We arrived in Madrid in the late afternoon on a Friday. We took the train from the airport to the Sol station, which would put us at about a five minute walk from our hotel, hotel Miau. The walk should have been an easy walk, however in good Achen fashion, we followed our Google map about a mile in the completely wrong direction…uphill…in the sweltering heat…carrying all of our gear. Let's just say, some not so friendly words were said between each other. But don't fret! We quickly made up like we always do, the minute we got to our hotel and had a chance to cool off…literally with giant bottles of ice water.

After a short siesta, we spent the rest of our evening strolling the streets surrounding La Plaza De Santa Ana and meandered our way to a small tapas restaurant called Maceiras. The restaurant was small but crowded, with friendly but assertive wait staff. The menus were hand written in Spanish on round wooden boards (they also handed us an English menu, probably because Scott does not look like he speaks Spanish…which he doesn't). We ordered several delicious tapas, stuffed ourselves, headed back to our hotel, where we could hear crowds mingling and music playing from the plaza directly below our balcony. The Spanish have it figured out! This is the way to live life. Take your time. Take siestas. Share varieties of delicious food with each other. Drink sangria!

We spent the next couple days doing lots and lots of walking from plaza to plaza, stopping at tapas bars along the way. We also had the strangest experience on one of our walks, which could be one of the funniest. While walking past the Palace and Gardens, we were past by a large group of bicyclists that were all COMPLETELY naked, shouting things, with only words painted on their bodies! We were so caught of guard. It was both disgusting and hysterical. It is an image that We're sure will be forever engraved in our brains!

Laundry day

We took in a flamenco show at a place called Las Tablas, which was wonderful. It was Scott's first time seeing flamenco and we were thoroughly impressed.

We also opted to go to the bull fights. It was a once in a lifetime experience. The tradition involved and the decadence of the costumes and movement of the matadors is truly a beautiful art form, but not for the weak stomach. It was a ONCE in a lifetime experience…and we did feel a little bad for the animals, but appreciated the cultural aspect of it.

We left Madrid relaxed and definitely fuller figured than we arrived, but enjoyed every minute!

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The night before Scott's parents were scheduled to leave Paris to head back to the states, they went to check in to their flight online and realized that their return flight had been completely changed. Their flight that was originally scheduled to leave on a Thursday morning returning to Baltimore had now been changed to Friday landing in Washington DC. After receiving assistance from the concierge at the Renaissance, we were able to get ahold of the airline, only to find out that over a thousand flights had been canceled due to air traffic controllers going on strike. We finally were able to get them on a flight through London Heathrow for the next day.

The next morning Scott and I had planned on sharing a cab with his parents to the airport and then hopping on a train from there to Disneyland Paris (DLP). So, come to find out, all of the French trains were on strike as well. Due to all of the cancelled flights and trains, it took about thirty minutes to be able to catch a cab. So we ended up taking the cab all the way to DLP, which was not a cheap ride, but since there was no other options and we had already paid for one night in a hotel near the park and already bought our tickets, we ended up having to eat the cost. This was definitely another lesson we have learned on this trip, always prepare to spend more than what you had budgeted for because uncontrollable circumstances do arise.

We finally made it to DLP by about noon. It turns out “when it rains, it pours”…literally. As we walked into the park the rain started coming down. We tried to make the best of the situation. Lines were short, the park was less crowded, and at least it wasn't hot.

We really didn't plan on going to Disney in Paris to ride every single ride anyway. We are huge Disney nerds in the States, and just wanted to see how different it would be in another country.

Some of the attractions were in English, some were in French. The parks were much smaller than in California and the food was not nearly as good. Lots of the little carts that you would expect to be selling goodies all around the park were closed except for a couple popcorn stands (which actually sold kettle corn instead of regular popcorn). No churros, no corn dogs, and to our dismay, the ice cream shop on Main Street closed at 7:00pm.

Our overall assessment of DLP, was that the park is probably really nice when it's not raining, it's rather small compared to the parks in the U.S., the food could be better, and gosh darn-it why would you ever close the only ice cream parlor at 7:00pm! Either way, we still had a great time, because even if it's raining, it's always a good day for Disney…and like we've said before “you've got to just roll with the punches.”

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We arrived in Paris the Sunday night after the wedding at the Grim's Dyke via Eurostar. We checked into the Renaissance Arc De Triomphe, which was one of the hotels we booked using our Marriott points. The hotel was sleek and ultra modern with a little Indonesian influence. The free breakfast buffet was wonderful in the mornings featuring pastries and jams, cooked to order omelettes, fresh fruits, sauteed mushrooms and tomatoes, an assortment of fromage, and fresh squeezed fruit juices. To say the least, it was definitely one of the better hotel breakfasts we've had, and we have stayed at many hotels.

We spent our first full day in France doing a tour of Normandy and the D-Day beaches. Check out our post on Normandy for details.

Since Scott's parents joined us for the week in Paris following the wedding in London, our week was packed with full days of a crash course of Paris. We had both been to Paris before during prior European vacations, however since it was Scott's dad's first time, we had to make sure we hit the major points in just a couple of days.

We hit up the main city attractions including the Le Tour Eiffel, Notre Dame Cathedral, an hour long cruise down the Seine, a stroll down the Champs Elysees, and the Catacombs.

We will be going back to Paris in July for Bastille weekend, so we plan to give lots more details about our Parisian experience then, so here are a few pictures to hold you over 'til then.

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The day after we arrived in Paris, we hopped on a train first thing in the morning and headed to Normandy for a pre-arranged tour that Scott had booked online. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about both the American and British WWII military history.

Spending a day in Normandy was something that was close to our hearts. My grandpa Arturo M. Garcia a.k.a. “Pie” (to close friends and family), served our great nation in the U.S. Army, Second Infantry Division, during the war. He survived the gruesome battles at Omaha Beach in 1944, continued on to fight in the Battle of the Bulge, fought his way through the rest of the war, and still lives today to share his stories.

We started our tour in the town of St. Mere Eglise where we learned about the American Airborne Landings, capture and defense. Our guide Eric gave us a very detailed explanation of the American plans and German defenses. We also made a quick stop in the Airborne Museum.

From there we drove to Utah Beach. During the ride to Utah beach Eric explained the importance that the hedgerows surrounding all of the farm fields had on the battle of Normandy. We made a brief stop at Utah Beach and the memorial that stands there.

We then headed to Point Du Hoc where we were able to walk through some of the old German bunkers that are still standing and also see all of the craters that remain from bombings. We then headed to Omaha Beach.

Omaha Beach held the most significance to us. Standing on the same beach where Pie and so many others risked or gave their lives for the freedom of others was a very powerful and emotional moment. Pie had always talked about wanting to go back and see all of the places he had fought in the war during peacetime. He never was able to go back, and at his age now is no longer able to. He was with us in spirit and we tried our best to capture as much as we could in pictures for him to be able to see how beautiful it is when at peace.

Our tour ended at the American WWII Cemetery where many brave heroes were laid to rest. At a quarter after five in the evening, they lowered the flags at the cemetery to the sound of taps. It was so overwhelming to see, but really puts things in perspective. It reminded us to be grateful for what those heroes fought for and continue to fight for, so we can lead the lives we live today and every day.

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After spending several days in the city of London, we headed out to the outskirts of the city for a more relaxing weekend with lots of family, new friends, and the nuptials of Scott's cousin Brad and his beautiful English bride, Amy.

We spent the weekend at the manor where the wedding festivities were going to be…and it was beautiful. The Grim's Dyke is an old English manor with lots of history and exceptionally manicured grounds, surrounded by lots of little “bunny paths” (what our three year old nephew called them) for hiking.

The first night we checked in, we had a drink at the hotel's Library Bar, got settled into our room, and met up with lots of family to walk down to a pub for the rehearsal dinner. It was about a ten minute stroll from the manor to The Hare pub where we had drinks and a delicious dinner with both the bride and groom's family and friends.

At the end of the pub night we decided to walk back to the manor with Scott's sister Carrie and her husband Ryan, as well as Scott's parents. Once again, there is no such thing as a trip without some sort of adventure. So, the walk back to the manor was only supposed to be about a ten minute walk, however due to it being completely dark outside in a heavily wooded area, in combination with one too many drinks, we ended up walking completely in the wrong direction. With no cell signal for Google maps and after having walked over a mile, we decided to head back to the pub. As we approached the pub sure enough, there was a LARGE sign with an arrow pointing us directly to the trail that lead back to the manor. The funny part of this whole debacle, is that as we initially left the pub, Scott said “I think we are supposed to go that way” (pointing at the sign with the arrow). However, we all ignored his advice and insisted on going the other way. Turns out for once…Scotty was right. Anyhow, after an extremely long walk in the pitch black woods, we made it safely to our rooms…after about an hour.

The following day was the wedding, and in English style they had arranged for a red, vintage double decker bus to pick up all of the guests to drive us to the chapel. After the ceremony, we all piled back on the bus where we toasted with champagne all the way back to the manor for the cocktail hour. After cocktail hour, we headed up to the gorgeous ballroom for dinner and dancing. We made lots of new friends with the people that sat at the same table as us. The food was delicious and then we danced the night away.

The next morning we woke up, had a full English breakfast at Gilbert's the manor's restaurant and with Scotty's parents in tow, we grabbed a cab to the train station where we headed to our next destination via the chunnel…Paris!

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London is such a vibrant city full of life and full of wonderful people. We spent the first few days in the heart of the city exploring the different neighborhoods and interacting with the people.

Day two in London started in a frenzy, because it wouldn't be an Achen adventure if there wasn't some sort of drama. We had a scheduled half day tour around London on the vintage Harrod's double decker bus. We figured this would be a great way to start the week to sort of get our bearings and get some info on some other sights that we might want to see throughout the week.

We were scheduled to meet at the Victoria Coach Station at 8:00am. So naturally in Scotty fashion, the night before he got online and Google mapped the route to the station and figured it would probably be best to walk since it was only supposed to be less than two miles from the flat.

The next morning we got up and ready, grabbed a quick croissant for breakfast and hit the road. The stroll was beautiful…until we were lost. Google maps was telling us to go one direction, our pocket map was telling us to go another direction, and a man on the street told us we had gone about a mile too far and still had a very long walk to the station. So in a panic and less than ten minutes to find our way we were able to get directions from a cabbie and made it just in time.

Once we made it on the tour the rest of the day was really pleasant taking in the sights. After the bus tour we had a pub lunch at the Tea Clipper, wandered around the magnificent Harrod's, had some ice cream and an afternoon nap.

In the evening we strolled through Hyde park (where we also got lost), and made our way to a delicious Indian restaurant Roti Chai, which turned out to be one of our favorite meals in London.

The moral of day two in London was to just learn to “roll with the punches” and it will all work out.

While in London we also took in the gorgeous views from the London Eye, the Tower of London, Soho and also took a day trip that included Warwick Castle, Stratford Upon Avon, and Oxford.

The day trip we booked through a tour company, however if we were to do it again we would do it completely different. First off, Warwick castle was a hokey tourist trap (which was our fault for not doing the research). Stratford was a beautiful little town, however by the time we walked through Shakespeare's home we barely had time to grab a baguette for lunch. We could have spent an entire day in Stratford. We absolutely loved Oxford and would definitely recommend taking the time to do it.

Overall, London was absolutely lovely!

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Upon arriving in London, we have experienced quite the cushy landing…and I don’t mean the plane landing (that was actually rough). We arrived at London Heathrow at about 11:00am, picked up our baggage, and thanks to Scott’s Dad, we were met by a driver waiting to take us to our accommodation. As we hastily followed the sharply dressed lad to the garage, we weren’t quite sure what to be expecting, and to our delight, he escorted us to a beautiful, sleek Jaguar XJ that would be our ride to the Beaufort House flat in Knightsbridge.

We pulled up to a beautiful row of houses with exquisitely groomed shrubbery that we would be calling home for the next few days. The Beaufort House is in a prime location being about one block from the iconic Harrod’s, exquisite restaurants, and only a five minute walk from Hyde Park. The staff at the Beaufort House is extremely friendly and was so helpful showing us around our flat. The flat is very lush, yet comfortable and way more extravagant than we could have ever imagined. Some may think it is a little over the top for an RTW, but when a gift like this is offered, how could we possibly say no.

The Lobby at the Beaufort House

Our Bedroom

The Living Room

The Kitchen in the Flat

The Balcony

We spent the first night in London wandering around the neighborhood exploring restaurant options and local shops, ordered some Chinese take away that was recommended by our driver, and called it an early night to adjust to our new time zone.