Thursday, July 3 The weather was "spotty"--we dodged a few raindrops early on, then managed to be inside during the worst of it. Our very full day began when we emerged from the Westminster tube station right in the middle of the iconic London sights we'd been waiting to see. Big Ben and Parliament were so much more impressive than we expected! The Churchill Museum and Churchill War Rooms: The War Rooms are in the actual bunker Churchill and his top advisers and staff lived in during World War II bombing raids of London. They are furnished down the the [View Full Entry]

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Just a brief entry, to let you know we've arrived in London. We love our apartment, and the location is good, too. We discovered several streets of restaurants, cafes, small stores, etc. just a few blocks away. Close to two tube stations, as well (Victoria and Pimlico). Tonight we ate at a great little restaurant in the neighborhood that I had read about--and it wasn't pub food, thank god--had wild mushroom risotto with truffle oil that was to die for!! The bummer is (and those of you following Wimbledon probably already know this) that although it cleared up here late this [View Full Entry]

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So they have wireless internet on the train! Thought I'd write a bit more about yesterday, but realize there's really no way to explain the beauty of what we saw in the Highlands of Scotland... Our photos (many taken out the moving bus window) don't do it justice, either... In addition to absorbing the scenery, we were given a crash course in Scottish history (I think I've finally got it straight), culture and ecology by our multi-faceted and entertaining guide. Although he looked a bit like an aging "surfer dude", Bill had a background in ecology and had been a park [View Full Entry]

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Well, it's all finally caught up to us, so I'm opting for bed, instead of blogging in the wee hours like I did last night... Just want to let everyone know we had a great day, despite the fact that we were on a bus tour for 12 hours. What made our trip across Scotland to Loch Ness and back so great was the incredible scenery, enhanced by the most dramatic (some might call it bad) weather, and our fantastic guide, Bill--a young man with the soul of a storyteller and a heart shaped like Scotland. Will tell you more tomorrow, [View Full Entry]

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We spent our first full day in Edinburgh being tourists to the max! Started off by eating breakfast at the Elephant House Cafe (and Sharon even tried haggis). All you Harry Potter fans will know that this is the place where JK Rowling penned much of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (better known in the US as HP and the Sorcerer's Stone), the book that started it all. After our pilgrimage, we wandered around much of New Town, trying to locate the hop-on/hop-off tour bus stop, and saw lots of interesting landmarks in the process, including the Walter Scott monument. [View Full Entry]

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We're all here safe and sound, flights and connections went smoothly, but we are minus 2 suitcases (Sharon's & Drew's) and exhausted (we've now been up for 30 hours). The airlines located our missing bags and promises them later tonight or maybe tomorrow morning, and exhaustion is being overcome for the moment by the European Soccer Championship game just about to start on the television. So all is well... We love our first impressions of Edinburgh, the old buildings and the charming architecture and enjoyed our first meal at the World's End Pub, down the street (Royal Mile) from the Radi [View Full Entry]

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