Rhi's European Adventure 2010

July 06, Arrive at 1145. Depart at 1400 on American Airlines flight #178. Miles = 2572.

July 07, Arrive in JFK at 2235. Depart to London at 0105, ~ 2.5 hours late on American Airlines flight #116. Miles = 3,458.

July 07, Arrived in London at 1300. Hopped onto the Tube to the Wimbledon station, which is on the opposite side of town; failure to follow the Londoner's directions. Re-focused the compass to the District line to Edgware Road, transfer to Paddington then onto the Bakerloo line to the Wembley Central station. Distance ~ 14 miles.

July 07, arrived at the hotel at 1600. Walked the neighborhood. July 08, hopped on the Tube to visit the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, walked along the River Thames towards the London Eye. Crossed Westminster Bridge to Westminster Abbey and then onto St James Park. Headed to the front of Buckingham Palace. Headed over to Leicester Square, China town and onto Piccadilly Circus for dinner. Weather was very hot; 96-98 deg. F. July 09, visited the British Museum, Natural History Museum, Covent Garden and square. Finished the day at Trafalgar Square. July 10, Depart hotel at 0830 to the ST.Pancras station to board the Eurostar train at 1000. Train travel (10:25-13:50) via the Chunnel into Calais, lille and into Paris.

July 10, arrive in Paris at 1455. Reached the hotel at 1700. Nearest Metro station is Cadet. Headed over to Trocadero Place crossed the Seine river to visit the Eiffel tower and through the Champ de Mars park. Walked to the Arc de Triompe and down the Avenue des Champs - Elysees. Arrived back to the hotel at 0230! July 11, Visit the Louvre museum, Jardin Tuileries garden, Place De La Concorde. Rhionna rode the rides at the local carnival. Visit Norte Dame cathedral, Sainte Chapelle, St. Jaques church. Walked along the river on the perimeter of Ile De La Cite isle. July 12, Visit Ille St. Louis into the Latin Quater, Luxembourg gardens, Notre Dame cathedral and to the Eiffel tower for a lift ride to the second deck - last ride of the night. Metro was closed; walked back to the hotel, arrived at 0305! July 13, depart the hotel at 1000 to pick up the rental car. Depart Paris at 1130 and headed out to Versailles.

Toured the exterior gardens. The interior palace tours had 2-3 hour waits in the hot sun with ~ 96 deg. F. Departed via A13 to A29.

Visited the historic fishing ports and marinas of Honfleur and Deauville along coast highway D513.

Drove along E401 road to visit the Pegasus memorial in the town of Ranville-Benouville. Pegasus bridge crosses the Caen canal, renamed in honor of the British airborne forces that catured the bridge to limit the German counter attack during the Normandy invasion.

Drove into Caen to visit the castle and cathedral. Located ~ 2 hours north west of Paris. Caen was one of the first cities liberated by the Canadian and English troops in July 1944. Best known for it's castle - Chateau de Caen, built in 1060 by William the Conqueror.

July 13, Drove D613 road into Bayeux. Watched a local fireworks display. July, 14 visited the Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum.

July 14, Visited the American Memorial and cemetery overlooking Omaha beach in St. Laurent-sur-Mer. Departed back on E46 to N174 into ST.-LO. N174 to A84 to the city of Avranches. A84 to N175 to D43 into Le Mont-St-Michel.

Visited the monastery / fortress compound constructed in the 7th century at the mouth of the Couesnon river near Avranches. Classified by UNESCO as one of its cultural World heritage sites. Depart on D976 to N176 to Chateauneuf then onto D137 into Rennes.

July 15, depart Rennes on N137 into Nantes. E3/A83 into Niort, E5/A10 into Bordeaux. N10/A63 into Bayonne and then into the beach city of Biarritz.

Arrived in Biarritz at 1930. Toured the main road through town and walked along the beach front. Drove on A63/E5 into Spain at 2145. E5/E80 into Bilbao, arrived at 2300.

July 15, located this hotel by the airport at 0150 July 16. July 16, visited the Guggenheim Museum and toured the city center. Departed Bilbao at 1430, drove AP68 to AP1 to E5/E80 into Burgos continued on A1/E5 into Madrid.

July 16, arrive in Madrid at 1845. Located hotel at 2145. July 17 took the local bus into the city center. Visited the Prado Museum and saw Diego Velazquez's Las Meninas considered by many to be the World's finest painting. Visited the Cathedral of Almudena and the Royal Palace. Walked the Paseo de Prado and the Gran Via. Explored Retiro Park. Weather was ~ 98-99 deg. F. July 18, depart Madrid at 1030. Drove A2/E90 into Zaragoza.

Drove E90/A2 to AP7/E15 into the coastal city of Tarragona.

Detoured into the coastal town of Tarragona. Drove AP7/E15 into Barcelona.

July 18, arrived at 1830. Located hotel at 2030! Toll roads exits are infrequent! July 19, drove into Port Vell. Visited Park Guell, museum house of Gaudi, La Sagrada Familia church, Mirador de Colom (Columbus Monument) and the Catalunya plaza. Toured the Old City section and walked the infamous Ramblas. July 20, Depart and drove the AP7/E15 to A9/E15 into France and through Perpignan, Narbonne, Montpellier and into Nimes. Drove A54/E80 into Arles.

July 20, arrived in Arles at 1530. Located on one of the Rhone river forks. Visited the Roman ruins. Known for it's Roman aqueduct and watermills. Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles from 1888 to 1889 before he was forced out of the city after he severed his ear. Vincent produced over 300 paintings and drawings during his stay in Arles. Departed 1100, July 21. Drove A8/E80 to D25 into Ste Maxime.

Drove D98 into Port Gimaud. Took a boat tour of the city built on water. Located on the French Riviera 4 miles west of St. Tropez. The original village town was constructed in the 1960's to resemble a Venetian style lagoon village. Must be visited! Continued along the coast into St. Tropez.

Arrived into ST. Tropez at 1500 and toured the coast area. Proceeded on the coast road D559 into Cannes. Great drive and many great sites!

Arrived into Cannes at 2000. Traffic was heavy and slow. Tourists walking out to the beach front to participate in the festivities and fireworks display. Headed north to the town of Mougins to locate a hotel room. July 22, toured Cannes and the beach front. Departed area at 1430, drove D559 into Antibes and Villeneuve-Loubet through Nice and onto Villefranche-s-Mer.

Arrived in Nice at 1600. Drove around town. Walked into the Old Nice and over to Castle hill. July 23, depart at 1330 on N98 into Monte Carlo.

July 23, arrived in Monte Carlo at ~ 1400. Walked along the beach front, harbor and over to the Royal Casino. Departed the area at ~ 1730. Drove A10/E80 into Italy and through Genova.

July 23, drove through Genova into Chiavari. Tunnels everywhere, must have driven through at least twenty five tunnels.

Arrived in Chiavari at 2100. Drove around town to locate a hotel. Walked along the beach front. Rhionna went into the water until 0030, beach music was blasting until 0000. July 24, drove the coast on SP1 back into Portofino.

Arrived in Portofino at 1200. Toured the town on foot and by car on the way out. Departed at 1445 on SP1 into Monterosso al Mare.

Arrived at 1730. Rhionna went swimming. Toured the town on foot. Departed at 2030 into Viareggio, Pisa, Livorno and back to Massa then onto Lucca. We were informed that all hotels along the coast for 25 miles were booked.

July 25 at 0300, finally located a hotel in Altopascio! Departed at 1150 and onto Pisa. Help, driving without a map, must have crossed the same intersections multiple times!

Arrived in Pisa at 1230. Drove into the Old section of town and walked over to the Piazza dei Miracoli to view the Leaning Tower, Cathedral and Baptistery. Departed Pisa at 1500, drove S1 along the coast towards Rome.

Arrived in Rome at 2000. We lucked out to locate an Ibis hotel two exits off the highway! July 26, rode the hotel shuttle into Rome central. Toured; Colosseum, Capital Hill, Forum, Palatine Hill, Piazza Venezia, Piazza Colonna, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Novanno and Castel St. Angelo. The hotel missed our pick-up at 2300. Taxi ride back to the hotel! July 27, Toured on the Roma Christana open bus. Visited; Campo de Fiori, Piazza De Navona, Trevi fountain, Piazza Mignanelli, Spanish Steps, Piazza Del Popolo and the Vatican Basilica. Walked over to the open marketplace along the river. July 28, depart Rome at 1000. Drove A1/E35 into Florence.

July 28, arrived in Florence at 1400. Hopped on a local bus into the center of town. Visited the Piazza Del Duomo, Accademia Gallery, Piazza San Marco, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Piazza San Maria Novella and Palazzo Vecchio. Walked along the river to Pointe Vecchio bridge. July 29, depart Florence at 1215. Drove A1/E35 through Bologna to A13 into Padova. Encountered heavy rain and heavy traffic, south bound traffic was at a standstill for miles!

Arrive in Padova at 1600. July 30, drove S-11 to the mainland train station in Mestre. Rode the local train into the Santa Lucia station at 1232.

Cruised the Grand canal in a vaporetto. Visited Doge's Palace, Clock Tower, Campanile bell tower and St. Mark's Basilica in St Mark's Square. Left Venice at 2030 and headed back to Padova. July 31, depart Padova at 1130 to our next destination- Salzburg, Austria.

July 31, A4/E70 into Verona. Drove A22/E45 into Trento and towards Bolzano.

Continued on A22/E45 through Vipiteno / Sterzing and onto Brenner.

July 31, arrived in Innsbruck at 1715. Drove E45-60 to A12 to A8 E52-60 into Salzburg.

July 31, arrived in Salzburg at 2030. August 01, drove into town, toured the Hohensalzburg Fortress and castle. Toured Mozartplatz to see the Mozart statue and St. Micheal church. Walked the south part of Old Town. Completed most of the Monchsberg Walk and climbed to the Richterhohe look-out peak to view the southern valley. Depart Salzburg at 1730. Hotel Ibis, Nord Carl-Zuckmayer-Strabe 1.

Drove E45-60 through Innsbruck towards Ruette, Austria.

Drove E533(177) into Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Home of the 1936 Winter Olympics and scheduled to present the 2011 Alpine World Ski Championships. Continued drive on 187 into Lermoos.

August 01, arrived in Lermoos at 2130. August 02, drove through town and onto 179 through Ruette and Fussen into Hohenschwangau.