It has taken nearly 3 years due to Covid delays but we are FINALLY on our way to Prague! I booked a Viking cruise in May of 2019 for a vacation starting in June 2020 on our favorite web site Vacationstogo.com. We were to begin in Prague and end in Paris . Then COVID happened. We were all paid up and ready to go when in April of 2020 the trip was cancelled due to COVID issues. On the positive front, Viking offered us a 25% discount if we kept our booking and continued our plans in 2021 rather than get a refund in 2020. Sure, for 25% why not! So we took our 25% and upgraded our cabin to a veranda suite. Vacationstogo added another $250 each so we prepaid our drink packages and bought ... read more

It is Saturday morning, we have just left our hotel for the drive to Stratford on Avon and our visit to the land of Shakespeare. I sit here with some sadness. First one of our travelers, Alan, has elected to stay behind for a few extra days in York. He has some friends who live here so he plans to visit with them and enjoy more of what York has to offer. During our travels I bonded with him, a selfless man, with a sense of humor. I enjoyed his company, our discussions and, of course, the new love he has found for a good single malt scotch. When next I raise my glass, it will be in tribute to you. Stay well, I hope we meet again, the gods willing. We have done and seen ... read more

Our vacation is beginning to wind down, but there is still so much more to do. Today was our second day in Edinburgh. One thing is interesting, that is the pronouncing of the word Edinburgh. Although it looks like it should be EDIN BUROUGH, it is actually, EDIN BORO. Kinda cool. Today we spent the day with William Wallace and Robert de Bruce. Now, many of you may have seen the Mel Gibson movie, Braveheart, the story of these two great men from Scottish history. Although a great movie, it is highly inaccurate, so take it with a grain of salt. Wallace and Robert were an integral part of the Scottish revolution for Scottish independence. There are many, many stories of their heroic actions. One interesting story involves the castle we visited today. In the early ... read more

Last night we walked around a bit after dinner and headed to bed around 10 PM. Oddly it was as bright out as if it were 10 AM. I got up at 4 AM and noticed it was still bright out! Taking a gander at the map, I found the reason: we are considerably north and thus the Scots enjoy very long days. That’s great, but on the flip side, in winter, nights are also very long, so make hay while the sun shines. Speaking of the sun, today the clouds seemed behind us and the blue Scottish skies were overhead. Our first stop was the Culloden Battlefield Memorial. This was famous in Scotland as the last battle between the Jacobites, rebellious Scottish soldiers fighting to restore King James to the British throne, versus the British. ... read more

Today dawned a little wet; as we hit the bus, there was a very light drizzle. As we departed Liverpool to head toward the lake district, the skies opened up. Our coach driver was fortunate in a way; he had to deal with wet weather but no traffic. Oh well… we settled in for the two hour trip to the lakes. Our first stop was a bit unique: a ride on a steam locomotive. Due to the light traffic, we arrived quite early, in plenty of time to enjoy a scone and coffee. Here we learned firsthand about the great scone controversy. It seems the cities of Devon and Cornwall differ on how one should eat a scone with clotted cream and jam. Devon puts the cream on first and the jam covering the cream. Cornwall ... read more