Arrivederci Europe!

7/25/11:  We had a fabulous time touring the 7 countries of Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France and England.  We got to experience so many different things, from learning how to make cheese in the Netherlands, climbing to the top of the Mt. Pilatus and seeing the Neuschwanstein Castle, taking pictures on the cobblestone in front of Notre Dame, to watching Harry Potter in London.  The stories are endless and we would like to thank EF Tours for putting on such a wonderful tour.  We couldn’t be more excited to share our pictures and experiences with friends, family and fellow Girl Scouts!  So until we meet again Europe!

Bonjour from Paris!

7/16/11: We've spent the past two days in Paris and have been roaming the streets of Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower.  This morning we got a tour of the city from a Paris tour guide, however it was interrupted by a rain shower, but don't worry we still learned a lot and got to enjoy the sights from the dry bus.  In the tour we saw the different government buildings, the tunnel where Princess Diana died and of course the Eiffel Tower and amazing shopping!  After our tour, we had the option of visiting the Lourve, which is the museum that the Mona Lisa is in. Believe it or not, but the Mona Lisa is actually very small.  The Lourve houses many famous pictures and sculptures and is one of the world's most visited museums!  After museums comes shopping and eating!  Paris had many fantastics shops for all the Girl Scouts to experience as well as some amazing food.  Who doesn't love crepes?!  We had a great time in Paris, but we're off to bed as we leave for London very early tomorrow morning!  As they say in Paris - Au revior! (Good-bye in French)

Posting by Mikaela

Backtrack Post (by Mikaela): 7/10/11

Today was an early, long day. We got up at 5:30 am and got ready to leave by 6:45 am. We were heading to Shloss (castle) Neuschwanstein . It was about a 3 hour ride in the bus. It gets pretty boring in the bus, so I listen to my  i-pod and read my Seventeen magazines. We stop about every two hours for a restroom break. You have to pay to use public restrooms here! It’s pretty rare to find one where you don’t have to pay. That stinks. Anyway, the castle was stunning. We had to walk a long, tiring way uphill, but it was good exercise. The castle was home to King Ludvig II, for only about 172 days before he died mysteriously. (Most likely murder.) The outside of the castle was beautiful, but the inside was absolutely, amazingly, gorgeous. I want to live there! It’s probably the most beautiful castle in the world. I’m so glad I got to see it. After Neuschwanstein, we traveled a few hours to Innsbruck, Austria, where we stopped for a little bit. They had tons of cute little tourist souvenir shops there. I got a little animal keychain. We also got a piece of chocolate cake to try at the hotel. It was really soft and yummy. Then, it was a long drive to Italy. We are currently in Lido, Italy. There’s no air conditioning in the hotel, but it cools down at night. We went to the beach at around 11:30 pm and the moonlight on the water was beautiful! I really like Italy so far. We’ve got a long hot day in Venice tomorrow!

Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland

7/12/11:  What a crazy last few days!  We've been to three different countries and the trip keeps getting better.  On Saturday, we experienced the culture of Munich while taking in the sights from a tour guide.  On Sunday, we traveled to Italy, making a few stops in Innsburk, Austria and at the castle that was the inspiration of Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty, Neuschwanstein. Neuschwanstein was the castle that Ludwig II lived in for a mere 176 days before he mysteriously drown in a lake near the castle.  We were able to walk throughout the castle and see rooms like the King's chamber and kitchen.  It was amazing to think we walked in the same halls of Ludwig!!

After the castle we finally arrived in Venice.  The city was full of history and was so beautiful to walk through.  Some of the girls experienced a gondola ride through the canals.  It was a wonderful, but very HOT experience.  After a long day of touring St. Martin's Square, museums and shops it was time for a nice evening on the Mediterranean Sea Beach."

Can't wait to see what the next few days are going to bring us!!!

Girl Scouts in Europe

7/7/11: After a flight delay and day-long layover in Chicago, the Girl Scout crew finally made it to Europe! We landed in Amsterdam this morning and went right into touring the beautiful city. After arriving at the airport, we met up with the rest of our group in the heart of the city. The group consists of students from Canada, California and a tour guide based out of Germany. We began this morning with a brief bus tour of the city, followed by a cheese farm demonstration where we ate cheese that had aged for more than 5 years - It was delicious! After our cheese demonstration, we went on a boat tour of all the canals throughout the city, followed by our own free time to enjoy the sights. The city is very busy, buzzing with people of all cultures! I can’t wait to see what the next few days have in store for us! Tomorrow we leave for Germany bright and early, so we are off to bed. Goede nacht (good night in Dutch)!