Our EU and UK Vacation Recap
Wow! What an epic adventure it’s been. For those of you following along on social media you’ve been with us the entire month and have witnessed the journey in real time. I can’t explain what an accomplishment it’s been to plan and execute this trip flawlessly. To recap
we checked in to 9 hotels
Took 8 trains
Traveled to 12 cities
Went to 4 counties (3 for Alex, 4 for me due to Wales)
I’m most proud of the fact that I was able to move us from city to city, navigate planes, trains, buses, and gondolas without any issues whatsoever. You always have to be prepared for hiccups along the way. In the past we’ve had cancelled flights, train strikes, bad weather, and illness on past trips. But this trip, god willing, we were able to avoid all of that. We even had amazing weather for the most part. We had 1 day of rain which unfortunately was the day we went to Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald and Interlaken. But it wasn’t a complete washout. We still rode go karts down a mountain and I did a cliff walk. I’m actually quite thankful for the fog that day. If it was clear I might still be standing on the narrow pathway, paralyzed with fear. Alex met up with friends from all over the world in Richmond (Jack from London), Zürich (Pepino from Thailand) and Derby (Sebastian from Quebec). It’s so wonderful that he had friends from so many different cultures and walks of life. And he’s already trying to convince me to let him go to Thailand next summer by himself to stay with his friend. Surprise, that’s not happening. This year was also the first year I got to visit Alex at camp and see him training with Liverpool. I took him out to lunch and we had a great conversation before I brought him back to finish out his week. His team won the tournament and he won the goalkeeper Liverpool Way Award which was such a great recognition to cap off a great week. I’m so happy I got to get over to Wrexham and see the Stok Cae Ras (The Racecourse). We’ve been watching Welcome to Wrexham since it began and it was fun to see the locations in person. Next time I’ll need to find a way to take Alex for the day. I made checklists of places in each city and was able to cross off so many landmarks, restaurants, and highlights wherever we went.
We also managed to navigate public transportation in Switzerland and Paris. (We’re already old pros for London transport). We helped an Italian couple in Paris buy bus tickets on the Navigo app despite a language barrier. We ate Fondue in Switzerland even though it was probably the most expensive meal of the whole trip but I don’t regret it because - when in Rome - or Switzerland.
I’m SO thankful I bought tickets to Evita with Rachel Zegler before it opened and all the hype drove ticket prices up. I’m blessed that my teenager has a good appreciation for the arts and musical theatre and doesn’t complain when I say we’re going to see a show. He can even be spotted singing Sunset Boulevard under his breath if you listen carefully.
Here are some thing I’ve either learned or observed on this trip
People still smoke a lot in Europe and the UK. Like everywhere all the time
Switzerland charges you for tap water even though you can literally fill up a carafe all throughout the town at these public fountains they have.
The tap water in Switzerland is amazing. Its crips and cold and tastes like nothing you’ve ever had
People in Europe think Donald Tr*mp is an idiot (no surprise there!)
I did more loads of laundry in the 1 month of this trip than I think I’ve done in 3 months at home. When you only pack carry on for a monthlong journey you need to wash quite often.
Sometimes your kid needs a break from you. And sometimes you need a break from your kid. Spending time together is priceless, but spending time apart also helps.
If you have a short stop in Lauterbrunnen and you want to hike up behind Staubbach Falls, be prepared that it’s QUITE A HIKE! That one almost killed me. But worth it.
The brilliant thing about trains in Switzerland is that there are screens to tell you exactly where to stand on the platform. So if you are in coach G, stand at platform 6, near entrance B. That way you don’t have to run down the platform when the train arrives to try and get to the right car.
The most stressful part of train travel is finding a place gif your luggage. I always stressed out about whether we’d find room or not. And the second next stressful thing is wondering if you’d get a seat if you couldn’t pre-book seats.
If there is one thing about me that you should know its that I’m the type of person who pushes my body to the absolute limits every day. Vacation, to me, is not about sitting around and relaxing. I can sit in my house and do nothing for free. I will walk until my feet bleed, my muscles ache, and my bones are nearly broken. And then I’ll walk a little more before I finally turn in for the night. The past 30 days showing my son the beauty of the world has been life changing, and bank draining. But these memories will last a lifetime.
RECAP BELOW
#planes 3
JFK to LHR
LGW to GVA (London to Geneva)
LHR to JFK
#trains - 8
Geneva to Zermatt
Zermatt to Luzern
Luzern to Zurich
Zurich to Paris
Paris to London
London to Derby
Derby to Wrexham to Derby
Derby to London
#hotels 9
London
Geneva
Zermatt
Luzern
Zurich
Paris
London
Derby
London
#cities 12 (our itinerary)
London
Geneva
Zermatt
Luzern
Interlaken
Lauterbrunnen
Grindelwald
Zurich
Paris
London
Derby
Liverpool (Alex)
Wrexham (Andrea)
London
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