Paris - Canary Islands - London - September 2003

September 2003

Trip to Paris, Tenerife in the Canary Islands and London

Eiffel Tower

When our friends from Scotland, Myra & Malcolm invited us to join them in the Canary Islands We will have to say that we did not know much about the islands. With a little research, one of the things we found out was that you can't get there from here. There are no flights that go to the Canary Islands. You have to stop somewhere in Europe first and fly from there. So then we thought, that after probably 14 hours in the air, that getting on another flight right then would not be so appealing. So we decided that since one of the places we could stop at was Paris, and that since George had never been to Paris, that Paris would be a good place to actually stop and spend a few days. We could stretch our legs, get over the jet leg and be ready for our adventure with the “Scotties”. We also decided to stretch our vacation and spend a week in London on our return. So with the Paris stop, 10 days in Tenerife, and then our stay in London, we will be gone 3 weeks.

Our time in Paris seemed to fly by. We walked all over the city it seemed. Rode the Metro to get between the major sites. On Monday we took the boat cruise on the Seine that allowed us to get on and off and explore the sites. Walked around the outside of the Louvre, not enough time to go inside. Ate sandwiches in a park. Had two excellent dinners near our hotel in the Montmartre district. Walked up to the Sacre Coeur. Took the elevator to the top of the Eiffel tower, and the Arc de Triumphe. Had good weather most of the time, a little rain one afternoon, but that allowed us to dash into a sidewalk cafe and have a beer. George was given a beer mug for his collection from a very nice waiter.

Tenerife with Mt. Teide

Took our flight to Tenerife. It was uneventful. Picked up our rental car and made our way to the timeshare where are friends were waiting for us. They had a 3 bedroom condo, with a really nice private patio. We visited with them for awhile, catching up and getting to know them better. We had met them 2 years before on our trip to Spain, and since then had been in contact through email. This is our first time traveling with them. Spent the afternoon at the pool, swimming and chatting.

The adventure continues. We spent the afternoon on Thursday on a boat trip out to watch the whales and dolphins. We found pilot whales but no dolphins. Yesterday we rode a cable car up to the highest mountain in Spain. It is a volcano which last erupted in 1798. We could not get to the actual cone, but it was still quite high up and cool compared to the rest of the countryside. We also walked around a small but very pretty little town. Today we are checking the email and then off for a trip to do a little sightseeing and window shopping. Having a great time. Going to a local fiesta tonight.

Today we drove about 40 km over to a small town on the coast, and walked about. The main feature of this area are the giant cliffs know as Los Gigantos. The cliffs are of lava and were between 200-300 feet which came straight down to the sea. Very pleasant day. Good lunch on the pier looking out over the fishing/tourist fleet. Huge fish in the harbor that we fed with leftover bread from our sandwiches.



Drago Tree - over 1000 years old

 Then Laura wanted to go see the Drago Tree which is reported to be over 1000 years old. It is the symbol of the Canary Islands. Unfortunately it was about 34 km away and it was uphill and curvy all the way. Took quite a while to get there and then we did not know where it was in the town so see were driving up and down little streets that were only big enough for one car, but the Canarians are like the Spaniards when it comes to driving so we fit more than one in the space for one. And then there was the lack of parking. We did find the tree and all were suitably impressed. Then it was back to the home base and dinner.

Candelaria - statues of tribal chiefs

After yesterdays adventures we spent the next day resting, swimming in the pool, and doing a little local shopping. The next day we went to the town of Candelaria. It was a cute little town, and down by the seaside there was a long walkway with statues. The statues represented different tribal chiefs from long ago. We celebrated our anniversary with a nice dinner out with our Scottish friends, very pleasant day.

Our last days in Tenerife were pleasant. Visited some more villages, went snorkeling in a little cove off the beaten track. Very hot sand, quite a few bare chests. We had a wonderful stay with our Scottish friends, and are already planning where to meet them in two years. We have agreed that we will meet them somewhere in the world every other year. They have been so much fun to be with.

Westminster Abbey

 Now we are in Jolly Old England. Got up yesterday at 4am to drive to the northern airport and fly out at 7:30 am. Got lost twice, the signage was not as good as in the rest of Spain. It was a good flight to Madrid and then on to London. Arrived at 4pm and then off to the hotel. With only basic directions we did find the hotel and it is very nice. After a short power nap we were off for a walk across Hyde Park and round the neighborhood. Ended up back at the hotel after a beer and sandwich in the Horse & Groom ( a little pub – god only knows where). Met some people from Michigan who were going on a cruise so spent some time in the bar talking with them. Off to bed by midnight and now up and about this morning on the way for a sightseeing bus (hop on, hop off), and to check ½ price tickets for a play.

Stonehenge

On Monday we took the train out to Salisbury and Stonehenge. It had been warm and sunny when we left London but by the time we hit Salisbury it was starting to drizzle and got progressively worse. We were wearing short sleeves and did not bring jackets nor the umbrella, so we stopped immediately and bought a pair of lightweight windbreakers to keep us warm and dry. We visited the cathedral in Salisbury then took the bus to Stonehenge. Very impressive site. Stayed too long, missed our bus by 5 minutes so had lunch and fed the birds waiting for the next bus. Missed the train we were planning on getting on by just a hair, so instead of returning to the hotel to change we went straight to the theatre district because we had tickets to see “We Will Rock You”. Arrived with about 40 minutes to spare but needed dinner. Ate next door and had only 10 minutes to eat before the play started. Made it into the the play, got our seats and at intermission we found out that we were in the wrong seats and had to move. Great musical, we were rocking!!!


Canterbury

  On Tuesday we took a train trip to Canterbury and a visit to the Cathedral and the city.  Canterbury is one of the prettiest cities we've seen.  We also went out to Leeds Castle and was one of the last people out of the park. For dinner we went to the Sherlock Holmes Pub. After dinner of shepard's pie and a beer we went upstairs to see the re-creation of Sherlock's living room. Most interesting.

While here we have also taken a one day trip to Brighton to see the Royal Pavilion and walk along the shore. We took a cruise up the Thames to visit Windsor Castle. We walked across the Tower bridge one day and visited the Tower of London. Said hello to the Ravens and Beefeaters. From there we visited St. Paul's Cathedral. We visited Westminster Abbey and we rode the eye. We had dinner one night in a place called Tas Pide, an Anatolian restaurant, which was wonderful. We shopped, of course, and had a wonderful time. Every night when we returned to the hotel we would get a call from Myra from Scotland, wanting to know what we had done that day. It was fun talking to her and telling her of our adventures.

Tower Bridge

So home now, to our schnauzer, Natasha. She is getting old, and has had some medical problems, even a seizure while we were gone, so will be anxious to see her.