New 7 Wonders of the World Runner Ups: Angkor Wat – Eiffel Tower – Stonehenge
January 12, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Leave a Comment
In the summer of 2007, more than 90 million people cast their votes to determine which architectural
marvels in the world deserved to be one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. There were a total of twenty-one landmarks vying for that title.
Of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, only the Great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt still stand. The pyramids were given an automatic spot after infuriated Egyptian officials said it was a disgrace to have to compete for something that had belonged to their country for so long. I agree! We saw them in 2007.
It is our goal to see all twenty-one landmarks. Also, Chris and I have collectively seen a lot of the twenty-one, however, not together. So the rule is, we go back and see all of them together!
Chichen Itza
New 7 Wonders of the World we’ve been to:
The Great Wall
#1 Chichen Itza, Mexico – 2005
#2 Great Wall of China – 2010
New 7 Wonders of the World Runner Ups we’ve been to:
#9 Statue of Liberty, New York – 2005
#10 Sydney Opera House, Australia – 2005
#11 Hagia Sophia, Istanbul – 2007
#12 Acropolis, Athens – 2007
#13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia – 2010 – It is the world’s largest religious monument covering 200 hectares and is an architectural masterpiece of fine proportions and rich detail of Kmer construction. It consists of 600 meters of bas relief & 2000 apsaras (celestial dancers). The temple is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods: the central quincunx of towers symbolizes the five peaks of the mountain, and the walls and moat the surrounding mountain ranges and ocean. There are over 80 temples in the area and one of them is where Tomb Raiders was filmed. We saw 9 of them and I wished I had spent more time here!
Angkor Wat
Eiffel Tower
#14 Eiffel Tower, Paris – 2010 – On our way home from our Africa trip we stopped in Paris for 3 days. Unfortunately they were on strike (again) so I didn’t get to go to Versailles. We did have a very nice time walking in the city and taking the “hop on, hop off” boat on the Seine. The Eiffel Tower was named after one the most influential people in its construction, a contractor, engineer, architect and showman by the name of Gustave Eiffel. It took around two years and two months to build and was completed on March 31, 1889. You can see around 59 kilometers or around 37 miles from the top of the Eiffel Tower. It is made of 2.5 million rivets, 15,000 pieces of iron and 40 tons of paint and is approximately 984-990 feet tall/high (depending on temperature).
#15 Stonehenge, England – 2011 – This was our last stop on our Ireland, Scotland, UK and Belgium trip in the fall. Stonehenge (meaning hanging stones) is as old as the Pyramids (5000 yrs) and older than the Acropolis and Colosseum (both also Runner Ups). Called a stone circle “built by giants” it is different from others in England. (There are over 900 stone circles in the British Isles) It is believed that more than 30 million hours of labor were spent in the construction work. It has cross-pieces spanning the vertical monoliths and the only one with smooth, uniform stones – each one designed to calculate the movement of the sun, moon and stars. The monoliths were built out of sandstone, weigh about 35 tons, and came from 20 miles away. The shorter “bluestones” came from Wales which is 240 miles away. The question is, “How did they get there? And why didn’t they use the stones that were nearby?”
Stonehenge
FUN-travel: UK – London – Stonehenge – Salisbury
November 10, 2011 by Susan Clarke · Leave a Comment
Day 33 – Sunday, October 16 – London, Heathrow Airport – Hilton Hotel
Downtown Salisbury
- Arrive Heathrow 4:30 (get our hour back)
- Go through customs – get bags – Duty Free wine (2 bottles for 12 lbs) – figure out train to Terminal 4 – 10 minute walk
- Arrive Airport Hilton 6:00 & get 2 free drinks! but that’s it (we really miss being spoiled in Concierge level & all the “extras” since Chris retired) – pre-paid, non-refundable rate (8 months ago) 119 lbs w/taxes 144 lbs per night (rack rate 400 lbs) internet is extra!
- Check w/Concierge on how to get to Stonehenge – sounds too complicated – go back to Terminal 4 to both TI & National Express Bus Station – no help whatsoever! can’t believe this is so complicated
- Come back & recheck w/Concierge – come up w/3 options – take 6:30 am bus (that’s not even an option) – hire driver for 200 lbs (that’s not an option either, too expensive) – or rent a car maybe – 100 lbs (includes fuel)
FUN-food Dinner – Hilton Deli/Coffee Shop – Burger w/fries ordered med rare & told only well done (after questioning manager he said he’d ask chef to cook less & if not happy would get me something else) was good served med – Greek type salad & 2 pints – 45 lbs
CFFO (Control Freak, Freak Out!) – gave UK & Europe road atlas’s to Mary since we weren’t driving anymore!
Day 34 – Monday, October 17 – London to Stonehenge & Salisbury
Stonehenge
- 7:00 wake up – go down for coffee – 4.20 lbs for small cup! (that’s over $6.00) 5 lbs for large cup – get that, take to room & share
- 7:30 see first sunrise on trip!
- 9:00 bus to Terminal 5 to check Stonehenge bus options – not going to work!
- Pick up phones for car rentals – Avis 125 lbs for automatic, diesel w/GPS – EuropeCar 110 lbs – no one else answers – walk out to pick up area & Enterprise bus is sitting there – ask driver cost of car he says “60 or 70 lbs” – We’re on it!
Salisbury Cathedral
- Get to Enterprise & you’d think we are the King & Queen of California! Never have we ever been so welcomed and helped – service was off the charts 10 ++++ – our new car rental company for sure! 65 lbs – mid size, diesel, automatic
- Depart 10:15 w/Garmin (programmed American English – Jack) to Stonehenge (73 miles) & return – I am the backup ” American English – Jill”
- Arrive 11:30 – Stonehenge (meaning hanging stones) was up for one of the New 7 Wonders of the World – as old as Pyramids (5000 yrs) – older than the Acropolis & Colosseum – stone circle “built by giants” is different from others in England – has cross-pieces spanning the vertical monoliths & the only one with smooth, uniform stones – each one designed to calculate the movement of the sun, moon & stars – monoliths were built out of sandstone & weigh about 35 tons, came from 20 miles away – shorter “bluestones” came from Wales – 240 miles away – question is, “How did they get there? And why didn’t they use the stones that were nearby?”
- Ask bus driver in parking lot how far Bath is – he says, “Have you been to Salisbury? I’d go there. It’s really cute & close.”
- Depart 12:30 for Salisbury (8 miles)
- Arrive & Park 1:00 – really cute Medieval town
FUN Candy Store
FUN-food Lunch – Patisserie Valerie – Tricolore Salad – tomato, mozzarella, avocado, olives, balsamic pesto – Ciabatta sandwich w/same ingredients as salad – 2 cappuccinos - 24 lbs
- Walk thru town
- Salisbury Cathedral – built 1220 – England’s tallest spire @ 404 ft &- took only 38 years to build Cathedral Green – enormous area surrounding cathedral is largest in England
Local Talent
- Window shopping
- Depart Salisbury 3:45 – American English Jack works wonders!
- Arrive Heathrow 5:15 – need gas & saved again by Jack!
FUN-food Dinner – need a snack so order soup – the worst! tasteless, watered down – 8.5 lbs
FF (FUN-facts) – Had a lovely last day in Salisbury – even got Chris to feed the meter for 3 hrs! Major breakthrough!
Day 35 – Tuesday, October 18 – London to HOME! non-stop – full on sun w/light wispy clouds
- Depart hotel 10:30 – arrive Terminal 10:45
- 1st stop – Costa Coffee
- FUN-food Breakfast – scone w/classic cornish clotted cream, strawberry jam & 2 coffees – 5.50 lbs (clearly cheaper to eat in airport)
- 12:05 – check in for 3:05 flight
- Duty free for Jameson you can’t buy in US
- 1:00 – British Airways Lounge – never seen such a spread of food anywhere in world (or booze either)
FUN-Food Snacks – Cold Food Bar w/green salad, pasta salad, & bean salad, meats & cheeses – Hot Food Bar w/pasta, marinara, rice, beef stew, chili, Indian spiced chicken, vegetable curry
Belgium Beers
- 2:20 – catch transit to Terminal 5 B concourse
- 3:05 take off on time
FUN-food Lunch- smoked salmon & trout roulade w/radish & fennel watercress salad – fresh seasonal salad w/vinaigrette – Chicken Kiev w/tomato & artichoke sauce, parsnip chips & creamed spinach – chilled main course salad of grilled king prawn w/Thai noodles & cashews – wine choices Chateau Dasvin-Bel-Air 2009, Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, France – Medalla Real Carmenere Gran Reserva 2008, Colchagua Valley, Chile
Belgium Waffles
FF – we have never taken the insurance option & never wrecked (let alone scratched) a rental car in all the years we have rented them for business & pleasure in the US
Trip Recap
Travel is very personal. So why did we take this trip at this time? Chris got the book “WHERE To Go WHEN” and said to me, “Honey, we can go to the Arctic Circle to see the Polar Bears or we can go to Galway Bay for the Oyster Festival.” Well that took about 3 seconds to answer! Galway sounded like the most FUN – and it was! Every time we take a trip we think about what we liked and disliked to help us plan better the next time. We also want to take the most physically challenging trips now rather than later. This trip had way too much driving! I think mixing cruising with land tours is ideal for us. Also, we like warm weather so we have decided the only cold weather trips we are willing to takeare to the North & South Poles. When it comes to buying travel books – we LOVE Rick Steve’s!
FF – have renewed faith in GPS & am receptive to thinking about getting software for our Garmin for next Europe trip (don’t really ever want to drive again!) but you still need a road atlas!
FUN-travel: Belgium – Namur & Brussels
October 31, 2011 by Susan Clarke · Leave a Comment
Day 31 – Friday, October 14 - Drive to Namur, Belgium – dawn is crisp 40′s – ground fog with same full bright moon shining in the sky – crisp, cool, full on SUN – high 50 +- YEAH!
Citadel
- depart 12:30 – arrive 1:30 (30 miles)
- 1st stop – TI for map & ask for best pizza restaurant
- FUN-food Lunch – La Piadineria Guisseppe – style from Northern Italy – Piadina Campagnola – spicy salami, mozzarella, olives & lettuce (thought I ordered pizza, turns out to be tortilla like bread folded in half) – Assiette Ete – salad w/anchovies, capers/mozzarella, prosciutto, balsamic dressing – Stella Artois – 16 euro & just OK
- 2nd stop – walk to Citadel – must more impressive than Dinant – closed today but huge area to walk – go to top of hill for majestic views of city
Namur from Citadel
- FUN-food Dinner - w/brother Wayne & sister-in-law Lurene – Bliss was our pick but all booked up – go to Le Messages – cheese burger/fries & goat cheese salad – 2 bottles of wine – 114 euro – don’t have credit card swipe capability (they use chip cards) we say “it’s not our problem. Your sign says you take Visa.” they say, “it’s not our problem.” – owner gives us his bank account # for us to deposit
Day 32 – Saturday, October 15 – Train to Brussels – dawn crisp 30′s – same full bright moon shining in the sky – high 50′s & SUNNY – YEAH!
Brussels
- Depart 9:15 – ice on windshield & no scraper
- Get to Mary’s 9:30 – get to train station 10:15 for 10:23 train
- Arrive 11:00
- 1st stop – TI for map
- 2nd stop – central plaza – square of beautiful buildings, all different architectural styles including city hall – 16 weddings today
- FUN-food Lunch – Luna di Venezia – real Italian restaurant (Ernesto is from Sicily) only one on street w/wood burning oven – order marguerita & pepperoni (spicy salami) YUMMY! the best pizza of the whole trip! – Duval beers & 3 pizzas – 74 euro
- 3rd stop – Cathedral – see high mass wedding taking place
- 4th stop – Catherine Church – under renovation
- 5th stop – famous statue “Boy Peeing”
- 6th stop – Delirium Monasteriummona (I’m not making this up) Bar – beer tasting – 9 different ones
Famous Boy Peeing Statue
- Return 5:06 – babysit for Mary so she can go out w/girl friends (Laurent is working on oil rig in the North Sea)
FUN-food Dinner – Mary’s fridge & cheese/crackers
Day 33 – Sunday, October 16 – Brussels to London
Chocopolis
- Depart 11:15 – stop @ Mary’s to say good-bye
- Arrive airport 1:00 (only takes 30 minutes)
- Another Hertz hassle – takes 20 minutes for them to fix computer glitch
- FUN-food Lunch – Starbucks cap/latte – chicken salad & leftovers from week – chips, peanuts, grapes, smoked gouda & salami
- 3:25 flight – delayed to 4:20
WRTC2BSL – 4 consecutive days of full sun!
FUN-travel: Belgium – Gent & Bruges
October 27, 2011 by Susan Clarke · Leave a Comment
Day 29 – Wednesday, October 12 - Drive to Gent, Belgium – weather same as yesterday, overcast w/afternoon rain – high 60′s
Gent
- Depart 11:00 for Gent – arrive 1:00 – have no good map & no clear street signs (imagine that)
- cap/latte break for directions to TI
- get map of walking tour – pretty impressive cathedral, belfry & castle
- need to get back to car – only paid for two hrs pkg – get totally turned around (lost) because there’s two rivers – go back to TI & retrace steps
FUN-food Dinner – Auberge de la Roseraie – (Belgium food) – cream soup in shot glass & toasted baguette w/2 different olive tapenades for starters included in meal – salmon tartar – mushroom casserole appetizers - gambas (scampi on steroids) w/creamy risotto (since it’s all French to me this is best guess what we ate) – food just so-so & expensive again – no more Belgium food!
FF (FUN-facts) – having an IPod for music in the car is the best!
Day 30 – Thursday, October 13 - Drive to Bruges, Belgium – clouds turn to full sun – YEAH! – low 40′s – high 50′s
- depart 9:30 to meet @ Mary’s (10 minute drive)
- depart Mary’s 10:45 – arrive Bruges 12:15
- drive around for 45 minutes attempting to find free parking
- park on street for 30 minutes to feed baby Elizabeth
- meeting Laurent & having trouble getting out of city center (too many one ways) give up and park in garage
- 2:00 – meet up w/everyone in the main square
Bruges Boat Ride
FUN-food Lunch – Central – we order fish & chips, tomato soup, Duval beer – food mediocre and over priced at best – Laurent ordered pizza & it was good – 200 euro
- Celebrate Alexander’s 6th birthday! – Belgium waffle w/ice cream, chocolate sauce, strawberries & whipped cream
- stroll through city & shops
Celebrating Alexander's Birthday
- take 30 minute canal boat ride
- find ‘t Brugs Beertje – over 300 beers
- 7:00 Chocolate store stop
- depart 7:45 – dusk arrives with a full bright moon!
- arrive Lasne 9:15
FUN-food Dinner – Mary has left over tofu chili – yummy!
FF – parking in garage = more freedom! (eliminates worry of feeding meter )
FUN-travel: Belgium – Lasne & Dinant
October 26, 2011 by Susan Clarke · Leave a Comment
Day 26 – Sunday, October 9 – Brussels Airport to Lasne – cloudy, low 60′s
- arrive 8:30 pm (1 hr time change) only 1 hr flight
Lasne Cottage
- takes 45 minutes @ Hertz to correct charges that don’t match reservation – get to lot & car has dings & dents – no one there to verify – have to go back in terminal – total waste of time!
- take off w/Google directions (after other car renter shows us how to get in reverse)
- like Scotland, roads don’t have clear signs, make wrong turn, go back & figure out they paint the lanes to follow
- get off freeway & feel lost – McDonald’s on corner – OMG! they speak French! – one person speaks a little English & point us in same direction we were going
- finally arrive @11 pm after driving on narrow, rural roads
FF (FUN-facts) – new car challenge – now driving on same side as US, but got 6 speed manual shift to save money
Day 27 – Monday, October 10 - Lasne, Belgium – cloudy, cool, sprinkles – high 50′s
Dinant Bridge
We’re here because my niece Mary’s husband has taken a 3 yr job transfer from San Diego – have cute cottage w/kitchen (500 sq ft) in country – 400 euros for week – B&B is $20 more per day & for that I can make breakfast!
Dinant Church
- Take morning walk along path w/stream & cows grazing
- Rest
- Relax
- Recharge
- FUN-food Lunch – Lasne Deli – Caprese Salad - roasted & fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, shaved parmesan & prosciutto – Italian Sandwich – really good bread w/prosciutto, tomatoes, olive paste, greens 18 euro
- drive to Carrefour – huge grocery store & stock up
- FUN-food Dinner – Le Barbavin (Belgium food) – menu in French (imagine that) Lotte (fish) sauteed on mashed potatoes – salad of haricot verte (green beans) w/shrimp in balsamic dressing – fabulous French wine Marasal? (should have written that down) – Gran Marnier & cap for dessert – food just so-so
FF (FUN-facts) – local beer is cheaper than water or coke @ grocery store (& it’s good!)
Day 28 – Tuesday, October 11 - Drive to Dinant, Belgium – weather same as yesterday
- Depart 10:30 – drive to Dinant – try back roads but too much construction – get on freeway -
- massive backup there too due to roadside maintenance – have never seen so many semi trucks ever!
- Arrive 1:00 (60 miles)
- FUN-food Lunch – Le Cafe des Arts – cap/latte & Mediterranean Salad – tuna, anchovies, tomatoes, eggs, cucumber, red onion, green beans on mixed greens – huge! as usual we share – 18 euro
Dinant River
- short walk through lovely old town – take tram to Citadel 15 euro- feels like a rip off as you can’t take the walk that shows on the TI map
FF – Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone was born in Dinant in 1814.