Millau Viaduct

The main purpose of our drive to southern France was to view [and be brave enough to drive over] the Millau Viaduct.   You seriously need to check out some of the pictures by googling it.  The official website is here http://www.leviaducdemillau.com/en_index.php#/accueil/

As we headed south, we stopped in a quaint little town for lunch.  The restaurant was small but really neat and the food was great -- notice how I always work in pictures of food!

As we approached the bridge, it was cloudy and rainy.  But the first views were still pretty amazing.

To get better pictures, we pulled down into the Visitor Center and hiked up the small hill.  The hike is a small incline but the views of the bridge from there are amazing.  And to make it even better, the rain stopped!  I know this looks fake, but I promise you, this is REAL!

Off to Geneva!

I've always wanted to trace my roots -- having grown up with the concept that I had German ancestors.  Imagine my surprise, when after finding family documents and using Ancestry.com we find that we are Swiss (albeit on the German side of Switzerland).

So the planning began....and we agreed on a combination European family history/scenic driving trip.  Since we would be staying in several different locations, we booked flights separately from hotels.  Not our usual practice, but worked out well.

We left from Minneapolis on July 1st -- and were pleasantly surprised (and greatly thankful) to be upgraded by Delta to Business Class!!  I can only say wow and thanks! Nothing like an overnight flight with a seat that actually lays almost flat and comes with pillow and comforter.

We spent the first night close to the Geneva airport and immediately began to realize that this might become a "National Lampoon vacation" type of vacation.  Our first morning as we headed down for breakfast, we got stuck in the [small] elevator!   One of my all time greatest fears is of elevators -- and getting stuck in one is at the top of my fears list!  This apparently happens frequently at this hotel (although that part wasn't included in the advertising) and while we were only stuck for maybe 8 or 9 minutes, it felt like an eternity!

We then headed out to first drive to southern France.  I am always fascinated by the scenery and the different travel modes.  Please note the small car with a canoe on top pulling the trailer:

It is also amazing to see the various American businesses that have a European presence.  Now I'm sure we all assume that McDonald's and fast food is there....and it is:

But Tupperware, who knew?

Cherry Blossoms - yes, they are as advertised!

This post is way out of order, but I thought the pictures of the cherry blossoms were worthy of a post!

One of my dreams has always been to see the Washington DC cherry blossoms in full bloom.  I have been to DC at least four or five times actually DURING cherry blossom "season".  It always worked out that I was there early, and the blooms were late, or vice versa.  In 2012, we had booked a trip to Washington, DC to meet friends there and show them around the city.  On a Wednesday night about two weeks before our already scheduled trip, we heard on the news that the peak for blossoms was scheduled to be that coming weekend.  Aack, I thought, yet another year with no pictures of the flowers -- and this was the 100th anniversary of the first gift of the trees to America.

After much discussion and plotting, we arranged use of our frequent flier miles and free hotel points for a 24 hour trip that cost $37 plus food!  We flew into DC late on Saturday night, walked around the Capitol Mall and Tidal Basin on Sunday and flew home Sunday night.  Can I just say -- well worth the trip!!!

 

 



Viva Las Vegas!

The four of us have been friends for over 40 years!  Lots of fun memories and so easy to feel connected to folks who have known you that long.  We decided to do a girls' trip to Las Vegas!  While it took some effort to finally land on a weekend that worked for our four varied schedules, we finally managed to make it work for June 2013. 

First on the agenda, strange as it may sound, was to take a quick driving trip out of Vegas to Utah!

We scheduled a bus trip to head to the Grand Canyon.  En route, we got our first view of Lake Mead.

The bus ride was fun as evidenced by our pose "with attitude"

Probably the most spectacular part of the trip -- was the visit to the "west rim" and Glass Walk built by the Hualapai Tribe. Information is here http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/skywalk.htm While there is an extra fee for going out on the glass walk, for those of you with no fear of heights, it apparently is worth it!  I personally chose to stay on dry land and take pictures.  My friends were braver as shown below:

We had a great weekend -- and managed to fit in a show (Blue Man Group), visit to the Bellagio Fountains and lots of walking!  I leave you with some of the night lights!