Tanzania

Wow it was so neat to be in Africa again. It is so different there...the culture, the weather, the food, the language, the driving and a lot of things that we take for granted in the US. I had a tough time getting an entry visa at the airport. There was a line but people in Africa don't really follow lines, so it was all the Americans and Europians waiting in line while other people cut to the front. Then I didn't hae any US cash so I had to exit the airport, through the passport control and the baggage claim, get Tanzanian money, change it into dollars and then go back in. Oh, by the way, most ATMs in Africa do not take Mastercard. Luckily Adam was there to loan me money. I didn't really understand the point of the visa if I could just walk out of the airport, but I was reminded that this was Africa and that's the way it works...slightly inefficient but ok in the end. You just have to wait. Also people really do carry everything on their heads and their kids on their backs.

Adam, Conor and I spent one night in a really nice hotel in Dar Es Saleem, the Movenpick Royal Palms. It wasn't expensive by American standards but it was super nice by African standards. We ate some good food and slept comfortably before heading off on an 8 hour bus ride to Arusha where we started our climb and safari.

Mt Kilimanjaro

Our tour company, Good Earth Tours www.goodearthtours.com, met us at the bus station and drove us to our hotel, Le Jocaranda. They were a very good company and they really took care of us. They also hire Tanzanians who seem to enjoy working for the company. We spent one night in Arusha and gathered up all the equipment we needed to rent, which included walking poles, sleeping bags, headlamps and warm clothes. The next days we piled into a mini-van and headed to the trailhead. We had to go to the main gate to register and then to the other side to actually climb since we chose the Rongi route. We ended up driving most of the day on a very bumpy road jungle road near the border with Kenya. We finally started hiking in the late afternoon. It was still hot and very dusty since we were on the dry side. We hiked through the forest the first day and then it was mostly barren rocks. We had a staff of 10 for the 3 of us...1 guide, 1 assistant guide, 1 cook and the rest were porters. They set up camp and cooked for us. All we had to do was hike and carry our own water. We hiked for 4 days prior to the summit climb. I started feeling headaches after day 3. I took some Advil and drank a lot of water and that made it bearable. We only hiked about 4 hours a day, so it wasn't too taxing besides the heat and the altitude. Our base camp was at 14,000 feet. It was neat to look out over the clouds. We started our summit hike at midnight, after a short nap. We basically woke up, put on all our warm clother, ate a little bit and started climbing. It was a full moon that night so we didn't really need the headlamps. We saw strings of other hikers already on their way. We hiked for about 3 hours before it got really steep. I had to go slower so I stayed with one guide while Adam and Conor went ahead with the assistant guide. I didn't want to stay behind, but I also knew that I needed to go at a slower pace if I was going to make it to the top. It was tough. I was cold and tired, but determined to make it. I finally reached the false summit, Gilman's Peak at about 5 am. You can see into the crater and the glaciers from there. I rested a few minutes, but then kept on going. The trail to the summit flattens out there and I wanted to get higher up before the sun rose. It was beautiful to watch the sun rising over the glaciers. I caught up with Adam and Conor and we all reached Uhuru's Peak at 19,340 ft at 6:20 am. It was unbelievable. We took some pictures and enjoyed the view before heading down to escape the cold. Although going down was much easier and shorter, I felt a lot sicker. With Adam's help I made it was to the tent. I have never felt so sick from physical exerction. I couldn't eat and my head hurt until we descended below 12,000 ft. Luckily we hiked further on the way down, so it was only 2 days. Walking through the rainforent on the Morengu route was really neat. It was green and lush due to the rains. We finally reached the main gate and got our official certificates. The sense of accomplishment was much greater after taking the last steps. I slept on the van ride back to the hotel in Arusha. That shower was the best feeling. We celebrated in the hotel bar with Kilimanjaro beers that night.
Safari

The next morning, we packed into another mini-van for a 5 day safari. Our guides name was Good Luck (no joke) and he certainly was good at spotting cats. We drove through the Maasai country on the way to the parks. Our first stop was Tarangire National Park. It was incredible. We saw hundreds of elephants, zebras, giraffes, antelopes of all types and 3 lions and a leopard. They were mostly gathered around the central river. It was neat to see the different species interact. We camped in a nice private campground with a nightly drum show. The next day we headed to Serengeti National Park. It was a long, hot, dusty, bumpy drive but well worth it. We saw so many lions there. We saw them hunting and eating and walking and sleeping. We also saw 2 more leopards and 3 cheetahs. We camped in the park and stared at the stars at night. Our final stop was Ngorongoro crater. We camped on the crater rim with a spetacular view before heading into the crater in the morning. It was a little crowded and hard to see much because of the dust. We really wanted to see a rhino, but they eluded us. I enjoyed the Serengeti much more. Then we headed back to Arusha for one more night. We decided to branch out of the hotel restaurant and ate some yummy Ethiopian food. The food on the climb and safari was ok, but not the greatest. We ate bread and tea for breakfast, then pasta or rice with meat for lunch and dinner. We did have good vegetable soups with dinner and popcorn sometimes. The safari was a bit better with meat pies and steaks.

Zanzibar

After a wet morning in Arusha, we flew from Kilimanjaro airport to Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania that used to be Arab. It was like a tropical paradise. We spent 2 days in Stone Town and 2 days at the beach. It was relaxing after the rest of our trip. My favorite parts were eating at the fish market, watching the sunset from Africa House and the spice tour of the locally grown spices. On the last day we took a 2 hours ferry ride back to Dar Es Saleem to catch a flight to Cairo, Egypt. It was nice to fly Emirates again. We even had a long enough layover in Dubai to check out the mall and the sail hotel.

France

Yes I know that it has been a while. The internet was expensive to use in France. My Dad and I spent 12 days touring around France. It was a great time because I showed him my favorite spots and saw some new places as well. We took the trains most of the time but then rented a car the last 4 days. I think my Dad's favorite part was the food and wine, especially all the regional specialties. Here are the highlights:

Paris
We stayed at a great hotel in the Latin Quarter (5th Arrondissement) called Hotel de l'Esperance. I love the Rue de Mouffetard markets and restaurants. My Dad was not feeling the best so we walked around to some visitor sites, but slowed down my normal travel pace. We had a nice boat ride on the Seine the first afternoon. We also saw Notre Dame, Arc de Trioumph and the Champs Elysee, Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, Jardins des Tuleries and several neighborhoods. The Orangerie museum is open again. It houses the famous Monet waterlily murals. The new exhibit is fantastic and I highly recommend it.

Alsace
We stopped in Strausbourg for an afternoon stroll and then continued on to Colmar. The hotel by the train station is very nice. We walked around town quite a bit and took a nice tour of the wine route. This region is famous for sweet white wines. We also toured the museum/birthplace of Bertholdi, the sculpter of the Statue of Liberty.

Burgundy
This was my favorite new place of the trip. We stayed in Beaume at Hotel des Remparts. It is built into the wall around the city. It is a great town in the middle of the vineyards with delicious beef and snails and Pinot Noir wine. We had a great tour of an old wine cellar and several vineyards. I learned about how the wines from this region are named and classified. It was eye-opening.

The Alps
We stayed in Chamonix for 2 nights and Annecy for one. The fresh air was great. We hiked near Mont Blanc and biked around the lake in Annecy. Both places were relatively empty so we could relax.

Loire Valley
I managed to drive out of Paris and to Blois safely. This was my first experience driving in France. The autoroutes are spendy and I would prefer to avoid Paris but everything else was fine. We stopped at the Chateau de Chambord. It is well restored but I prefer Versailles, near Paris, for it's grandeur. Blois is a great town to stop in. We stayed at a great little hotel, Hotel de Cote Loire.

Brittany
It was a long day driving in the rain but we ended up at Margat. It is a great beach town, even in the fall. We walked along the cliffs and ate at a great seafood restaurant on the beach, Au Pied du Port.

Normandy
It was another long day driving. We stopped at Mont St Michel to eat lunch. Then we continued on to the D-day beaches. It was amazing to think about the soldiers sitting in the boats waiting to come ashore and fight the Germans. I think it would have been scary and difficult to lead troops into that battle. We also stopped at the American Cemetary which overlooks the beaches. It looks similar to Arlington Cemetary in DC. There is a nice memorial there as well. We continued driving to Honfleur, a touristy port town. We wandered the streets a bit, had a glass of local cider to avoid the rain and then a nice dinner at La Tortue. I was happy because they had a vegetarian menu and my Dad was happy because he got to try Calvados. It was a great end to the trip.

Paris
I managed to get the car back to the rental place at the train station. Then we took the RER out to the airport. I got my Dad settled at a hotel there. He stayed the night and flew back to the States in the morning. I flew out that night to Dar Es Saleem, Tanzania via London and Dubai. It was a long flight, but Emirates is a comfortable airlines.