I finished uploading the last of the Italy pictures and I finally put captions on everything. I hope you enjoy!
I will post a link to Jason's pictures soon for the places after Italy, since I no longer have my camera.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Missed a spot!
Oh my gosh, it is the 29th and I am finally posting my blog! :-( sorry. Anyhoo, we drove up to Prague today, stopping for lunch at a nice small town and then stopping for a beer at the 'Original Budweiser' brewery. The Czech Republic is not nearly as developed as Austria, but I am also happy to see that the countryside was not ravaged as I was expecting from the commies. The computer battery is running out, so enjoy the update for the last couple of weeks!
**********************
Internet access was not easily accessible in Italy and therefore here I am now in Vienna with another entry. Let’s see if I can sum up Italy without leaving anything out, but also without becoming too longwinded.
It was a bit hair-raising being thrown into the organized chaos of the Italian road system and it was difficult finding the B&B, but eventually we were successful and managed to locate Drew as well. Genoa is worth skipping. It was merely a blue-collar port city and fairly dirty, nothing too exciting in terms of architecture (now that I went through more Italian cities) or sights. The best part was when we jumped on the ferry – part of the public transportation system – and traveled along the coast to the far western part of the city which ended up to be a very pleasant afternoon excursion.
Next was on to Cinque Terra. It is a string of 5 cities that are linked only by train or by foot trails. They are each unique with their own character and are quite interesting. The Italian Riveria (as the area likes to refer to itself) was extremely breathtaking. We had to park the car up on a hill on the side of the road in the first city (I don’t know how they handle the hordes of tourists, considering we were there during mid-week and before high season) and take the train in. After getting off the train we wandered around and found locals to rent rooms from. The city we stayed in was very small, right on the water, lots of tourists and restaurants, but quaint and laid-back. The next day we hiked to one of the neighboring towns and it was very beautiful, but quite a trek! The town was perched up on the hill and definitely an agricultural town, as opposed to where we were staying which was definitely a fishing village. We had a fantastic [romantic] lunch drinking local wine and eating local cheeses. During the afternoon we took the train to the last of the towns which was a pretty big (comparatively, probably ~1000 residents) and total beach resort. One thing we have over Italian beaches? Sand. The beaches there don’t have sand so much as very small rocks. It really isn’t very pleasant to walk on.
Our original plan was to stay one night, but it was a good thing we stayed 2 – it was a much needed break to lay around a bit and casually explore Cinque Terra.
Next we were off to Tuscany, in the area around Siena. We stayed at a working farm – well, really more a working estate – for a few days. The big thing in Tuscany (and Italy) now are these farm houses that are being opened up as B&Bs to travelers and it’s a great way to get to know the people and countryside better. Our hosts were an older couple, could speak English pretty well, and were very welcoming. He took us on a tour of the property and then arranged for us to do a cooking class in the evening. (It was one of the best meals we had in Italy). The next day we spent touring around the area and going to wineries.
Next, the boys were off to Rome for a few days and I spent more time in Tuscany. I first tried to find some old subterranean tombs (5-2 BC! So old!), but they were only available by prior arrangement with a guide from the University. So I took off to Bologna. Bologna is a small city, not very touristy, with a large population of students (the first university was established here). I need to mention here that after we hit Italy the navigation system got a bit flaky on us and didn’t work more often than it did. Jason has since figured out that the DVD copy he made wasn’t with the optimal settings; bummer, but it wasn’t going to work in the eastern countries anyway. So the 2nd night in Bologna I transferred to a smaller and cheaper hotel in the city and I must have spent an hour trying to drive to the dang place! Trying to navigate all those small streets, the majority of them oneway, while reading cruddy maps was no small feat! I finally managed, but not without our first car ding. I scraped up the back bumper a little while doing a 5-pt turn into the driveway for the hotel. L
Bologna itself was pretty cool. All the rich families built tall towers and vied for the tallest. The tallest surviving at about 500ft was open to walk up and it dwarfed in size everything in the city. They also had a huge cathedral that was magnificent, but never finished. I was in the cathedral with the Sunday evening service was about to start and so I stayed to see what it would be like to attend mass in latin. It was a little different. You could tell that everyone attending were visitors because none of us knew quite what was going on and whether to stand or not (there was no kneeling). But it was fascinating to get a glimpse of what it may have been like 1000 yrs ago attending mass. I had a restaurant recommendation from a local for good Bolognese food and found the place my last night. Utterly amazing!!! One of, if not the best meals I have ever had. The Bologna region is the birthplace of the following: balsamic, parma ham, parma-reggiano (sp?) cheese (Kraft coined “parmesan” when they were sued by Italy), chianti wine, and much more. Simply wonderful food!
I met up with the boys next in Verona. If you can’t make it there in the summer time for an opera or concert in their coliseum, then don’t bother. The coliseum was much smaller, but in much better condition than the one in Rome and I can imagine how beautiful it would be to hear an opera there with everyone holding their candles. There were a couple of rundown buildings that the city claimed were Romeo and Juliet’s homes, and even though we were a bit cynical, of course we visited them. But there wasn’t much else.
Last for Italy was a stop by Venice. Wow, there were a lot of tourists! Just hordes of them! And it was a weekday in May – not even high tourism season yet! We stayed outside the city because staying in Venice is horribly expensive, but I bet Venice is a halfway decent and probably romantic in the evenings when most of the people have left and it doesn’t feel so overcrowded and hectic. I guess I am glad to say I did it, but it was a little disappointing. To add to the mix, when we stopped for a cool glass of wine in the hot afternoon, my purse was stolen. Unfortunately I had just pulled out a bunch of cash, and they got my camera, but overall it could have been much worse (no passport, whew!). There was a couple sitting at an adjoining table and they somehow managed to slip my purse around the bench backs without disturbing my hat and signaling Jason. Poor guy, he felt horrible. I am just lucky that he is here to bum money off of or I would be in a huge world of hurt – I may even have had to go home cuz I don’t think the bank is going to send a credit card to some hotel address in Europe.
Ciao Italia!
In Vienna we dropped Kevin and Drew off to begin their tour. Jason and I took it easy, wandering around the clean and obviously wealthy city. We found a British bookstore where I replenished my book supply (one was in the stolen purse and the other was left on a train), had burgers at an Australian pub (we were both a bit tired of Italian food at that point and glad to have good beer again) and just kinda wandered. The 2nd night we went to the comedic opera Falstaff. It was entertaining and the opera house was very beautiful. I am also enjoying being able to speak the language again – it can be frustrating not being able to communicate well.
We are now in Salzburg, a city of about 100k east of Vienna. We went to an ice cave this morning and it was super cool. There is a 20 min hike, then you can choose to take a tram up (you betcha!) or take a trail by foot for another 90 minutes, then a final 20 minute walk to the cave mouth. The cave is almost 5000ft above sea level in the Alps and the views from up there were incredible. Today is a hot, hot day (~95) and there is no way we could have done the full hike, but inside the cave it is about 32 degrees and we were both blown away by the natural features created by the flowing ice. Really stunning. They don’t have permanent lights installed because of the heat that is generated, so the only light we had was by lanterns that we carried and the occasional flare used by the guide to highlight something important. We had a great time. I think we were also very glad to be out and seeing something other than cityscapes. It is for these kind of sidetrips that we bought the car and it was worth it.
I’m done. It has taken me 2 days to get this last post put together – sorry it took so long! My next project will be to update the pictures I have (luckily the morning before we went to Venice I downloaded all my pics) and add captions. Jason is also putting his pictures on the internet so I will add those links as he puts them together since I no longer have my own camera. Whew, I am typed out! I am sure I forgot a lot of stuff, but too bad.
**********************
Internet access was not easily accessible in Italy and therefore here I am now in Vienna with another entry. Let’s see if I can sum up Italy without leaving anything out, but also without becoming too longwinded.
It was a bit hair-raising being thrown into the organized chaos of the Italian road system and it was difficult finding the B&B, but eventually we were successful and managed to locate Drew as well. Genoa is worth skipping. It was merely a blue-collar port city and fairly dirty, nothing too exciting in terms of architecture (now that I went through more Italian cities) or sights. The best part was when we jumped on the ferry – part of the public transportation system – and traveled along the coast to the far western part of the city which ended up to be a very pleasant afternoon excursion.
Next was on to Cinque Terra. It is a string of 5 cities that are linked only by train or by foot trails. They are each unique with their own character and are quite interesting. The Italian Riveria (as the area likes to refer to itself) was extremely breathtaking. We had to park the car up on a hill on the side of the road in the first city (I don’t know how they handle the hordes of tourists, considering we were there during mid-week and before high season) and take the train in. After getting off the train we wandered around and found locals to rent rooms from. The city we stayed in was very small, right on the water, lots of tourists and restaurants, but quaint and laid-back. The next day we hiked to one of the neighboring towns and it was very beautiful, but quite a trek! The town was perched up on the hill and definitely an agricultural town, as opposed to where we were staying which was definitely a fishing village. We had a fantastic [romantic] lunch drinking local wine and eating local cheeses. During the afternoon we took the train to the last of the towns which was a pretty big (comparatively, probably ~1000 residents) and total beach resort. One thing we have over Italian beaches? Sand. The beaches there don’t have sand so much as very small rocks. It really isn’t very pleasant to walk on.
Our original plan was to stay one night, but it was a good thing we stayed 2 – it was a much needed break to lay around a bit and casually explore Cinque Terra.
Next we were off to Tuscany, in the area around Siena. We stayed at a working farm – well, really more a working estate – for a few days. The big thing in Tuscany (and Italy) now are these farm houses that are being opened up as B&Bs to travelers and it’s a great way to get to know the people and countryside better. Our hosts were an older couple, could speak English pretty well, and were very welcoming. He took us on a tour of the property and then arranged for us to do a cooking class in the evening. (It was one of the best meals we had in Italy). The next day we spent touring around the area and going to wineries.
Next, the boys were off to Rome for a few days and I spent more time in Tuscany. I first tried to find some old subterranean tombs (5-2 BC! So old!), but they were only available by prior arrangement with a guide from the University. So I took off to Bologna. Bologna is a small city, not very touristy, with a large population of students (the first university was established here). I need to mention here that after we hit Italy the navigation system got a bit flaky on us and didn’t work more often than it did. Jason has since figured out that the DVD copy he made wasn’t with the optimal settings; bummer, but it wasn’t going to work in the eastern countries anyway. So the 2nd night in Bologna I transferred to a smaller and cheaper hotel in the city and I must have spent an hour trying to drive to the dang place! Trying to navigate all those small streets, the majority of them oneway, while reading cruddy maps was no small feat! I finally managed, but not without our first car ding. I scraped up the back bumper a little while doing a 5-pt turn into the driveway for the hotel. L
Bologna itself was pretty cool. All the rich families built tall towers and vied for the tallest. The tallest surviving at about 500ft was open to walk up and it dwarfed in size everything in the city. They also had a huge cathedral that was magnificent, but never finished. I was in the cathedral with the Sunday evening service was about to start and so I stayed to see what it would be like to attend mass in latin. It was a little different. You could tell that everyone attending were visitors because none of us knew quite what was going on and whether to stand or not (there was no kneeling). But it was fascinating to get a glimpse of what it may have been like 1000 yrs ago attending mass. I had a restaurant recommendation from a local for good Bolognese food and found the place my last night. Utterly amazing!!! One of, if not the best meals I have ever had. The Bologna region is the birthplace of the following: balsamic, parma ham, parma-reggiano (sp?) cheese (Kraft coined “parmesan” when they were sued by Italy), chianti wine, and much more. Simply wonderful food!
I met up with the boys next in Verona. If you can’t make it there in the summer time for an opera or concert in their coliseum, then don’t bother. The coliseum was much smaller, but in much better condition than the one in Rome and I can imagine how beautiful it would be to hear an opera there with everyone holding their candles. There were a couple of rundown buildings that the city claimed were Romeo and Juliet’s homes, and even though we were a bit cynical, of course we visited them. But there wasn’t much else.
Last for Italy was a stop by Venice. Wow, there were a lot of tourists! Just hordes of them! And it was a weekday in May – not even high tourism season yet! We stayed outside the city because staying in Venice is horribly expensive, but I bet Venice is a halfway decent and probably romantic in the evenings when most of the people have left and it doesn’t feel so overcrowded and hectic. I guess I am glad to say I did it, but it was a little disappointing. To add to the mix, when we stopped for a cool glass of wine in the hot afternoon, my purse was stolen. Unfortunately I had just pulled out a bunch of cash, and they got my camera, but overall it could have been much worse (no passport, whew!). There was a couple sitting at an adjoining table and they somehow managed to slip my purse around the bench backs without disturbing my hat and signaling Jason. Poor guy, he felt horrible. I am just lucky that he is here to bum money off of or I would be in a huge world of hurt – I may even have had to go home cuz I don’t think the bank is going to send a credit card to some hotel address in Europe.
Ciao Italia!
In Vienna we dropped Kevin and Drew off to begin their tour. Jason and I took it easy, wandering around the clean and obviously wealthy city. We found a British bookstore where I replenished my book supply (one was in the stolen purse and the other was left on a train), had burgers at an Australian pub (we were both a bit tired of Italian food at that point and glad to have good beer again) and just kinda wandered. The 2nd night we went to the comedic opera Falstaff. It was entertaining and the opera house was very beautiful. I am also enjoying being able to speak the language again – it can be frustrating not being able to communicate well.
We are now in Salzburg, a city of about 100k east of Vienna. We went to an ice cave this morning and it was super cool. There is a 20 min hike, then you can choose to take a tram up (you betcha!) or take a trail by foot for another 90 minutes, then a final 20 minute walk to the cave mouth. The cave is almost 5000ft above sea level in the Alps and the views from up there were incredible. Today is a hot, hot day (~95) and there is no way we could have done the full hike, but inside the cave it is about 32 degrees and we were both blown away by the natural features created by the flowing ice. Really stunning. They don’t have permanent lights installed because of the heat that is generated, so the only light we had was by lanterns that we carried and the occasional flare used by the guide to highlight something important. We had a great time. I think we were also very glad to be out and seeing something other than cityscapes. It is for these kind of sidetrips that we bought the car and it was worth it.
I’m done. It has taken me 2 days to get this last post put together – sorry it took so long! My next project will be to update the pictures I have (luckily the morning before we went to Venice I downloaded all my pics) and add captions. Jason is also putting his pictures on the internet so I will add those links as he puts them together since I no longer have my own camera. Whew, I am typed out! I am sure I forgot a lot of stuff, but too bad.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
pics! hurray!
I uploaded the pics so far from Italy, but I am to the point that I have so many I decided to start a new web album and this is for Italy only. The UK/Ireland/Germany are in one album and Italy is in a separate album. Enjoy!
P.S.
If you want me to separate them completely by country, feel free to leave a message or email me your vote. I have randomized the pics in each folder to make the slideshows more interesting, but because there are no tags on them you will not necessarily know which country or thing they are representing - please give me feedback if you think that would be helpful. (or in other words, I am too lazy to do so unless I think it will benefit someone).
P.S.
If you want me to separate them completely by country, feel free to leave a message or email me your vote. I have randomized the pics in each folder to make the slideshows more interesting, but because there are no tags on them you will not necessarily know which country or thing they are representing - please give me feedback if you think that would be helpful. (or in other words, I am too lazy to do so unless I think it will benefit someone).
Vino, vino, Vino
It has been quite awhile since my last post, because it has been difficult to find wi-fi in Italy. I drove the car down the autobahn from Munich until we stopped for lunch after crossing the border from Austria to Italy. It was an amazing drive through the Alps (at 90+ mph; we are supposed to keep it under 100 the first 1500 miles while the engine is broken in), just breathtaking. Then Jason took over and boy am I glad; it was crazy in Genoa trying to drive in town with virtually no road signs to guide us (the GPS on the car quit working for a time due to a corruption of the disk Jason copied), scooters driving all around any space they can fit, cars jockeying for position, and cars randomly parked on the side of the road. I was really stressed just sitting and observing, I don't think I would have done well driving!
We found Drew and our room and spent a couple of days exploring Genoa which had all these little alleys (they call them streets), colorful building facades, lots of graffiti (all over Italy which is very sad), great wine and friendly people. The best part was a ferry we took from the harbor to the north end of town - really pretty!
Next was Cinque Terra. Absolutely magnifico! It is a string of 5 small towns on the Meditteranean, each with a unique character, that are accessed only by foot or train. Even though it was in the middle of the week and not quite the high-season, it really felt crowded. I would steer clear of it in summer. But these towns were situated either down on the beach (fishing industry) or perched up on a cliff face where they terraced the hillsides for agriculture similar to pics I have seen of Japan. Jason and I hiked between 2 of the villages (whew!) but stuck to the train the rest of the time. Very much recommended!!!
After staying an extra day in CT we moved on to Tuscany. We are currently staying just south of Siena and it is very lovely rolling hills of wheat and grapes. The wine has been fantastic, the food incredible, and our B&B hosts like family. Yesterday we toured the property which is over 1000 acres and then did some wine tasting. In the evening we took a "cooking class" and made dinner - spinach & ricotta ravioli, stuffed veal rolls, veggies and tiramisu. It actually turned out really, really good (though it was hard work and that probably helped the taste appreciation). Except for his allergies kicking in, it was probably Jason's most perfect day yet.
Today we will tour a bit more around the area, looking for wineries and maybe go through Siena. Tomorrow the boys head to Rome and I will continue roaming the countryside and meet up with them in a couple of days in Verona.
We found Drew and our room and spent a couple of days exploring Genoa which had all these little alleys (they call them streets), colorful building facades, lots of graffiti (all over Italy which is very sad), great wine and friendly people. The best part was a ferry we took from the harbor to the north end of town - really pretty!
Next was Cinque Terra. Absolutely magnifico! It is a string of 5 small towns on the Meditteranean, each with a unique character, that are accessed only by foot or train. Even though it was in the middle of the week and not quite the high-season, it really felt crowded. I would steer clear of it in summer. But these towns were situated either down on the beach (fishing industry) or perched up on a cliff face where they terraced the hillsides for agriculture similar to pics I have seen of Japan. Jason and I hiked between 2 of the villages (whew!) but stuck to the train the rest of the time. Very much recommended!!!
After staying an extra day in CT we moved on to Tuscany. We are currently staying just south of Siena and it is very lovely rolling hills of wheat and grapes. The wine has been fantastic, the food incredible, and our B&B hosts like family. Yesterday we toured the property which is over 1000 acres and then did some wine tasting. In the evening we took a "cooking class" and made dinner - spinach & ricotta ravioli, stuffed veal rolls, veggies and tiramisu. It actually turned out really, really good (though it was hard work and that probably helped the taste appreciation). Except for his allergies kicking in, it was probably Jason's most perfect day yet.
Today we will tour a bit more around the area, looking for wineries and maybe go through Siena. Tomorrow the boys head to Rome and I will continue roaming the countryside and meet up with them in a couple of days in Verona.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Munich
A while back Jason, Ania, Kevin, and I went to dinner at Rheinlander's where I got a small goat charm with a beer that I drank. I attached it to my watch thinking it wouldn't last a week - it lasted 3 months. On the flight from the US I reminded Jason of the goat and jokingly added that I hoped to procure another one. Well, we went to the Ayinger brewery last night and guess what? The beer Jason ordered came with a goat charm! What a coincidence. Well of course the charm is safely on my watch and once again I feel whole. :-)
I added pictures to the slideshow and randomized them so you don't see the same ones all the time.
We picked up the BMW yesterday and it was a great experience. They took us through the design and manufacturing process, we learned all about the features of the car (tons more safety and other stuff that we had no ideas about), and toured the plant. We took it to get dinnner at Aying and it is a lot of fun to drive. Ok, enough about the car, I don't want to come across as braggin but I had to say something or it would seem suspicious.
Kevin also managed to track us down yesterday so we only need to find Drew in Genoa tomorrow and our little posse will be complete for the next couple of weeks. I have to admit I was a little worried about so much together time for Jason and I, but we have been getting along admirably with no problems. But, I am sure he is still glad to see his buddies (he and Kevin have been discussing sabbatical plans longer than I have known Jason).
I think Jason and Kevin will be doing some touring of their own today since they have both previously seen Munich, while I wander around the city today. Tomorrow we drive over the Alps to Italy.
One last note: even though my German is pretty rusty and I have forgotten a lot of vocab, it has been good to have it and I am very pleased with myself and my ability to communicate while here. And if just feels good to be able to hear it and speak it again.
Ta ta!!
I added pictures to the slideshow and randomized them so you don't see the same ones all the time.
We picked up the BMW yesterday and it was a great experience. They took us through the design and manufacturing process, we learned all about the features of the car (tons more safety and other stuff that we had no ideas about), and toured the plant. We took it to get dinnner at Aying and it is a lot of fun to drive. Ok, enough about the car, I don't want to come across as braggin but I had to say something or it would seem suspicious.
Kevin also managed to track us down yesterday so we only need to find Drew in Genoa tomorrow and our little posse will be complete for the next couple of weeks. I have to admit I was a little worried about so much together time for Jason and I, but we have been getting along admirably with no problems. But, I am sure he is still glad to see his buddies (he and Kevin have been discussing sabbatical plans longer than I have known Jason).
I think Jason and Kevin will be doing some touring of their own today since they have both previously seen Munich, while I wander around the city today. Tomorrow we drive over the Alps to Italy.
One last note: even though my German is pretty rusty and I have forgotten a lot of vocab, it has been good to have it and I am very pleased with myself and my ability to communicate while here. And if just feels good to be able to hear it and speak it again.
Ta ta!!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Off to Germany!
I have mixed feelings about Dublin. Overall it seems run-down and dirty and fairly uninteresting, which explains why several Irishmen had told me to avoid it when I asked around before we left on sabbatical. The best thing is the walkability of the city; we covered pretty much the entire place by foot no problem. Our first day we walked all over town and visited the Guiness Brewery. There is also a beautiful city garden which is the largest urban park in Europe. And to top off the day we had dinner in a microbrewery which had some fabulous beers (but they will not bottle or export them).
But to get a different feel for Ireland we took a bus yesterday outside the city to Trim. Small little place but they have a fairly intact Norman castle that was really super cool (Braveheart was filmed there) and we got to learn a lot of history of the area on the tour we took. For any of you that ever wanted to live in a fairytale castle as a kid, here is a fact for you - they would hang their clothes out at night over the castle latrine because the noxious fumes would de-lice and remove the fleas. Nasty. No wonder the French were all about perfume!!
We noticed a lot of the businesses are painting the exteriors and when we asked, we were told everyone is jumping on the chance it isn't raining. In fact, the weather has been absolutley superb - it is in the 70s and just lovely. If you ever visit Ireland, do it in May!
But to get a different feel for Ireland we took a bus yesterday outside the city to Trim. Small little place but they have a fairly intact Norman castle that was really super cool (Braveheart was filmed there) and we got to learn a lot of history of the area on the tour we took. For any of you that ever wanted to live in a fairytale castle as a kid, here is a fact for you - they would hang their clothes out at night over the castle latrine because the noxious fumes would de-lice and remove the fleas. Nasty. No wonder the French were all about perfume!!
We noticed a lot of the businesses are painting the exteriors and when we asked, we were told everyone is jumping on the chance it isn't raining. In fact, the weather has been absolutley superb - it is in the 70s and just lovely. If you ever visit Ireland, do it in May!
Monday, May 5, 2008
yay! we were so there....
Newcastle lost today in the match, but it was a brilliant time: we went to a pub beforehand where the guys were singing songs back and forth between the teams, and then the match itself was tons of fun (even though they lost), and afterwards we followed the fans towards the subway and stopped off at a pub - but it wasn't just any pub: yesterday, we were told if we went left outside the hotel doors we would find some restaurants and pubs to go to, but if we went right we would also find some pubs but they would be of the uni-sex style. Well, we found ourselved after leaving the stadium in a place with very cheap drinks and cute girls serving and quickly figured out it catered to girls-who-like-girls. Oops.
Yesterday we ate Thai food and today Japanese...hmmm, I see a trend away from pub food for the short term.
Yesterday we ate Thai food and today Japanese...hmmm, I see a trend away from pub food for the short term.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
A day to rest
We were drawn in the ballot and played the Old Course at St. Andrews yesterday morning! It was a difficult course, very different from the wide open and flat courses I am used to back home. It has hills galore, hidden bunkers (some of which were over 6 feet deep) and nasty bushed that leapt up and ate your golf balls! It was a beautiful morning though and we had a good time, even though I kicked the trash out of Jason. We then caught the train to Newcastle and are now in our 2nd country of the trip.
We went out last night - not too late, it seems we are slowing down a bit :-( - and it is incredible how many young people were out on the town and how many bars there were - I can see how this is the party town of western Europe. Today we are taking it easy and plan on not doing too much. It is hard living out of a suitcase and moving every day or two; and we have 7 more weeks of this! Whew! Well, when we get our car next week that should help immensely as we can unload some of the less necessary items out of the luggage.
Here's to finding a pub that serves Newcastle Brown Ale today (haven't found one yet, too funny!)! Cheers!
We went out last night - not too late, it seems we are slowing down a bit :-( - and it is incredible how many young people were out on the town and how many bars there were - I can see how this is the party town of western Europe. Today we are taking it easy and plan on not doing too much. It is hard living out of a suitcase and moving every day or two; and we have 7 more weeks of this! Whew! Well, when we get our car next week that should help immensely as we can unload some of the less necessary items out of the luggage.
Here's to finding a pub that serves Newcastle Brown Ale today (haven't found one yet, too funny!)! Cheers!
Friday, May 2, 2008
St. Andrew's
Edinburgh was great (the pic in the last entry is Edinburgh Castle, I didn't want to presume before). Yesterday we took a day trip outside the city to see a ruined castle and had a good time finding our way there and back. We are now in St. Andrew's - the home of golf. Jason put our names in to play golf on the Old Course tomorrow and we are in! 0630... Oye... Then off to Newcastle by train.
I removed the Trinidad slideshow now that I am starting to collect sabbatical pictures. I may have to actually add it tomorrow, we will see how long this takes.
I removed the Trinidad slideshow now that I am starting to collect sabbatical pictures. I may have to actually add it tomorrow, we will see how long this takes.
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