Category Archives: UNESCO sites

Gratitude Friday: Travel

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Post by Lauren

An easy gratitude selection this week. We have T in town from the US. We just returned today from a great overnight trip to Bernese Oberland where we explored the valleys, stayed in a peaceful Alp town, and scaled the mighty majestic Schilthorn. So, simply, this week, I am thankful for our ability to travel here. So many parts of this beautiful world are close and accessible to us during our time here. We are grateful for this opportunity and hope to make the most of it!

Here are some snapshots from the past two days:

Gimmelwald, Bernese Oberland

Murren, Bernese Oberland

Ascending to the Schilthorn with views of the Monk, Eiger and Jungfrau

Bon weekend, everyone!

Lyon, France

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Post by Lauren

As you read from the post about Aix-les-Bains, we did a quick road trip to Lyon, France this weekend. We traveled with A & A and the four of us literally pulled together the details (including deciding to go) on Friday before we left.

The main choice to go to Lyon was driven by its culinary scene. However, we were really enamored by all the city’s charms and it ended up being a great overnight trip from Geneva. Below are a few photos from the weekend in France:

Loving London

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Our London weekend was quite lovely. Here are a few highlights from our trip that we wanted to share:

The Tower of London

We really enjoyed seeing the Crown Jewels and the Beefeater Tour

Pubs & Pub Fare

We loved Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese – it was rebuilt the year after the great fire, in 1667. We happily noshed on fish & chips in the 700 year old wine cellar, and tried to imagine what it was like when Dickens, Mark Twain, Alfred Tennyson, Sir Arthur Conon Doyle were there.

We also hit up a few pubs in Mayfair and I got to try a Pimms.

Evensong service at Westminister Abbey

This was a really cool experience.  We sat and enjoyed the Evensong Service and the magnificent choir of Westminster Abbey.  We sat right next to the altar where William & Kate were married just a month before. 

Shakespeare’s Globe

We thoroughly enjoyed Alls Well that Ends Well in the replica of Shakespeare’s Globe, as he intended his shows to be displayed – open air (yes, it was raining) and without acoustics.  We imagined what is was like in the original, just yards from the new version.

General Site-seeing

It was nice just to see some of the beautiful landmarks of London and true to form against the stony grey sky!

Lauren ventured off on her own on Monday when Gabe’s conference began and here is the quick recap:

Buckingham Palace (Guard rainout!!)

The Tate Modern Art Museum ( I was in heaven and I think Gabe was too that he didn’t have to stay 4 hours with me here)

 Abbey Road (Beatles studio site and scene from their famous photo.  Quite funny to watch all the tourists almost get hit by cars and buses not amused by the traffic hold-up.

 Regent Park & Queen Mary Rose Garden, recommended by friend Andreas who went to school in the park

The British Museum – I saw the parts of the Parthenon that were “saved”.  We heard in Athens last year that the British stole these artifacts from them in a bailout and refused to give them back. Quite interesting to hear both sides of the story.  Also, the Rosetta Stone was a highlight.

 

Thanks to all our friends for the great tips!