Um, Where's the Ice?! - A July 2012 European and DLRP Adventure*UPDATE 12/15 Pg.29*

[AvasMommy526]

Omg how amazing!!!! Italy! My favorite, omg I need to go to there! What a wonderful brother you have, how come I only have younger brothers You guys are going to have an amazing time!!
PS His wife is amazing too lolol!

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

It is amazing that Danielle will be going to Italy a little over 6 months. I can't believe it myself that Chris offered to pay for her. They will have a great time for sure.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Holy Crap!!! I am so jealous!!!

As the oldest, I hold no hope that my little brothers will ever offer up anything remotely as nice as that. How awesome!

Can't wait to hear about Italy with Mr. Drunk Little Cucumber! Sounds like you two will have a ball.

It is pretty amazing and I was in complete and utter shock that it happened honestly. It's a bit out of character for Chris, but my family is also the kind that when we want something, we will do whatever we can to make something happen.

Mr. Drunk Little Cucumber might be pretty interesting to travel with this time. This is his first time visiting Europe, so I think that component will likely be kind of interesting (paying for public restrooms and stuff).

Love freebies! Also love flying Virgin - nothing like going on a Virgin train (which is awful). We flew Visgin to Ca for our honeymoon ()before premium economy was invented) and we got a simialr (but cheaper-looking)"amenity pack" - but not champagne.

Weighing hand-luggage is standard for us nowadays, its not just a Virgin thing.

I've never been on a Virgin train, but I don't even know if they're options here in the U.S.

I've heard that the hand luggage weighing is totally normal internationally. I guess us people in the U.S. have it made.

That is soooo awesome!!!

That is so lovely of your brother!!!

You are going to have such an amazing time

Italy is pretty much my favourite place in the world...aside from WDW of course. ahhh so lucky!!

I'm just super excited to add another country on my list of places I've visited. Italy should be beautiful. My next place to visit will hopefully be a cruise in Greece in 2014 with my BFF Farrell.

That is an extraordinarily generous gift from your brother, you clearly really wants to go and have you as his travel buddy. How can you say no? If you did, you would regret it forever. WoW!!!!!!!!!

It really is amazing. I think he knows from our prior trip that I'm a pretty easy going person to travel with, so he doesn't have to worry about too much. However, I am giving him the reins on planning this one out, so it will be kind of nice to just sit back and relax.

Omg how amazing!!!! Italy! My favorite, omg I need to go to there! What a wonderful brother you have, how come I only have younger brothers You guys are going to have an amazing time!!
PS His wife is amazing too lolol!

Hahaha, you know the funny part? I'm the youngest in the family and this is the kind of stuff that my family expects from me, because I'm the one that's always like "oh, I'll pay for you!"

Sara is pretty great for having us do that. She's actually the one that suggested it to him and told him that he should have me be his travel partner because she really wanted him to be able to go.

It is amazing that Danielle will be going to Italy a little over 6 months. I can't believe it myself that Chris offered to pay for her. They will have a great time for sure.

It is amazing. It's going to be a lot of fun. You know I'll come back with lots of pictures for you.

 

[teekathepony]

Whaaaaaaaat!? Holy cow! I'm thinking I need to get me some siblings, I am seriously lacking here. Wowww, how incredibly generous! Lucky you! I adore Italy, I'm hoping to get there next May myself!

 

[marDgreen88]

OH MY GOSH. Are you kidding me??? That's so amazingly kind of your brother! Wow. DANG. Okay. You're really lucky, girl.

 

[katt789]

Ah!! That's so awesome!! Yay for another Europe trip!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Whaaaaaaaat!? Holy cow! I'm thinking I need to get me some siblings, I am seriously lacking here. Wowww, how incredibly generous! Lucky you! I adore Italy, I'm hoping to get there next May myself!

Haha, trust me this is a unique situation and believe me when I say, this is not the norm in any way at all. I am very fortunate though and I am definitely not looking a gift horse in the mouth. I hope you get to make it there next May!

OH MY GOSH. Are you kidding me??? That's so amazingly kind of your brother! Wow. DANG. Okay. You're really lucky, girl.

It is amazingly kind of him and I'm really fortunate that things are working out this way. I am very excited.

Ah!! That's so awesome!! Yay for another Europe trip!!

It's super exciting!!!!

 

[LilAnn]

All caught up now. Phew, lucky that I wasn't that far behind. And thanks for making me literally LOL at work. Good thing all the kiddos here are fast asleep.

Sweet on the upgrade! If you're going to get an upgrade, international flights are where you want them. I am always partial to the food on international flights myself.

Cute little glass of champagne. ALthough that would have been enough to get me all drunky drunk and then I would be passed out. No need for a sleeping pill. Just a few sips of wine. But that may not mix well with the Dramamine for the motion sickness.....

Ugh personal space issues? THe worst. I hate when you are invaded by someone and you keep backing up and then you hit the wall behind you and you are stuck. Another place other than overseas that is awful with personal space? Chinatown. And I'm asian and I can't handle it.

What an awesome brother! Score! I can't wait to hear all about it. I would love to visit Italy!

 

[Poolrat]

WOW How great of your brother to make that offer.
He must really want to go and want to have you along.


Enjoy that trip and yes I want to hear all about it too.

 

[Dugette]

Sounds like you had a really nice upgraded flight!

I'm glad your dad is managing things okay so far with his health.

That is amazing that your brother is taking you to Italy! Awesome!

 

[TinksThree]

So, March 15 - 24 of 2013 we will be visiting.


ITALY!

Rome and Florence to be specific.

First I want to say I hate you!!!! Okay...totally kidding but how unfair that you are going to Italy!!! That is #1 on my bucket list!! I am sure you will have a great time!!! Yay!!!!

I can't believe I hadn't been on since 8.28 for an update! The plane food actually looked good! And good thought on the face care! Never would of thought of that so in my notes for my European trip...whenever! I hope your dad is doing well now. My mom has diabetes that she controls with diet. She has been doing that since the 80's and has issues only rarely, so maybe your dad will not have many issues!!

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

OMG!!! Are you flipping serious??? I can't even get my brother to pay me for his portion of Mom's Mothers Day present and Dad's Fathers Day present... So I know him buying me a plane ticket ain't going to happen!!!

You are one lucky girl to have a brother like that...

 

[IheartDDuck]

All caught up now. Phew, lucky that I wasn't that far behind. And thanks for making me literally LOL at work. Good thing all the kiddos here are fast asleep.

Sweet on the upgrade! If you're going to get an upgrade, international flights are where you want them. I am always partial to the food on international flights myself.

Cute little glass of champagne. ALthough that would have been enough to get me all drunky drunk and then I would be passed out. No need for a sleeping pill. Just a few sips of wine. But that may not mix well with the Dramamine for the motion sickness.....

Ugh personal space issues? THe worst. I hate when you are invaded by someone and you keep backing up and then you hit the wall behind you and you are stuck. Another place other than overseas that is awful with personal space? Chinatown. And I'm asian and I can't handle it.

What an awesome brother! Score! I can't wait to hear all about it. I would love to visit Italy!

I know, I've been really slow on this one, and that's a sad state of affairs, because this trip was so LONG!

I agree, you want to be upgraded when your flight is so long. We definitely lucked out with that one. The extra leg room was a very nice touch.

Wow, you really are a lightweight with the drinking, huh? I wish it would have put me to sleep. That would have been very helpful.

My mom says that I can't handle personal space issues because I'm American. She said if I lived in Europe, I would feel differently. I agree with that assessment, but really. I'm fine the way that I am.

I can't wait to tell everyone about Italy! At the rate I'm going, by the time that trip happens, I'll still be on day two.....

WOW How great of your brother to make that offer.
He must really want to go and want to have you along.


Enjoy that trip and yes I want to hear all about it too.

It's pretty awesome of him.

Sounds like you had a really nice upgraded flight!

I'm glad your dad is managing things okay so far with his health.

That is amazing that your brother is taking you to Italy! Awesome!

My dad is doing really well, which makes me very happy.

The Italy thing is so bizarre. Sometimes I still can't believe that it happened.

First I want to say I hate you!!!! Okay...totally kidding but how unfair that you are going to Italy!!! That is #1 on my bucket list!! I am sure you will have a great time!!! Yay!!!!

I can't believe I hadn't been on since 8.28 for an update! The plane food actually looked good! And good thought on the face care! Never would of thought of that so in my notes for my European trip...whenever! I hope your dad is doing well now. My mom has diabetes that she controls with diet. She has been doing that since the 80's and has issues only rarely, so maybe your dad will not have many issues!!

Don't hate the player, just hate the game. I'll make sure to take lots of pictures to share with you. You'll make it there.

My dad is doing really well already with his diet, so we're pretty confident that he'll keep it under control.

OMG!!! Are you flipping serious??? I can't even get my brother to pay me for his portion of Mom's Mothers Day present and Dad's Fathers Day present... So I know him buying me a plane ticket ain't going to happen!!!

You are one lucky girl to have a brother like that...

Yup, I'm flippin' serious!

I am a lucky girl, I have two very great brothers.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Departure Day Thursday June 28th and Friday June 29th

So we were finally getting ready to land in London. At this point, it was officially Friday June 29th at about 8am London time.

The time I was most dreading had arrived. You guessed it. Passport control.

Everyone scream together.

Feel better? Good, because I do. I have experienced crazy passport control, but this was off the charts. Like, I don’t even know what was going on. There were so many people around I couldn’t even get a grip. I attempted to take a picture of it to show you, but had an epic fail. I’ll show you anyway.

Oh wait hold on….

That’s more like it!

It took us two hours (yes, I did write that correctly. It’s not a typo), for us to get through there. Two hours.

If it’s any consolation though, I did get the see Scottie Pippen. No joke. Like, he totally just waltzed through. Too fast for me to get a picture though. And you know what frosts MY cookies? The fact that he didn’t have to wait with the rest of us yokels. Whatever. Just because you used to play basketball for the Bulls and the whole three-peat blah blah blah. You need to suffer too!!!!

The one bonus in all of this? Our baggage was already waiting on the carousel when we got there. Well duh, I mean I certainly hope it wouldn’t take them TWO HOURS to unload the baggage.

The not so bonus? We found our driver. And because we were so late they were going to charge us.

I don’t understand this. They knew how many people come through there at one time. They know how passport control works. I think it’s a scam…..

International Travel Tip #6 – Don’t expect passport control to go faster just because you’re angry or frustrated. No seriously, just relax about it. You’ll get through it eventually. Getting frustrated is a bad way to start a vacation.

I think this is the normal sky conditions in London…

We made it out to our car and got loaded. Here’s our driver, driving on the other side of the road.

It was weird being on the wrong side and it also didn’t help that this driver was INSANE. I can honestly say that there were a few times that I was like “aaaahhhhhrrrrmaaaaaahhhhggggerrrrrrrrdddddddd, lookout!!!"

He did get us there in one piece though, so I guess it worked out in the end.

Hello passport stamps….

International Travel Tip #7 – There are crazy drivers everywhere. Okay, that wasn’t the tip. If you’re going to take a cab in London from the airport, hire a car service. The cost is fixed (unless you’re LATE), so you don’t have to worry about running the meter. But beware of the penalty charge late fee if you’re extremely late, so don’t dawdle.

He got us to St. Pancras train station in a very short period of time and dropped us off at 11am on the dot. Could have been worse, but with what we experienced, this is why we reserved 5pm tickets. You just don’t want to take any chances in cutting it close.

Hello St. Pancras.

The first thing we were going to do is drop our baggage off at the hold counter. Errrrrr, wrong. They charged 5 pounds per bag! Dude, no thanks, I’ll look like a hillbilly and just lug all our junk around with us thank you very much.

We were hungry at this point, so we staked out a table and set up shop with our million pieces of luggage.

We sat by a Pret A Manger and a burger place. Mom and I went to Pret because we heard good things about it and their freshness. Man, were they ever right on the freshness front. I want that sandwich so bad right now.

Both mom and I got: Brie, basil and tomato sandwich on a baguette.

I also got grapes.

Dad, predictable as ever, got himself a hamburger from the burger place and some chippies. Let me tell you, the chippies were excellent! I wanted some for myself, but I’m not allowed to eat stuff like that anymore (at least not often).

You see how I’m enjoying my sandwich……like a boss!!

International Travel Tip #8 – Even if you don’t think you’re the bravest eater, try eating at different kinds of establishments. Just because it looks like a basic sandwich shop doesn’t mean it’s going to be basic. Trying new things is part of the fun of traveling to other countries. I have yet to be disappointed.

After that we wandered into some stores (duh) and I got some Walker’s Shortbread (the greatest shortbread of life!) and some Cadbury stuff I’ve never seen in the U.S before. I needed some snacks for my upcoming train ride!

We managed to find some seating and set up there for our wait. We couldn’t go into the Eurostar lounge yet, because we were too far away from our departure time. I tried to sleep on Mom’s shoulder but failed miserably.

See? Tired….

The one thing that was lacking is seating. I would have thought they had more places to sit, but let me tell you, it wasn’t easy. We had to guard our seats with our lives, because if you moved someone else would pounce on it.

Because I couldn’t sleep, I decided I would get gelato. I didn’t get a picture, sorry, but it was the greatest stuff EVER! It was chocolate hazelnut and literally tasted like frozen Nutella. I am the biggest Nutella fan, so anything that tastes like it is okay in my book.

International Travel Tip #9 – Do not expect other countries to be like the U.S., and do not bother comparing them. For instance, there was virtually no seating in St. Pancras. It was at a premium and difficult to find. Remember, people there are not as lazy as people here.

Finally, we could head into the Eurostar boarding area.

All nice and plush like.

We still had some time to kill, so we attempted to nap while waiting. Again, I failed…but someone else succeeded.

Seriously, I always get the best sleeping pictures out of him.

International Travel Tip #10 – For real, if you take a train, they will not wait around for you. You have to be prepared and make quick work of everything. People in these countries move much faster than we do, because that’s the norm for them.

We got ourselves all loaded and settled in for our two hour journey to Brussels.

And we’re off!!

Now, I don’t have pictures from the train ride itself, because we went through the tunnel for a large part of it, so outside it was pitch black. Oh well, you get the idea.

However, the three of us were able to close our eyes and get some rest. I say rest for me, because I don’t actually sleep.

Unlike someone else I know…

International Travel Tip #11 – Try to catch cat naps while you can if your day is going to be epically long like mine was. You want to go to sleep for the night at their night time, not earlier, and even little cat naps or simply closing your eyes will help you achieve this.

We arrived in Brussels right on time. They don’t mess around with the timing of trains.

Another thing to note is that you need to get off the train quickly. Like, grab your baggage and jump while the train is still moving style (I only exaggerate a little bit….). When you hear the warning bell, head to the compartment to stand and wait to get off the train.

International Travel Tip #12 – Be prepared to tuck and roll off of the train……for real.

We were renting our car from Avis, so we headed down to the rental counter to get squared away. American Express decided to be a jerk to us and declined our “out of country” transaction. We tried to have them called to resolve it, but no luck. So, we had to buy insurance for the rental and use a different form of payment. That’s hot.

Our car was not fancy by any means, but it did the trick.

Hi Mom!

International Travel Tip #13 – American Express are experts at jackwagonry.

International Travel Tip #14 – Cars internationally are manual transmissions, and you will pay a lot of extra money if you want an automatic. Make sure you are good at driving a stick shift (see any Amazing Race season for a reference on how NOT to drive a manual transmission). Also, you want a diesel engine, so make sure yours is (and likely will be). Better gas mileage and much cheaper to fill up.

So we’re out at the car….and we have no GPS. Mom and Dad are searching feverishly in the dash to try to figure it out. I told them “this is not your fancy dancy Armada, the GPS will be a separate device”. Dad said he had nothing, so he had to run all the way back up to the service counter.

Finally(!) TomTom in hand, we could start driving to our family’s house! (I told you before this was the longest travel day EVER).

Hellllooooooo Brussels!

International Travel Tip #15 – Be aggressive, be be aggressive (if you’re going to drive). They may seem rude, but everyone will actually let you in if you kind of force your way, and everyone will wave thank you even if they cut you off.

Yeah, driving in Europe is a conundrum, because they seem all rude and cut you off all the time. But the hysterical part is that if they cut you off, they wave thank you. And, even in the worst gridlock, the second you turn your turn signal on, someone backs off and lets you in. Why can’t we drive like that here?

It took us about 40 minutes to get to Chris and Heinz house. We were so happy to arrive when we got there.

Chris was so sweet, she made us a veal roast, with homemade sauce, new potatoes, homegrown sugar snap peas, homegrown carrots, and homemade mayonnaise for the potatoes (that’s how we roll here!). It was all amazing. She is the most epic cook ever.

I didn’t take any pictures, because I had run into my wall head first and was fading fast. Plus, the moment you’ve all been waiting for had arrived. We were driving to Disneyland Paris in the morning….

International Travel Tip #16 – At a minimum, try to learn how to say hello, good bye, and thank you in the language of the country you’re traveling to. If you know this and say it, they will immediately catch on that you’re American from your accent, and will begin speaking English basically almost on command. Don’t doubt the quantity of people in these countries that speak English. You’ll feel dumb that you only have command of one language.

Up next: Parc Disneyland.

 

[zanzibar138]

Sounds like a full-on travel day! But on the plus side, I bet once you were in bed you went out like a light

Looking forward to the next update!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Sounds like a full-on travel day! But on the plus side, I bet once you were in bed you went out like a light

Looking forward to the next update!

Dude, it's no joke, I did go out like a light. And that never happens to me when I'm not at home.

 

[shan23877]

Great update Danielle! I am loving all of your international travel tips, I especially giggled at the "not as lazy as we are" one. If I may... years ago we were playing Trivial Pursuit and the question was what country's dogs are the fattest? My BFF Anykka was trying like heck to make her team listen to her, but they were insisting on answering France. She got so frustrated that she began shouting "FAT AMERICANS WITH THEIR FAT DOGS!!". We still say that to this day.

And, and excellent Amazing Race reference. Best reality show ever (it's the only classy one that I watch).

OMG HOLY CRAP--YOU SAW SCOTTIE PIPPEN???!!!! I probably wouldn't have been too excited either if I was waiting in a 2 hour line though. But, that's still really cool, and it's repeat three peat young lady.

What a long exhausting day you must have had. I sure hope that you all got a good nights sleep.

 

[burly]

I am completely exhausted reading the rest of your travel day. geez.
but i must say, travel tips; are priceless. and oh so helpful.
You funny.....


KIM

 

[Queenofallthings]

I am so late but glad you're still on departure day!! Great TR so far!

I laughed when reading about them weighing your carry on....we're classified as international when we are coming into the states so we've had our carry on's weighed for a while now! Sucks, but we've learned to deal with it!

ITALY....Shanleigh is gonna be so jealous!!!

Can't wait for more!!

 

[AvasMommy526]

Ughhh Passport control haha! It's only tolerable because....you are in Europe! Yippee lol I don't remember it being that bad but I flew into Gatewick not Heathrow, so I dont think it's as busy, but I feel for you!
I love the Eurostar! and the pics of your Dad sleeping
Your tips make me laugh, it's good to have humor in stressful travel times!
Can't wait to hear more!