Two years ago we took our first real cruise in many years; it was to Alaska. It was a new experience; Celebrity Cruises treated us well, and Dawn put down a deposit for another cruise. Now, we are finally scheduled to take that cruise. But, it will be part of a more extensive trip. First we visit Paris, then rent a car for a week to visit Normandy and
Amiens (WWI battlefields) before flying to England to begin the cruise. The cruise proceeds from England onward to Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Mallorca, and finally ends at Rome. After a few days in Rome, we fly to Copenhagen for a short visit; then make a return flight across the Atlantic (via Keflavik) to visit our son & family in Washington, DC, before coming home to Colorado. For now, Dawn and I have season skiing passes to keep us occupied (that and shoveling snow).
One month, five different airlines, and eight accommodations. Three big cities: We have been to Paris but still have more to see (and it has been awhile). Have been to Italy several times, but never as far south as Rome. We spent one weekend exploring the city of Copenhagen in 2015 and really enjoyed it; this time we will concentrate on day trips to nearby areas. I don't count Washington, DC, as a big city to explore; too familiar. I used to live there. On our recent trips, we have increasingly been flying in an upgraded status. It helps us to arrive rested and healthy; a concession to getting older.
In finding accommodations, I had an unusual response to one reservation request. When I informed the B&B, where we wanted to stay, that I am lactose intolerant, they recommended that we stay elsewhere! (and we will) They make all their breakfast items on site from local cows and produce, and didn't want to be bothered to change the menu slightly. Their breakfast was heavy on pastries which do contain dairy. At least, they were upfront about it. But, that was the first time such a thing happened. I still remember a B&B in Istria; they had stocked more lactose-free food items than I could possibly eat.
The trip is centered around well-known, mainstream destinations. Dawn's father landed on Utah beach on D-Day, 75 years ago; it should be meaningful to visit there (*). Not really visiting any 'off-the-beaten-path' destinations with this trip, but it should be fun. Perhaps visiting World War One battlefields and memorials is the destination which is currently least popular. That war ended over one hundred years ago. As a history buff, I have had a particular interest in WWI since junior high school. I just finished reading two books recounting first-hand experiences in that war. "All Quiet on the Western Front" is a famous (anti-war) book written by a German soldier about WWI.
A few facts: The largest non-atomic explosion ever took place in WWI. The longest range artillery canon was used in WWI (projectiles reaching Paris from 76 miles away). First widespread use of military aircraft; first use of military tanks. Submarine warfare. Poisonous gas attacks. The horrors of trench warfare. No antibiotics. A world-wide influenza epidemic. The defeat of Russia with the 1917 revolution and the rise of communism. Due to an unsatisfactory armistice at the end of WWI, it created the conditions leading to WWII, and to more recent conflicts in the Balkans and Middle East. WWI is huge in world history and deserves a greater place in the sequence of world events.
*Dawn's father described to us how, when the flotilla was crossing the English Channel, he was allowed to come up on the main deck of the LST his unit was embarked on. He looked around at the thousands of ships crowding the horizon (the greatest armada ever) and knew that his life was about to be changed forever. As he said it, "My boyhood was over, and it was time to be a man." He stayed with the Allied advance until meeting with the Russians and was stationed in Bavaria for several months after the war ended. We wish we knew more of his journey across the continent, but we only have glimpses: playing hide & seek with a German tank, coming across a mass execution, liberating a concentration camp. It was over forty years later before he spoke of his experiences. Dawn and our son were able to accompany him for part of his route when he finally returned to Europe and re-traced the advance of his unit across the continent. In Bavaria, they stayed in the same hotel where he had been quartered so many years ago. The hotel owner recognized that he was a veteran, remembered how well the Americans had treated them, and brought him a gift bottle of wine.
One month, five different airlines, and eight accommodations. Three big cities: We have been to Paris but still have more to see (and it has been awhile). Have been to Italy several times, but never as far south as Rome. We spent one weekend exploring the city of Copenhagen in 2015 and really enjoyed it; this time we will concentrate on day trips to nearby areas. I don't count Washington, DC, as a big city to explore; too familiar. I used to live there. On our recent trips, we have increasingly been flying in an upgraded status. It helps us to arrive rested and healthy; a concession to getting older.
In finding accommodations, I had an unusual response to one reservation request. When I informed the B&B, where we wanted to stay, that I am lactose intolerant, they recommended that we stay elsewhere! (and we will) They make all their breakfast items on site from local cows and produce, and didn't want to be bothered to change the menu slightly. Their breakfast was heavy on pastries which do contain dairy. At least, they were upfront about it. But, that was the first time such a thing happened. I still remember a B&B in Istria; they had stocked more lactose-free food items than I could possibly eat.
The trip is centered around well-known, mainstream destinations. Dawn's father landed on Utah beach on D-Day, 75 years ago; it should be meaningful to visit there (*). Not really visiting any 'off-the-beaten-path' destinations with this trip, but it should be fun. Perhaps visiting World War One battlefields and memorials is the destination which is currently least popular. That war ended over one hundred years ago. As a history buff, I have had a particular interest in WWI since junior high school. I just finished reading two books recounting first-hand experiences in that war. "All Quiet on the Western Front" is a famous (anti-war) book written by a German soldier about WWI.
A few facts: The largest non-atomic explosion ever took place in WWI. The longest range artillery canon was used in WWI (projectiles reaching Paris from 76 miles away). First widespread use of military aircraft; first use of military tanks. Submarine warfare. Poisonous gas attacks. The horrors of trench warfare. No antibiotics. A world-wide influenza epidemic. The defeat of Russia with the 1917 revolution and the rise of communism. Due to an unsatisfactory armistice at the end of WWI, it created the conditions leading to WWII, and to more recent conflicts in the Balkans and Middle East. WWI is huge in world history and deserves a greater place in the sequence of world events.
*Dawn's father described to us how, when the flotilla was crossing the English Channel, he was allowed to come up on the main deck of the LST his unit was embarked on. He looked around at the thousands of ships crowding the horizon (the greatest armada ever) and knew that his life was about to be changed forever. As he said it, "My boyhood was over, and it was time to be a man." He stayed with the Allied advance until meeting with the Russians and was stationed in Bavaria for several months after the war ended. We wish we knew more of his journey across the continent, but we only have glimpses: playing hide & seek with a German tank, coming across a mass execution, liberating a concentration camp. It was over forty years later before he spoke of his experiences. Dawn and our son were able to accompany him for part of his route when he finally returned to Europe and re-traced the advance of his unit across the continent. In Bavaria, they stayed in the same hotel where he had been quartered so many years ago. The hotel owner recognized that he was a veteran, remembered how well the Americans had treated them, and brought him a gift bottle of wine.
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