London, Paris and Rome ...

Not to mention York, Drumnadrochit, Edinburgh, Gimmelwald and Cinque Terre. Five countries in 25 days in summer 2001 made for an incredible trip and started me down the path of travelholism.

We planned the trip for over a year, and knew how exciting it would be, but until we were there, we couldn't comprehend how inspring, enriching, and life changing it could be. From staring out over the mists of Loch Ness to gazing up at the Sistine Chapel, every moment was rich with amazement. Even the less than fun occasions, like the worst train ride ever, are not something I'd trade for anything. We shopped Harrods, visited Stonehenge, saw the beheading site in the Tower of London, joined a choral evensong service in a 700-year-old cathedral, explored Culloden Battlefield, listened to live music in an Edinburgh pub, cruised the River Seine, toured the Louvre, the Orsay, Versailles, hiked in the Swiss Alps, swam in the Italian Riviera, shopped a Roman flea market, ate the best food of our life and unfortunately, eventually had to come home.

Here's our itinerary

One of our many favorite things about travel is food.

At this little pizzeria in the Cinque Terre, we had the best pizza ever. I was very interested to learn that when you order three toppings (mine were mozzarella, pesto, and tomato) you get one on each  third of the pizza! The crust  was the perfect combination of crispness on the outside and tenderness on the inside. I didn't have much problem putting the whole thing away! 

In general, I didn't personally find much to say for Paris  restaurant/cafe food. But Cafe Bosquet had what has to be the most delicious blue cheese dressing in the world.  Huge crumbly chunks of blue cheese generously cover the salad, and a creamy sauce combines to form  world class salad dressing!  I didn't get a salad the first night, but sopped up Brian's dressing with my baguette. We went back another night specifically for the salad.

Well, you can't go to London and not eat Fish and Chips, so Day 2 found us at Shakespeare's pub, a recommendation made by Royston, our Big Bus tour guide.  It wasn't bad with a bit of malt vinegar poured over it, and it provided enough sustenance for a cold rainy day of London sightseeing.

After months of swearing he would not do it, just a few days in Scotland, and there he was, forking it in! Traditionally, haggis was served still in the sheep's stomach, where the heart, liver, lungs, etc. were boiled along with some oatmeal and spices. Today, our hostess at the our bed and breakfast explained, it is a much tamer concoction.  

Some days were not as fun as others, but one of my favorite quotes is "Adventure is discomfort in retrospect ..." so with that in mind, enjoy this day of transportation woes and a miserable attempt at souvenier shopping in Paris and find out why we didn't go to the top of the Eiffel Tower >>>

Finally, for what it's worth... reviews of our lodging>>>