Wilgocki

The Cotswolds are beautiful and full of people who take the time to stop and chat, answer questions and share opinions. We had an adventure of road directions but finally made it to our B&B. When you Google Moreton in Marsh and check out the surrounding area there is no Blockley unless you zoom in. Then this town shows up. Surprise... this is a wonderful small village complete with a couple of B&Bs, a great pub with an attached restaurant and a history. It is great what is around the next corner on the little back roads. Blockley has several newer homes built just after the war through the generosity of Winston Churchill's cousin. He made sure that this area was brought back to life. As you all know we had a camera misadventure... our B&B ... read more

On August 22 we drove around a peninsula in the north today visiting a VERY old church, seeing the Iceland Emigration museum, and then seeing the Aukeryeri Cathedral. The old church, Holar, was originally a Catholic Bishopric from 1061. In the mid-1500's the last Catholic was replaced by the Lutheran/Episcopal Bishop. In other words, this location has been the heart of the Icelandic Cee since 1061.... The church was rehabilitated in the 1990's but was kept as true to the original as possible with the several bishops' tombs in the floor of the alter area. There is a museum in a northern Iceland town that details the l800's emigration of several thousand Icelanders to the US and Canada. In fact one of the stories was about a woman that ended up in Point Roberts and Bellingham... ... read more

We made it to Borgarnes yesterday after landing at Keflavik airport and renting a used car... Gary found a company that rents used cars. The one we have been assigned is a 10+ year old Nissan. It will definitely do the trip and costs about 1/2 of a regular rental car. On the way here we saw some great scenery especially as we went around Hvalfjordur with one way bridges and almost no traffic. The folks that are out and about are mostly interested in the beauty and probably taking a few hikes. We arrived in Borgarnes, found our hostel and did some exploring. We found a great little museum, The Settlement Center, that discusses the settlement of Iceland. It had an audio guide that walked you through the various small rooms. But by then jet ... read more

Louvre Ahhhh! As we stood in the main entry of the the Louvre I am sure that my mouth just hung open. It is a shock to the system to know that you are in one of the largest museums in the world. As we went up the escalator, I knew that we would see only a fraction of the whole. Of course this first visit needed to include the famous three women... Mona Lisa, Venus, and Winged Victory. Yes, the Mona Lisa is smaller than I thought but it is beautiful. Venus is perfect and Winged Victory invokes the imagination of times of battles past. As we moved through the statues at the end of our visit, there were medallions from the Roman times. Gary found one that peaked his interest. d'Orsay As Rick Steves ... read more

A strike in France can put a damper on one's plans. The strike is mostly affecting the national fuel supply and the delivery system. Therefore, there is very little fuel at the gas stations. It is only a good idea to conserve in order to be sure to make it out of France at the end of the week. Yesterday, we were able to fill up and decided to visit the D-day Beaches. As we drove on the freeway, we saw the smoke from strikers burning tires in Caen and the 45+ minute lines to buy fuel at the few stations that still had some petrol. Gary remembers that his late brother Frank was in Paris during 1968 when there were student protests and national strikes that lead to the fall of the DeGaulle government. The ... read more