30 lashes to me for taking so long to report in. We got home Tues. 11/01 early in the morning after 24 hours of travel from Paris. I've been sick from the moment I got home and will put part of the blame on that.

It was a wonderful trip, surpassed only by the fabulous car picked up at the ED delivery center. We drove our Monaco Blue 530i over 3200 miles. She was a treat every mile of the way. We arrived at the ED gate at 7am Monday morning Oct. 10 and were the first called for delivery. We had not seen an auburn interior (other than in pictures) or comfort seats before picking her up. The car was the first vehicle through the doors from the reception desk and it was love at first sight. Ernst (along with two trainees) showed the car to us and did a fine job answering our questions and demonstrating features. He was especially helpful with the Nav., programming our first stop to get us started. I will try to just touch on some of the highlights of the trip.

First Stop: Venice- The drive was no problem as the Nav guided us every turn of the way. Of all the features picked this had to be the most incredible. The hardest part was leaving the car in the parking garage for our 2 night stay and having no access to her during that time. Venice was beautiful. We had a nice dinner on the Grand Canal by the Rialto Bridge, followed by a stroll to St. Mark's Square- quite beautiful at night. The next day we toured the Basilica and the Doge's Palace. The level of detail in art and craftsmanship is amazing. We wandered some of the back alleys and streets in the afternoon, finding some areas where the locals live, picking up some supplies in a little grocery and finding a restaurant off the beaten tourist path. Having forgotten our English/Italian dictionary, we struggled to remember the words for the check "Eel Conto," but my wife was able to pull up some Italian and Spanish that worked. You must ask for the check in Europe we found or you will be spending the night in a restaurant and not your hotel. We also did the required gondola ride. Our gondolier pointed out the church at which Marco Polo is buried.

To Rome: Finally, back to our car! The trip down the Autostrada found us zipping around at speeds around 100 mph in very heavy traffic. Our hotel was in a suburb of Rome called Frascati. We learned right away that driving in southern Italy is not like home. At a stop sign with traffic streaming both ways in front of you, a stop of more than about 10 seconds will prompt horn honking from behind you right away. You must be aggressive and start sticking your nose out into traffic. Only then will someone give you a break.

We drove into Rome the first night. I don't think I could have done it without the nav. With "Babe" calling out the instructions, and me using my "Italian" aggressive persona, we threaded our way to the parking garage by the main rail station. We walked to the Coliseum, arriving there at dusk. The view was incredible and got only better as she glowed in artificial light in the darkness of night.

The next day we enjoyed St. Peter's, The Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. We also hiked to the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. Both nights we ate at sidewalk cafe's and the food was wonderful. The next day we took a trip to Adriana's Villa, the summer home of Emperor Hadrian (of Hadrian's wall fame, dividing England and Scotland,) circa 125 AD. These massive ruins are incredible if you have the time.

On to Amalfi: Weekend driving on the Amalfi Cost road is difficult at best. Turns on switchbacks are tight and you never know when a Bus, car or motorcycle (or combination bus or car and motorcycle) are coming around the bend halfway in your lane. When you have a moment to peek over the cliffs and view the small towns hugging the rock over that gorgeous sea, the moment is well spent and the view is etched into your memory forever. The motorcyclists are insane, and there are thousands of them, passing you on both sides of your car and from both directions. I wondered when we would find one dead, and prayed that we wouldn't be involved. It did happen (thankfully not to us) as we witnessed an emergency chopper coming in off the sea, and then later saw the body of a biker covered with a blanket on the side of the road. On Monday we drove to Paestum, where there are ancient Greek ruins from about 500 B.C. The road along the coast was much less heavily traveled, and the windy mountain road was much more fun to drive.

On to Tuscany: We had a lovely villa in the hills and took a little time to slow down and unwind just a bit. We found a great little restaurant in a small walled medieval town nearby. I had an opportunity to try rabbit for the first time and it was great (just wish I could have picked it up with my fingers.) We visited Siena, Florence, and Assisi while we were there. We loved the Domo in Siena. The interior was so bazaar that it could have been a Tim Burton creation in my mind. We took country hilltop roads to Asisi, and since we were past the break-in period for the car, this was the most fun I had with it to that point.

Lake Como: We had scheduled 3 nights here. It was nice but really did get boring. We left a day early and picked up a night in Switzerland we hadn't planned.

Switzerland: Oh my God! Absolutely one of the most picturesque and beautiful places on earth. Spent a night in a little town called Zernez. It is right on the edge of Switzerland's only National Park. We drove the park road all the way through it and then a bit further, marveling at the beautiful mountains and glaciers. On the return trip we marveled at the wonderfully twisty mountain road, serious grade, and relative lack of traffic. Well, here is where I really got a chance to let that baby growl around in low gears and bite into those switchbacks. Wowwww! That evening we had a great meal in a local restaurant. I had the venison and washed it down with some good Swiss bier. I went to sleep that night with some fresh, cool mountain air and the sound of cowbells tinkling in the distance. What a life.

Austria and Neuschwanstein: I think that almost everyone that does ED goes here so I won't go into detail. I only will say that the Moserhoff hotel and Restaurant in Breitenwang was fabulous.

Rothenburg: Another place visited by almost everyone, and like others have to say that the Night Watchman's tour is a must.

Back in Munich and Dingolfing: We actually spent three nights in Munch before pick-up. It was a great way to rest up from jet lag. The metro and u-bahn system were fantastic. We love Hotel Uhland and it was easily accessed by bus. We enjoyed a night at the Hoffbrau House, toured the Residence, and visited the Buga Garden Festival which is in a different city every year (or five- not sure which.)
On the return trip we did the Dingolfing Plant tour. It was a great tour and they also have a nice gift shop.
It was on the Autobahn here and back that I was able to open the car up for speed. My first attempt was to 121 mph which only showed as a blur on the camera. We turned on the flash and got it again. Later we snapped a shot doing 141mph. Never thought we would have a chance to do better as we were getting closer to Munich and the traffic seemed to be getting heavier. Well, traffic did lighten up a bit and I found myself cruising in the slow lane at 120 mph. A sixer went by in a blur and I decided to pull out behind him. I last looked at the speed at 149, and stayed on it just a bit longer. My daughter says she saw 152. No picture, but that's our story and we're sticking to it. Off to Harms the next morning and the sad parting. She's on the JINGU MARU now and expected to reach port in New York 11/17, but hey, who's counting?

Paris: Two nights, one day. A ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower the first night. All I can say is quite windy up there and the view is awesome. Next day we hiked to the top of the Arch de Triumph and made a trip to Notre Dame. We had done a lot of walking on this trip, but the hike to the top of the Arc was a groaner. The highlight for us was the dinner cruise on the Seine River. The 2 1/2 hour cruise ended with the boat doing 360s in front of our gift to Paris of a smaller version of the Statue of Liberty.


If you are still reading, thanks for staying with me. hopefully the link I'm about to post will give you the pics. I just wish that I were able to show them in a better resolution, at least some of them. The ones of most interest to you are probably the ones in the album "best pics ED and car pics." I think the ones in the Switzerland album may be some of the most beautiful. I know that I fell in love with Switzerland during our short stay there. Oh, and you may wonder why this is titled "ED Report (or 101 ways to flush a toilet.) Well, its just true, and we said that if we ever wrote a book about our trip that that would be the title. Well, sorry for the book this "brief" write-up turned out to be.


Hope this works for pics:http://www.snapfish.com/photolibrary/t_=36342710

or try this:http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=680111131722316437/l=66982684/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Thanks to everyone who helped get us ready for this trip. mdsbuc & family