October 31 Happy Halloween

Today is day two and if breakfast is anything to judge by, we need to get a lot of walking in each day to keep our girly figures.  The food is all fresh and yummy!  We had a walking tour for a few hours this morning in Basel .  We saw the gorgeaus cathedral with tons of influences from all through the medieval times.  The stone work is just stunning.  At the city hall, there was a beautiful fresco with Lanskeneckt (sp?) pictures all through.  The open air market was a treat with the smells of lovely cheeses, cured meats and fresh pastries. 

Now if we can only somehow find a subtle way to ask some of the people around us to cut down on the amount of perfume they are wearing on the ship...it's enough to choke you. 

Tonight should be fun as the crew has decorated the dining room with carved pumpkins, we have the captain's reception and dancing. 

October 30th Day one on the ship

Sunday started off great with a lovely breakfast (although we're glad it was included with the hotel rate) which normally is 32 swiss frances or the equivalent of $40 Cdn!  After that we packed and then met my previous and most favourite GM Brigitte Fritz for coffee and a chat.  She is looking fantastic and is loving living in Basel. 

After that we hopped a cab to the ship and got settled in.  Our room is small but has lots of hidey spots for things and a window that opens so that is great. Dinner was lovely and we met some nice people for our first dinner.  The food was nice and light and Toberlone chocolate bars were the centerpieces so how can you go wrong.  I settled into some fresh air on the top deck but moved to the bar at which I found I was the only patron to be found.

Today's picture is Mum on the old bridge connected the old town to the newer part. Enjoy!

October 29th or the day that would not end

Mum and I got on the airplane at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and while KLM is wonderful for service, I would definitely recommend upgrading to Comfort Plus for those extra inches of space.  We had the very last seat in the row and sleep was impossible but I cannot say enough good things about their flight attendants.  Plus an airline that offers wine with dinner and then liqueurs for free is all good. 

We got into Amsterdam early and had 6 hours layover at the airport at which the seats are not conducive to sleeping.  We stayed awake by taking turns walking laps and watching the people go by-I love people watching!

We flew into Basel at 2 p.m. (flight was early) and it's a neat airport-it has 3 exits, one for Switzerland, one for Germany, one for France.  Into the cab and onto the Swissotel at which we had a complimentary upgrade to a junior suite.  Mum and I were so tired, we just crawled into our beds and slept for 2 hours.  After that we had a great walk around old Basel and found the chocolate shop that Julie recommended (yeah for dark chocolate).  We got back to the hotel to find a lovely cheese and wine tray gift from a friend. 

Packing or how the heck do we get all this into our bags?

Why is it that when packing clothes expand? I swear they do.  We have done the packing shuffle this morning and you really have to wonder when your mother's cosmetic bag is 10 lbs.  However, that being said Mum is packing stuff for both of us.  As this is a once in a lifetime trip, we are not skimping on our packing too much.  Nothing worse than being uncomfortable. 

Greg and Jes got home from England yesterday and it was so great to hear my brother talk about seeing London, all the amazing architecture, the places, people, etc. 

We are both looking forward to the break plus the opportunity to see so many amazing new places.  We hope that you'll enjoy our fun as we go along and know that we carry you all in our hearts.

Map of where we are going

So on Friday we fly to Basel and overnight at the Swissotel and I'm excited for the stay in Basel but also the opportunity to see Brigitte Fritz who is one of my all time favourite hotel GMs as Basel is her home now.  My friend Julie has also recommended an amazing chocolate shop so of course that will have to be a stop and a train store to look for goodies for one of my friends. 

We're travelling on Viking River Cruises on the Viking Sun and the trip is called Treasures of the Rhine.

Faye and PA's Big Adventure 2011-5 more sleeps!

So on October 28th, 2011, Mum (Faye) and I will fly to Basel, Switzerland for the night and then the next day join our ship, Viking Sun for the Treasures of the Rhine.  This is my small way of thanking Mum for all her help and support over the years but truly we can never really thank our Mums.