In Europe, stopping at the sights worth seeing

What do you do when you finally receive the flier for the perfect

cruise? Find another couple and book it!

My husband Terry and I immediately called our friends, CC and

Claude Whitney.

We had traveled with the Whitneys on several cruises.

Our itinerary for this trip began with two nights in London and a

half-day city tour. We had visited London several times, so we just

enjoyed walking the Piccadilly Circus area and seeing a play by

Andrew Lloyd Webber, “The Woman in White,” at the Palace Theatre.

There was lots of sightseeing before we boarded our ship -- the

Jewel of the Seas -- at Harwich Pier.

Our next four stops were Nordic capitals: Oslo; Copenhagen;

Stockholm; and Helsinki, Finland. These cities are all beautiful and

interesting, with their own special museums and royal palaces.

Our favorite, however, was Oslo, with its 80-acre Vigeland

Sculpture Park and Museum -- the world’s largest collection of

sculptures by one person, Gustav Vigeland. In 1919, Vigeland offered

Oslo all of his sculptures in return for a working studio. He spent

his life creating figures that depicted the emotional relationship of

humans.

The next stop was St. Petersburg, Russia, for two full days. Of

course, the Hermitage was first on the list, and it totally lived up

to everything we’d heard about it. What treasures -- by the time you

leave, you feel like you have turned to gold.

The architecture of St. Petersburg is awesome. With huge buildings

in a plaza, it makes you wonder about the society and life that must

have been there earlier. Our guided tour included a delicious lunch

-- with vodka -- at a luxurious hotel, complete with dancers and a

singer.

There were many vendors on the streets who would not take no for

an answer, all with pretty much the same wares. There were more cars

than we expected, including a few Lexuses and Mercedes-Benzes in the

lot. Several fellow passengers who traveled to palaces in outlying

areas commented that the countryside was very desolate.

The medieval city of Tallinn, Estonia, was our last stop, with its

beautiful old town and churches.

The weather was perfect throughout the trip. We met some new

friends, had great entertainment aboard the ship, and tried to gain

no more than a few pounds.

The adventure was wonderful, and these cities were especially

worth seeing.

* JUNE O’NEIL is a Newport Beach resident.

* TRAVEL TALES runs Thursdays. Have you gone on an interesting

vacation? Tell us about your adventures in about 400 words,

accompanied by photos, and send it all to Travel Tales, 1375

Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626; by e-mail to

[email protected]; or by fax to (714) 966-4679.