A Birthday Vacation away from Our Vacation

I am pleased to announce to the world that Rob Gregson is now 40. I am likewise pleased to announce that this important milestone was passed with what I will say myself was an appropriate amount of pomp and circumstance given our thousands of miles of separation from those we love. This is to say that I would normally have thought to throw Rob some kind of enormously complex and convoluted surprise party, one that even the Gregsons themselves - known for surprises as they are (ask Jill about the old cellophane over the toilet trick on April Fool's) - could be proud of. Alas, poor us, we are in Europe enduring our six months off. So what to do?

The answer, if you know Rob Gregson at all, was clear - a surprise journey on the Orient Express from London to Venice. Sorry Cory and Addy, but you will have to fund your own college educations, Daddies have expensive tastes.

I used as a decoy in this case a "simple trip" to Venice made possible by Jill's arrival here for a 10 day visit with the children (she barely noticed Barcelona, as you might imagine - more on that in a coming blog entry). I explained to him in advance that our living in Europe would make an elaborate 40th party simply too complicated, and would he please accept something so low key as a trip to Italy and a stay in a fancy hotel? He seemed to accept this, and so likewise seemed surprised (though he himself told me that morning he would be vigilant in trying to spot birthday surprises) when at the ticket counter in the airport the agent mentioned London rather than Venice as our destination. Beyond that, I refused to share more details until I was unexpectedly forced to by an unusually nosy immigration officer at Heathrow. I had hoped to see the look on his face when, upon departing our London hotel the next morning, I said to the cab driver "Victoria Station please." Oh well, that line will have to remain in the Agatha Christie novels where it probably belongs.

Surprise details aside, our 24 hour trip on the train (followed by 48 hours in Venice) was really fantastic - I think one of the best vacation things we've ever done. The Carlson Wagonlit folks have done a really remarkable job salvaging the old carriages of this grand train and restoring the exprience to what feels like its former glory, and without seeming cheesy or disney-esque. The trip starts with lunch while riding through the English countryside, followed by about 24 hours on the train from Calais to Venice after crossing through the Chunnel on a Motorcoach carried on a train. The train has a bar car (with piano), ornate dining cars, and of course sleepers, all of which have beautiful old wood paneling, deco/nuveau detail, and generally a very comfortable and stylish feel. No doubt what the Queen Mary II was supposed to be like but was simply too much of a factory to be. And by far the best mobile food either of us has has - really great and sophisticated.

The downside was that Rob, who's dream trip I really thought this would be - was a little motion sick (even though he has sea legs from years of sailing as a kid), and so enjoyed the whole thing less than I. To me, it really was a great way to vacation - sitting reading for hours on end while looking out the window at mountains and castles zipping by, interrupted only by an announcement that dinner is being served. I'd recommend it to anyone who can imagine sitting for 24 hours (that rules out Jill and most of my family) and a touch of formality/ stuffiness (shorts and jeans are not allowed, for example).

Venice was likewise lovely, but we obviously had too little time to really appreciate it. The city is gorgeous, of course, but I would say it feels a bit frozen in time (given its famous island portion is now inhabited almost exclusively by tourists), not alive like London or Paris. We would both like to return, but not without first becoming something better than embarrassingly uninformed about renaissance art and architecture.

I have posted some pics of our trip on the train and two days in Venice here.