Away We Go!

We arrived almost on time this morning in Frankfurt, Germany after a flight Dallas, Texas that lasted a little under 9.5 hours.  Since this is a trip with a lot of first timers on board, I was a little concerned about the bumpy ride out of DFW.  I even had the flight attendants check on the kids once in a while.  It turns out that most everyone had a great flight.  Some slept and some did not.  There was even a chaperone that didn't catch many z's because he was too caught up in
'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone'. The caught up on some sleep in the buss.

While waiting to pass through immigration, a few of the kids recognized the smaller group from Canada that is joining us on the tour.  They are a great group of ladies with lots of smiling, curious faces.  Afterward, we met up with our tour director, Lindsey, just outside the doors.  As always, she met us with a warm greeting and promptly began memorizing names of everyone on the trip.  Always an amazing sight.

After a successful run through the ATM, we all headed out to meet our bus driver, Antonio from Italy.  He will be with us through Paris and has already shown us he can navigate the tiny streets of Heidelberg.  These skills will come in handy as we pass through the Alps.

We had a nice easy day filled with walking the castle grounds, meandering the old streets of town in search of a inexpensive German treat and much more.  Some of us (Mrs. Sill ) found a church tower to climb.  The 280 steps offered us a nice view of the city below.   I am hoping to make this an activity that everyone can enjoy.  All churches are good practice for the Duomo in Florence, a grueling 463 spiral steps to the top.

We finished off our day today with light meal of chicken and potatoes at our hotel here in Ludwigshaven.  While most enjoyed the ice cream for dessert, so grabbed a slice of Plum Torte that our guide bought for my birthday.  Delicious.

It is about 10pm here and I am about to take a walk around the rooms to check on the kids.  I expect them all to be out cold.  It was a very long day and it is only just  the beginning.

Jim Sill