Hello Everyone! We are back from our three week trip to Europe and on a scale from 1-10, it was a 10+++++! It was truly the trip of a lifetime. Everything went smoother than expected. Our flights were on time, the cars were large enough for six passengers plus our luggage, our accommodations were first class, the scenery was spectacular, the historical landmarks were inspiring, the food was soooo delicious and the people we met (both old and new acquaintances) were unforgettable. They all definitely left a handprint on our hearts. Our family will be changed forever because of what we saw and felt.
Let me tell you upfront the only BUMMER of the trip. (Brace yourself–it’s a huge one.) My camera card with the first two weeks of our trip (Italy, Switzerland and Germany) went faulty and although we’ve tried countless different ways to recover the 1,000 plus photos, there’s been no success. Needless to say, I’m absolutely broken hearted and am currently waiting for yet another source to let me know if they can retrieve anything. I’m also trying to gather up photos from iPhones and people we stayed with. I haven’t given up hope and am trying to keep a smile on my face. But–I’m pretty shaken up by it. I may have to be like the Amish where I keep the memory in my heart, not in my scrapbook. I will keep you posted on the progress.
So, that’s why I’m starting with week three: London. These photos were on a different card and have been downloaded to a flash drive.
Before telling you about England, I have to say our favorite part of the three weeks was the chance to stay in four different countries with three fantastic families. This gave us the chance to be more than just tourists. We were able to really see how other cultures live and we loved the experience. And–we were treated like royalty. Thanks to the Fontana, von Drachenfels and McMullen families for this experience!
Now about England. We got to London on July 30 and stayed until August 6th. It was the chance of a lifetime to be there during the Olympics. Our friends got us to strike this pose:
I’ve known the friends we stayed with for over 28 years. Our children are all really close and it’s been a great blessing to have them come to America on many occasions and stay in our home.
This is the McMullen family (two of their children are not pictured):
We stayed for three days in their home in the country (t reminds me of something out of Pride and Prejudice and Sage spent most of her time jumping over the hedges):
And four days in their “flat” in the heart of London (it overlooks the Thames River):
Living in London during the Olympics was simply magical. The entire city is filled with cool signs and flags like these:
The volunteers were so nice and the city looked sparkly and clean amid all the excitement.
When we got to England, we were excited to attend a volleyball game. Unfortunately, after further looking at the tickets, the event occurred two days before we got there! We were bummed and Steve tried with no avail to get us tickets to any other event. We decided to remain optimistic and spent time looking at Olympic Park:
Last Friday we purchased tickets for an open-air bus tour. While trying to get there, we got stuck in a downpour and had to run for shelter for a time, then got messed up with directions in the train station. I tell you these things because what happened next simply still has me speechless. We finally got on the correct train to take us to our bus tour and Sage and I got separated from the rest of the family in a different car. I heard two American men talking next to me and decided to strike up a conversation and asked where they were from. We then began chatting about the Olympics and I told them we hadn’t had any luck purchasing tickets. One of the men suddenly said, “Do you want to go to the final Archery event? I have extra tickets I’ll give you but you’ll have to go now–it starts in five minutes.” What??? Tickets to an Olympic event???? And free???? When does that ever happen? Our family still marvels at the huge blessing of being in the right place at the right time.
We spent a delightful 2 1/2 hours at Lord’s Cricket Ground watching the final rounds for the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners. We were all mesmerized the entire time and loved watching the crowning of the medals. (Collin unfortunately wasn’t with us on this day–he was hanging out with English friends.)
Brecken had a ticket on the other side of the arena. Can you spot her in the crowd?
Oh, there she is in the striped sweater in the center:
I never knew I liked archery so much. It was fascinating.
South Korea’s Jinhyek Oh took the gold:
Here are the Gold, Silver and Bronze medal winners:
I’ll tell you more about our week in England in my next entry. Hopefully by then I’ll have my photos back from the other two weeks.
Thanks for your support. It was one amazing trip!
Love, Lisa
the camera card thing happened to me too. my husband bought a program for about $30 that recovered them! I can’t remember the name of it, but if you email me I will get the info for you. Marcy
Hi Lisa,
Check your memory card to make sure the little tab on the side didn’t get pushed to the locked position. This will cause you not to see your pictures at times. this happened to me so I know it sounds minor and one of the first things we would check but it got me before so i thought i would mention it.
Thanks for sharing your memories with us – I love your blog!
That is so sad about your other pictures. I’d be crushed too. Praying someone can retrieve them for you! I just love England. Every time I see pictures from there I want to go back so bad!
That happened to me with a card full of football pictures of my son. I can’t imagine losing travel pictures! My husband found a card recovery site and was able to get my pictures back. The cost was a $40 fee, but we didn’t have to pay until it was certain my images were there. To my surprise, it even “uncovered” images that had been on the card several “formats” before. The website was: http://www.plimus.com . I don’t know if it’ll fix your card, but you do it from your own computer and don’t pay if it doesn’t work, so it’s worth a try.
Sounds like you all had a great trip. I feel bad that your camera card went faulty, however, I truly hope that you have someone retreive some photos. Would love to look at more pictures of London. I love London. Thanks for sharing the pictures with us!
Wow, what an amazing for you and your family! Memories to last a lifetime.
That’s what it’s all about.
You write in a such nice way that it seems to be the on the bus in London with the surprise to receive free tickets for the Olympics. Incredible!!!
Pio is sending to you by email the pictures that he took with his iPhone but thew are few. In specialized shop they can probably save the picture from the other cards.
Otherwise I can send you pictures of Lucerne and castles in belli on and take picture here of what you want. I know is not the same .. But it’s something.
Let me know. I cross my finger for your photo cards
Loved hearing all this! But not about the loss of the pictures. I’m praying you can retrieve them. Looking forward to hearing about more of your trip.
OH my gosh. I feel for you with the loss of your pictures. On our last trip to Europe I accidentally erased all our our pictures from France – Paris – Eiffel Tower – Louvre’, etc… Oh my gosh it was horrible. I decided not to let it get me down and made sure I loaded pictures from the other countries we visited on my husbands computer regularly. The memories can never be taken away – like you said, they are in our hearts but it would be nice to look at them once in awhile!
Looks like you had a super nice trip and I bet England was a blast during the Olympics!
What a great trip, Lisa! Well, at least you had a front row, balcony seat to all the rowing events! What a nice family to let y’all hang out in their “flat”!! (And I agree their house looks like something out of PRide and Prejudice) Beautiful!!! Glad y’all had fun!!!!!
Lisa, you have such an amazing life. You are truly blessed ! Can’t wait to hear all about the rest of the trip.
Hi,
Thanks for the report on the olympics. Glad you got to go to it. Did you have your picture taken at the countdown clock in Trafalgar Square?
I bet it was great to stay in a flat view a view of the Thames. That would also make a great place to watch the fireworks from the London Eye on new year’s eve:) (By any chance do they rent it out on that night – I’m serious:))
I bet you were gutted about your memory card. I pray that you’ll be able to recover the pictures. I think that’s the only part about digital cameras that I don’t like. At least with film cameras that didn’t happen.
I’m looking forward to hearing about the rest of your holiday. (I’m from the UK by the way, can you tell?:))
I found the first issue of Creating Keepsakes last night, minus the cover. I loved it when you used to talk about your family.
Anyway, cheerio for now & I hope you enjoy the closing ceremony tonight – oh, that’ll be the next day for you. Anyway, enjoy:)
Luv
Julie, UK
* I mean a with a view of the Thames:)
I’m so sorry about your photos
Otherwise, sounds like you had a fantastic time!!!
WOW sounds like a trip of a lifetime…truly amazing. Thank you for sharing, and very glad you are ALL back safe and sound:)
I had a SD card go bad on our first trip to Hawaii and so I lost all the pics of our first 3 days there. Lots of pictures I can’t get back but lots of people tried to help. The ones I am the saddest about are the USS Arizona. I don’t think you can ever replay the first time for something so heart wrenching. I still have lots of good memories but not pics. One really wonderful thing was one of the couples we were with stayed over another day and she went to our hotel and told them what happened and they let her go up to the floor where we stayed so she could get pictures of Diamondhead from the lanai and the area for me. So many nice people. Sure hope you can retrieve anything….Sounds like a wonderful trip.
Lisa, could you please post the site for the personalized picture clocks again. I thought I had the info and now I can’t find it. I would love to order one for my new home. Thank you so much!
Hi Lisa
I am so truly sorry to hear about your camera card!!! My family spent a week in DIsney and I deleted the first two days by accident on my camera. I still cant believe I did it!!!
My prayers are with you – hoping you will get your pictures.
Love, Laura
First i am so sorry about your pictures i really hope there is a way for you to get them —
this trip was awesome – i love your blogs — you all look so happy – - –
love the pictures —
have a great rest of the summer —
Wow! That is all I have to say! Wow! It seemed like such a fun trip. I hope you retrieve your photos, from fellow scrapbooker to another, those are so priceless!
Lisa,
I downloaded and used MjM Free Photo Recovery Software and saved hundreds of Hawaii photos my husband had taken. We thought the card was corrupted (something happened when it got moved from one camera to another or to the computer – I can’t even remember now what happened but it was something I did!). I’d given up hope – but he put the card in our TV (which takes cards and you can view the photos right from the card) – giving me hope for retrieval. Sure enough – the free software I found online did it and in a manner of minutes. I think we lost two photos. Fingers crossed this works for you or you find another way to retrieve your memories. And if not … I’m sure you’ll know it was meant to be …
Sue in Seattle
Hi Lisa – so sorry to hear of your memory card.
I hope you find a way to retrieve your pictures!! On another note – you are looking very fit in your pictures! Can you share your secret???
Hi Lisa!
Wow . . . it sounds like you had an amazing trip!
If you haven’t, I’d check the tab on your card. We thought we had lost some photos and after trying everything else we decided to slide the tab on the card and that did the trick. It was something I hadn’t thought of checking before.
Best of luck with your photos!
THANKS for sharing ….. looks like an AMAZING trip and what an exciting time to visit! Hoping that you find a “fix” for your camera card — CELEBRATE time with family & wonderful memories!