Don & Sandy’s Trip to Europe in the Summer of 2000

Date		Time	Where/What/Who/etc… Click on the pictures for larger/nicer ones! (use the browser "Back" to return)
Tues	27th	5pm or so	We fly out of Chicago overnight to the Frankfurt, Germany airport with some dinner, etc
Wed	28th	6am or so local time about 9am	We arrive in Frankfurt (having slept, had coffee & a light bite), caught a train (with a round-trip ticket) and heading South to RheinHotel Bacharach where we checked in to our 1^st stay for a few days We then searched nearby for a light snack—Sandy was stunned as I ordered coffee & a bun at the counter in reasonably good German!
Wed	28th	Late am & The rest of the day	We did a little touristy stuff, walking around Bacharach… lunch, etc Hooked up with one of the castle tours on the River Rhine for a couple hours (Bacharach down towards Mainz and back) Dinner early & then onto bed! (JetLag)
Thu	29th	All day	We did a little more JetLag recovery for part of the morning… got up after this & searched for (and found) a really good breakfast: Bauernfrühstück ("Farmer's Breakfast" for those who've never had one)… you might also try today’s Google Language Translation for the fun it creates! We then headed to Boppard for the Rhine Castles tour #2… lunch somewhere BratVursty! Dinner somewhere "posh" and then found something interesting to do for the evening
Fri	30th	Early morning	We get up early for breakfast, check out & head back up to Frankfurt (by train) and fly LuftHansa to Paris, leaving around lunchtime
Fri	30th	Afternoon	We land at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris around 2pm. Don’s dear friend Tony picked us up and provided some entertainment for the afternoon We ended up in Versailles where we stayed at the Hotel du Berry
Sat	1st	All day	Up at a reasonable hour for breakfast somewhere close by & we then took a train into Paris, Le Citée for the day Visited the Musée du Louvre, a Tour Eiffel spin, an hour or two at Notre Dame, an afternoon ride on the Bateau Mouche, meander along by L'Arc du Triomphe, and some Here-and-There Walkies … well, you know!! BTW, Sandy was still feverishly trying to decide just WHAT we're going to do in Paris!! We'll for sure have a pretty nice lunch at some sidewalk café, dinner at the end of the day (maybe way up in the sky at the Eiffel Tower!) & then perhaps a show in town or something. If we're really lucky, we might perhaps fit in a pint or three at the Frog & Rosbif, especially if they still have Parislytic!! (pronounced en français as "Paralytic" of course…)
Sun	2nd	All day	Up & out early-ish… maybe back into Paris for another day of the same, or perhaps we'll head the other way altogether and spend Sunday in the country! We may even spend the day "locally" in and around Versailles, especially touring the Châteaux (click on "Help"/choose English to "drive") and of course the wonderful Gardens. Isn't flexibility wonderful!
Mon	3rd	All day (loong day!)	Get up early & check out to catch a train to the Gare du Nord station in Paris with some breakfast en route. Our TGV to London departs around lunchtime, so we'll try and park our luggage somewhere for a final couple hours exploring the nearby areas. Once we get up to London (Waterloo station) we're headed across town to King's Cross to catch the Edinburgh express at 4pm. We may try and deposit out luggage again if there's enough time for an hour or so out and about. The express reaches Edinburgh around 8:30pm, making it a bit of a long day, but that's travel! Perhaps it will rain or something on the way… maybe not! We'll have a nice view of the whole country on our way North. We'll eventually get checked into the ElmView B&B and then try to have some nice fish & chips for dinner washed down with a couple of beers. We'll fall into bed for sure!!
Tues	4th	All day	Get up, have breakfast at the B&B and check out. We'll take a stroll around Edinburgh Castle and we may also try and visit the Royal Botanic Garden or do something else around the capital, depending on our weather, etc. We'll be heading out for the Trossachs around lunchtime where we'll check into the Leny Estates Hotel & then spend the rest of the day doing local stuff of all kinds… walking, bike riding, or something else vaguely Scottish! We will be finding another nice pub for dinner!
Wed	5th	All day	We'll spend another day in and around the Trossachs. Hope the weather's nice for this!!
Thu	6th	All day	Check out of our B&B after breakfast… we'll bdo a little more of the same in & around Scotland as we meander South to Ambleside in the Lake District. We're staying at the Ambleside Lodge, a very nice little place. Lake District on foot or bike… trip on the lake… hike and snooze on the Fells! We'll try for sure to hit the Drunken Duck this year (missed it last time!)
Fri	7th	All day	More Lake District enjoyment. Hope we get more goodly weather for walking!!
Sat	8th	All day	Check out of our B&B after breakfast and meander Easterly to North Yorkshire. We're staying at the Abbey Lodge, Harrogate again… nice access to downtown, etc. Spend the afternoon & evening in and around Harrogate. (Jim Ashford leaves for parts abroad this weekend… we're going to miss each other!)
Sun	9th	All day	Visit the N. Yorkshire Moors and such… More unplanned fun!
Mon	10th	All day	Check out of the B&B after breakfast and visit York en route to our overnight destination at the Fairlight Lodge Hotel in Windsor with a visit to the Castle for sure!!
Tues	11th	Morning	We'll do what we need to do nice and early to get all checked out of the B&B and head to Heathrow to be sure we're there in time for the plane arrival (around noon)
		Noon/PM	Pick up Stu and his friend, Jamie at Heathrow & head South for Bournemouth. Stop for some pub lunch on the way with a couple of pints Visit 70 Elmes for a while and then go check into Parklands, our B&B for the week… we should be in one of their 4-poster rooms (like the picture)! Stu & Jamie are going to be staying at 70 Elmes, so we'll get them all set first.
		Later	Spend the rest of the afternoon lazing on the beach or whatever! Dinner at 70 Elmes… the best Fish&Chips in town with a couple of Pea Fritters and a jar of Cockles for the rest of us to almost hurl about while Dad slurps them down!
Wed	12th	All day	Bournemouth/area local tours in the morning… perhaps an hour or two at the Compton Acres gardens, a stroll around Hengistbury Head, or just some walks on the beach or down to the River and round about on the Common and such. We're trying to set up a visit with Doug & Daphne for lunch but this isn't confirmed. Spend some time out in the country after lunch, with a visit to Grandad's grave and other interesting family places. Dinner out somewhere neat and natty for all of us.
Thu	13th	All day	Some local area stuff… Dorset in general, Purbecks perhaps… Corfe Castle again, down to Abbotsbury? We'll see… if the weather's nice and summery perhaps we'll just lounge on the Studland Bay Beaches! Certain delights of uncertainty send shivers down yer spine, eh?! Stu & Jamie will take off some time today to spend a few days on tour up the Smoke. Sounds like a blast!!
Fri	14th	All day	Extra specially nice day out with family… Mum & Dad's upcoming 50th wedding anniversary, Jamie's birthday (25th), Alan's belated birthday (from the 9th) and perhaps even a wedding announcement! Hopefully a nice weather kind of a thing…
Sat	15th	On and off	Head out for London once we're ready to roll and said our goodbye's … Check into the Harrow Hotel again… we liked that place so much last time! Hopefully we'll be taking in a London Show with Bev (Jim's raveling) in the afternoon or evening… details still to be finalized!!
Sun	16th	All day	Sunday morning… walk in Epping Forrest or something before we try to have Sunday Lunch w/Dave & Barb (not "baked" yet… we have a recipe but not a plan!) The Afternoon & Evening are not really planned at all yet… lots to think about.
Mon	17th	All day	London sights & so forth during the day .. another non-planned day!! Try for Dinner or something w/Jack & Jean (not baked yet either)
Tues	18th	Early	Check out of Harrow & leave for Heathrow… it's all over so soon! Fly back to US around 2pm until 2 or 3 in the morning…yawn!!