The start of every trip

 This is my grandson, Lucas, and we are at the International Terminal of Air France in San Francisco. A simple plan. We will fly to Paris and go down to the lower level of CDG airport and catch the train to Brussels. We will tour there for three days and then return to CDG and catch an Air France flight to Johannesburg South Africa. We will go  on safari in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe and return to Johannesburg after two weeks. We will then fly to CDG and catch the train to Amsterdam. We will tour the city there for four days and return to CDG airport and fly back to San Francisco. 

Lucas planned the trip and we had a great time. It sounds tiring, but it was so much fun that we were always ready for what was next. Every trip begins with a plan.

Switzerland

You can see by the date stamp that this was taken in 2012. We drove a whole day through Switzerland coming in at Liechtenstein and exiting near Lake Como without seeing much of anything except rain and fog.  I had routed the trip down one of Switzerland's prettiest valleys and we saw the road and that was about it. I can say I have been there, but I didn't see it.
 

Details of France: Honfluer

Oldest building

Window boxes

 Honfluer is a town on the coast of France. It is built around a harbor. One might call it quaint or interesting, I found it charming. Walking around was like being pull into another century. It is pretty and full of history. When we were there it was Bastille Day or Independence. It had fireworks and a carnival and a great celebration. It is worth a few days visit just to people watch.

Portobella Street Market, LONDON UK

 The Portobella Street Market in Notting Hill was on our bucket list for London. It was an easy bus ride from our bed and breakfast. It was everything I had hoped it would be. I collect old-fashioned beer openers and found two of them. I also priced some English toys I have.  Marietta did Christmas shopping for our family. We shared lunch and made a nice day of it.

Display of copies of famous sculpture in Legos - Portland, Oregon (also Redding, CA)

On tour of America, these Lego sculptures show both the versatility of Legos, and the skill of the man creating these pieces.  We saw these displays in both Portland, OR and Redding, CA. 

When a shopping center has been around a good while.

 This gallery shopping area in Brussels was very impressive. There are places like this in most European capitol cities. We had hired a driver/guide for the day and we saw both unique sites and average ones. This covered walk was a surprise in its beauty. Our grandson, the planner of this trip, had a long list of places to see and it was easier and simpler to hire a driver.

Visit to an African (Botswana) School

 While we were in Botswana, we had brought along books and school supplies from the US and gave them to this school.  This building was one set aside for younger grades. The school went up through high school. A large facility, they depend on outside donations to add to government support. 

Their biggest need is now computers as the classes have one machine for three students to use.

The books we brought were in English as that is their language.