Friday and Saturday were spent enjoying Seattle and reconnecting with old friends. After a leisurely breakfast, we headed out to Pikes Market and the waterfront. Pike’s Market was extremely crowded as the summer vacationers were out in force. The flower stalls were colorful and the fish were flying. From Pike’s we walked down Post Alley to the waterfront. At the top of Post Alley is the not-so-famous Gum Wall. I’m not sure where or when the tradition started, but you haven’t been in downtown Seattle until you chew a piece of gum and stick it to the side of the brick building. Some call it art, others Don’t. We strolled along the waterfront and made our way to Ivar’s for clam chowder. Besides Salty’s, Seattle’s best seafood can be found at Ivar’s and Elliott’s on the ... read more

Our Last Day… We are winding down our two-week adventure through Western Europe, and it has been fantastic. The weather couldn’t have been finer. When we needed it to be cooler in Spain, it was cooler; when we needed sunshine in England, it was sunny. This entry will be short, as we are weary and ready to return home. I’ll let the pictures tell the story. Now that we have apprehended the potato conspirator, there is longer any drama or any more intrigue. Today, Wednesday, we headed out to the southwest for a three-stop tour of Bath, Stonehenge and Salisbury. The nice thing is that we did a minimum of walking today; the bus took care of the rest. Our first stop, 90 minutes outside of London was Bath, a charming little village, known for the ... read more

Chunneling Onward Monday, July 21, was a relatively quiet day. This was our day to leave the continent and foreign languages behind for the final destination on our journey, London. The troop is beginning to get a little road weary, and a return to a native-speaking land is probably a good thing. Well, “native-speaking land” is probably a bit of a stretch, since we are in England. But we will get back to that in a moment. First, our morning began with bags packed, souvenirs safely stowed, and the last of our clean clothes put on. We wound our way through Paris, to the northwest section to Gare du Nord, the train station where the Eurostar was waiting to move us swiftly from Paris to London under the English Channel. As we headed to the train, ... read more

Of Kings and Castles Today was our first brush with French royalty. We stayed in our hotel in Tours for only one night. So we were up bright and early this morning, with rucksacks ready to go, a quick bite to eat, and onto the bus. Our guide Michael may be from Ireland, but he speaks with a British accent, and we are all charmed by his vocabulary. Yesterday, he saw some people having a “chin wag.” A what? Once the kids realized that meant “having a chat,” they kept asking Michael, “Are we going to have a chin wag?” So, now we all carry our rucksacks, wear our costumes at the beach, and take our jumpers for the cool nights. Oh yes, and we never miss an opportunity to go to the loo. The agenda ... read more

Our Day at Disneyland Thursday was like a day at Disneyland, only everything was real. We left our home base in Sarlat after breakfast and headed through the French countryside. The beautiful greenery is everywhere in France. Walnut trees dot the landscape along all of the roads. Small farms with wandering geese, sheep and goats are plentiful. Michael, our ACIS guide, provided a lot of interesting information on the local way of life. At one bend in the road, he pointed up the hill and excitedly urged people to look at the goat on the hill. Turns out it was a dog, not a goat. And sure enough, someone from the back of the bus chided him and said it would be difficult to milk the dog. Our students have no mercy. Our first stop of ... read more