My Best European Vacation Ever
We got into London in the afternoon and rolled our suitcases half a mile from Paddington to our Hyde Park St. digs. I thought at first they had mistakenly given us the key to a walk in closet. However there was another room with a bed in it so we figured we were in the right place. We were able to find an Indian/Persian restaurant that first evening. After being up for almost 24 hours, I was looking for comfort food, and fusion cuisine does the trick for me. But we stuck to the basics like Curry Chicken and Tandoori mixed grill. The kids scarfed it up. Curry Chicken was one of my favorites as a kid as well. Upstate NY had a surfeit of quality ethnic restaurants in the 70s. But enough about my wasted youth. After that excellent meal we didn’t mind shoehorning ourselves into bed.
We did the standard red bus tour of London, after we spent about half an hour negotiating the pedestrian subway near our apartment. I pulled out the detailed map of Southern France that we had but it didn’t help. The bus tour brought us to many of the tourist hotspots. The guides all had their comedy routines down pat. I felt like telling them to stick to the facts and I’ll crack the jokes. But I was a guest in their country and kept my mouth shut.
One of our first stops was the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. There was a big crowd but we got some good pictures and signed my son up for the Junior Beefeater Club. We also saw Big Ben (yeah, I know it’s the bell, not the clock tower), Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Trafalgar Square and 10 Downing. We couldn’t get inside Westminster Abbey until the second day. They were open but the ticket guy took a dislike to me after I asked him what kind of accent he had.
We rode the London Eye that first day too. It’s a Ferris wheel that gives you a 360 degree view of the city. We had heard about a new exhibit called the London Toe but the reviews were not very impressive and we skipped it.
We saw many other sites as well. We toured the Tower of London and saw the crown jewels. I almost made it out of the place with a jeweled scepter but got foiled at the last minute. They canceled our lunch with the queen for that offense. I’ve always wanted a jeweled scepter. After that we took a Thames River cruise and saw all the bridges, the London Bridge, the Tower Bridge, as well as the Millennium Bridge, the new one for pedestrians.
We then moved on to Barcelona and hooked up with the some hometown friends. Although I had a good time, I’d have to agree with one of the kids that thought Barcelona wasn’t the best environment. Pampered suburbanites can’t handle the big city for too long. It was nice being near the Irish pubs however. The traditional Irish folk music, such as Thin Lizzy, was soothing at 3am. Plus the size of the apartment was a big surprise. Lots of room to get away from my kids. Our patio served as party central. One of our friends did a great job sweeping it up before a get together but got a little pissed when I asked her to straighten up the rest of the apartment.
It’s a shame that we didn’t get to smoke our Cubanos at the Plaza (OK, Placa in Catalan but who the hell speaks Catalan). The Placa did provide us with some wonderful afternoons. The big mugs of Damm Beer went down smoothly as did the Sangria. And the tapas were pretty good too. We couldn’t get a pitcher of Sangria but our friendly waitress patiently explained that their establishment did not provide that. I think that’s what she said. A pleasant wait staff can brighten any occasion.
The three evening meals, which, in order, were authentic Spanish, Italian, and cheap, were all outstanding in their own right. Once we figured out that the first restaurant was not Greek, we settled in for a big dish of paella and several bottles of wine. Our Italian meal featured some good food and wine and a great waiter. He even helped us with our map. That’s how we ended up in France.
I enjoyed our third meal the most, and not only because it was very inexpensive. The kids stayed at home and the boys got to sit together. The only snag was that the waiter got somewhat miffed when I sent him back to heat up my gazpacho. Other than that I think everyone enjoyed their meal. There was a lovely couple of young ladies next to the girls side of the table smoking up a storm but they weren’t there very long. We wanted to strike up a conversation but we’re all pretty shy. My only regret about food in Barcelona was that we did not get to try the stuffed specialties at the Taxidermia restaurant.
Saturday morning I starred in “The Interpreter” at the local hospital. One of the kids had a very sore throat so I went with her and her dad. It was a good thing because the dad felt he had a good grasp on the language. He told the nurse that he thought his daughter had a weasel in her harpsichord. I clarified the situation. When we got back to the apartment the troop leader let me know I was severely behind schedule and then headed out to the rental car agency. We caught up with them in France.
The trip up was tons of fun. We did not do the best job of getting directions and missed our exit. We went to the next one and turned around. My wife shared with me her feelings that perhaps there would be traffic and we should seek an alternate route. I must admit I was not open to her suggestions. The trip up to France will be henceforth known as the recrimination rendezvous. The trip back to Barcelona had its moments as well. I’m looking into map reading courses this semester at our local junior college.
Our hosts in France were wonderful and the accommodations, wine and food were all outstanding. One of the highlights was a visit to the Pique-Perlou winery, where we tasted several wines and bought some bottles straight out of the tank. We ate twice at a local restaurant and we had a local couple cook for us twice as well. We all walked away quite full from those meals. One night our friend ordered us a bridge for dinner. He is a polyglot gourmand.
We made several day trips within the region. Pont du Gard was an awesome site. A couple adults and kids kayaked down the river and the others hung out with the rest of the tourists, buying knickknacks and drinking overpriced bottled water. This ancient Roman aqueduct was the second biggest tourist draw in France. I think the first is the Paris Toe. I’ll check on that and get back to you.
We went to a lovely village called Minerve as well as a pre-Roman settlement about half an hour away from our place. I did miss the beach trip, which was OK because I received a vivid description about the unsavory combination of middle age and a thong. We also spent one afternoon at a walled medieval city called Carcassonne. It didn’t quite have the allure of Fisherman’s Wharf, but it came close. My wife bought me a t-shirt there.
That’s how I spent my summer vacation. My traveling companions all agreed that they enjoyed spending time with me.
We did the standard red bus tour of London, after we spent about half an hour negotiating the pedestrian subway near our apartment. I pulled out the detailed map of Southern France that we had but it didn’t help. The bus tour brought us to many of the tourist hotspots. The guides all had their comedy routines down pat. I felt like telling them to stick to the facts and I’ll crack the jokes. But I was a guest in their country and kept my mouth shut.
One of our first stops was the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. There was a big crowd but we got some good pictures and signed my son up for the Junior Beefeater Club. We also saw Big Ben (yeah, I know it’s the bell, not the clock tower), Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Trafalgar Square and 10 Downing. We couldn’t get inside Westminster Abbey until the second day. They were open but the ticket guy took a dislike to me after I asked him what kind of accent he had.
We rode the London Eye that first day too. It’s a Ferris wheel that gives you a 360 degree view of the city. We had heard about a new exhibit called the London Toe but the reviews were not very impressive and we skipped it.
We saw many other sites as well. We toured the Tower of London and saw the crown jewels. I almost made it out of the place with a jeweled scepter but got foiled at the last minute. They canceled our lunch with the queen for that offense. I’ve always wanted a jeweled scepter. After that we took a Thames River cruise and saw all the bridges, the London Bridge, the Tower Bridge, as well as the Millennium Bridge, the new one for pedestrians.
We then moved on to Barcelona and hooked up with the some hometown friends. Although I had a good time, I’d have to agree with one of the kids that thought Barcelona wasn’t the best environment. Pampered suburbanites can’t handle the big city for too long. It was nice being near the Irish pubs however. The traditional Irish folk music, such as Thin Lizzy, was soothing at 3am. Plus the size of the apartment was a big surprise. Lots of room to get away from my kids. Our patio served as party central. One of our friends did a great job sweeping it up before a get together but got a little pissed when I asked her to straighten up the rest of the apartment.
It’s a shame that we didn’t get to smoke our Cubanos at the Plaza (OK, Placa in Catalan but who the hell speaks Catalan). The Placa did provide us with some wonderful afternoons. The big mugs of Damm Beer went down smoothly as did the Sangria. And the tapas were pretty good too. We couldn’t get a pitcher of Sangria but our friendly waitress patiently explained that their establishment did not provide that. I think that’s what she said. A pleasant wait staff can brighten any occasion.
The three evening meals, which, in order, were authentic Spanish, Italian, and cheap, were all outstanding in their own right. Once we figured out that the first restaurant was not Greek, we settled in for a big dish of paella and several bottles of wine. Our Italian meal featured some good food and wine and a great waiter. He even helped us with our map. That’s how we ended up in France.
I enjoyed our third meal the most, and not only because it was very inexpensive. The kids stayed at home and the boys got to sit together. The only snag was that the waiter got somewhat miffed when I sent him back to heat up my gazpacho. Other than that I think everyone enjoyed their meal. There was a lovely couple of young ladies next to the girls side of the table smoking up a storm but they weren’t there very long. We wanted to strike up a conversation but we’re all pretty shy. My only regret about food in Barcelona was that we did not get to try the stuffed specialties at the Taxidermia restaurant.
Saturday morning I starred in “The Interpreter” at the local hospital. One of the kids had a very sore throat so I went with her and her dad. It was a good thing because the dad felt he had a good grasp on the language. He told the nurse that he thought his daughter had a weasel in her harpsichord. I clarified the situation. When we got back to the apartment the troop leader let me know I was severely behind schedule and then headed out to the rental car agency. We caught up with them in France.
The trip up was tons of fun. We did not do the best job of getting directions and missed our exit. We went to the next one and turned around. My wife shared with me her feelings that perhaps there would be traffic and we should seek an alternate route. I must admit I was not open to her suggestions. The trip up to France will be henceforth known as the recrimination rendezvous. The trip back to Barcelona had its moments as well. I’m looking into map reading courses this semester at our local junior college.
Our hosts in France were wonderful and the accommodations, wine and food were all outstanding. One of the highlights was a visit to the Pique-Perlou winery, where we tasted several wines and bought some bottles straight out of the tank. We ate twice at a local restaurant and we had a local couple cook for us twice as well. We all walked away quite full from those meals. One night our friend ordered us a bridge for dinner. He is a polyglot gourmand.
We made several day trips within the region. Pont du Gard was an awesome site. A couple adults and kids kayaked down the river and the others hung out with the rest of the tourists, buying knickknacks and drinking overpriced bottled water. This ancient Roman aqueduct was the second biggest tourist draw in France. I think the first is the Paris Toe. I’ll check on that and get back to you.
We went to a lovely village called Minerve as well as a pre-Roman settlement about half an hour away from our place. I did miss the beach trip, which was OK because I received a vivid description about the unsavory combination of middle age and a thong. We also spent one afternoon at a walled medieval city called Carcassonne. It didn’t quite have the allure of Fisherman’s Wharf, but it came close. My wife bought me a t-shirt there.
That’s how I spent my summer vacation. My traveling companions all agreed that they enjoyed spending time with me.
posted by DJ @ 2:04 PM
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