It was in the planning stage for months and eagerly awaited.  Little wonder it was an anticlimax when our Malaysian Airlines jet sucked a bird into a jet as we were taking off from Perth and we were back on the ground half an hour after take off.

Thirty hours later we left again and in the meantime had put our Kuala Lumpur stopover and our KL to London flights back a day.  One day less in England but we really thought we needed the break enroute.

Late on the Saturday afternoon we broke through the misty cloud and caught our first glimpse of London as we came into land at Heathrow.

From that moment on we had the most incredible adventure.  An initial wonderful day and a bit with Glyn and Rick who hosted us during our England stopovers then, a full day in London where we walked ourselves into the pavement to see the sights.  As Sue says it was like playing virtual monopoly but we saw most of the attractions, apart from the Tower and St Paul’s, and even had a ride on the London Eye.

Then it was on to the Continent for 24 days of amazing experiences, meeting new people, forming friendships and having the cultural and history lesson of a life time. 

Holland with a visit to a windmill and the delightful fishing village of Vollendam, cheese and clog making, diamond polishing, Amsterdam including a lovely cruise of its canals, visiting Anne Franks house, walking the infamous red light district at night.

Then on to Cologne with its majestic cathedral, a Rhine cruise for two hours with castles to the right of us and castles to the left of us.  A visit to the  university town of Heidelberg with its famous castle then a stop over at the lovely French city of Strasburg and then on to Switzerland.

Switzerland, the land a cheese, fondues, watches and clocks, mountains and lakes and those cows with the overlarge bells hanging around their necks was amazing.  Not to mention the money.   You don’t have to be wealthy to visit but you certainly have to be wealthy to live there.

We had a brilliant day in Lucerne with a morning walk around the delightful shopping area complete with its eccentric buskers.  In the afternoon it was a trip on the lake followed by a ride on the steepest cog railway in the world to the top of Mt Pilatus.  And then it was an aerial cableway followed by a chairlift that brought us back to earth.  Although I suspect that for some of us in our group of six who made the excursion took more than a day or two to come down to earth.

Then we were on to Liechtenstein and then Innsbruck in Austria where on arrival we found the city holding its annual harvest festival with a fantastic parade through the streets.  What immaculate timing and what a unique opportunity.

That evening we visited a little town high above Innsbruck and enjoyed a carriage ride through the town including a visit to probably the most beautiful and intriguing church that we saw in all of Europe, and we saw a few of them.  Later I had to embarrass myself by doing a music routine dressed up as a somewhat erotic Heidi.  Not easy to do when one is sober.

Our travels through Austria took us to Salzburg, the home of the Sound of Music.  We saw where many of the films more memorable moments were filmed and visited Mozart’s birthplace.

Then it was on to Vienna, an absolute surprise packet on our European circuit.  The city is very classy and its architecture has to be seen to behold.  The illuminations are very special.  We also treated ourselves to a real cultural extravaganza when we attended a concert of Strauss and Mozart music together in a majestic palace.  What a hoot!

Then we were on to Venice.  So unique with all of those canals, the beautiful St Marks Church, the intriguing square that flooded before our very eyes and then an afternoon on the fishing island of Burano.  Burano has a leaning tower, different but as amazing as that in Pisa and it will fall in about 70 years

Rome.  So rich in history.  And amazingly so easy to get around  We visited the Spanish Steps in the early evening and also the Pantheon before alfresco dinning at a truly Roman resturante.  Then a night visit to St Peters where we could even see the lights in the room that are the Pope’s private room and study.  Yes he was in.

Our full day in Rome included an independent walking tour across Rome to see St Peters and the Vatican by daylight, the River Tiber and the intriguing Bridge of Angels that is directly opposite the Castle de’Angelo (featured in the Dan Brown book Angels and Demons), Trevi Fountain by day, the Monument for Emmanuel 11, (in our view the most beautiful building in Rome), the Roman Forum and finally the Colosseum.

That night we had our farewell Rome dinner, a great fun night, followed by another visit to Trevi Fountain.  If all of our wishes at Trevi come true we will all be healthy, wealthy and wise for a long time to come.

Back up through Italy to Florence, a rich city of learning and art, not to mention a great place for some Sunday afternoon shopping.

Then on to Pisa and its remarkable leaning tower, the old seaport of Genoa and along one of the most remarkable engineering feats ever, the Highway of Flowers, linking the Italian and French Riviera through over 160 tunnels and as many huge viaducts.

A couple of hours savoring the affluence of Monaco and then a well earned break at Nice to shop and catch up on the laundry.

Spain came next and we loved Barcelona with its famous Los Ramblas shopping boulevard, the Gaudi architecture and the incredible Church of the Family, still in construction after over 100 years and funded totally by donations.

Then it was through country side not dissimilar to the Pilbara of WA or the Karoo of South Africa to Madrid.  Not one of our favorites but interesting never-the-less.   Not easy to get around and not very friendly.

Leaving Spain for France we visited the Atlantic Ocean resort of Biarritz and then an overnight  stay at Lourdes where Sue joined the last candle light procession of the year from the grotto to the old church.  It was a very touching experience for participants and photographers alike.

Up through France we continued to Bordeaux then the delightful Loire Valley with its châteaux’s and then on to Paris.  In little more than 36 hours we went up the Eiffel Tower, dined on the banks of the Seine, cruised along the Seine to see the illuminations visited the Arch de Triumph and the famous Champs Elleysee.

By daylight we saw Napoleons Tomb, the square where the guillotine was kept busy during the revolution, saw the opera house made more famous by the Phantom, visited the Louvre  to see the Mona Lisa  that was made even more famous in the best seller The Da Vinci Code. Also saw the Venus de Milo. We then went on to the infamous Notre Dame Cathedral, the one time home of Quasi Modo, the Hunchback who tolled the bells. We then had a long walk along the left bank before getting lost and finally getting a taxi to our hotel.  That night a spectacular entertainment event, a night at the Moulin Rouge

Our 24^th day saw us back to Calais, then a short ferry ride to Dover with its white cliffs, London and back to another warm welcome at Rick and Glyn’s.

Our three day stopover saw us visit Henley on Thames, famous for its regatta, a great afternoon at Windsor with its very majestic castle (as far as royal residences are concerned so much nicer than Buckingham Palace) and a wonderful historic town with great shops, a famous leaning tea house and pubs going back hundreds of years.

Our last week saw us pick up our hire car and travel north for a visit to Oxford.  We spent some time at Christ’s College soaking up the atmosphere and learning all about the origins of Alice in Wonderland.   Then it was on to north England and Manchester and a night with Sheila’s brother Jeff and his lovely wife Dorothy.  Alas we could only stay the one night but will stay longer next time.

Driving south we went through Bath but it was raining and we didn’t stop at this historic town instead overnighted at Western-Super-Mare, on the Bristol Channel.  We then had three days in Devon and Cornwall staying at delightful B and B’s and eating in pubs where you could almost sense the pub ghost.  We loved Penzance, visited Lands End, Plymouth and Torquay.  The it was back to Reading via the New Forrest and its very English town of Lyndhurst complete with many thatched roof homes, Salisbury and the Stonehenge which was somewhat disappointing but our stop was marred by a bit more rain.

Back for our final night with Rick and Glyn followed by a return to our favorite pub the 1642 Swan at Pangbourne for a nice farewell lunch.  That night we bid our fond farewells at Heathrow (everyone kept a good British stiff upper lip, but it was not easy) and joined our Malaysia flight back to KL and Penang for a four night stopover (shopping and recovery time) and then back home.