Start of the last day

Today is our last day. Typically we don't do a lot of touristy stuff and don't have an agenda - we just wander around Paris to whatever shiny thing draws our attention. Today will be no different.

Yesterday our main event (other than the night walk below) was to walk the Canal Saint Martin. John and Laurie sent us there and it was a beautiful walk (mostly - it passes through few urban areas I'm not sure I'd walk at night).

I may post more Paris pics if I get time but here's a quick trip recap:

Would return:

London
Keswick
Bath
Paris

If in the neighborhood:

Oban
Conwy
Edinburgh
York

Probably won't go back:

Durham
Inverness

Best Food:

Oban (Room 9)
London (il convivial on Ebury Street)

Best B&B (tie):

Howe-Keld (Keswick)
23 Mayfield (Edinburgh)

Best Hotel:

Lime Tree (London) - seriously if you are in London stay here.

Additions to the eating rules:

Unless you want to spend time with Americans don't go to a Rick Steve's recommendation. If your favorite recommendation show up in a Rick Steve's book give it up cause it's gonna go downhill.

See you all soon. Great trip but excited to be home again.

Paris by night

By day Paris is beautiful. By night it is spectacular. Here are a few photos from our walk this evening. Taken on my iPhone they really don't do the sights justice.

Disappointment

So we were excited to try a place we've been to several times in the past: L'Auberge de la Reine Blanche on Isle Saint-Louis. Carolyn and I had a great romantic meal there in 2009. We had a great meal with our friends Mark and Cindy there a few years ago. Food had always been excellent. Except this time. It seems Rick Steve's recommended this place in a recent book. I don't want to sound snooty but the place was filled with American tourists (ugly american shouting at the waitress: "What do you have to drink that's non-alcoholic") and the food had turned really really mediocre.

I really don't know what to say about this. I want folks to travel, it broadens perspective and lord knows we Americans need a broader perspective. I just don't want this to be at the expense of my favorite places or treasured memories. I guess the answer is give up and move on.

The French Steward on the Eurostar recommended a place across town we'll give it a try and report back - hopefully tomorrow nights meal is better than tonights.

Made it to Paris

Eurostar and the Chunnel were a non event.  We've checked in to Hotel Saint Louis in Paris. Just wanted to let you know we made it safely.  More soon. 

Last day in London

Here are a few shots from our time in London.

Inside the British Museum with Ramses II A free house we ran into in the west end. Us along the Thames with the London "Eye" in the background (a gigantic ferris wheel). Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square - Look kid's no pigeons on Mom's head! Some tower and building everyone was taking a picture of so I thought I would too.

And lastly, below, a few shots of Hyde Park. Quick synopsis of things since last post: Thursday - Went to the British Museum. Ate lunch in London's Chinatown (their name for it). Saw "Book of Mormon" last night. It was hilarious. No where near as sophisticated at "scoundrels" but really funny in it's own right.

It was a beautiful day in London today, our last full day and we mostly wandered around from Picadilly Circus to Hyde Park. Tomorrow we take the Eurostar in the Chunnel (gulp) under the English Channel for a last few nights in Paris

Who writes the signs?

So just a quick written post - pic's maybe tomorrow morning.
Yesterday was our first full day in London. We:

• Walked from our hotel to Sloane Square to get cash and Oyster cards to get around
• Took bus 11 to the west end to get discount theater tickets (Lecshire Square)
• Went to the National Portrait Gallery and Trafalgar square Had lunch at St. Martin's in the Field Cafe (called the Cafe in the Crypt - I'll let you guess which part of the church it's in)
• Walked around the west end/Parliament/West Minster
• Popped into the Coal Hole for a pint of Ale (well Carolyn had a half of cider)
• Went and saw "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" (Really, really, funny)
• Took the bus (number 11) back to Belgravia
• Had a light dinner at La Bottega which was everything the reviews said and then some.

We're going to try and set a faster pace today...Heading off to the British Museum this morning. We're going to head back to the west end for lunch and try and find another show to watch (we hope Book of Mormon or Wicked). I'm sure we'll think of things to do along the way to keep us busy. We have taken a few photo's but the weather has been, well, a bit variable so nothing stands out that's not just a touristy shot. If we get any more we'll post them.

Where as Paris is elegance defined London is energy and motion. Not a place to start a trip but once your energy level is up it's a GREAT place to burn some of that energy off. We will come back.

So the question of yesterday was "Who write the little signs for the art work in museums?" "Here we see a fisherman with eight different kinds of fish and three kinds of fruit. We don't know the symbolism behind the fish". I want that job.

We're on a spiritual quest

Ask about the title sometime - short version: Americans have too much time and money.

We're in London now but I thought I'd share a few pictures of York. The Minster. We did the tour, fun but we're sort of churched out at this point. York has reconstructed most of the wall that used to surround the city. You can walk it for some great views. The Minster from the wall. One of the old gates on the wall. Bridge over the Ouse river that runs through York. St Mary's (or the remains there of). This is an area they call "the Shambles" - rumor has it it was the inspiration for JK Rowling's Harry Potter/"Diagon Ally". I should mention the girl with the curly long hair and glasses in the lower right corner, Hazel, was our tour guide on a walk of the city. She's an archeology student at York U (or whatever it's called) so she had some interesting insight into the history of the city.

Great Meal in York

So we got into york late in the afternoon (after Visiting Hadrian's wall - found in the Durham post). We were tired and the place we're staying, while fine, isn't quite as billed. Let's just say it's more homey then we like (a bit too B&B). I've been reading that York is turning into the foodie center of England. Sure enough our first meal here didn't disappoint. This is a pork belly dauphine pie like thing. The only issue is it was pretty rich and the portion could have been cut in half. Carolyn got a cuban chicken with sweet potatoes. Unlike a lot of chicken we've had here, the chicken was moist and tender. We topped this off with coffee and split an orange/lemon cheesecake. Carolyn is trying to talk the chef into parting with the recipe. This place was called Cafe Concerto. Those that dine with us - look for the pork belly dauphine and the cheesecake.

Durham

A few shots of Durham Ken and Carolyn on top of Hadrian's wall. It was a bit windy. Part of the 71 miles of Hadrian's wall. The Cathedral in Durham Downtown Durham Our pub in Durham. Great Pub food here as well as some nice local ales.

Edinburgh

The two pictures above are for my friend Zum. John - I can't say I've crossed the Firth of Forth to Fife. I can say I've crossed the Firth of Forth from Fife, right into Edinburgh. This is the base of the "Royal Mile" - the Scottish Parliament. The Palace of the Holyrood, where the queen stays when she's in town, is right here too. The Royal Mile is a long street stretching up... and up... to Edinburgh Castle. We toured the Castle today (the picture was taken yesterday). They had a "free" (if you paid to get in) guided tour which was actually pretty fun, the guide was a bit of a stand up comic mixing politics and history. The castle and its history are fascinating but I'll let you look that up if you are interested. Down from the Castle is Prince's street and the Prince's gardens. These were really beautiful (thanks to John Cuddy for pointing me to these). This is the Monument to Sir Walter Scott. We just like the looks of it. Another shot in the Prince's Garden. And of course I focus on the most culturally relevant finds.

We also toured the Scottish national gallery today which was filled with Italian and Danish renaissance art. It's not Paris or London but it was a pretty impressive collection.

We're learning to like Indian food (salmon and haggis gets old quick). Off to see Hadrian's wall and Durham tomorrow then York, London, and Paris. It's going too quickly!

Inverness in a Few Pics

A quick detour off the road to Inverness is the Loch Ness Center and Exhibit This is me standing in front of the very one man sub they used in the 80's to hunt for the elusive "Nessie". Carolyn and I both believe they've found her but that scientists are hiding the truth from us. This is the "Inverness Castle" - it's really just a court house but it sort of looks like a Castle. This is a shot of our hotel. Looking up the river Ness There's a giant pedestrian walk way the the center of Inverness. That's pretty cool but it's mostly chain shops - which isn't too cool. So Inverness will stand out for me because I had haggis, tatties, and neeps for the first time there. And I'm not even embarrassed by it. That said once was enough for Inverness (and haggis, tatties, and neeps).