Delegation Tour Guide: Veronika Kapitany
Delegation Leaders: Aileen Mattsen, Amy Anderegg, Ashley Barker.
Delegation Members:

Map Courtesy of: maps.com

Various Photos:

Our group before departing to London.
6/28/01: Seattle, WA USA

La Alhambra
7/2/01: Granada, Spain

Cathedral of Sevilla
7/03/01: Sevilla, Spain

Lizzy and I outside Olympic Square
7/05/01: Barcelona, Spain

The boys at the Olympic Stadium.
7/05/01: Barcelona, Spain

Sagrada Familia
7/06/01: Barcelona, Spain

The United Nations Headquarters.
7/7/01: Geneva, Switzerland

In front of the French Alps
7/08/01: Charmonix, France

The protectors of Bern
7/09/01: Bern, Switzerland

The Triberger Wasserfalle
7/11/01: Triberg, Germany

At the Black Forest Museum
7/11/01: Triberg, Germany

Itinerary:
(I seem to have misplaced our anticipated itinerary, like I posted on the Australia page, so I will just be writing bits of my actual journal that I wrote along the trip, so you can see what our trips generally consist of. I'm thinking of revising the Australia page to match this one as well.)

Day 1 • Seattle, WA / London, England / Madrid, Spain
Day one was spent traveling, we had our plane delayed by and hour and a half but that didn't put us behind schedule much. We arrived at the Heathrow airport in London, and barely had time for a small bathroom break before rushing off to our next flight bound for Madrid, Spain.

Day 2 • London, England / Madrid, Spain
Day two was mostly lost due to airtravel. We didn't depart the US on day one till about 7:30 pm, and didn't arrive in Madrid till day 2 at about 5 or so in the evening. We only had dinner before we all retired for the evening.

Day 3 • Madrid / Toledo, Spain
The morning started off early, as usual. After an early breakfast and buying water for our hot day ahead we borded our bus for an eventful first day in Spain. Our first stop was to a Spanish school where we were taught by a Spanish teacher about the history of Spain, she also brushed up with us on our spanish skills. I'm sure that will come in handy later on. We also got our very own flaminco lessons with another teacher, we all tried our hardest, but frankly we just aren't very good. We then got loaded up on the bus again and were on our way to Toledo. After lunch we went to the Cathedral of Toledo, and also got to visit a sword shop where they build swords. After the bus ride back to Madrid, we had dinner in a restraunt that offered shows of flamenco dancing while you eat. Our first day in Spain was a very long one, beginning at 6 am, and dinner didn't end till 10, so we all just crashed at the hotel after our long, hot (104°) day.

Day 4 • Madrid / Granada, Spain
Today we got to visit the famous Prado Museum in Madrid, we got to see Goya paintings and sketches. We got to then take a bus tour of Madrid where we got to see the 2nd largest bull fighting ring in the world, behind Mexico City. We only got a 10 minute photo stop, but it was well worth it. In Madrid we also got to visit the palace, which was also a beautiful site. Granada is a 5½ hour drive from Madrid so most the rest of the day was spent driving, and after dinner in Granada some of us went on our own little tour of the city.

Day 5 • Granada / Cordoba / Sevilla, Spain
Today is another travel day, so by the end of the night we'll be in another city. But the morning began off with a trip to La Alhambra, an old Muslim palace. After lunch it was a 2 hour bus drive to Cordoba, where we got to visit a former mosque now a cathedral, after Cordoba it was off to Sevilla, our final spot for the night, where we had dinner, and then all went to bed.

Day 6 • Sevilla, Spain
The morning began with a bus/walking tour of Sevilla, we got to stop at the Plaza de Espana, for a photo op, we then traveled to the palace and looked at the beautiful gardens. Later in the day we went to the Cathedral of Sevilla. Where we all had the option of climbing to the top of the bell tower, which is 36 flights up, so we all got a work out today. We also got to see one of the possible burial sights for Christopher Columbus. This hotel we are staying at in Sevilla, happens to be the only one with a pool, so when we were offered some free time, we all jumped at the chance for a couple hours around the pool! For dinner we got to go to a bullfighting training ranch for a nice bbq-esque dinner.

Day 7 • Sevilla / Barcelona, Spain
Since Barcelona is on the opposite side of the country as Sevilla, it was off to the airport for us! We boarded our "SpanAir" flight, and by 11:20 am, were in Barcelona. We were guided by Michelle, for a lovely tour of the city. Most of us were not used to the humidity and I think that finally the heat was starting to get to some of us. But we were just now starting to get used to the hot air (remember all of us are from the rainy Seattle!) Well the palace area that we were having dinner at was also being occupied that night by a Microsoft convention. After dinner it was off to the hotel!

Day 8 • Barcelona, Spain
The Palace Sant Jordi, which held volleyball, and gymnastics, and then we also got to tour the Olympic Square and Olympic Stadium. Our next trip was to the Picasso Museum, very interesting, although the three hours we spent there could have been summed up into one or two. We got to spend some free time in Barcelona, spending time in the Plaza de Catalunya (the main square) and the La Rambla (the market). Talk about fun! We went in the Hard Rock cafe, and just enjoyed the atmosphere, because tonight is our last night in Spain!

Day 9 • Barcelona / Somewhere on a Train...
Since we'd be leaving Spain today we all had to pack up our things again. We started the day with another tour of the city. We got to visit the famous Holy Family Church or the Sagrada Familia. One of the most interesting things I've ever seen! It surprisingly began construction on 1882 and still has not been completed! Artists are still following Gaudi's original plans for the cathedral. We had some free time so most of us wasted it by using up the last bits of pesetas that we had. My friends and I bought little picture stickers to remember our fun days in Spain! We then visited more famous areas that Gaudi designed and got to see the house that he lived in for 20 years. We were all bummed when we got to our only beach of the trip and saw red rip tide flags, which meant swimming was prohibited. We all at least got to soak our feet in the Mediterranean waters, before we enjoyed the beach from the sand, and not the water. Later on we headed to our overnight train to Switzerland, these small 9x9 cubes with 4 girls should be interesting to say the least!

Day 10 • Laucanne, Switzerland / Geneva, Switzerland / Annecy, France / Chambery, France
After a pretty uncomfortable night on our train, our alarm jolted us awake at 4:45, don't ask me why! We all just wandered around the train until we finally arrived at about 7:00 am. It was a shocker stepping outside, from yesterday in Spain being around 95-100°, to now being a cool 65° and raining. Today's visit was to the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and to the Red Cross Museum. Once we had free time in Switzerland it was a mad hunt for chocolate and Swiss army knives. Turns out our hotel is in Chambery, France, so off to France we go!

Day 11 • Charmonix / Annecy / Chambery, France
The French Alps have got to be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! Today we went to Chamonix and Mont-Blanc. We took this little tram like car up the mountain, and once there got to go in this huge ice cave, where the temperature plummeted to under freezing. I found out that the ice cave we were in is hollowed out every year because the glacier it's placed in is constantly moving! We had lunch at this little bobsled village, but we weren't allowed to go "bobsledding" because it was raining. We were all pretty disappointed about that! But we still got to walk around the city center of Annecy, France, and then head back to the hotel.

Day 12 • Chambery, France / Bern / Interlaken / Bern, Switzerland
Bus rides, bus rides! How I'll never forget them. Today's bus ride was to Bern, Switzerland, only three hours though. We had some free time in the city center of Bern before driving to the bear pit in Bern. The bears serve as the protectors of the city. After we headed off for another hour-long drive to a beautiful waterfall, the Trümmelbach Waterfalls near Interlaken, in fact this is the only waterfall inside a cave in all of Europe! It was really loud, but you could get so close to the water it was amazing. The rest of the evening was spent doing laundry and making phone calls back home.

Day 13 • Bern / Luzern / Zürich, Switzerland / Titisee, Germany
Luzern, Switzerland was our first stop of the day today. I am falling in love with Switzerland every moment I'm here this country is beautiful! Our guide took us on a lovely tour of the city today, and we got to see a carved lion into a wall. It's amazing to think how this lion was carved before even modern tools were invented. Above the lion in Latin was carved, "Helvetiorum Fidel ac Virtuti" which means to the bravery and virtue of the Swiss. After our tour we drove to Zürich, and got to take an incredible boat-cruise of Lake Zürich. Later it was back to the bus, for our 2½-hour drive to Germany.

Day 14 • Triberg / Freiberg / Titisee, Germany
Germany is one country I wish we got to visit longer, but today is our only full day here. We started the day off on kind of a sour note. Our first stop in was at a place where we were supposed to take a gondola ride above the beautiful Black Forest, but due to the high winds, we couldn't go in the gondolas. So it was off to Triberg for hopefully some better luck. We got to see the Triberger Wasserfalle, the biggest and some say the most beautiful waterfall in Germany. Later our tours took us to the Black Forest Museum, and the House of 1,000 Clocks. I bought my favorite souvenir at the House of 1,000 Clocks, a yodeling bear! I've never been so happy! Hehe. Our next stop was Freiburg, where we got to have a quick city tour and visit the cathedral and city parliament. We had quite a bit of free time there, and as well when we returned back to our hotel.

Day 15 • Titisee, Germany / Strasbourg, France / Rouen, France
Well today is a day spent mostly on the bus, probably about 9 hours. We made a couple stops to rest our bus driver and get food, but nothing really more than walking around. We did get to stop in Strasboug for a while, but mainly just to buy little things, or exchange money. When we stopped at one stop we got to see people lining up for when the Tour De France came through, even though the tour was still about a week or two away from that city. That was really exciting to see. Today is a sort of anxious day; it's the day before our homestays. We're all a little nervous, and yet sad to be parted with everyone. I was staying with Carina, and the Lugands. They have three sons, Martin, Paul, and Oliver. Martin is really our only connection to English, since most of them only speak a couple words. It's defiantly going to be a challenge living with them considering we have such a communication barrier.

Day 16 • Rouen, France
This is definatly going to be an experience, with the language barrier. Mrs. Lugand took Carina and I into town, where we actually bumped into Ashley and Kayleen who were also visiting town on their homestay. It was nice to see a familiar face. We pretty much sat around the house watching French TV, pretty much all we understood was the Tour De France, but we didn't know what they were talking about. Mr. and Mrs. Lugand later took Carina and I out to a hill that overlooks Rouen, where Monet had also painted a painting of Rouen... it's an astonding comparison. It was a beautiful night to see the city.

Day 17 • Rouen, France
Carina and I began packing up today because it is our last night. We sure spend a lot of time sleeping! Oh well. Mrs. Lugand took Carina and I out with her friend Claire and their dogs on a nice walk through the woods. Later we walked around town with Martin, and after dinner went back out to look at the fireworks on the river. Today is Bastille Day in France, which is pretty much like our Independance Day in the US, although they celebrated, nobody that I talked to in France knew what Bastille Day was. We did have crazy bums throwing fireworks at us, that was interesting. Hehe. But we did get the chance to meet some English/French speaking people, so they could communicate with Carina, me, and Martin. So we had fun!

Day 18 • Rouen / Paris, France
My favorite homestay brother Martin, woke us up bright and early to say his goodbyes before he headed off to Chile. We said our goodbyes as well before Oliver took us to our bus. It was very nice to see people that spoke my language and could easily communicate with me. Our next stop is Paris! We had a quick lunch and some free time and then were off to our river cruise on the Seine River, we got to see all the beautiful landmarks of Paris, but had to wait till tomorrow to actually go in them. After we had free time to buy souveniers, I bought my mom a shirt, and got more postcards to add to my ever growing collection! Then it was off to the final hotel of our trip!

Day 19 • Paris, France
To wake up and see the Eiffel Tower is something you don't see everyday. Wow, I'm in Paris! Today we got to visit Montmatre, or the Artist District of Paris. It's absolutely gorgeous! I could have spent forever walking around there. At the time that I went to Europe the movie Moulin Rouge had just come out, so we HAD to make a stop there, that was pretty much non-negotiable, so it was a great photo op to stand infront of the huge red windmill. After it was on the the Eiffel Tower. Now for a person like me, who's afraid of hights, that's not exactly how I want to spend my afternoon. But I had Jeff as my rock as we climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The view is absolutely amazing! The end of our day was spent at the Louvre. I would have loved to spend more time there, but we did get to see the Mona Lisa, as well as other paintings and sculptures like the Venus De Milo. After that we were tired! Time to get some sleep!

Day 20 • Paris, France
Today was filled with all the last minute things that we just had to see. We began our day with a beautiful tour of the Chateau de Versailles, I have been dying to see the Hall of Mirrors since 10th grade, when Mrs. Lindgren explained it to me in History. It was surreal actually seeing it in person. The weather later turned bad, and most of the rest of our touring was in the rain, but we still managed to see the Arc de Triomph, Champs-Elysees Street, the Opera House, Napoleans Tomb, and Notre Dame, just to name a few. Dinner was at the Hard Rock Cafe, and then it was back to the hotel for quality P2P time before heading home! I'm gonna miss everybody already!