Lisbon Day 3 - today's walking tour will be an endurance test. More hills than San Francisco (at least it seems that way). We left the hotel and headed for THE square to meet out tour. You must be very specific not only about which square but which statue in the Square. Every other block has a square and they all have statues and sometimes more than one. We started the tour with a climb ( as it turns out the same climb as the one we had going to dinner last night) this brought us to the top of the elevator with spectacular views of Lisbon. Timed perfectly in between bursts of rain, we walked back down through newer area to head over to the old part of the city. The difference between old and ... read more

Left LATE at night (10:30) on British Airways787 headed for Heathrow in London. Most uncomfortable flight I have ever taken! Seats were very cramped, no turbulence thank God! Once we did arrive we were supposed to have a 4 hour layover that turned into a 6 hour one. Boarding the Airbus A320 was soooo nice and roomy for a smaller plane. no turbulence on this flight until we started our approach. Have you ever noticed how some passengers start clapping when the plane lands? not sure if this is because they think the pilot pulled off some miracle or they just never thought they would touch terra firma again. Well on this flight there was wicked cross winds, the plane was bouncing sideways and dipping, Elke was into the deep breathing excercises and at the last ... read more

Day 3 Edinburgh Tour Today our plan is to Find the Hop On Hop Off starting point and begin the race around the city. Made it down the Royal Mile to the one end at Holyrood Palace (The Queen’s residence when in Edinburgh). While having very stately rooms it also has very old artifacts dating back to Mary Queen of Scots. Part of the tour takes you thru the rooms where her son was murdered. Always a worthwhile tour. Back on the bus to another stop. Found Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant (Jamie’s Italian) for lunch! Wow! Highly recommend anyone to try it. One target is the Grassmarket area known for its open air flea market. On these streets are a lot of local curiosity stores. We also wanted to find the most haunted cemetery in Edinburgh, ... read more

Day 10 - Leaving this morning for some ferry rides, standing stones, a distillery and the Iona abbey. Weather was cool but sunny again!! The Inn packed us a lunch but when we landed in Tobermory we had some time before the distillery opened so we got some breakfast. Sam and Benny had yet another mocha coffee. I found the best sweet ever.. Its called TIFFEN. I am now on a quest for the recipet. Went into the Tobermory distillery. OK but was not worth the wait. Started driving again to find the Dervaig standing stones outside of Tobermory. They were surrounded by a clear cut forest. Certainly a little disappointing just because of the dead lumber lying around. Travels are now taking us to Iona Abbey the root of Christianity in Scotland. St. Columba landed ... read more

Todays trip will take us on a short loop around the Isle of Skye. Another sunny day makes for enjoyable driving. We passed Glen Shiel for pictures at the waterfall (another battlefield for the Jacobites). First castle is Eilean Donan, one of the most well known castles. Original structure started in 580. It was rebuilt starting in 1912. At that time the average house cost was 200.00 GBP. The renovations cost 250,000.00 GBP. You can do the math to figure out what it would cost today. Great tour with a lot of history. Wierd Campbell Family crest is associated with the Macrae's. Crest has a seal on it instead of the wart hog. Left to head to Portree for some quick shopping, take away lunch a picture of the harbour and off to Dunvegan Castle. Another ... read more