Category: Europe

After visiting Morlaix with my host family, I decided to go to Caen on my own. Caen is in Normandy and I wanted to visit the D-Day beaches. My tour started at the Caen Memorial Museum. It had so much to see and read from the end of WWI thru the Cold War.

Part of the Berlin Wall

I spend a good 4 hours re-learning history and seeing artifacts. The next day I took a private tour of the beaches. We went to Point le Hoc, Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery and the artificial harbor of Arromanches.

Looking at the landscape you can see all the creators from bombings

Omaha Beach

After visiting WWII sites for two days, I finally was able to spend some time in downtown Caen.

This is the Abbaye aux Femmes and it is 950 years old!

This is the Abbaye l’hommes and it holds the tomb of William the Conqueror. 

I was also able to see the Caen Chateau. It was built by William the Conqueror.

Every 6 weeks my host family has a 2 week vacation. Its great because I get to travel with them to other parts of France. This trip we went to Morlaix, which is a small town in Brittany and on the west coast of the country.

This is the house that we stayed at when we weren’t surfing! It is the grandparents house and it was really homey. They have a big yard and huge garden with fresh flowers and all kinds of fruits and vegetables.

Downtown Morlaix is very old. From the small streets and old houses, there is something special around every corner. One of the main things to see in Morlaix is the Roman viaduct.

Here I am with my host sister. The viaduct is behind us! The top level is for trains and the lower level is for pedestrians.

This is where my host family and I went surfing! The water was cold but we had our wetsuits on. Since Morlaix is on the north side of the coast, this water was the English Channel. We had a great time in Brittany together! See the rest of my trip in Caen, Normandy here.

Rome is the most famous city in Italy. It was the last stop on my Italian tour and I saw many new sites!

The first place I visited was the Colosseum.  This structure was the largest amphitheater ever built and could hold up to 80,000 people!

Statues were also among the ruins in the Colosseum

Inside the Colosseum

North of the Colosseum is the Capitoline Wolf. This statue on the right is a She-Wolf feeding two young boys. Legend has it that these two boys, Romulus and Remus, built Rome.

Capitoline Wolf

One reason Rome is so famous is because of the Catholic Church. Here I am in the middle of St. Peters Square, which is the center of the Vatican City.

I climbed to the top of the Dome and saw great views of Rome!

A full view of St. Peters Square!

Just east of the Vatican is a 2nd century castle. The Castel Sant’Angelo is one of the highest buildings in Rome. It was built for Roman Emperor Hadrian and his family, but then used for priests. Today it is a museum. 

The last place I visited was the Trevi Fountain. It is a must see because, it is said, you will return to Rome if you throw a coin into the fountain!

I guess I will be back…

What is your favorite site in Rome?

Florence was my 3rd and favorite city of Italy. Here you can see the entire town from a hill!

Michelangelo’s David is made into several statues all over the city.

Behind me is the Basilica of Santa Croce. It is known as the temple of Italian Glories as Michelangelo and Galileo are buried here.

I had to see the view from the top of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, better known as ‘Duomo’

It was well worth the climb!

This is a great view of Ponte Vecchio, or Old Bridge, as it is the last bridge in Florence with buildings on it. All the others were blown up during World War II.

No trip to Florence is complete without stopping at the Boboli Gardens. It is a large open air museum that makes you realize you are in the middle of Tuscany. 

The pasta in Florence was so good, I finished all of it!

A short train ride from Florence is Pisa, the small town famous for its leaning tower!

There is also a church next to the Tower.

What a nice day to see the Piazza dei Miracoli.

Did you climb to the top of the Duomo in Florence and or the top of the Tower of Pisa? 

The first time I went to Italy, I did a multi-city tour. I started in Milan, and took a day trip to Lake Como. Milan was definitely the most modern city I visited in Italy.

This is the Duomo di Milano Cathedral in the center of the city.

Next to the Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, one of the worlds oldest shopping malls.

Look at that sunset and fresh mozzarella I enjoyed on my first day!

On my second day I went to Sforza Castle. Today it houses several museums and art collections, but it was built in the 15th century by the Duke of Milan, Francesco Sforza.  During the 16th and 17th centuries, it was one of the largest citadels in Europe! 

This is Porta Sempione and it is the city gate of Milan.

On my third day, I took a quick train ride to Lake Como!

Lake Como is truly beautiful, no wonder George Clooney has a house here. I took a short boat ride to some of the other valleys in the region.

The food in Italy is so tasty! I had gelato as a snack and pizza for dinner.

My waiter posed with me in front of Como Cathedral. This church was the last Gothic Cathedral built in Italy.

What’s your favorite thing to do in Milan? Did you take a boat ride in Lake Como?

Barcelona was my first trip to Spain! It is the capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in the country.

Barcelona is known for its unique architecture by Antoni Gaudi. The house to the right is Case Batllo, or, House of Bones.

Gaudi’s largest piece of work is Sagrada Familia, a cathedral that has been under construction since 1882!

These pictures are from Park Guell, also designed and built by Gaudi. There isn’t one straight line in this entire area!

There is a great view of the city from this hill.

With the famous lizard!

The 1992 Summer Olympic’s were hosted in Barcelona.

Barcelona has a great location, as it is right on a beach.

Have you been to Barcelona or Spain? What’s your favorite Gaudi building?

Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands and located in the North Holland providence. It is a city of canals and known as “the Venice of North Europe.” The first time I visited this wonderful city was during “Queens Day” in the Spring of 2011:

One of the biggest tourist attractions of Amsterdam is the Heineken Brewery.

Amsterdam has decriminalized marijuana use.

I was also lucky enough to visit a second time in the Summer of 2013:

One of the cities canals.

Enjoying some cuisine and enjoying my view of Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam. That means Royal Palace in English.

Going to a Coffee Shop is a must do… its all part of the Amsterdam experience! To learn more, I also visited The Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum.

I like small cars, especially if they are pink.

All three pictures above are some of the traditional fashion in Holland. That includes wooden clogs!

Have you been to Amsterdam? What was the one thing you didn’t want to miss?!

I traveled to London for the first time in the Spring of 2011:

Here I am with the famous Tower Bridge.

I had afternoon tea at Harrods, London’s designer department store.

The weekend I visited was 7 days before the royal wedding, but that didn’t stop me from going to Westminster Abbey. The picture to the left is the main entrance, and the picture to the right is the back of the abbey.

Theres are from inside the gardens at the Abbey.

I also went on the London Eye, which is a big ferris wheel. What great views! In the background of this shot you can see Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

For dinner I had to get some Fish n Chips. Yummy!

Riding a double decker bus is fun if you have the front row seat up top!

I love public transportation 🙂

I was looking for the Beatles…

but only got to see some influential places they put on the map.

Its always nice to have some familiar foods from home!

Whenever you travel, you always need to stop and smell the roses! To me, this means relaxing and realizing how special each place it. I did that in London at the park on the left. And of course no stop to London is complete without going to an old school phone booth!

I visited again in the summer of 2015:

Look at the London skyline! This is the view before the crossing the Tower Bridge.

After crossing the Tower Bridge, I visited the Tower of London and Crown Jewels. I ended the day with a refreshing drink!

What is your favorite thing to do in London?