Neil and Denise's European Adventure ...
Driving to LAX   On August 19, 2004, we set out on our journey to Europe! Our airplane took off from LAX at 6 am, and with just one stop in Washington DC, we arrived in Zurich at 10 am the following day. Denise's friend Sonja picked us up at the airport. More about the flight...
  We stayed at Rene and Sonja's home in Bassersdorf for five days. We spent time exploring the beautiful city of Zurich, as well as a few other cities of interest. We also visited friends and family of Denise. More about Zurich... At Sybils with parents
Denise atop San Salvatore   On Thursday, August 26, one week after leaving Orange County, we headed toward Italy by train. We spent one day in Lugano, on the southern border of Switzerland. High atop San Salvatore, we viewed the Swiss alps. More about Lugano...
  Friday morning we took a train to Milan, then another train to Santa Margherita on the Italian Riveria. We spent two days there, including a day trip by boat to picturesque Portofino. More about Santa Margherita... portofino
Neil in Rome   Sunday morning we took the train to Rome, where we spent two very busy days. Early each morning, Neil walked the city, retracing the story of Angels and Demons, a book by Dan Brown. More about Rome...
  Tuesday morning we took a taxi to the train station, then headed further south to Naples, where we boarded a regional train to the coastal village of Sorrento, where we spent three days. More about Sorrento... Island of Capri
Tower of Pisa   Friday morning we took a train to Florence, where we spent five days, including several day trips by bus, train, and Vespa! Florence and the surrounding Tuscany were spectacular. More about Florence and the Tuscany...
  Wednesday we took a train to Venice, where we stayed two nights in two different hotels. We did lots of exploring and took a romantic ride on a gondola Wednesday night. More about Venice... Denise in Venice
Denise's Friends   Friday, September 10, we took a train to Milan, and another to Zurich, completing our two week tour of Italy! We had dinner with Denise's parents Saturday night, her friends Sunday night, then Neil flew home Monday morning. More about Neil's last days in Zurich...
  Denise remained in Zurich another week, which she spent visiting friends, shopping in Zurich, and spending time with family. She also enjoyed babysitting Rene and Sonja's children.