Travel: London (& Stonehenge, Bath) & Zürich (& Luzern, Mt. Pilatus)

The shot above was taken with a digital video recorder (not a digital camera); hence, the sort of fuzziness. B was answering his work phone while we were at Stonehenge. It was actually pretty cool because we got to go right up to the stones. While I managed to walk on a stone and jump off it, B got in trouble for sitting on one. We think they never saw me.

Anyway, we met up with C in LA and gave him a tour of LA/SD/Tijuana, before leaving him to do his own tour of Central California. Then, B and I went to London. Afterward, the three of us met up again in Zurich where C gave us a tour of the city. B and I were supposed to continue our trip to LA but we actually missed our flight. We had to stay in London for an extra day before coming home.
Itinerary:

• LA/SD/Tijuana (3 days): Picked up C from LAX. LA: Hollywood Walk of Fame/Stars, Chinese Mann Theater, the Getty Center, Santa Monica Pier, Venice Boardwalk, Sunset Blvd., Comedy Store, UCLA. San Diego: Balboa Park, Downtown. Tijuana: Avenida Revolucion.
• London (3.5 days) : Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, Piccadilly Circus, pub crawling with B's friends, Westminster Cathedral, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, London Eye, Millennium Bridge, Tate Modern, St. Paul's Cathedral, City Hall, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, pub crawling with D in Covent Garden, Leicester Square. Stonehenge, Lacock, & Bath.
• Switzerland (4 days): Zurich, Bahnhofstrasse, Grossmunster, Fraumunster, Niederhof, Lake Promenade, fondue, beer garden, Lindenhof, Landesmuseum, Migros, Coop, Sprungli, Teuscher. Luzern: the Chapel Bridge, Mt. Pilatus.
• London (1.5 days): Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, Bond Street.
• LA: home.

Travel: Catalina Island

B and I did a day trip to Catalina Island using the Catalina Express Ferry from Long Beach. We decided to do a glass-bottom boat ride, followed by an interior tour of the island that allowed us to see the Wrigley ranch/El Rancho Escondido, Arabian horses, the bison, and the Airport in the Sky. We found out that the casino building is actually a movie theater, and not a gambling facility.
Above is a picture of Avalon's harbor. Below is me with the wind blowing my hair across my face (lol).

Travel: Tuscany Tour - Day 9: Rome, LA

Day 9: FCO >> MUC >> LAX. We packed up the next morning and flew back to Los Angeles, finally catching some sleep on the plane. It's a trip that we'll never forget.

Travel: Tuscany Tour - Day 8: Siena, Rome

Day 8: Siena >> Rome/Vatican City. We went directly to the Vatican to see the museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. I bought my mom a few rosaries while at the Vatican gift shop. Afterward, we walked from the Vatican to the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. We met with the group at Piazza Navona for a farewell dinner.

Travel: Tuscany Tour - Day 7: Florence

Day 7: Our first stop was the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. We met up with the group at the Galleria dell'Accademia to see the David, stopping for gelato on the way. We then went to the Uffizi. That night, we went to a bar in Siena where we watched C and R salsa dance.

Travel: Tuscany Tour - Day 6: Mugello, Florence

Day 6: In Mugello, we toured the 14th Century Cafaggiolo Castle. Afterward, we went to Florence for leather craft demo and a local-guided, walking tour of the city: Duomo, Basilica Santa Croce, Giotto's Bell Tower, the Baptistry, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, and Piazzale Michelangelo. Later, we had a cooking demonstration followed by dinner.

Travel: Tuscany Tour - Day 5: Pisa, Volterra, Siena

Day 5: We took obligatory shots of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and hung out in Pisa's Cathedral Square looking at all the counterfeit goods being sold ;). We then went to Volterra where we watched an alabaster demonstration, looked at ruins, and went window shopping. We were supposed to visit a beach on the Mediterranean sea, but we got rained out. Instead, we went back to Siena and got to know our fellow travelers some more.