Day 28: le Baux

The we headed south towards a village called Le Baux. Guarded by a
10th century citadel, this town doesn't allow any cars. So you have to
park outside of town and walk in. Tiny cobble stone streets create a
maze lined with little shops that lead up to the castle. Really glad
weren't too lazy to make the walk.

Day 28: ??

Round 2 of where are Mo and Jon

Took a walk in a fantastic, classic looking little French village
today. The town has created "the Walk of Van Gough", recreating a
number of his works along a marked path. This is the town in which he
painted over 100 masterpieces while he was in the alsylum.

It also happens to be the birthplace of Nostrodamus.

Day 27: ?

From the top of the palace.

Day 27: ?

Today we are going to play "where in the world are Mo and Jon?"

Today we visted the papal palace. The seat of catholic power from 1309
to 1377.

If that's not enough these lyrics may help: "Sur la Pont d'________.
Ont nous danson, ont nous danson"

(pardon my French spelling)

Tomorrow: the mediterranean sea

The pic: ?

Day 27: Chateau de Rocher

Just a really majestic looking chateau just outside Manet called
Chateau de Rocher. It was used as a stronghold for both the French and
English during the hundred years war and sits just on the edge of the
Bouchon de Rhone.

Day 26: Saint Eloy Les Mines

Our campsite in Saint Eloy Les Mines at sunset. Perhaps again too
dark, but that's our tent centerframe on the far shore of the lake.

Day 26: Loire

After we left Versaille, we headed southwest towards Loire Valley.
We made it as far as Blois for dinner. It was getting dark so we
starting looking for a place to stay. Found a great campsite in Onzain.

Had a real easy day today. No real tourist sites. Today just we woke
eay and made great drive through Loire Valley along the river stopping
at a few beautiful chateaus along the way.

This evening we found our next campsite on the shores of beautiful
lake in Saint Eloy Les Mines.

Tomorrow: Provence? (if we can)

The pic: Domaines Haute des Loire, one of the Chateaus we stopped by
today.

Day 24: Louvre

Back by popular demand... Mo! (You'll have to excuse me I'm not at my best, I've been gone for a month, I've been drunk since I've left).. (for any Canadians that understand the referance... ) We left the left 1 month ago today!

So, I'm really not good at the blogging thing but here is a pic of Jon and I at the Louvre in front of my final art history exam (which I aced)!  1 point for anyone who can anyone identify that painting.  2 points if you can interpret its significance.

Spent the morning at la Louvre and although we could have spent the rest of the week there, our feet and backs gave out and we opted for a long drawn out cheese and wine afternoon on a patio.  The rest if the day followed with a similar hectic schedual of sitting in a park (Jardine de Luxemburg), eating gelato and wandering through streets around the Latin Quarter (we did see the Pantheon through our wanders).

Got back to the hotel and upgraded our room to one with a balcony so we opened up another bottle of wine and enjoyed the evening. We did manage to have another drink at another patio this evening before finishing another bottle of wine on the balcony looking over Montmartre while we tried to look into what to do with ourselves for the next month. Jon managed to rent a car for a good price for the next 2.5 weeks, so off we go tomorrow!

Tomorrow: Versaille

The pic: let's here your guesses.

Day 25: hall of mirrors

This is The Hall of Mirrors, upstairs overlooking some of the gardens
at Versaille. They signed some peace treaty after WWI in this room.
Can't remember the name of it ;)

We could go on for days on how beautiful the fountains and the mazes
of gardens were. The scope of this place is Incredible.

One really interesting display was in the Hall of Peace. The walls
were covered with paintings showing the effects of war during the
reign of Louis the IV. Below each painting was a photo of a more
recent event from the last century demonstrating how each scene
depicted on the walls has been repeated in other wars throughout
history. For example, a huge painting showed a woman begging for the
life of her husband to Napolean and under neath would be a photo
depicting something similar from WW II, or a giant painting of
soldiers invading by sea during battle, and below a photo from the
shores of the battle of Normandy. Very interesting and masterfully
done. Truly thought provoking.
Tomorrow: Loire Valley

Day 25: Versaille

Pic 1: mo outside the palace with one of the massive fountains behind
her. Unfortunately they were not running at the time of this pic. They
didn't fire em up til later in the day.

Day 23: Tour de Eiffel

Bought a bottle of wine and baguette sandwiches and had a picnic on the lawn just below the tower.

Tomorrow: The Louvre

Day 23: L'Arc

Jon at Arc de Triomphe

Kind of an interesting day to be at the Arc. Today is the anniversary of the liberation of Paris by the Allied forces during WWII. There were a bunch of WWII vets laying wreaths next to the eternal flame at the tomb of the unknown soldier underneath the Arc.

Day 23: Notre Dame

Unfortunately the iPhone is just about out of juice. No time to text.

Here are three quick pics.

Jon at Notre Dame.

One quick story today though was bumping into Nicolas Sarkozy. As we were walking up to the Cathedral, we could see all the streets in front of the neqrby City Hall being cordoned off, a hundred police in the area, and a croud gathering. We walked up just in time to see the President coming out to get in his motorcade. Before he took off, he got out and shook hands with 10 or 20 people real quick about 15 feet away. Then off he went and one by one each of the other dignitaries took off. Out of the dozens of pics I snapped, only 1 came out.

Day 22: Paris view

Day 22: Paris

Arrived in Paris after a 13 hour bus ride (police checkpoint took
nearly two hours). We caught the metro over to Montmartre section of
town where our hotel is. Montmartre is the artist district of Paris,
where Picaso, Dali, Van Gough, Renoir, Dagas all lived. The movie
"Amelie" was also filmed here. Nearby, however is Pagalle, really
the red light district, sex shops and shows a plenty. The Moulin Rouge
and all. Still, it is a nice hotel and there are plenty of upscale
shops, bakeries and cafes on every corner.

We strolled the streets today. Visted the largest cemetary in Paris
where Alexander Dumas rests. And Ampere and Fourier for you EE nerds.

Then we strolled up L'eglise Sacre-Coeur , an old church that sits
on the highest point in Paris. From there you can just about
everything in Paris.

For dinner we, of course, got ourselves a baguette, cheese and a
bottle of French wine, sat on our balcony and watched the sun go down.

Tomorrow: Boulangeries et Les Rues de Paris

The pic: Mo and I from Sacre-Coeur with Paris behind.

Day 22: Brussels

Sunrise in Brussels. Still on our way to Paris.

The pic: Sacre Coeur Universitie

Day 21: nuther day Luhdorf

Nuther relaxing day in Luhdorf. Cleaned up after party last night
while recovering from the drinking contests. Napped. Re packed the
back packs. Took a little walk. Really just enjoyed our time with
Birsen and Mark, our wonderful and generous hosts.

Right now it is about 10:30 pm and our bus is just leaving for Paris.

Tomorrow: Paris

The pic: probably can't tell, but this at the Hamburg ZOB (central
bus station) and that's Mo in center frame in seat number 1 on the bus.

Day 20: Winsen/Luhe Luhdorf

Birsen and her boyfriend Mark were celebrating with a feast for Mark's 40th birthday. We helped just a bit during the day to set up tables and chairs and Mo helped in the kitchen. In the evening, around 30 people showed up and the bratwurst and beer was brought out. It was great fun talking to all of Birsen and Marks friends, especially Birsen´s coworker Sandra and her husband Thomas. Late in the evening, the drinking contests started. I couldn´t compete.

Tomorrow: An 11 hour bus ride to Paris!

The Pic: Not a good pic, low light at sun set. This is in Birsen and Mark's back yard. They setup 5 long tables in a row for everyone and we ate and drank all night. Really felt like we we're lucky to take part in this authentic German experience.

Day 19: downtown Hamburg

Mo and I hanging out in downtown Hamburg waiting to meet Mo's friend Birsen. Birsen and her boyfriend Mark will be letting us stay at there place for the weekend. You can see the Hamburg Rathaus (city hall) tower behind us.

Day 19: Hamburg station

Just arrived in Hamburg station, where your curried bratwurst comes in three sizes. Large, Extra Large and Extra-Extra Large.

Things about Denmark

Everyone has a bike. There are thousands and thousands of bikes on the roads all the time. Because 1) the entire country is extremely flat 2) cars are expensive to import, everyone bikes everywhere. Mo thinks one of the greatest things is that nobody seems to need the "greatest" new bike or all of the fancy shirts and shorts and gloves and clipless pedals. They just grab an old clunker and go. No need to be extreme or pretend they are.

The whole country just seems more civilized and advanced. Polite. Healthy food options everywhere. People just enjoying the sunshine and being outdoors or getting exercise, a slower pace to things.

Train system is comfy and covenient and easy to figure out.

They make their hot dogs just like Iceland except with pickles.
Delicious.

Smerple is one of the greatest inventions.

"skoal" is how you toast in Danish over a Carlsburg.

- jgt

Day 19: and were off

Just got on the train bound for Padborg, DK. A border town where we
will chage trains to the German track. Be in Hamburg in about 5 hours.

Day 18: cycling

Today we stared out with a traditional Dansk breakfast of bread with
butter, cheese and jam. Lisbeth had the day off and walked us around the old part of the city. Really neat section of Fredericia guarded on one side by the ocean and on the other they built a huge moat with an enormous natural wall of earth about 4 stories tall.

After walking along the moat (now a public park) for a while this led
us to the beach where we relaxed in the sun for a while watch giant
red jelly fish float by.

On the way back we stopped and picked up some Smørrebrød, prounced "smerple". A very delicious, very Danish lunch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sm%C3%B8rrebr%C3%B8d

In the afternoon Mo and I had big plans to bike down the coast.
Borrowed some bikes, got our supplies together, water, mapped our route. Took a few cranks and decided that the tire needed some air.
Pshhhhhhhhhhhhh. Valve stem broke in half. Mo used one of little
Antons picture books to find the word for "bicycle", used that to find
a place to get a tube downtown. Short walk and much frustration later, got the tire changed.

Well that little adventure burned about 2 hours of our cycling time.
We did a shorter route instead that took us out by the ocean and back.
Still really nice.

For dinner we ordered pizza for our gracious hosts and watched
Copenhagen beat Berlin in football.

Tomorrow: Germany

The pic: us biking along a path near the ocean

Day 17: Copenhagen

We never really had any plans to go to Copenhagen, as Lisbeth and
Soren live two hours from here. But, spur of the moment decision last
night put us on a train early this morning. We are realy glad we did.
Spent a relaxing day touring the city, the harbour, down to see The
Little Mermaid, window shopping down a beautiful little cobblestone
street, and just napping in the park. Wrapping up the day now with a
cappuccino at a side walk cafe before we catch the train back to
Fredericia.

A great day!

Tomorrow: cycling

The pic: Us at the harbourside Little Mermaid statue.

Day 16: Lego Land

Today Lisbeth took Mo and I with her 2 year old son Anton to one of his favorite places. Lego Land!!!
It's only a few towns over and huge attraction here. For the most part it's a regular theme park, rides and ice creme and all. The real interesting part are the miniatures made entirely out of legos. Extremely acurate miniature versions of Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Beverly Hills, JFK Space Center, Norway, Mount Rushmore.

They had two places sculpted from Scotland. One was the Eilean Donan Castle that we camped at on our way to Skye. The other Scottish miniature was the tiny fishing called Crail! In the town was the very hotel we stayed in.

In the evening we hung out at Lisbeth, Sorens and Antons. Another wonderful home cooked meal. Had a few beers with Soren and watched the Copenhagen football team beat Cypress in the Euro Cup.

Tomorrow: Copenhagen

The pic: the Lego version of The Eilean Donan Castle and the real one.

Eilean Donan Castle

Day 16: first full DK day

First thing we did was walk down to get a smorgasbord of Danish
danish. Lisbeth picked out 4 or 5 different kinds and 4 or 5 different
kinds of bread for us. My favorite was the "Baker's Bad Eye"

Day 15: Fredericia DK

Here we are. Day 15, country 4. We didn't get a chance to do much today. Morgan's friend Lisbeth picked us up at the airport in Billund, Denmark at around 3:00pm. We had a nice quite evening with Lisbeth and her husband Soeren at their house in Fredericia. Lisbeth and Morgan put together a loverly meal and we spent the evening with some nice Danish beer and the girls got to recall stories of their adventures in Honduras.

Tomorrow: Lego Land

The Pic: Mo and Lisbeth at the airport.

Things I've Learned about Scotland

Apparently there is some law that everyone must own sheep. They are
everywhere.

Be careful where you pee in the Glenlivet National Park. Stinging
nettle lurks.

Bathrooms: they are big fans of the hand dryer. Never once saw a
paper towel dispenser. All the sinks have one spout for hot and
another for cold.

You are constantly under surveilance. Remote cameras are everwhere. Every bar, every elevator, every taxi cab.

No tipping! unfortunatly we didn't find out until the last day that tipping is not expected. Service really has to go above and beyond to be warrented. Explains why every bartender was so suprised after each beer.

The people are incredibally helpful. Everytime we looked lost on a
corner with a map in hand, invariably someone would pass by and offer
to help.

Driving here is insane. The cities are less leathal because the
streets are wider and traffic keeps the speed down. On the narrow,
super winding highland roads, the average speed is about 75. Logging
trucks and tour buses make every corner an adventure. Nearly Stephen
Connor'd the car more than once.

Not every town has a pharmacy, but every town has at least 3 pubs.

The scotch whiskey flavors are as diverse as the landscape of
Scotland. We sampled from the harbors on Skye to the highlands of
Grantown to the Lowlands of Edinburgh. MacCallan, Talisker, Lagavulin,
Dalwhinney, Clynelish, Cragganmore, Cragganmore Reverve, Oban, Oban
Reserve, Singleton, and Glenkinchie. Hard to pick a favorite.

The rain seems to come every day. But it also seems to clear up each
afternoon. When the sun does come out, Scotland gets quite warm.

This time of year, dusk is about 10:30pm.

Slangavar! That's the Celtic toast to "good health".

August is a great time to be in Edinburgh. The festival alone was
worth the trip. They launch fireworks every hour with a finally over
the castle at midnight.

- jgt

Day 14: Edinburgh

Last night we had a blast bar hopping and just wandering around the
old coblestone streets of Edinburgh. At times it felt like we could
turn a corner and walk right into Gringots. (I got that Harry Potter
reference from my nerd wife ;).

In our scotch addled state we had a hankering for some fish and chips.
Unfortunately we also got the breaded and deep fried sausage.

Today we had an easy day. Started out with a stroll through the
oldest hallowed ground in Edinburgh. We were called to the church by
bells like weve never heard before. So beautiful and in such a
beautiful place that they litterally brought tears to the eye.

Then we wandered over to the festival. Tents set up everywhere. Street
performers on every corner. I actually got called up help participate
in a juggling/acrobat/comedy act.

Took a tour of The Scotch Experience on The Royal Mile. Basically the
Disney version of a distillery tour. The tour did end, however, in the
largest collection of scotch in the world though. Over 3000 individual
unique bottles. So that was cool.

Finished up with our last Scottish pub and a couple of pints of John
Smith.

Tomorrow: Denmark

The pic: this a statue of the Greyfriars Bobby. The Greyfriars, from
what I gather, were friars that resided at a church nearby. The
caretaker of the church had a Scottish terrier named Bobby. Upon the
caretakers death he was burrowed at the church he took care of. The
loyal dog would come to the burial site everyday for 14 years, on his
own, and lay at the site of his deceased master. Upon his death, Bobby
too was buried near his master and a statue was erected to his
dedication.

Day 13: the view

Seriously, when we say we got a nice room with a view. This is the
view staight out the hotel window. That's the castle on the cliff
overlooking the bay.

Novotel hotel, Luariston Place.

Day 13: Edinburgh

Wel woke up feeling as though we had made an excelent choice staying
in Crail. People there were so friendly and helpful and even ended up
doing our laundy for us for nothing. We felt warm, dry and rejuvinated
and headed down to Edinburgh. We stopped at Arberdour castle along the
way and toured the castle dated from the 1200's deciding that it was
easily the best cost value tour (free) to date.

We headed into Edinburgh in time for the all the roads to be closed
down for the Edinburgh festival. With nowhere to stay, and a map that
seemed to from another town, and multiple closed roads and detours, we
not only ended up (with major effort) to find the car rental place to
drop off the car, but also found an amazing deal on a hotel by calling
the lowest budget hotel we could find. Since they had no room at the
1 star hotel, they decided to help us out and pull a few strings and
got us in at a very upscale hotel for the same price of 99 pounds. We
arrived at the hotel to find that we had been upgraded again to the
best room in the place that would regularly go for 316 pounds! (I
think thats about $425/night). How lucky are we? We are booked for 2
nights in a posh dead center downtown Edinburgh hotel with an amazing
view of the castle and walking distance from the craziness of the
goings on of the festivals.

Craig you'd be proud of us and the deal we got here.

Seems as though all of Scotland is roaming the streets for the once
yearly festival. So, tonight we are joining the locals, taking in the
town, pub crawling through Edinburgh.

Tomorrow: Edinburgh festivals, the castle and maybe the dungeon.

The pic: A view of Edinburgh castle as seen from the farmers market we
stopped at along the way.

Comments....

Btw, keep the comments on the blog coming. We love reading them.

- jgt & mbm

Day 12: St Andrews and Crail

We woke up in our campground today happy that this was the first night
that it hadn't rained on us.

The rain free didn't last though. By 11:00 it was on again. No matter.
We have a car and are road tripping.

We headed south from Alyth towards Glamis to check out Glamis Castle.
Easily the biggest we've seen so far and in the best shape. We didn't
take the tour but the exterior was imposimg and grounds were immaculate.

From Glamis we headed towards St Andrews. We stopped at 'The Home of
Golf' and pulled into the pro shop. Snapped some pics of the course
and Swilton Bridge from the viewing deck of the restaurant. We were
soggy and wearing at least two day old clothes, so, being a little
stale for this crowd, we scooted before we were asked to leave.

Lunch at the obligatory pub and then down to St Andrews Cathedral and
university. Snapped a few pics there. The rain was still coming down
pretty hard, and since the roof of the cathedral was destroyed a few
centuries ago providing little protection we decided to head out.

We were going to head as far south as Edinburgh, but we came across a
quaint little fishing village called Crail. Crail has a nice little 5
room hotel called The Golf Hotel with little pub in front. Tradition
has it that a pub has stood on this spot since the 14th century.

Tomorrow: Edinburgh

The pic: The St Andrews Cathedral ruins.

Day 11: Grantown-on-Spey

Well, after the pilgramage to Skye yesterday, today was the pilgramage
to Grantown. After a quick breakfast, we made the short drive from
Inverness and toured the town. We drove up to Castle Grant, which
unfortunatly is private property and not on display. So no tour of the
grounds. However, being the exploreres that we are, we roamed the fire
roads near the castle, chasing the herds of sheep out of our way until
we could catch a glimpse, snap a pic, and get a sample of soil to keep.

Went to the Grantown museum to learn a little family history. Stopped
by the first first Grantown tearoom for a wee spot of afternoon tea.

Took a tour of the Cragganmore distillary. Didn't learn much than what
we learned a Oban, but absolutly a different flavor than the seaside
samples.

Off we went for ridiculously scenic drive through the highlands. Can't
even describe the scene of rolling hills a mountains peaked with
clouds and covered with heather. Unbelievable!

Tomorrow: North of Edinburgh

The pic: the north gate of castle Grant. Complete with the "Stand
Fast" crest.

Day 10: Inverness

Listening to some Celtic music at Blackfriars in downtown Inverness.

Day 10: Loch Ness

Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness

Day 10: Isle of Skye and the MacDonald home

Woke up in our slightly soggy campground in the shadow of the Eilean
Donan castle, and went to take a tour in the daylight. Unfortunatly,
Mo became a bit sick and missed a part of the castle while she became
very familiar with several of the WC's in the area.

On to Skye towards Armadale and the clan Donald centre (Mo's
pilgrimage) where the history of clan Macdonald is Archived and
exhibited proudly ( for there is no joy without clan Donald). Toured
the castle and the beautiful grounds as well. Loved it.

Stopped on the shores of Skye to take a little soil home with us.

Drove north for a few hours to Inverness stopping along the shores of
Loch Ness. Very mice, but not nearly as impressive as some of the
other Lochs we've seen so far.

Arrived in Inverness in plenty of time to set up the tent and then to
Blackfriars pub for lamb shank, cullen skink, couple of pints and some
live Scottish music.

Tomorrow: Grant-on-Spey

The pic: The MacDonald family castle, Armadale.

Day 9: almost to Skye

This is a pic of Eilean Donan Castle where we camped for the night.

Day 9: nuther castle

This is a pic of Mo infront of Dunstaffnage Castle on the way to Oban.

Day 9: Oban and Glencoe

Woke up to a traditional Scottish breakfast including blood pudding
and haggis among sausages, ham, eggs, tomatoes, toast, fruit and any
other breakfast item. Way too much food.

Headed north to Oban (with a few detours to some sometimes ficticious
castles, sometimes not) for a tour of the distillary. Lotta fun.
Delicious samples of our Annum Cara scotch. And a better understanding
of where my scotch comes from.

From Oban we headed up north to Glencoe to observe the site of the
MacDonald massacar.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Glencoe?wasRedirected=true
Definately gave pause. Fascinating. From there headed further north
towards Skye with many scenery stops. Not possible to describe the
immense and almost strange and mysterious beauty of this place. So
remote... So incredible.

Tomorrow: Skye

Day 8: Glasgow

Jon and Mo at the Glasgow International Piping Festival coinciding
with Scotland's Homecoming. Celebrating the 250th anniversary of
Robert Burns.

Day 8: Innveray Castle

Innveray castle on the banks of Loch Awe.

Day 8: wet morning, Glasgow

Rained all night, but our tent kept us warm and dry and happy. We
planned to dry out the tent while we did some laundry, but as we were
away for only a few minutes, our tent got drenched. Our clothes were
also pretty wet due to British laundry(not that we had great hopes).
So we stuffed the car with all our wet clothes layed out to dry along
seats and trunk and went to explore glagow.

So, as has tended to happen to us on this trip so far, we keep
stumbling into cool stuff. In Glasgow, we parked the car, got out and
as we walked toward Royal Exchange Square, we heard a piper down the
street. Beckoning us, we happed upon the Glasgow International Piping
Festival. Heard a few pipe and drum bands perform in the square, and
sat with piping hot bowl on haggis, neeps and tatties! In the
Highland style, with a wee dram splashed across the haggis. Excellent.

After wandering through Glasgow we headed up north toward invarray and
took in inveray castle. Unfortunatly our tent was still soaked through
by seven so we pondered alternative accomodations and found a wee b&b
north of invaray In a tiny place called Dalmally. The lady of the tiny
house, Marie, was as typicaly Scottish as they get and was a wonderful
host who also helped us hang our wet tent on her laundry line.

Tomorrow: Oban distillary

Day 7: Glasgow campground

Just a quick pic of a bridge near our campsite just outside Glasgow.

Day 7: Liverpool, or Manchester

Mo's turn at the blog. Let's try this out!

Left London around 5:00 yesterday and drove near towns such as Woburn,
Reading and Winchester on our way up north. Spent the night in a
quiet space outside of Liverpool last night and headed to the city in
the morn. Took a stroll (I thought Liverpool was quite dreary and
grim). Past by Blackpool ( proud mum?) Headed up to Glasgow but took
our time stopping at several spots including for a picnic in Gretna at
the base of Scotland. Found a lovely place to set up camp just
outside of Glasgow and headed into the city for a pint and some food.
We both love Glasgow so far and are looking forward to exploring more
tomorrow. The Burns "homecoming" year seems all around too, so should
be fun! Looks like we may be in for a wet night tonight!

The pic below was taken this morning. It was hot and beautiful out!

Tomorrow: castle hunting.

Day 6: still England

So we got up early and headed to an Internet cafe since the guy at the
front desk said we'd find better deals on renting a car that way.
Turns out we don't know what were doing since orbitz.co.uk and
travelocity and expedia were no good and Avis budget and enterprise
were sold out.

We walked to a car place and they said to maybe try back a 3 pm. So
we had another half day in London. What to do, what to do. We decided
to check out The London Bridge and The Tower of London. Got a lot of
history on how the tower was built, how it has grown, how it's burned
and been rebuilt.

Back to to the car rental place and, as luck would have it, got a
Vectra.

So, my first left handed driving experience started in the heart of
downtown London at rush hour. Holy moly! Stress case. Managed to get
out of London only hitting 1 curb.

Now were off! Out of London and heading north towards Scotland. Well
see how far we make it.

Pic: Mo pointing at the gate from the river Thames leading into the
great prison.

Day 5: tourist sites and pubs

So we got up early in our 84 sq. ft. Hotel room in Kings Cross,
downtown London. Light break fast, toast cheese and tomatoes. By now
we've mastered The Tube (mind the gap). Headed out to Westminster. Saw
St Stephens along the Thames and then saw the Abbey and Jewel tower.
In the abbey we saw all the old burial sites for all the kings, queens
and poets in English history. In jewel tower we saw the official
weights and measures for England. The official pound against which all
other pounds are measured. Pretty neat.

Stopped by a pub for a beer, some fish and chips, and watch a little
of the England v Australia cricket test match. Great pub, good fish.

Then we saw Buckingham Palace and walked through the gardens in Hyde
park.

Headed back towards the hotel where we walked around a bit and found
Trafalga Square and Leicester Square (theater district). Crazy hopping
with activity, everyone dressed to the nines. We, in clothes that are
not only dressed down but also haven't been washed in while, decided
not to catch a show. Instead just headed back to the pub for a Guiness
Red before turning in.

Attached is pic of Mo listening to the audio tour of Westminster Abbey
with the beautifully adorned ceiling above. Currently standing near
the once resting places of King Henry VII and Oliver Cromwell.

Tomorrow: Scotland

Day 4: London

Well after a wild day of planes, trains, automobiles and a healthy
dose of rain, we are finally here at our first English pub having our
first English beer.

Took a bit to get here though....

Landed at Heathrow after a short delay in the air at about 8:20 pm
local time. Took the Underground out about an hour to what I thought
was our stop. Another passanger informed us that the station
announcements were off and we had missed our station. Took a bus (one
of the classic double deckers) a few blocks south to Kings Cross where
we still had 5 block walk to get to our hotel. All this in the pouring
rain. Didn't get there til after 11.

It all worked out in the end since there was a great pub called
O'Neills (ok it Irish, not English) right around the corner open til 1.

Tomorrow: Westminster

Day 4: London

Day 4: hot springs and London

Let me first say that Iceland was amazing. We had so mu h fun there
and thanks to Freyja and Gunnar we saw more in 3 days than any tourist
has.

So, today Freyja picked us up and took us to a popular tourist spot.
It's a natural hot spring called Blue Lagoon, with a beautiful milky
blue water. Water was the temperature of hot jaccuzzi water and there
is a calcified mud that builds up on the edge of the 1 acre pool that
is said to be good for your skin. So the folks in the pool that are on
the know and don't mind looking silly, swim to the edge and slap white
mud all over their face.

Day 3: see....

See, we didn't just download pics off the Internet. We were actually
there!! Or at least superimposed.

Day 3: waterfall 3

Holy moly! The Gullfoss waterfall is massive. Spray everywhere. The
sound deafening. Niagra is the only thing I've seen comprable, only
this has thick lush green moss everywhere around it.

Andrew, you would just love this place.

After this last tourist spot, Freyja and Gunnar took us out to a
fantasitic three course lobster dinner overlooking the ocean. Perfect
ending to busy day.

Tomorrow: the blue lagoon spa and London.