Europe 1975 Florence to London

 The Duomo in Florence.

 The towers of Florence.

Neptune Fountain (one of many in Florence).

Courtyard of San Marco Church.

 The Eiffel Tower.

 Notre Dame Cathedral.

 The Arche de Triomphe.

 Big Ben of the Parliament Buildings.

 Westminister Abbey.

The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral.

We found Florence to be more walkable as the city centre is more compact and everything is easily walked. We loved the squares, churches, statues and museums, including Michelangelo's David in the Accamdemia Gallery.

I also remember that Kathy and I visited a few souvenir shops here and inadvertently left out small backpack/satchel which contained all of our important stuff, passports, money and correspondence. We didn't miss it until a couple of shops later, and then in a panic retraced our steps and found to our delight and amazement that the proprietor of a shop where we had spent some time talking to him, had merely covered it with a large woven hat knowing that we would be back soon! Catastrophe averted.

Our next stop was by train to Paris. We had to camp a long ways out of the city and take trains into the centre, but we enjoyed walked along the Seine, climbing the Eiffel Tower, crossing the traffic to get to the Arc de Triomphe and having a tour of Notre Dame. It is such a shame that the cathedral under went that fire recently.

Then it was time to take the ferry back to London where we spent our last few days buying souvenirs, visiting St. Paul's and the Tower of London before our return flight to Canada. I remember London as being grey and dirty with most of the buildings encased in coal soot.

When we got home I entered the first year of the three year Radio and Television degree program at Ryerson University in Toronto. Sadly this was to be Kathy and my last trip together, two summers across Canada and one of a classical tour of Europe.

Europe 1975 Mykonos to Florence

 Mykonos.

 Steve and Michelle from Toronto, friends we made on the beach.

 The Roman Colosseum.

 St. Peter's Basilica.

 Packed and ready to move on.

 The Duomo in Florence.

Kathy and I enjoyed Mykonos very much and visited all the main beaches, including the nudist one and the gay one. We made friends with two other Torontonians and relaxed and enjoyed the sun, sand, water and Greek food.

Then it was time to start the return journey. We returned to Athens by ferries, and then on to Brindisi, Italy by train and ferry. 

This time we got off the train at Rome and spent a week there. I remember trying to pitch our tent in a campground when it was really hot and the ground was baked solid. In frustration I reach over my back to pull my t-shirt off and because it was soaked with perspiration, I ripped it off and left the collar! We visited all the famous historical sites including the Colosseum and St. Peter's Basilica. We took the tour through the Vatican to see all the gold and glitter of the Papacy and Michelangelo's masterpiece, the Sistine Chapel. I remember being blown away by that and frustrated at being unable to take photos.

We visited Florence next and fell in love with the huge cathedral there, the Duomo. I remember it being more beautiful from the outside and more stark inside than St. Peter's.

Europe 1975 Venice to Mykonos

Venice.

St. Marks Cathedral.

Pompeii.

Kathy in Corfu.

The Parthenon.

Kathy on the Acropolis.

Swimming in the Aegean.

Mykonos.

We stayed in a campsite across the canal from the main city and had to take a ferry to St. Marco Square. We enjoyed walking around Venice and getting lost in all the back streets and canals.

We took a train ostensibly to Rome, but when we arrived I mistakenly thought that we were in a suburb of Rome and that we needed to go another stop. However, I was wrong and Kathy and I and a Swedish passenger we were friendly with, missed Rome entirely and decided to go to continue on to Naples. 

From there we visited Pompeii. This was an incredible site. The weather was hot and we wandered around checking out the ruins and were fascinated by the hollow spots in the cooled lava that showed where a person had fallen and been overcome with ash and debris. I remember leaving and being thankful finding a peddler selling watermelons. We bought one and ate the whole thing.

From there we took a train to Brindisi to catch a ship to Greece. We took advantage of the stop before the mainland to visit and explore the beautiful Greek island Corfu. After a couple of days we continued on to Athens. Kathy and I explored the ruins of the Acropolis, including the Parthenon. 

The next stop was by a ferry to Mykonos. This is the most popular of the beautiful islands in the Agean sea. The village is painted white to reflect the heat and adds to the beauty of the place with the blue water, dry landscape and the white walls.

Europe 1975 London to Verona

 Kathy and I as we leave for a summer in Europe (her apprehensive mom in background). 

 On top of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh.

 St. Giles Cathedral.

 Edinburgh Castle.

 Canterbury Cathedral.

 Marlys.

One of the city wall towers of Lucern, Switzerland.

 An unnamed church in Imst, Austria.

 Dutch friends Emile, Peter, Hans and Walter, in Imst, Austria.

Verona Arena, Italy.

Summer 1975

This was a whirlwind two month trip through Europe. We purchased a Britrail Pass and a Eurrail Pass and tried to see as much as possible in two months. Sadly photography in the day wasn't as easy as today. The photos of course are on film and you couldn't see what you had taken until you got home and had the film developed. The camera we used was a little Vivitar 100 with tiny negatives. As a result the photos are less than spectacular. I have only scanned and included the best and photos that show us in our youth. Obviously, over the last 42 years, I have forgotten some details, but others are etched into my memory forever.

I worked in a pet store for the year and managed to save enough money for Kathy and I to travel to Europe for the summer. We flew to London, where we spent a few days visiting some of the sights before taking a train to Scotland. 

We visited Edinburgh and the castle. Then we took a train further north and camped at Inverness, at the north end of Loch Ness. It was quite cool there and we didn't see any sign of the monster except in the tourist shops.

We stayed in Canterbury, east of London, on our way to the continent. The historic cathedral here is beautiful and the site of  Archbishop Thomas Beckett's murder and the hands of King Henry II's men.

We took the ferry from Dover to Calais and then we used our Eurrail Pass to take the train to Amsterdam. Here we met up with Mike and Gail's friend Maryls, who was gracious enough to put us up for our stay. We loved Amsterdam and spent our time exploring the canals, markets and shops.

From there we visited Paris for a few days, before traveling to Switzerland. We loved the walled city of Lucern and spent a couple of days there. The we traveled east through Leichtenstein on our way to Austria.

We camped in a small town called Imst. Here we met four Dutch guys. We spent time with them drinking and partying. Unfortunately, I got very sick here and while on the way to the washroom had to wash my pants and body in the very cold river than flowed through the campground.

We continued on to Innsbruk, Austria before heading south over the pass into Italy. Our next campground was at Verona, famously the home of Romeo and Julliet.