June 22, 2026 Pictures of Edinburgh Castle, information to come later.

June 21, 2026 Pictures, explanations will come later

06-20-2026 Some pictures from Holyrood (explanations to come later). We did go inside, but no pictures are allowed inside.

06/20/2026 (Pictures only for now. I'll add text and some more photos of the Hop On Hop Off sites on the blue route later).

06-19 and 06-22 2026 Although we did not go to the National Museum or Gallery, we visited some of the smaller museums around Edinburgh. The Museum of Childhood was nostalgic with its displays of toys from the past to present. These baby toys were ones I played with. Fuzzy felt was one of my favorite toys when I was a little girl. My mom collected dolls and I collected Barbies. She would have loved these displays. My sister and I loved playing Mouse Trap and later it was my so

June 18, 2026 After a day of touring Edinburg on the City Sightseeing hop on hop off bus, we got off at the national museum stop and walked to Biblos. We had booked the Folk and Haggis show there to listen to traditional Scottish folk music while enjoying a traditional Scottish meal. The music was excellent, the fish and chips we ordered from the choices - not so much. Perhaps if we had gone with the haggis it would have been better. I did enjoy the Cullen Skink (smoked fish

6/18 and 6/20 Brent read Wealth of Nations when he was 10 to 12 years old, and its Scottish author, Adam Smith, had a profound influence on him. Therefore, when we were in Edinburgh where Adam Smith lectured and lived in his later life, we searched out his statue and grave at Canongate Kirkyard. His statue shows him with a beehive and plough symbolizing his impact on agriculture and industry. He rests his hand on a globe showing his worldwide influence. While walking in the r

6/17 to 6/22 2026 In addition to the historic buildings, we also saw many interesting sculptures and other monuments in our explorations of Edinburgh. The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic memorial to the famous Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott who wrote Ivanhoe, Waverly, and Rob Roy. In addition to the large central marble statue of Sir Walter Scott and his deerhound, Maida, there are 64 to 68 smaller statues representing characters in his novels. It is the largest statue

06/17 to 06/21 We flew from Reykjavik to Edinburgh on Wednesday and spent 5 days enjoying this amazing city on our own before our Gate 1 tour began. We used the City Sightseeing hop on and hop off bus for our explorations. They had 3 lines - the red line (primarily the old town with the Royal Mile), the green line, a similar route with some extensions but with a live guide, and the blue line which went into the new town and up into the harbor area with the rivers Forth and Le

6/15/26 We arrived in Reykjavik early in the morning. Passport control was a bit of a mess as although they had rows and rows of the automatic machines, not a single one was turned on. They were also very short staffed. We spent about 45 minutes waiting in line. Our hotel room at the Exeter would not be available until the afternoon, so we walked around the Old Harbor area and stopped by the Saga Museum that we had missed last year. It was an interesting way to explore the hi

April 8, 2026 Today we visited Rothenburg, a small town that still retains its medieval character. The Romanticists were charmed by this little town that was untouched by the industrial revolution of the time and insisted that it be preserved as it was. On the way, we drove along the "Romantic" route named for the movement that romanticized the past at a time when so many things were changing. Once in Rothenberg, we had a quick tour starting with the medieval wall that still

April 7, 2026 Today we had a long bus ride to Heidelberg. There was an accident so traffic was slow. The scenery was beautiful on the way and the charming town was worth the wait. They even had a tactile map that people who are visually impaired could use to discover the town. After a brief city tour, we had lunch with students from the Heidelberg University. Our student was a native German from Southern Germany who was studying anthropology with a particular interest in Lati

April 6, 2026 Today, we visited the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. It was a fun tour as our guide was a local actor who took on the role of an Englishman who "spied" on the construction of the Prussian Fortress built to ward off the advancing French. He wrote a book that caused great consternation with the Prussian military because it revealed too many details about the fortress. He involved the tour group with his "spying" and it was a fun way to learn about the fortress. You can

April 5, 2026 We travelled along the Moselle River to Cochem. The highlight of today's excursion was a visit to the Reichsburg Castle. The tour of the inside was amazing. There were beautiful ceilings and such interesting details in each room. There was a bust of Louis Ravené, who purchased and renovated the castle in 1868. The castle even had secret passages which could be opened with a little button on the floor. From the castle, we had a splendid view of Cochem and the Mos

April 4, 2026 We toured the city of Trier today. It's population of around 100,000 is about the same as it was when it was a capital city of the Emperor Constantine in the Roman empire. Electoral Palace with Constantin Basilica behind. The Basilica was heated by fireplaces which produced heat below platforms and warmed the entire building. Church of Our Lady Trier Cathedral, the oldest church in Germany. The purple building, the Palais Walderdorff, is where Napoleon stood on

April 3, 2026 After enjoying a beautiful sunrise, we bid farewell to the our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile, and traveled to meet the river boat in Trier. On the way, we stopped in Reim to see the Reims Cathedral. The stained glass was stunning. The details within the panes were exquisite. We next stopped at the American Cemetery in Luxembourg dedicated to fallen American soldiers who fought in World War II. Soon after leaving Luxembourg, we reached Trier and boarded

April 2, 2026 Today we did a panoramic city tour with Viking. The highlight was a stop at the newly restored Notre Dame after the disastrous fire in 2019. We were lucky and lines were short so we were able to go inside. We then rode to Giverny to see the house and gardens of Monet. They were beautiful and filled with spring blooms.

April 1, 2026 Today we had a tour of the Louvre. We had initially had a 3 hour tour with Project Expedition, but they cancelled on us. Since it was last minute, we were only able to do a 1 hour tour through the hotel. It was very rushed which was disappointing, but was happy to be able to see the museum. We met the guide at a meeting place. We entered the Louvre area through a covered hall which gave good cover from the rain. We waited there a bit until closer to our meeting

March 31, 2026 We walked from the hotel to the Arc de Triomphe to our first stop on the Big Bus tour of Paris. We decided to stay on the whole time to get an overview of the city. After driving down the Champ de Elysee, we passed by the Grand Palais. Built in 1900 for the Universal Expedition in Paris, it boasts one of the largest glass roofs in the world. A statue of Charles De Gaulle, the leader of the French Resistance that fought the Nazis and later became France's first

April 30, 2026 We explored the area around the hotel today after making the switch for our booked room for the extra night to the room with Viking. Here is the view from our new room. Today we explored the area around the hotel. I had thought this metallic structure was some a sculpture or monument. It turns out that it is actually student housing! The Irene Joliot-Curie Student Residence stands out as an excellent example of contemporary French architecture by the way it mak