On May 7th, my husband, friend Patti and I went on quite an adventure! We left from Dulles Airport around 11:30 PM on May 7th. As we were in midair, my husband reached over and said, "Happy Birthday" and gave me a kiss. I would be landing in Sarajevo, Bosnia on my birthday. We first landed in Istanbul to change planes and continue on to Sarajevo. While waiting for our next flight, our departure gate was changed 3 times. We scurried through the maze of people and luggage to get to our newly assigned gate each time. We were about an hour late arriving in Sarajevo, but our driver, Neno, was waiting patiently for us. Sarajevo Airport is much smaller and less confusing than Istanbul. Neno is a Christian that we were put in contact with through some missionary friends from Sarajevo whom we had met in Fredericksburg about 3 years ago. He took us to our hotel, Halvat Guesthouse but picked up our second driver, Mladen on the way. Between, Neno and Mladen, we would be chauffeured around Bosnia and finally on to Croatia. While in Bosnia, Mladen took us to the Orthopedic Hospital, where David's company, Guardian Glass had donated glass after the airplane crash. There is a plaque at the hospital in David's memory. Mladen drove us on Sunday, May 10th, to Dubrovnik, Croatia with a stop for lunch in Mostar, Bosnia where he and his wife Violetta had gone to Bible College. While in Croatia, Garland, Patti and I climbed St. John's Mountain where the plane David was on had crashed on April 3, 1996. I am very thankful to have been able to pay tribute to David's life by doing this. The view of the Adriatic Sea and surrounding mountains was breathtaking! We also visited Old Town Dubrovnik where the Ronald Brown Memorial House is with pictures of David and several of the others who were on the plane. This room was a special time to view the plaques, pictures and sign the guestbook. I hope to return to Dubrovnik one day and stay for a few days. It's a beautiful and old city.
Our next stop was Rome where we rented a car and drove to Pompeii to spend the night. Pompeii requires a lot of walking. We figure we walked more than 10 miles that day. We also got lost in the ruins more than once. Then, we left for Rome to see the Coliseum, The Spanish Steps, The Vatican and St. Peter's Cathedral as well as the Sistine Chapel. By the time we were in the Sistine Chapel, we just wanted to see the Rotunda where Michelangelo painted the ceiling. It was taking too long to get there, so Patti recommended ducking under the rope. Garland did and got away with it, but Patti and I and 2 other girls were caught by the guards and made to go back under the ropes. Arrgggh! We did elude the ever-watchful guards later and caught up with Garland.
It was then onto Pisa, Florence and Venice. Pisa is a quiet town with the Leaning Tower and the Basilica being the main attractions. I would go back there too as it is very lovely. We would probably stay at the Hotel Crown Victoria next time. This is where Megan and her friend Erica had stayed when they went to Pisa. We couldn't get reservations this time so we stayed at the Hotel Bologna. Our trip to Florence to see Michaelangelo's statue of David, didn't work out. We did make it to Florence, but the line to see the statue wrapped around the museum and there just wasn't enough time to wait as we had to go on to Venice. Venice is interesting too. Easy to get lost there as well, even with maps. Lovely canals and old buildings. It makes you wonder with all the buildings standing in water, how they manage to remain standing.
It was then onto Pisa, Florence and Venice. Pisa is a quiet town with the Leaning Tower and the Basilica being the main attractions. I would go back there too as it is very lovely. We would probably stay at the Hotel Crown Victoria next time. This is where Megan and her friend Erica had stayed when they went to Pisa. We couldn't get reservations this time so we stayed at the Hotel Bologna. Our trip to Florence to see Michaelangelo's statue of David, didn't work out. We did make it to Florence, but the line to see the statue wrapped around the museum and there just wasn't enough time to wait as we had to go on to Venice. Venice is interesting too. Easy to get lost there as well, even with maps. Lovely canals and old buildings. It makes you wonder with all the buildings standing in water, how they manage to remain standing.
After Venice, we drove to our hotel near Marco Polo Airport. The hotel, Villa Braida is an old estate and I would love to go back there and just enjoy the space. We woke early the next morning, May 16, to get to Marco Polo Airport for our next flight to Paris. I slept very well at Villa Braida with opened windows as there is no air conditioning, but it was a cool night. I awoke to the sound of goat herding bells and baaaa-ing. Nice!!
Paris Airport was fun as we had an entertaining french Hertz agent. Patti said he reminded her of Tom Gordon who we knew from the Y. Patti told him she was old enough to be his mother so he better be good. That led to a whole conversation about his mother. He said, I never thought I would be talking about my mother at work!! It was fun and he gave us a car upgrade because of the interchange. Then we drove to Versailles and walked around the town. The next day we visited Versailles Palace. The line was intimidatingly long. Garland had been to Versailles in 1974 when there was no one there. We waited in line and then Garland went ahead to check out of our hotel while Patti and I were pushed along by the mass of people in the palace. We were told that about 27,000 people go through there every day.
Next stop was to the north of France to Bayeux where D Day occurred in the Normandy region of France. This is a beautiful region, very much in the country. We stayed at the Budget Ibis as we had stayed at an Ibis Hotel in Versailles. Not much in the way of frills, but for the money, it was very clean and just right. We visited the spot where the Army Rangers scaled the beachhead at Normandy, called Pointe de Hoc. We also visited Omaha Beach and the German Cemetery as well as the American Museum and American Cemetery which is where you exit as you leave the museum. It was a cold and rainy day which added to the somber feeling of the experience.
The Notre Dame of Bayeux is beautiful which we toured later while Garland went back to the laundromat to put his clothes in the dryer. There's a fun story about this, but not now.
After Bayeux, it was back to Paris to drop off the rental car at train station, Gare Est. By the way, if you ever have to drop off a Hertz rental at Gare Est in Paris, go to the right side of the train station to Parking Garage 2, then go to sub floor 5 to park it and then sub floor 1 to drop off the keys and get paperwork signed. The Hertz' signs are super tiny. We took the fast train to Luxembourg, where Anouk and Claude met us with a welcoming sign. They had hoped to see us as we exited the train, but somehow we didn't see each other. Our hotel, The Best Western International, was just across the street, so they surprised us there in the lobby!! Anouk and Claude walked with us around the city of Luxembourg and took us to the Cathedral and by the palace of the Grand Duke. Anouk and Claude are the BEST. They went out of their way to do everything. I might add, they live an hour out of the city too. We had dinner with David Shartz, Miriam and Jackie after a long day.
The next day we went to tour northern Luxembourg and into Bastogne, Belgium where Claude went to college and where the Battle of Bastogne occurred in 1944. The Belgians love Americans. We visited Clairveux, a monastery in Northern Luxembourg. We also visited the beautiful cathedral where Anouk and Claude were married near Clairveux. After that we went to The Cactus, the grocery store David and Deb would go to when they lived in Luxembourg,. Patti and I did some shopping there and in the attached mall, we bought a couple things for our grandchildren:)
Anouk and Claude surprised us with a dinner with 8 of the classmates who had come to the States in 1995 with David and their teacher, Herre Biewer. He was at the surprise party too along with his wife and Gwendy, his daughter-in-law who also came in 1995 as the female chaperon. What an overwhelming feeling I had with their outpouring of love that night. Several of the kids' (who are now 30 years old) parents were there too. Patti and I were hoisted away by Henriette to see her home and her donkeys. Her house is just a few minutes away from the restaurant.
Anouk took us the next morning to the airport to catch our flight to Istanbul.
On May 21, we arrived in Istanbul and found our driver to take us to The Holiday Star hotel which is in the heart of Istanbul. A stone's throw from the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. We loved where we stayed in Istanbul. The manager of the hotel was excellent and very welcoming. Garland bought a 3 x 5 Turkish carpet. I fell on Thursday evening (the last full day of our vacation) as I was looking at everything and not watching where I was going. Long story short, I did break the lower part of my ankle bone. The swelling wasn't going down after about 10 days, so I went to Dr. Donato on Wednesday. I am in an ankle brace and it should heal just fine.
We toured the Hagia Sofia right before leaving for the airport on May 22. Garland got a tour guide for us so we could go quickly through this old church. Great idea, Garland!!
Then, the taxi driver, (arranged for us by our amazing hotel manager) took us to the airport and we flew home. We had quite a few- maybe 4 or 5 security check points at Istanbul prior to departure. No gate changes this time!
Home Sweet Home on the evening of May 22. Thank you God, for a trip of a lifetime. A better, much better trip than we could have imagined!! Thank you to my wonderful husband for his incredible trip planning and driving us through the highways of Italy- (Italian drivers only use the lines on the highway as suggestions) and through the crowded city of Paris. Garland, you did better than good.
The Notre Dame of Bayeux is beautiful which we toured later while Garland went back to the laundromat to put his clothes in the dryer. There's a fun story about this, but not now.
After Bayeux, it was back to Paris to drop off the rental car at train station, Gare Est. By the way, if you ever have to drop off a Hertz rental at Gare Est in Paris, go to the right side of the train station to Parking Garage 2, then go to sub floor 5 to park it and then sub floor 1 to drop off the keys and get paperwork signed. The Hertz' signs are super tiny. We took the fast train to Luxembourg, where Anouk and Claude met us with a welcoming sign. They had hoped to see us as we exited the train, but somehow we didn't see each other. Our hotel, The Best Western International, was just across the street, so they surprised us there in the lobby!! Anouk and Claude walked with us around the city of Luxembourg and took us to the Cathedral and by the palace of the Grand Duke. Anouk and Claude are the BEST. They went out of their way to do everything. I might add, they live an hour out of the city too. We had dinner with David Shartz, Miriam and Jackie after a long day.
The next day we went to tour northern Luxembourg and into Bastogne, Belgium where Claude went to college and where the Battle of Bastogne occurred in 1944. The Belgians love Americans. We visited Clairveux, a monastery in Northern Luxembourg. We also visited the beautiful cathedral where Anouk and Claude were married near Clairveux. After that we went to The Cactus, the grocery store David and Deb would go to when they lived in Luxembourg,. Patti and I did some shopping there and in the attached mall, we bought a couple things for our grandchildren:)
Anouk and Claude surprised us with a dinner with 8 of the classmates who had come to the States in 1995 with David and their teacher, Herre Biewer. He was at the surprise party too along with his wife and Gwendy, his daughter-in-law who also came in 1995 as the female chaperon. What an overwhelming feeling I had with their outpouring of love that night. Several of the kids' (who are now 30 years old) parents were there too. Patti and I were hoisted away by Henriette to see her home and her donkeys. Her house is just a few minutes away from the restaurant.
Anouk took us the next morning to the airport to catch our flight to Istanbul.
On May 21, we arrived in Istanbul and found our driver to take us to The Holiday Star hotel which is in the heart of Istanbul. A stone's throw from the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. We loved where we stayed in Istanbul. The manager of the hotel was excellent and very welcoming. Garland bought a 3 x 5 Turkish carpet. I fell on Thursday evening (the last full day of our vacation) as I was looking at everything and not watching where I was going. Long story short, I did break the lower part of my ankle bone. The swelling wasn't going down after about 10 days, so I went to Dr. Donato on Wednesday. I am in an ankle brace and it should heal just fine.
We toured the Hagia Sofia right before leaving for the airport on May 22. Garland got a tour guide for us so we could go quickly through this old church. Great idea, Garland!!
Then, the taxi driver, (arranged for us by our amazing hotel manager) took us to the airport and we flew home. We had quite a few- maybe 4 or 5 security check points at Istanbul prior to departure. No gate changes this time!
Home Sweet Home on the evening of May 22. Thank you God, for a trip of a lifetime. A better, much better trip than we could have imagined!! Thank you to my wonderful husband for his incredible trip planning and driving us through the highways of Italy- (Italian drivers only use the lines on the highway as suggestions) and through the crowded city of Paris. Garland, you did better than good.
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