After an overnight in Carlisle we set out for Scotland on Saturday morning, crossing the border by following the A7 Historic Route to Edinburgh. Shortly thereafter we stopped at a wayside to read a plaque and let the girls skip stones across a fast-flowing stream. We wound our way toward Edinburgh, watching sheep dogs work [...]
Our last night in Inverness the whole family went on a “haunted” ghost tour of the old part of the city. It was an interesting and often funny diversion and the tour concluded with the group at a pub for our promised free drink included in the package. It turned out that a couple of [...]
I thought driving in Italy would be the biggest challenge because of the reputation of Italian drivers and due to the language barrier, but in fact we picked it pretty well. We were greatly encouraged by the time we returned to England and picked up our rental car. Sure, there was that whole driving on [...]
As we checked out of our lodgings at Fattoria il Lago, my new good friend Francesco and I were talking about the number of languages he has had to learn how to get by in while running an agriturism business, and of our common failure in each of us having once tried to learn to [...]
Internet access has been problematic, and time has been short. Everything seems to take much longer to accomplish than you expect (even adjusting for experience), especially when traveling as a family. Oh well, lots to tell but no time right now as someone else is looking over my shoulder and wants to use this terminal [...]
We survived our week of renting a car and driving in Italy. Italian drivers don’t seem any worse than the ones I’ve encountered in Minnesota and they don’t drive any faster and crazier than the drivers I’ve experienced in and around Atlanta. Italians do drive a bit more aggressively in that they’ll fit their cars [...]
The Mall Diva hogged the laptop tonight so she could write her post and I’ve used a lot of my time to download, edit and format some photos from the past few days so that they’ll be more blog-friendly. I’ve got some more thoughts on Italy, the Cinque Terre and my impressions (not so favorable) [...]
Tuesday. Hello everyone! Today is our last day in Italy, and it is the only one that has been rainy. It’s been so warm and sunny I’ve even gotten a tan, which you will never see because tomorrow we’re leaving for Scotland, and then Ireland, where we won’t be in the sun much and my [...]
Boun giorno from an Internet cafe in Firenza, or Florence as we know it. The past few days have been filled with adventure and sightseeing (and food stories, Good Name) but I haven’t written much about food yet. Instead, below you will find thoughts from our time here. There should be four different posts within [...]
I have not had internet access since we left London, but that does not mean I have not written anything. My host, Francesco, has allowed me access to his computer to upload something I wrote yesterday, but my wife just drove off with the jump drive I had stored it on. I will get this [...]
