Right now we are on the train to London. Since our last update we returned our rental car to Stirling and took the train to Edinburgh. In Edinburgh we visited the castle and did some shopping along the Royal Mile. Our next stop was York back in jolly old England. York is famous for its Minster, its Castle Museum where there is a Victorian street set up inside the museum, and its shopping street known as the Shambles. York is also the most haunted city in Europe so we took in an evening ghost walk. EEK! We met a couple at our b&b who live in Halifax and he works with Caroline McGarry!! Small world! Next stop: London! ... read more

We made it. After 2 flights and 1 bus and 0 sleep, we finally arrived in Bath at 11:00 am. With no hotel to check into yet, we stored our bags and set off to see the sights. We visited the Bath Abby and the Royal Crescent and Royal Circus (previously only seen in our architecture books) The Royal Crescent is also one of Johnny Depp's homes! We also took a walking tour sponsored by the City of Bath (free!) to get some of the history of the area. After a good night's sleep, we got up early Monday morning and caught a bus tour to Stonehenge, Avebury Stone Circles (bigger than Stonehenge), and 2 small quaint villages - Lacock and Castle Coombe. Pride and Prejudice was filmed in Lacock. Tomorrow we are taking another bus ... read more

Bonjour! We arrived in Paris yesterday afternoon after a long train ride from Nice. It was a pretty posh high speed train and we had first class tickets so the ride was pretty good but 6 hours with limited leg room is still a long time. This morning we started out at Notre Dame. We were among the first in line but the guy running the place decided to open a half hour late so we still ended up standing in line. Oh well..the view from the top was worth it (420 steps this time) We also checked out the gargoyles and the giant bell on top that weighs 15 tonnes...it takes 16 Quasimodos to ring it. Next we hit the Musee D'Orsay which has all the Impressionist stuff. This museum was so great and it ... read more

Ciao! We're now in the Cinque Terre. This is a national park in Italy along the Ligurian sea. It's made up of 5 villages with hiking paths connecting them. We arrived last night and had a nice dinner but we couldn't see much of the view because it was too dark. This morning, we got up early and hit the hiking paths. After a few hours along an incredibly scenic path that winds along the sea, we arrived in the next town over. It has beautiful beaches so we spent the afternoon playing in the sand and waves. Phil ate quite a bit of sea water while riding the waves, so we picked up something to drink and then got on the train to the village on the other end of the 5 villages. From here, ... read more

Hello everybody! We are enjoying our time in Florence. Last night we saw the David and some other Michelangelo works that were just amazing. I dont know how you take a big chunk of stone and turn it into a master piece but it is definitely beautiful to look at. This morning we hit the Ufizzi gallery at 9:00 and we didn't finish there until nearly 1:30 (Phil needed a little coffee break in the middle...cafe americano here is bellissimo!) They had roman sculptures and Raphaels and Michelangelos. Just when you thought you were done, there was a whole exhibit on Da Vinci's work shop and a room of Caravaggios. After the museum, we grabbed a picnic lunch in the only bit of greenspace that we've found in Florence and then headed over to Ponte Veccio. ... read more