 Trip to Luxembourg Palace, Mont Martre & Sacre Coeur Cathedral. |
 Mon 7/12 |
Monday July 12, 2004 Visit to Chateau de Breteuil outside of Paris. |
 Tue 7/13 |
Tuesday July 13, 2004 Returning HOME. What a great trip it was. |
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