Closing Out Our European Adventure, Summer 2019...

• 30 Days
• 6 Countries
• 8 Airports
• 5 Planes
• 23 Cities/Towns
• 9 Places of Accommodations
• 27 Train Stations
• 26 Train Rides
• 13 Trams
• 10 Taxis
• 7 Cars
• 7 Buses
• 6 Shuttle Buses
• 6 Subways
• 6 Highway Tolls
• 4 Gondolas (Cable Cars)
• 2 Boat Rides

• 7 Castles
• 7 Palaces
• 12 Churches/Cathedrals
• 16 Museums 

• 41 Souvenir Magnets - we bought magnets everywhere we visited. 
• 2500+ Photos Taken! YES - 2500+ !

• Seeing 3 families of wonderful friends - 2 in England and 1 in Germany: THANK YOU Meachams, Wests, and Reads so very much for your hospitality, fun, care, and love!! It was fabulous. Your turn to visit us, now!!

• We took a boat ride on the Thames, dipped our feet in the English Channel, played in the North Sea in Scotland, enjoyed the incredible beach of the Mediterranean Sea at Cassis in the South of France, toured Geneva via boat on Lake Geneva, and swam in the Danube River in Vienna.

• Our thanks go to many, many people for helping to make this trip possible. With your generosity and support, we were able to have an adventure that has changed our lives. Seeing the incredible wonder of our world is priceless and a real treasure for us all! Thank you to DD and PopPop (my parents), Don Bradway (traveler extraordinaire - who shared his expertise for planning this trip with me), Deb Meacham (who helped me in buying tickets for flights, trains, etc!), Hilton Presbyterian Church - whose generosity absolutely astounded us and made so much possible!, Sara and David Coxe - who kept our car, picked us up, and let us stay when we returned, and all those cheering us on and supporting us throughout the planning and actual adventure!

Berlin—artistic, eclectic, historic, and modern

Our last stop brought us to Berlin. A city of art, history, memorials, modernity and building like crazy...it was great to experience! And the best of all, to connect with Clark’s college roommate, Mike, 30 years later and meet his wonderful family. We started in England with my childhood friend and ended here with Clark’s college pal—pretty cool!!

We loved how the city is big and open, sprawling really, and while lots of people, the roads are wide with room for all the bicyclists (unlike London and Paris). Clark drove in the city center and managed fine.

We found the Memorial to the murdered Jews stunning. The Brandenburg Gate impressive, especially learning its history and that of the country’s desire for independence from royal governance. The German History Museum is unbelievable—its scope goes on and on. Josiah especially was enthralled! I loved the Reformation stuff and Luther documents. We went on to Museum Island and went to the Pergamum, where the Gate to Babylon installation stands. OMDL! So incredible! We even indulged the kids and hit Legoland, where the city of Berlin in Legos is nothing short of amazing, too. Our last day, we went with Mike and the girls to the German spy museum, which had some of the coolest exhibits ever...so much “cloak-and-dagger” stuff, 007 stuff, interesting Cold War history, spy swap details, gadgets, etc. Really fascinating and Berlin very much at the heart of it all!

You’d think that was all enough, but upon arrival, we got to enjoy Mike’s delicious cooking, too—yummy vegetarian lasagna with zucchini that we all devoured, and they made me a birthday cake to celebrate. So thoughtful and kind!! It was terrific! And another night we had burgers and traditional German brats—so good—and fantastic potato salad. For our last night, we went out to this fabulous Thai place; we decided we will have to do Thai back home more regularly 😀. It was a superb last stop, and we are so grateful for having chosen it to end our adventure!

Pictures on FB to go with post...and I’ll do one last post as a conclusion soon!!

A Solemn Stop ...

On our way to Berlin Sunday —a long driving day (longest of the trip)—we stopped. At Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. It seemed like the right thing to go there, and it was really something. Moving and serious, but also a place for reflection and provoking thoughtful conversation. We walked through the site, struck by the gateway (replica now of original), and how awful Hitler’s “plans” truly were. The place has created clear and explicit exhibits of what he intended, what occurred there, and what happened with those who resisted. Dachau was a prison labor camp, not extermination site, but many still died there. And it was open a dozen years—the first place he opened, until Allied forces liberated it. To illustrate the scale of how awful—it was meant for 6000 “workers” (prisoners made slaves!!) and when liberated, there were 32,000 there.
Going there was hard but important and significant—we cannot forget what genocide and racism and prejudice and xenophobia breed. We cannot. And having this site as a place to remember and learn and reflect helps the world not to forget and to work to ensure that the respect and dignity of all human beings happens across the globe. We are all responsible for that! May we work on it together.

Beauty in Bavaria—

We traveled by train from Vienna to Munich, rented a car (navigating major construction in the city), and made our way South to Schwangau. Land of King Ludwig II’s castles. WOW! The beauty of Bavaria astounds. Gorgeous hills, the mountains soaring beyond, the farms and flowers ...all of it. And we arrived ready for our days here, as we got our first views from afar of the castles. Neuschwanstein is the one he built and died before it’s completion. The Disneyland castle is modeled after this; guessing Walt had been here (I haven’t looked it up). And Hohenschwangau was Ludwig’s childhood home, especially during summer. We visited them both our second day. Just incredible!! The views, setting, the scale and workmanship inside...pretty incredible! Ludwig seemed rather unstable; it’s a sad story really, but he created beauty within the beauty around him remarkably even still. It was really neat to see it all. His childhood home is gorgeous, too, and we had a tour guide who was fantastic. Just a wondrous day!

Then, we headed over to the Tegelberg toboggan run—a metal sled you control that’s on a 700 meter curvy course...too FUN! We all made runs. And commented about how in the states, the rules would be far more strict...they simply had a sign with a few rules about not sticking out your feet, holding onto the gear thing, and you ride at your risk. No helmets, no waivers...just fun. And it was!

The other big adventure was the next day to travel to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and go up the Zugspitze—highest mountain Alp in Germany. At just under 10,000 ft, the air was thinner and cooler up there! We rode the train partway, then Josiah, India, and I took the gondola—cable car to the top. Eli and Clark continued on train, which included nearly 5 km (3+ miles) in a tunnel. We all met at the glacier and enjoyed the amazing views. Then, we headed back to the top to walk on up to the summit view. We went to the Austrian border side, too, up there. Eli and Clark rode the train back. And we met up for the last part of the ride to G-P to get the car. The mountains are breathtaking, reminding me of the Rockies some. It was a great day’s journey!

Our time included good restaurants for Bavarian food (hearty!) and even Italian one night, also. We

loved all that we experienced and then turned our thoughts to our last big stop—Berlin. I’ll post some pics, too. See FB 😀.

Music Giants, the Hapsburgs, Gustav Klimt, and special Coffee

Talking about Vienna — of course!

We arrived on Sunday afternoon, found our way to our apartment, an older place, but roomy and comfortable, and got a recommendation for a restaurant with traditional Austrian fare. We got settled and off we were for dinner. Salm Braü. What an intro to Austrian food!! They know beer and food. Yum! The meal even was finished with shots of apple liquor—I think what we’d call an aperitif, or after-dinner shot. And it was for all of us. A tradition there we gathered for all at their guests when the meal ends. Delicious!
So, our Viennese adventure had begun. We made preparations for our next day’s plans and got to bed.

Monday: We experienced Vienna’s amazing public transpo system quickly—having already taken the train from airport to our apartment...now, we bought tix for the tram system. Basically like a train/subway but above ground. Go everywhere!! And tix just cost for Clark and me—3 day tix that’s good for tram, train, subway, and bus anywhere in city/area, less than $40. Kids ride free! Boy, do we in the U.S. need to learn!
We went to the city center, had a lovely breakfast—apricot juice is quite good—then went to the Hapsburg Winter Palace. Heldenplatz area...the Hofburg Palace it is—where they lived...Sisi married Franz Joseph, I think I’ve got that right, and it’s a sad tale for her really. She was lonely and reclusive, in her Royal, obligatory life. But she wanted for nothing. Holy cow, the silver collection! And plates and gold candelabra ...oh my! Following that, we walked through all the beauty and splendor of the area outside, through the pedestrian walking streets—posh shopping here—and down by the river to take the Yellow Tram Ringstrasse Tour. This tram is a 25 minute tram tour around the city, to orient you to Vienna and all its sites...it follows the famous street that goes around city center, I.e.—Ringstrasse. It was great! Clark had found this tour option, and we were so glad he did. Then, we headed home for lunch there (stop at grocery, too), and hanging out before the later afternoon/evening plans.
Our Monday continued with getting ready for more...we headed again to city center—Josiah commented at some point that Vienna is built like a “target”—bullseye center with things in circles moving out, our, further out, etc from it. If you see a map, he’s kind of right. So, we found our way to the Haus der Musick. That is, House of Music—a museum dedicated to music. And it was fabulous! It covered the history of the Vienna Philharmonic, the Opera, then the way we hear sound and music, the technology and science of it, anatomy even, then the music giants of Vienna—Strauss, Beethoven, Mozart, Mahler, Haydn...WOW! It was interactive and informative and fun and educational and inspiring. So cool! Definitely a highlight. After, we went for dinner, including dessert—a leisurely meal—then walked to the Musickverein, the site where composers directed, including Mozart!, and we saw the Mozart Orchestra. Fantastic concert to a full house. In period costume, they played and included opera numbers, too. From “Don Giovanni” and “The Magic Flute.” It was sensational. What a day!
Vienna began well indeed.

Tuesday:
We went to the city outskirts to the Hapsburg’s Summer residence—goodness! Schönbrunn Palace rivals Versailles. No lie!! The gardens and it’s Gloriette...and that’s just the outside. My word. It was resplendent. Truly! Took a couple trams to get there and again to get back, but this time we went into the city for lunch. Headed home after for a bit, and then, we took our adventure in a “locals” direction...we took the train out to a neighborhood on out, by the Danube, then a short bus ride, to go swimming! We found a little river-side park...pay to enter but fairly inexpensive, so we did, and found our shady spot to hang out and go swimming “an der Alten Donau.” On the Old Danube. They had floating docks/piers you could walk out on and jump off, swim to, etc. It was refreshing and relaxing. We were clearly among locals more than tourists, folks out to enjoy the afternoon and get cool on a relatively hot day. It was great fun! After a couple hours, we went home and declared day two a great time, as well.

Wednesday:
We chose another palace this morning, but this one—The Belvedere—was that of the Prince of Savoy of the 17th-18th c., and it’s been converted into a museum. Where the largest collection of Gustav Klimt’s work is displayed. Arguably Austria’s most significant painter, Klimt’s work is beautiful, especially in this setting. And there was so much more, too. Rodin’s “Eve” is here. A painter, Helene Funke, whose work I loved. Some more Monet, Renoir...it was terrific. Gorgeous place for it, art in itself, too, really. Following that, we went to city center to the Museumquartier, where we discovered the museum passageways that India read about; art installations that change, that are located in the vaulted, passageways—tunnel-like—between buildings in this complex. Funky, bright, fun, innovative...very cool! They were neat to see. Then, we headed to the historic Cafe Central—origins 1876—Trotsky and Freud had coffee here. It was an experience!! I had real Viennese coffee. Yum! And the food was grand. So proud of the kids —Josiah had a meal of roasted veal liver with an apple, bacon sauce, crispy fried onions, and potatoes that he absolutely loved. And then dessert. OMDL!
So—you’d think this was enough, but no, on we went to the Natural History Museum. Eli really wanted to go here, and we are all so happy we did! We’ve seen some mineral/gem collections before (think Smithsonian) but OMDL—nothing like this. Seriously!! It was unreal. And their exhibits of animals, bugs (yuck!), dinosaurs...it was fabulous. They have a statue of a woman that’s 32,000 years old!! So amazing this place.
And so, after all that, as we made our way to the tram to get home, we stopped at the famed Bösendorfer brand piano store. Those are some pretty pianos! Once home, we all agreed that Vienna had been simply wonderful...so many fabulous sites and things to experience! It’s a glorious city!!
I will post pics on FB to share our delight ~

Swiss Treats Abound...

Our journey in Switzerland only included Geneva, so we planned to make the most of it. And as already mentioned, getting there was tense with the rental car return. We had to return on the Grench side of the airport, and with no signage, it was a feat. But the adventure didn’t end there! Turns out, as the airport/security guy told us, without a boarding pass, we’re not to go through the airport into the Swiss side to the train station and on into the city. A fact the rental company neglected to share. They said it’d be fine. He explained that this is actually a big “war between airport and rental car people usually but not today”... to which I said, “because you’re being kind and letting us through?!” And he said, “Yes!”
Grace. Indeed. In the city of Calvin, no less.
I did ask what we would’ve had to do—go back out, get a taxi, pay like $50 and be driven over. Instead, we found the train (with the help of another airport employee further on the way), and paid $0...yes, zero!, to go the city center train station and then walk the remaining five or so minutes to our hotel. Big shout out of Thanks to Doug Baker for the hotel rec — close to everything, easy, and relatively-speaking, reasonable (in Geneva, all things are costly!!). They gave us public transportation cards for our time in the city—free on all trains, trams, water taxi, buses—because it’s free for everyone!!, yet we didn’t even need it because we walked everywhere; the hotel was located conveniently enough to do so!
We got settled, then set out for early dinner. Found the tributaries to the Lake and ate at a small little cafe next to the water. Nice guy who shared good info about getting to the sites to see, suggesting the boat tour. Definitely some sticker shock about prices, though we’d been warned. Goodness, people must make lots of money here! Of course, we noticed, too, the city is quite clean, transportation is free, education is pretty great—kids learning 3-4 languages, family leave for mom’s and dad’s, healthcare for all, and in our short visit, we didn’t see a single homeless person. That’s not to say there are none. But we did not see one. After our meal, we walked to the water, finding Lake Geneva simply beautiful! India and Eli rode the Ferris Wheel, and we all enjoyed their “urban nature” swings by the water. We were struck by the Eau d’Jet—the huge water spout and the many swans. I’ve not seen so many at once.
Our second day had us up early to visit all the Reformed treasures plus: we walked to the old town area first and St. Pierre’s Cathedral, where Calvin preached. What a glorious church! And we were greeted with the organist practicing for an evening concert. We toured around, then climbed the South and North towers...many, many windy, small steps, seeing the bells and the panorama views of the entire city. Gorgeous! After, we explored the archeological exhibit/excavation site that is beneath the Cathedral, that chronicles the excavation done from 1976...wow! It shows how a church/Cathedral existed since 6th c. Quite remarkable work done. The kids really enjoyed this! And then, headed over to the Museum of the Reformation. Well-done, as well...I was surprised that is a private collection. Very impressive morning! Josiah called St. Pierre’s our tradition’s “mother” church and St. Gile’s in Edinburgh, the “daughter” 😀!
Following all that, we were hungry. And went to the Hotel Amures restaurant outside, around the corner. Fancy, treat for a meal, and what a meal!! We had traditional cheese fondue, veal, steak, fish, and even escargots! Dipping bread and potatoes in Swiss-style cheese fondue...OMDL! This restaurant has its origins in the 18th c., too, which is incredible.
So...you’d think we were ready for a nap, but off we went, browsing through old town, wandering our way down to the Lake again. And there we took the boat loop tour on the Lake. It was about an hour, seeing Geneva and the area around from the water. We traveled up close to the water jet—gets the spray!—and it was another lovely way to see the city. We had fabulous weather the entire time.
Our way home included a stop at the famous Favarger chocolate store. Since 1826, making chocolate that is nothing short of divine! French macarons, Swiss chocolate...my goodness, we are lucky indeed!
For such a short stop, Geneva proved full of gifts for us! To those who down-play it as a worthwhile place on a journey, I’d say re-consider. It’s vibrant, international, has an ease and peace, with history worth exploring. Certainly there are many other stops in Switzerland, but this one served us well as the singular place we could see, especially with our Reformed interest,  in this month-long journey. Here’s to Swiss treats!!
Pics to go along on FB ~

P.S.  — I know Clark is ahead in posting stuff, but thought I’d keep blogging nonetheless.

Provence ~ I’ll take this provincial life...

The South of France met us with bright sun that lasted our whole time there, and it was everything and more than I certainly anticipated. In some ways, like the SW of the US...red rocks of a town named Roussillon have it dubbed the “Colorado” of Provence. But I’d say more Utah-esque. It’s dry and breezy. Old towns with tiny roads, few - very few! - guardrails, like Eastern KY! And parking garages with spaces created of so little sq feet, it’s astonishing. Engineering marvels that Clark handled well, as we enjoyed travel by rental car all over the region, from Aix-en-Provence all the way to Geneva. The driving on major highways was fine; the tolls are crazy—$30 for one of them!! There’s a way to pay for healthcare and education. We named our very nice vehicle Remy, and it really served us well!
We traveled by TGV high speed train from Paris to Aix. That train is incredibly nice and fast. Then we got the car and explored the town of Aix. How charming!! Beautiful, old world style and feeling. Toured the Cathedral and then headed to our rental villa about 25 miles out of town in a small village.  So lovely. A three bedroom cottage (house!), full kitchen, swimming pool, outside garden and porch/deck...I will take this provincial life indeed!
We spent our days soaking up the region, including going South to the Mediterranean Sea one day...Plage de la Grand Mer at Cassis. Wow! The blue-green turquoise Sea, clear as clear can be, pebbly/sand beach, formed as a bay-like area with cliffs rising up high on either side. Such fun!! We took our second day at Aix afterward, exploring the historic streets, eating, and browsing the shops.
A day North took us to the Abbaye Notre Dame de Sénanque, where the lavender fields are beyond gorgeous and happens to be a working monastery, just some 7-800 years old. The travel there was beautiful, twisty roads, through little towns and endless vineyard fields. We toured the Abbey, then stopped in Gordes, Lourmarin, toured the Chateau Lourmarin, and made our way home. Glorious day in the heart of Provence.
Our travel to Geneva was fine until entering the city. More precisely, the airport. We had to return on the French side, per the rental company directions, and so after already crossing the Swiss border —which cost 40 euros we were unaware of ($50, give or take! there’s an immigration process for ya) — you have to navigate to the rental return. Well, there are no signs. I mean, NONE. That was our most difficult traveling stuff to deal with (so far—hopefully, at all!), but we managed. We learned another guy took like an hour to figure it out. For us, it was about 15 minutes. So, not too awful. I owe much to the children for reading the GPS map more nimbly and quickly than I to tell Clark the right twist and turns!
But that begins our Geneva adventure...the South of France was truly marvelous, and we all found it a place of much natural beauty and wonder, a place to enjoy the Sea, hills, and vale! We are grateful for those days!

Mona Lisa Monday...

Last day in Paris brought us to the Louvre. And of course, to see Mona Lisa. And Venus. And the Egyptian tombs and artifacts and Roman and Greek statues and delicate vases and nearly 5000 year old stuff. OMDL!! As much as Musee d’Orsay touches my soul, the Louvre knocks-your-socks, too, because of its breadth and depth and expansiveness as a facility and then its collections...wow! Definitely impressed. And while lots of people, we weren’t overrun or felt uncomfortable. It was a great beginning to the day! Lots of fun.
And our big walking day continued as we headed on to eat lunch at a cafe, then walked on through Tuileries Gardens. Lovely—more of a Park than gardens ...India and I rode the carousel even—Parisian carousel! We walked all the way up the Avenue des Champs-Èlysee. It was a beautiful day, tree-lined avenue, headed toward the Arc de Triomphe. We were struck by how much this area starts to look like NYC or DC or any big, metro city shopping area, particularly a high-end one- with expensive stores, security guards monitoring and controlling excess...and quite busy. Less old, historic buildings here. Newer, upscale, and modern.
Special Treat time: We did go into Laduree—a bakery specializing in macarons since 1863. They have multiple locations, but this is their flagship store. The boys waited for India and me. It was a longggg line! These macarons have a reputation to be the best in the world!! And they should because they cost. We bought an assortment; you can choose the flavors. And oh my dear ...yes, OMDL, they are fantastic! How they get the outside so light and delicious and the creme filling so flavorful...wow! Heaven in a dessert cookie!
We finished our journey to the Arc and marveled at the “spokes” of roads and all the cars/traffic coming around and ‘round...it’s really something. And then, we headed back and decided our walking extravaganza for the day had earned a taxi ride home.
Paris has been a wonderful city to experience together. What history, culture, art, and beauty, as well as wonderfully kind Parisians we’ve encountered. It’s been a dream! On to the South and Provence ~

Viva La France!

Friday Flying to France...
We headed off to the city of light — Paris! — on Friday, and it was a long travel day, though not too difficult. A lot of waiting. It strikes me that there is more going-and-waiting when traveling from one place to another than I’ve thought about before now. Once we landed, the traffic into the city was familiar; it was Friday afternoon! But we arrived at our apartment and were shown the gadgets and ways of things by our host, Mr. Lilian. A nice guy who was friendly and pleased to share about the area and info to help us, which was great! Our apartment is in a word, cozy. But I like it — it has all that we need with everything in its place. It’s cute like that! Pretty sure we couldn’t live here long-term (Ha!), but 4 nights, no problem. And it even has a dishwasher (mini one) and a washing machine!

We hit the ground running, and after settling in, headed out for dinner and to the Eiffel Tower. We successfully navigated the subway, found ourselves at a neighborhood, family-run restaurant featuring pasta/Italian style food actually, and it was delicious! Then, walked on to the Tower through the park in front of it. Our first view of it stopped us short; it’s so striking—bigger than life it seems. There’s a lot of construction around, which detracts a bit, but not enough to hinder the overall feeling. We headed up to the second summit and what terrific views. Truly a lifetime experience. India and Clark went all the way to the top, while the boys and I hung out and waited for them. By then, it was after 11 p.m, the lights were glittering yellow and blinking away all over it — extra fantastic! We’d seen the sunset and the Tower lit. Too cool! By the time we made it “home” via taxi with a super kind taxi driver, it was near 12:30 a.m. and we were bushed! But what an intro to this city and country.

Day 2: Palace at Versailles ~ In a word, Opulent. Another, majestic. A third, excessive. OMDL!!!
Gold and gold leaf and paintings 20 feet tall, and on ceilings and boy, Louis XIV thought something of himself!! Gorgeous gardens. The Hall of Mirrors was my favorite, probably all of ours. The war room that tells the history of France provides great information in such an interesting way, as it’s in paintings. And we thought about how major treaties were signed in this location and what historical figures came here for those meetings, were likely in the rooms we walked through, like the Council Salon. Cool!

We made our way there easily through subway and train and were struck by the masses of people. We had reserved tickets and still waited 1 hour to get through security before making entrance. When we left, the line was more than twice as long as when we were in it hours before!! This is the only place we’ve waited so very long, and we definitely felt the mass of folks. While glad to have gone, that kind of crowd was not so pleasant. We returned to the city and enjoyed lunch at a traditional Parisian cafe —sitting outside, on the sidewalk like you do. We’ve encountered lovely Parisians who are helpful, as we don’t speak French but try to be polite, and they are genuinely kind and usually speak fair amounts of English, if not a lot even, and well, too! I wish we did. We enjoyed our meal and returned home to catch up on rest. Clark and I explored the local grocery, which was fun.

Bastille Day: Or as it’s called here —Fete Nationale. July 14th is France’s “Independence Day” (like our July 4th!), and it was Sunday. They hold a huge parade on the Avenue Champs Elysee, President Macron came, 3500 military troops, helicopters, etc...and while all that was going on, we avoided the crowds there and were 4th in line at the Musee d’Orsay. This museum has art from 1848-1920 or so. All the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists greats!! Monet, Manet, VanGogh, Renoir, Pissarro, Cezanne, Seurat, Cassatt, and the best sculptors—Rodin and Degas especially. WOW WOW WOW!! It was splendid and beautiful, and we loved it! This was a lifetime experience for me. I absolutely love these artists and their work. Bonus—the limited special exhibit was the work of Berthe Morisot. Lesser known but important female artist, who also was a patron, helping the other impressionists to get their work shown. The museum is showing her work to highlight women and their role in the arts. Viva la femme!  The museum itself is in the old train station, and that makes it fabulous, too. The large clocks on the building are still working and awesome! We ate at the cafe that is art nouveau in decor—so chic. And yummy food!

We walked along the Seine toward the Ile de la Cite, where Saint Chappelle and Norte Dame stand. Lovely walk. Beautiful river views with all the bridges! We made it to Saint Chappelle and the stained glass is nothing short of magnificent. Some 1000+ biblical stories depicted. Truly unreal. And we walked as close to Notre Dame as possible — still beautiful. But wounded. We could see the light  of the sky through the side windows now and the exposed flying buttresses...strange really. But kind of neat to be able to see before all the massive scaffolding and reconstruction materials that will surely be covering it soon and likely for years to come.

We made our way home, walking all the way — glorious really to stroll through Paris as a family seeing all these fantastic sites together. Our Bastille Day ended with hanging out together and venturing out again for shorter night walk and ice cream. Seems like a good way to finish a grand day. We’ve one more full day, and the Louvre is on the menu. Can’t wait. Paris is treating us well!

City Built on a Rock & Sunset at 11 ...

SCOTLAND — Yes, I’m talking about Edinburgh, specifically, and maybe 11:00 is stretching it a bit...but not by much! It’s light forever here!! Made for days to soak up all the wonder that we could in our short time here. And we all agree that this country deserves another trip all by itself!!
We hit all the high spots in the Old City and enjoyed a day in St. Andrew’s, too. Our apartment “home” was fantastic—on the Royal Mile basically, within 500 feet of Edinburgh Castle, 200 yr old building, tall ceilings, huge generally, full kitchen, and several stories above Victoria St. down below in Grassmarket area, believed to have inspired Diagon Alley of “Harry Potter” fame! So cool! I told the family to expect decidedly smaller digs in Paris.
Our take-aways from the sights:
The Castle—

• The big cannon, Mons Meg, is taller than India!
• St. Margaret’s Chapel is small, peaceful, and beautiful amidst the huge grounds
• The war museum and its tributes to soldiers lost is solemn and reverent
• The views looking out over the city are expansive and gorgeous —we had surprising and atypical weather for Scotland...sun and 70’s! Who says it rains here?!
• The Crown Jewels are not quite as lustrous as those at the Tower in London but exquisite nonetheless!
• The prison spaces, especially the solitary confinement area, is creepy to see
• Seeing the braziers lit at night (which we did our last night on a walk, not while touring it) made us imagine what it would’ve looked like with torches lit so long ago. Very cool!!

 St. Gile’s Cathedral—

• Lovely to see the birthplace of Presbyterianism from the Scots
• Beautiful architecture. 
• Not as grand as Westminster Abbey, though Chapel of the Thistle inside is pretty ornate
• John Knox’s influence and that of the whole church on independence for the nation apart from England really influenced us as a nation historically—that was interesting in seeing/reading the history as displayed there and at...

John Knox House—

• I loved this place. Though history debated about actual residents and occupation, the house itself holds fascinating history, artifacts, story, and remains largely intact. So neat!
• And the exhibits are easy to view and enjoy. Even clothes to don as Knox, himself! 
• The rancor between Mary Queen of Scots and Knox became overwhelming, as neither would yield. Of course, Mary has to face her own problems in the South, and ultimately finds herself beheaded!

Palace at Holyrood House—

• Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace more impressive, BUT Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s  wedding attire (and the children’s bridal party outfits) just arrived on special exhibit, so that was fun to see! 
• AND the ruins of the Abbey here—WOW...ancient feeling with a haunting beauty almost
• Lovely gardens, too

Greyfriars Cemetery is cool, where a part of the city’s original Flodden Wall still stands. The church at Greyfriars is the oldest church still operating, post-Reformation. And a place we ate—the Last Drop—has been a pub at least a few 100 years! India was intrigued by the gorgeous and soft cashmere peddled all over, and Eli wanted to explore for a comic-book store. It was funny, for you GoT fans...he found one (or thought so) on-line called Wolf and Dragon, and we found our way there; it was all the “Game of Thrones” merchandise you could ever want or need!! Or not!! Too funny because he is currently reading the series.

So—sorry this is so long, but boy, we just loved everything ...and we really got lucky with weather—it truly was sunny and 70’s pretty much the whole time except our arrival with a little drizzle.

St. Andrew’s—

• The Cathedral: it’s ruins more than an actual building..and it’s wondrous. Talk about haunting...in the sense of holding about 900 years of history in its literal foundation...and the stones/tombs among it
• St. Rule’s Tower: remains intact, and we went up it—a building 960 years old! OMDL!! Curvy staircase to a view of this charming town, where golf was born, and the North Sea slams into the shore, at points calmly rolling up and at others, hitting harder, breaking onto the rocky shelf edge it meets. The climb was 166 steps and remarkable to think they built this all those years ago. 
• The Castle: it’s ruins, too, but more remains than the Cathedral...cool because it’s right on the Sea...up a bit high from it, and neat heights of the various parts to it
• Balgove Larder: Sometimes social media is pretty great—a college friend, Kim Bean, posted a couple weeks before we left that she was at this place and how good it was. So, I looked it up. Made a note. Well, off we went. Farm, butcher, cafe, steak barn, flower shop...we ate our big meal at the Steak Barn there. WOW! Josiah said best burger of his life! It was a beef pattie, lamb pattie, bacon, blue murder cheese, cheddar, and mozzarella. OMDL! India and I had lamb burgers with a sheep cheese and avocado, and Clark and Eli had steaks. Really fantastic!! My Uncle John (who was a beef specialist/prof at Va Tech) would’ve approved, for sure.
• The Old Course of golf — a tourist site indeed but where golfers go on about game, too; a course that defines “links” golf and has when it began it! The tradition is thick here.
• The North Sea: we walked down to touch the Sea and found it less cold than expected, the beach quite wide (was low tide), and the sand squishy. 

After returning to Edinburgh, our adventures ended with a different kind of tour — one of Mary King’s Close. The “closes” or “wynds” are the alleyways that spoke off from the main street, i.e. the Royal Mile. We went underground a story or two and were guided through how people lived in these spaces some 300-400 years ago. And they did so 10 stories high! Amazing! Our guide was great. 

And that’s more than you probably wanted to know. But we loved it and happy to share! 

Wrapping-up London...

After Harry Potter Studio —

Wrapping-up includes Westminster Abbey —

We headed to the center of London again to complete any last ventures there. A quick stop at the British Museum was first up. Of course we could spend a year there, and Clark enjoyed seeing some fascinating old coins and clocks—one nearly 500 years old and still working!—but then we scurried on to Westminster Abbey. Figured we better not miss one of the most prominent churches in the world! 

It’s glorious in many ways, yet strange or odd, too, as Clark remarked...so many tombs/graves that make-up its make-up literally. Eli spied Isaac Newton’s stone, and about the time he did, we met one of the priests. He pointed out where they memorialized Stephen Hawking’s ashes just nearby Newton last year, then quizzed the kids on who will inherit the throne after Elizabeth and directed us to where we’d see the Coronation chair at the other end of the church. He answered some questions I had—did you know the oldest part of it is 730 years, give or take?!  And we chatted about the stone that commemorates Nelson Mandela. It says “Forgiveness Reconciliation” and, yes, made me cry nearly! So glad we went.

We made our way about a little to end our city time and then headed back to our “home base” in Esher for our last night. It’s been a joy and real blessing to get to stay with my childhood friend, Deb, and her family during our London days. She and I have been friends since 3rd grade and were roommates our 2nd year at W&M. So, it really was great to stay with them!! The family Meacham—Deb, Paul, Molly, Ellie, and Katy (plus dog, Annie)—were incredibly thoughtful, generous, fun!, and kind hosts. We can’t thank them enough! 

Our next stop ~ Scotland! Should be a ball!

Here are some things we have learned in the U.K. so far:

Garbage can = bin

Truck = lorry

Bathroom = loo

Yard = paved lot

Lawn = garden

Convenience store/gas station = garage

Line = queue

Trash = litter

‘Til later, Cheerio! 

Magical Monday

Hi, it’s India and I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.

I’m back for another go to write about our trip. I told mom that I wanted to do it because I love Harry Potter, and it was just so magical (pun intended). We went in the morning to the Warner Brothers studio where all the Harry Potter movies were made and with all the things that made HP what it is! It was fascinating—it had everything. It had the props, costumes, wigs, rooms, effects, magic, and so much more. It is one of the most interesting and exciting places I have ever and will ever be. They had so many props that you can’t even imagine how much work tons of people had to do, and that’s just for the props. It’s the same thing for the costumes, visual effects, masks, and all the other behind the scene things. It’s truly amazing how many people worked to get these movies done. One of my favorite things was the costumes because of how many different outfits they had to make. It was so cool because it had each different place with all the props and then it had mannequins of people with the clothes that they wore in that particular scene. They also had Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, and Gringotts Bank with blueprints and paper models of each one. I even got to ride a broom! I definitely recommend this, and if you have been, you know how wonderful it is. For pictures see mom or dad’s FB.

Mischief Managed.

Sunday’s Repast...

We returned to Esher, outside London, and our friend’s place there, from the coast Sunday morning. And the plans were for a little party with their friends, BBQ, watching the World Cup final (go USA!), and relaxing in general. But we did throw in a history stop, too, as Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace is just up the road, on the Thames, a mile or so from their house. And it’s something!! Gorgeous gardens, stately and massive in scale, certainly. One room holds the armor and weapons: 2,871 of them—swords, guns, etc! And the kitchens are enormous. Really neat displays/exhibits of how things worked in Henry’s day.

(Below) Eli and Clark in the oven area — so huge! 

After that, back for the party. And it was lovely. The Meacham’s have really nice friends, and we enjoyed hanging out and seeing the US women win the match fiercely! So great!! In case you’re wondering, English BBQ means cooking on the grill, and Paul—Deb’s husband—made fantastic chicken, burgers, venison burgers (I didn’t taste those), and sausage homemade from his uncle that includes pheasant meat and was quite tasty! Baked beans were served, too, because beans are served with everything here...including breakfast! One of the families that came—their 13 year old son made a classic Victoria sponge cake dessert with strawberries that was delicious. So, Sunday was all-around a great day!

Goodbye friends and Castle Number One

Hi, it’s India on day four of our trip—so- Saturday. Mom said that each of us will write something at least one day we’re here; so here I am. In the morning our friends came to pick us up and take us to the Arundel castle. It was outstanding and far above what I expected. It is very interesting because it was built in 1066- the rest of the late 1000’s. Lots of the things there are from different places. It had so much stuff to look at on the inside not to mention the architecture. It had long narrow staircases, decorated ceilings, and very old stone walls. It was just magnificent. There was also an amazing garden with the most beautiful plants. After the wonderful castle our friends came to pick us up and take us back to their house. We had some tea (or other drinks if you didn’t want tea) and we thanked them for such a nice time. Then it was time to say our goodbyes. For pictures, see Mom or Dad’s FB posts!

Old Friends and the English Channel...

Friday: If you saw Clark’s FB pic, we were wheeling our bags this morning to the Esher train station in order to head South to Brighton Beach, England style! Our dear family friends, Paul and Lynda West, were collecting us (as they say here) at the train station to enjoy a couple days with them around the coast. Train was hot and crowded; guess lots of people want to beach for the weekend. But we made it readily enough and found Paul and Lynda, who we haven’t seen in 10 years. The kids were tiny back then compared to now.
We explored Brighton first with Lynda, enjoying the pier, that’s 120 years old!, having lunch there by the water, seeing the massive Royal Pavilion that is a palace that was built for King George IV, in the style of Russian and Indian architecture interestingly enough, and its lovely gardens. Then, Paul collected us and gave the running commentary on the towns we drove through as we headed to their town, Seaford. We stopped at their home for tea and biscuits and to enjoy their gorgeous gardens!
After our afternoon break, Paul served as tour guide to Seven Sisters Country Park to see the Seven Sisters (white chalk cliffs), Seaford Head, Beechy Head, and the Channel at Birling Gap where we could walk down to the water and get the perspective of how big those cliffs truly are! Our walks to the vistas included tromping through a sheep field that is privately owned, but that the owner happily allows folks to walk through for the views. It was perfect and all that comes to mind when I think of England! We even touched the water at the Gap and found it not too cold really. I did find approaching the cliffs’ edge quite unnerving and even blood-pressure-raising. But they are gorgeous and beautifully wild, defying the sea to cut more and more into the earth it would seem, as it breaks against the shore in its relentless and habitual way.
Our day’s journey ended in Eastbourne where we are staying at the Cavendish Hotel directly across from the Sea. How marvelous! It was all fabulous, and we look forward to seeing our friends again tomorrow.
P.S.—not sure why, but unable to add pics here...I’ll post a few on FB

“To the Keep” and “What Time Is It?...Showtime!!”

“To the Keep” — Wednesday morning, and we hit the ground running!
We met my childhood friend, Deb, without a hitch pretty much in Heathrow airport. She graciously took our luggage and sent us off to the big city. We headed there via train, got the Original Tour Hop on/Hop Off bus to see some sights and get our bearings ‘round the city (kind of), and stopped at the Tower. As in The Tower of London. Made our way to see the fortress it is, the “keep” that is the White Tower, and the crown jewel of all—the Crown Jewels. Those are some gems! It was a gorgeous day, enjoyed lunch there, too, then traveled more on the tour bus. But by afternoon, jet lag was catching us, and we headed out SE of city to Esher, where we’d be staying with our friends.
What a lovely little town, and our hosts have a lovely, really beautiful, home! With a whole third floor for our use. Kids were asleep before 8 p.m.! And we weren’t far behind. Early London impressions: Clark—a lot of young(ish) people in city and the men dress well (for work, we think). Eli—it’s peaceful (we all kind of agreed, less loud, busy, and hectic than NYC, for example). All of us—everyone is super nice/helpful.

Thursday morning we awoke well-rested and ready for new day - first up, British Museum. WOW! It’s impressive! Art, fine art, history, science, natural history, politics, all in one really!! The Rosetta Stone, two-headed serpent, Easter Island statue, cuneiform fragment from Ur, Parthenon and Halicarnassus pieces....splendid artifacts. And the building/setting itself! We were bowled over. Loved it!! Then, we took a cab to the Westend for what we knew would be a highlight of this adventure for us. Our taxi driver, John, was super—fun, informative, sharing info about sights on the way—really cool. And got us to....
“What Time Is It?...Showtime!” —Indeed!! “Hamilton” at Victoria Palace Theater. It was sensational!! Best musical I’ve ever seen. Truly! And King George—the guy who played him—seeing him/his interpretation of the role was worth the ticket price. It was such a treat for us as a family! And on July 4th. Pretty ironic. Too wonderful really!!
Then, huge bonus: we were outside, figuring out what was next, and ended up in a line of people without knowing/realizing we were in such a line. It was where the cast came out to greet audience members, shake hands, take pics, sign programs!! OMDL! So, Clark got photo of kids with “Hamilton” himself 😀!! Wild and fun.

As if all that wasn’t enough, then we went to the Thames, and we enjoyed an early evening river cruise. Lovely way to see city, especially bridges, particularly Tower Bridge. And finished with dinner at an English Pub—Hung Drawn and Quartered. Great name and traditional pub atmosphere. With good ale and pretty decent food!

That’s some way to do Day 2, if you ask us!! Headed South to Brighton (the Coast) tomorrow for a couple days. ~

Planes, Trains, Automobiles...

Day 1: Travel Tuesday! And in our case, planes, trains, automobiles, and buses! Eli said only thing missing was a boat!! After full day driving, being driven, shuttling, and waiting, we were in-flight for 6+ hours that went quite smoothly. In the midst, we caught the USA va  England in women’s World Cup—yay! U.S.A. won! —and the kids were troopers!
Eli took cool plane photos:

 Coming into Heathrow

 Sunrise in the sky

Wednesday morning our London adventures begin!!
~ Donna

A Return - Chronicles of Our July Adventure

Hi, Friends and Family!

I have not written for 5 years. Can't believe it's been that long. I think this blogging thing just has not turned-out to be for me so much. But, as many of you know, we are about to embark on an adventure of the grandest design...our family is traveling to the U.K. and Europe for a month! Clark is calling it the trip of a lifetime and a real odyssey, like nothing we've ever done.

I thought I might try my hand at a post a day (maybe?!) - we'll see if I am able to do so - to chronicle our adventures. If you're inclined to see what we're up to, what we see and enjoy, have a look.

Hope your July is as FUN as ours surely will prove to be! We head-out Tuesday (7/2). First stop, London. So, here's to strawberries and cream, tea and biscuits, the crown jewels, and perhaps cooler weather than here. Time to pack now, and be prepared for last Sunday before we leave, so that's it for now.

Au revoir, Auf wiedersehen, and Cheerio ~
Donna