Now we need a trip report from les

[les]

Thanks for asking! Here you go:

The trip was fantastic! Staying with RockNVoll and her husband in London was so much fun and a great start to the trip. They were amazing hosts and showed me as many sites as we could squeeze in during my limited time there.

Next was Paris, Interlaken, Milan, and Rome with the tour group. I chose G Adventures for the tour and highly recommend them. Our guide was super helpful, organized, and personable. It alleviated a lot of the stress that I would otherwise have taken on with planning and logistics. The group was mostly encompassed of other women around my age (mid 20s to mid 30s). I made some great friends and will be staying in touch with them.

I was most impressed by Interlaken and would definitely go back to Switzerland in the future. The landscape was beautiful, the activities were fun, and people there were friendly. I have mixed feelings about Paris. The architecture was impressive, but I wasn't enamored with the city/culture. Maybe a repeat trip with less focus on touristy areas would be better. Milan was neat to see once, but I doubt I will go back. It felt like a large shopping mall, albeit an attractive one. The food there was outstanding, though. Rome was tied with Milan for best food. I really enjoyed visiting Vatican City and walking around Rome and seeing the sites. It was a little crowded for my liking, but that's understandable given the attractions.

The trip was a nice overview of Europe and now I have a good idea of where I would like to explore a little more. I plan on going back to London and would like to explore other parts of France and Italy.

My flight from Boston to London was a disaster (the airline couldn't check me in for some unknown reason). I still have to file a complaint with their customer service, but haven't had the energy to deal with it yet (I worked three 12-hour shifts right after getting back from my trip). I'll try to handle it tomorrow. Luckily the return flights were totally uneventful and actually very pleasant. I had an overnight layover in Dublin and now want to go back to Ireland! The people there were kind and funny and I want to see more of the country (I have only been to their airports and saw a small bit of the landscape on the way to and from the hotel).

[les]

Thank you!

It's not really geared toward females. That just happened to be the demographics of my group. Some of the people in the group were continuing on (I was on a one-week leg of a longer month-long tour) and 4 or 5 guys were joining them in Rome. The people in my group were a lot of fun.

Speaking of that, we had so many hilarious misunderstandings due to communication differences. There were only three Americans including me. The rest of the group was from Australia, New Zealand, England, and Canada. We used such different terminology and with some of the heavy accents, it was like we were speaking entirely different languages. We all got quite the kick out of it.

That would be wonderful! I would be happy to travel with you two. I'll let you know when I can fly out your way again!

[drloretta]

I'll go to Switzerland with you! My dad's side of the family is from there.

And you always have an Ireland buddy

Thanks for the tour company rec. DH doesn't want to travel to many places, and this sounds like a great way for me to travel sometime and not have to deal with a cranky sidekick.

[Lilac]

Glad you had a fun trip!! I thought it was pretty amusing that there was only one guy in your group photos of 10+ ladies

I looooove Switzerland. Biking around Lake Brienz was my favorite day when we visited Interlaken in 2013. Did you ever make it to that restaurant I recommended? Man, I wanna go back again. I wish I had more vacation time. Stupid work, lol.

[bostonmichelle]

Glad you had an awesome trip minus the flight fiasco!!

I also have mixed feelings about Paris, I did a weekend there and was unimpressed when I studied abroad. I'd love to get to Switzerland one day as well.

[noodleoo]

les, Wow, that trip sounds amazing!!! I was enjoying your pics on FB. I'm so glad you had a blast!