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

[teekathepony]

Wow, what a day of traveling! I am currently in the middle of my long travel day home and was complaining how long it takes... I'm going to not do that now... Hahaha
I am always shocked at how everyone in every country can speak English. Very impressive!
Hooray for Disney in the morning!!

 

[MEK]

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

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.

Funny, but still so annoying considering your wait.

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

Black mail picture #1

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.

You are making me feel very, very lazy!

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…

Blackmail picture #2. It seems your dad can sleep anywhere, any time!

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.

Good to know!

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

....Wait....like this...... See - tuck. roll.

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.

Got the whole stick shift thing down, but shifting with my left hand would confuse the heck out of me.

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.

Seriously? Your dad thought there was a GPS in the dash of THAT car?

OMG - Danielle - this update was freaking hysterical. I was totally laughing out loud. I must copy your international travel tips for the next time I need them. Too funny!

 

[marDgreen88]

Ugh, nightmares at customs. That's crazy, yet not. Ahh, the memories.

That gelato sounds amazing. Oh Nutella...

I'm glad you finally made it, at least to your first destination!

 

[IheartDDuck]

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.

I really loved doing the international travel tips! They were so much fun, because as I was traveling, I would think about something and then be like "oh, I have to take note of that!" LOL.

The more we comment on each other's TR's, the more I keep thinking that we are destined to be good friends. We should meet up since we live close. Because, I LOVE TRIVIAL PURSUIT!! No joke, it was always my favorite game ever. I was so good at it. LOL.

Fat Americans with their fat dogs! I'm going to have to remember that.

Yeah, we did see Scottie Pippen! It was crazy. I was all "what?!" Thanks for reminding me, repeat three peat.....dork! LOL.

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

I was totally exhausted writing about it. I couldn't believe it took me three updates to finish it, but really, yeah, it was that long of a day.

I hope I can keep the laughs up during the TR. Haha.

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!!

Hi Jacquie! Glad you're here. I know you've been busy, and I am very far behind sadly. But, I hope to keep it up now.

I feel so spoiled at the fact that we don't have to weigh our carryons here! Such a brat I am complaining about it when you guys have to deal with it all the time. It would seriously annoy me, I feel so bad for you.

I'm so excited about Italy! I still can't believe it, honestly. Just tell Shan I'll take lots of pictures and I'll make sure to take copious notes.

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!

You are right, the only reason it was tolerable was the fact that we were in Europe at the time. That made me happy for sure.

We had some cruddy passport control in Paris, but it was nothing in comparison to this. I think it was also the time of year we were traveling and the fact that the Olympics were coming up.

My Dad can sleep anywhere. Seriously. He makes me so mad with that.

Wow, what a day of traveling! I am currently in the middle of my long travel day home and was complaining how long it takes... I'm going to not do that now... Hahaha
I am always shocked at how everyone in every country can speak English. Very impressive!
Hooray for Disney in the morning!!

No need to worry about feeling like your travel day is long! No matter the distance, traveling is always the worst part. I tried to keep it in perspective this time around. It wasn't too bad.

I'm always amazed by the number of people that speak English too, only because we barely have command of English here. It seriously makes me feel like I'm lacking.

Funny, but still so annoying considering your wait.

Black mail picture #1

You are making me feel very, very lazy!

Blackmail picture #2. It seems your dad can sleep anywhere, any time!

Good to know!

....Wait....like this...... See - tuck. roll.

Got the whole stick shift thing down, but shifting with my left hand would confuse the heck out of me.

Seriously? Your dad thought there was a GPS in the dash of THAT car?

OMG - Danielle - this update was freaking hysterical. I was totally laughing out loud. I must copy your international travel tips for the next time I need them. Too funny!

Blackmail photos are always good to have. My Dad is so easy to get one from too! He just does stuff like that all the time. He can seriously sleep anywhere. He says it's because he was in Vietnam and had to learn to sleep under a tree.

Thankfully, our car was rented in Belgium, where they drive on the same side of the road as we do. Because I agree. I know how to drive a stickshift, but I seriously wouldn't know what to do if I had to try to drive one on the left side. It would be weird.

I'm always glad to make you laugh. I try to be as funny as possible when I update.

Ugh, nightmares at customs. That's crazy, yet not. Ahh, the memories.

That gelato sounds amazing. Oh Nutella...

I'm glad you finally made it, at least to your first destination!

I know. Entry in and out of any country is always such a pain!

Oh Nutella is right. Best food ever. I wish it was healthier......

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

I followed you over from your BFF trippie which has been very funny...

and I saw you were going to Paris and DLP both of which I love...

Your parents are adorable and I am so sorry about your dad... that must have been very frightening for him and your mom and you...

I am very excited for you... getting to go to Italy... I've been there once with my husband... over 10 years ago to Venice and Florence and its really a small world because...

We're planning a trip there this March also to Florence and Rome... (partially as a graduation gift for my daughter) and partially cause we had such a lovely time before and we didn't get to see Rome... I think our dates are tentatively the 19th to the 29th...

So it really is a small world after all...

 

[IheartDDuck]

I followed you over from your BFF trippie which has been very funny...

and I saw you were going to Paris and DLP both of which I love...

Your parents are adorable and I am so sorry about your dad... that must have been very frightening for him and your mom and you...

I am very excited for you... getting to go to Italy... I've been there once with my husband... over 10 years ago to Venice and Florence and its really a small world because...

We're planning a trip there this March also to Florence and Rome... (partially as a graduation gift for my daughter) and partially cause we had such a lovely time before and we didn't get to see Rome... I think our dates are tentatively the 19th to the 29th...

So it really is a small world after all...

I'm glad that you followed over!

It was a little frightening with my Dad and his situation, but he's got it under control. I'm seriously becoming a huge advocate of people knowing what to eat and their information, because it's such an easy disease to get now based on our poor diets.

How awesome that we might overlap there! You're right, it is a small world. It would be one thing to overlap in WDW, but in another country? That would be crazy.

 

[katt789]

Wow that's a super long travel day!! Gong show! I'm glad to know how quickly you have to move through the train station and such, if I ever end up over there, I know now!

AH!! JAAAACCKKWWAAAGGOOONN....I was watching Honey boo boo earlier and someone started calling someone else a jackwagon and I thought of you! Hhaa.

Oh my goodness that gelato sounds absolutely amazing, YUM, nutella...ugh...now that's all I want!! That sandwich also sounds/looks great! Yuuumm...now I'm all hungry!! Haha.

The driving over in Europe is just insane, I was in a cab in Portugal once....yeah...never again! Haha

 

[scottny]

That was a long travel day.

The wait for customs is really long. I think we had a 90 minute wait or longer.

We took the train to Paris and no rushing off the train there. Very slow and leisurely.

In Paris I never spoke French to anyone and all but 1 woman spoke English to me. Never had an issue.

Looking forward to hearing what you thought of DLP.

Congrats on the trip to Italy. We are going in 2014 so I look forward to your report.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Wow that's a super long travel day!! Gong show! I'm glad to know how quickly you have to move through the train station and such, if I ever end up over there, I know now!

AH!! JAAAACCKKWWAAAGGOOONN....I was watching Honey boo boo earlier and someone started calling someone else a jackwagon and I thought of you! Hhaa.

Oh my goodness that gelato sounds absolutely amazing, YUM, nutella...ugh...now that's all I want!! That sandwich also sounds/looks great! Yuuumm...now I'm all hungry!! Haha.

The driving over in Europe is just insane, I was in a cab in Portugal once....yeah...never again! Haha

Hahaha, I think if I ever become known for something on the DISboards, it's going to be the jackwagon thing. I just love that word! And why does it not surprise me that it came up on Honey Boo Boo?

That gelato was amazing! Best iced treat I've ever had. The flavor was heavenly. The sandwich was heavenly too, and oh so fresh.

Man, cab drivers there are just scary, but then again, I live in Chicagoland, where cab drivers are equally as scary.

That was a long travel day.

The wait for customs is really long. I think we had a 90 minute wait or longer.

We took the train to Paris and no rushing off the train there. Very slow and leisurely.

In Paris I never spoke French to anyone and all but 1 woman spoke English to me. Never had an issue.

Looking forward to hearing what you thought of DLP.

Congrats on the trip to Italy. We are going in 2014 so I look forward to your report.

Hi Scott!

I'm glad to see you here, it's been a while! I keep meaning to hop on to your TR, so I'm making my way over there soon.

I've had mixed bags with trains. All of the metro that I took in Paris, like the "el" and the subway were quick, like on and off. I think it just depends.

It is surprising how many people can speak English there. The very first time we visited, my Dad was nervous, but my Mom told him not to worry. He doesn't anymore.

I'm super excited about Italy, and that's awesome you guys are going too! I'll make sure to take good notes on it.

 

[jecskc]

YAY for an update !! I am so glad you reached your relative's house without too much trouble. That does sound like an epic-ally long travel day. Love all your silly faces again !! I hope you got some rest and I can't wait to read about DLPR !!! And I totally get the language thing. I always felt so stupid when they could speak like five fluent languages and I can only speak English. Everywhere we went though, everyone would speak English no problem. So that was a relief. We took a boat tour in Brugge and the guy did his tour in four different languages, I was super impressed !!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I couldn't resist. I had to start my PTR(s) because I'm SOOOOO EXCITED ABOUT IT!!!! I hope you guys can all join me there. I truly do love all of my readers.

Dork Wars Episode II: The Revenge of Joaquin - A Nov. 12 / Jul. 13 PTR

 

[DVCWDWMEMBER]

YAY for an update !! I am so glad you reached your relative's house without too much trouble. That does sound like an epic-ally long travel day. Love all your silly faces again !! I hope you got some rest and I can't wait to read about DLPR !!! And I totally get the language thing. I always felt so stupid when they could speak like five fluent languages and I can only speak English. Everywhere we went though, everyone would speak English no problem. So that was a relief. We took a boat tour in Brugge and the guy did his tour in four different languages, I was super impressed !!

I know what you mean about the boat tour in Brugge. When we took our trip in 2010 we also did the boat tour and Rick and Danielle were amazed at our tour guide. He also spoke several languages and fluently on top of it. Also all the restaurants that we went to the staff spoke English, so that made Rick feel so much better since he has a pretty hard time with languages Even English at times

 

[IheartDDuck]

I know what you mean about the boat tour in Brugge. When we took our trip in 2010 we also did the boat tour and Rick and Danielle were amazed at our tour guide. He also spoke several languages and fluently on top of it. Also all the restaurants that we went to the staff spoke English, so that made Rick feel so much better since he has a pretty hard time with languages Even English at times

Yeah, Dad's command of the English language is shoddy at best.

 

[jecskc]

Yeah, Dad's command of the English language is shoddy at best.

Bahahahaha !!! So is my husband's. You should hear some of the words he comes up with !! He has been to Mexico lately for work and my DS is constantly correcting his Spanish. And I don't say it out loud, but I m thinking, "shouldn't you learn your own native tongue first ??" Just sayin'......

 

[MazdaUK]

If its any comfort we wiated nearly 3 hours to get through immigration in Floridaq - its just what countries do to visitors

 

[IheartDDuck]

Bahahahaha !!! So is my husband's. You should hear some of the words he comes up with !! He has been to Mexico lately for work and my DS is constantly correcting his Spanish. And I don't say it out loud, but I m thinking, "shouldn't you learn your own native tongue first ??" Just sayin'......

My Dad is the same! He'll just be talking about something, and then a word that does not exist comes out of his mouth and he just keeps talking like it's completely normal. We started to actually keep record of his words, and I've started to make definitions.

If its any comfort we wiated nearly 3 hours to get through immigration in Floridaq - its just what countries do to visitors

Ugh, I agree, I think every country just does it to aggravate people. We had a similar problem when we were coming back into the country too.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Day 1 - Saturday June 30, 2012

Okay, on to our first official "real" day.

We woke up today feeling so refreshed. Seriously, if you want to have a good nights sleep, I strongly suggest traveling to another country on an 8 hour flight and basically staying awake for over 30 hours. It will definitely help you in the sleep department. I knocked out. That never happens to me in places that are not my home. But it felt very very nice.

I woke up at around 9am. I could have honestly slept longer, but I also knew that our goal in the early afternoon was to hit the road and start heading to Paris. Because we were going to Disneyland today!!!!!

I went downstairs and Mom was already up with Chris for breakfast. Finn, Chris and Heinz grandson was there. Oh my goodness, he is the cutest thing ever. He was a little shy at first, but later he was showing me how he was feeding the birds. Two years old and full of energy!

Everyone was already at the breakfast table (except for my Dad....he was still asleep. As you know, this is his favorite pastime).

Our breakfast spread.

This is typical European breakfast. Cheese, lunchmeats, breads, and ample amounts of coffee.

And, the coup de grace....

Chris, my Mom's cousin, is honestly the most accommodating person I've ever met before. She does anything she can for you to make your stay better. I know it's because she doesn't see us often, but it's still so sweet. She did all of this the last time we came. She also bought us some tartes (baked goods essentially), that were amazing.

Finn, the cutie patootie, was enjoying his breakfast very much.

Dad finally decided to join us for breakfast too.

International Travel Tip #17 - American breakfast is not common in Europe. While you can find it, you will pay for it at kind of a premium. Don't bother. Sampling their breads, cheeses, and spreads is more than enough and SUPER tasty.

Oooohhh, and even though it was breakfast, I still ate my tarte.

I'm seriously tempted to lick my screen right now. It was soooooo good.

After relaxing and chatting at breakfast, it was time to head upstairs to pack our overnight bags.

Here's our entrance to our little apartment.

And my sleeping area.

I love to do makeup too, so I took a picture of my makeup job on most days.

Closed.

And open! I'm a dork, sorry.

And here's my outfit of the day.

Getting ready to go. Chris loves candids, so you'll get a lot of those from her pictures.

Before we headed out, Finn really wanted to play cars with us all.

He played this game with me that was hysterical. I would ask him:

"Finn, welke kleur is deze auto?" (What color is this car).

"Geel!!!! (yellow)"

And so it would continue.

Until the little bugger decided he would mess with me. I picked up the white car. I ask him what color it is....

"Geel!!!!!"

I said:

"Nee nee Finn, dat is niet geel" (No no Finn, that is not yellow).

And he said to me:

"Nee, dat is geel!!!!" (No, that is yellow!!!)

With a devilish little grin on his face. Testing me out to see how much I really know. He was so cute. I love kids from other countries, I really do. I loved listening to him say words that I was just learning about myself.

Vliegtuig (plane), boom (tree), bussel (bushel of carrots, etc), vlieg (fly), etc. They're so smart.

He also very quickly caught on to the fact that my Dad spoke no Dutch at all. He knew so well in fact, that he started to demonstrate things to my Dad, since he knew he didn't know the words. They're so smart, aren't they?

Clearly, he had something very important to say to my Mom.

It was time for us to head out, as it would be a four hour drive for us to get to Disneyland Paris. We forget sometimes that in the U.S., we just stop at McDonalds on the way or eat something unhealthy. Chris insisted on packing us food to eat in the car. I was perfectly fine with that, because the bread and cheese that she had was amazing.

We headed out to the car and got settled in, but not before I took a picture of the house before we started driving.

So we said "Tot Maandag!" (Until Monday!), to our family and were on our way. TomTom was programmed (remember, TomTom is not in the dash, he's his own little unit. In case you forgot from the last update. LOL).

I won't bore you with driving details or anything. It was pretty basic. But somewhere along the way, I ate my lovely sandwich.

And soon we were seeing the sign "Welcome to France."

And then it happened. We came upon.....the dreaded toll road.

Yes, there are tollways everywhere it appears. And France is no different. Their is very much like the Florida Turnpike. Get on at one entrance, and then where you exit will dictate the price that you pay. We had to take the entire turnpike, but finally, we got to our end state.

That's a lot of cars, eh?

International Travel Tip #19 - Everyone goes on holiday in the summer in Europe, around the same time and they take their holidays very seriously. If you want to avoid the crowds, don't go during the summer.

Our final price was 14 euro. That is the equivalent of about $17ish dollars.

On the way, we enjoyed some French countryside. Very common to see small villages like below, with a church at the center. Many years ago, the towns were built around the churches.

Mom had a little panic attack on the road. We found out from Heinz that on July 1st, France was enacting a law where every car had to have breathalyzers in them, so the police could test you wherever and whenever. Fortunately, if you need them, the petrol stations sell them for 1 euro. That's handy enough. However, Mom was a little afraid that we might get pulled over and not be prepared. (Moral of the story....it didn't happen). However....

International Travel Tip #20 - Be aware that there are laws that may be enacted when you're there, like it was when we arrived. There's no need to panic, because being from outside of the country will help you.

People also drive very fast here, and they use the lanes the way they're supposed to be used.

International Travel Tip #21 - People drive very fast, but they also don't messa around with the left lane. It's only a passing lane. Look out for people coming up behind you and promptly move over. Its best not to hang out in the left lane for too long.

Soon, we were approaching our destination.....

CLIFFHANGER!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. (Sorry. I couldn't help myself).

Here's your Dutch lesson for the day -

Hi - Hallo
Tree - Boom
Bushel - Bussel
Airplane - Vliegtuig
Fly - Vlieg
White - Wit
Blue - Blauw
Red - Rood
Yellow - Geel
Green - Groen
Until Later - Tot Ziens
Monday - Mandaag

 

[shan23877]

The food looks amazing! How lucky you are to have family in Europe to stay with while you get to explore new cultures!

Again, excellent international travel tips. I would be the one insisting on buying the breathalizer 'just in case'.

I cannot wait to hear about DLP!!!

 

[zanzibar138]

I love how in Europe you can drive just a few hours and be in a different country!

You tease ending on a cliffhanger like that! Can't wait for the next instalment

 

[teekathepony]

I love European breakfasts, so simple and yummy. I'm a bread lover anyway, so it's good.
Hooray for being on the road and in France!
Finn is super cute, kids are so smart, they have a natural instinct for communication, even with a language barrier!