Geo: 43.9486, 4.80597 It is August already, and our last days on this tour are being spent in ancient Avignon. I have wanted to come here for decades, since a slightly older friend of mine (she was a junior in college, but I was still in high school) spent a semester studying in southern France. Her travels were unreachable for me back then, impossible financially, and, at that time in my life, mentally as well, although I could vividly imagine all the wonders she described, places that I dearly wanted to experience for myself. As a teenager the way I travelled during the summers was by hitchhiking, expanding my borders by hitchhiking all the way north to Canada, and south to Kentucky, with friends I'd met (as a counselor) at summer camp or even a few ... read more

Geo: 45.7673, 4.83433 After our walking tour of Vieux Lyon this morning, Bill and I left the group and stayed in town, exploring more of this lovely city again on our own. We had already been here for a day and a half last Friday and Saturday, before we met up with our fellow travellers on the cruise, and so we felt we knew the city a bit, at least from Part-Dieu to the Rhone River and then to the Saone beyond. Having already walked through Place des Jacobins and Place Bellecour, we decided to take the funicular up to see Notre-Dame de Fourviere, the lovely cathedral high on a hill that is a focal point from many places in the city. This cathedral was built to protect the people of Lyon during the Franco-Prussian War; ... read more

Geo: 55.9503, -3.18761 It has been a week since we flew to Scotland, and I am trying to remember what all we loved about Edinburgh. The Castle, Tron Kirk, George Heriot's School, and Greyfriars Kirk all stand out in memory since they are some of the impressive castles and cathedrals that delight the eye upon entering Edinburgh. Simply walking around looking at these marvelous structures is exciting and uplifting. And there are stories galore about body snatchers, grave robbers, ghosts, people who survived hangings, an underground city of the dead, haunted graveyards, all of which tend to lend a mysterious air to the city. And for Harry Potter fans visiting Edinburgh is a must! It is easy to understand why the medical school needed cadavers for their students to study anatomy, and therefore many freshly dead ... read more

Geo: 51.5002, -0.126236 We have three days to play in London, one of which was totally eaten up by taking a tour of Windsor Castle, the ancient Roman baths, and visiting Stonehenge. That was a fine day, although a little long on the bus. My old refrain: I would have loved to have had more time in each of those places! Plus I thought we would be able to enter the inner circle of the stones at Stonehenge, but learned that that hasn't been allowed for many years. We did find out that on the two solstices people are allowed into the center. On the summer solstice they can stay and camp overnight, watching the sunset late in the evening, and greeting Old Sol as it rises over the horizon. How magnificent that must be! But ... read more

Geo: 47.4984, 19.0408 This is the second morning I've woken up in Hungary. Outside my window is ... the window of another boat. It is so close that if we could open these windows I could touch theirs, a very unpleasant docking. But those who have cabins on the other side are enjoying (at least I hope they are!) sunny views of the stunning Parliament building, overlooking the boat-crowded Danube. But soon I will leave to continue exploring Budapest; this is our last day here and I have so many things I want to see. Budapest's name came into being in 1873 when the three cities of Buda, Pest, and Obuda (Old Buda) joined into one large, lovely city, becoming the capital of Hungary. Buda is on the right bank of the Danube River, hilly, green, ... read more