Washington DC Monuments and Memorials. Oct 2019

The weather had finally cooled off a little so we thought it would be a good day to take the red bus around the Tidal Basin to see all the memorials and monuments. Did I happen to mention that this was the hottest first week in October in Washington in something like 40 years?

We didn't get an early enough start to get in line for tickets to go up the Washington Monument so we had to be satisfied with looking at it from the outside. Actually we'd been looking at it all week as you can see it from pretty much everywhere in Washington.

Just down the hill is the World War II Memorial. It's a semicircle of obelisks, one for each US state and territory, with two atria facing each other across the circle - one representing the Pacific and one representing the Atlantic theaters of war.  There is a fountain in the center and walls of relief panels run along both sides of the entrance. The reliefs depict different types of service units in the war.

Next stop was the Jefferson Memorial. The domed roof was covered in scaffolding due to some renovation work but the interior was still open to the public. There's a large statue of President Jefferson and inscriptions of his inspiring writings on the walls. While we were at the memorial, Marine One (the Presidential helicopter) flew right over us and across the Tidal Basin to land at the White House. Mike was really excited about that.  His godfather had been President Reagan's helicopter pilot and so he was really happy to be able to see the helicopter land at the White House.

The Lincoln Memorial was next and there were a lot more people here than at the Jefferson Memorial. Of course, we've all seen pictures of the huge statue of President Lincoln seated in a chair but it was very cool to see it up close. His Gettysburg Address is inscribed in one of the walls. The setting of the memorial is beautiful, you look right up the Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument. It's the iconic view everyone thinks of when you mention Washington.

The Vietnam War Memorial aka "The Wall". It's a very unassuming looking monument. Nothing showy or tall, but the sheer number of names is staggering. There were a number of family members there leaving mementos and doing rubbings of the inscriptions. There's a statue of soldiers and also one of combat nurses.

The Korean War Memorial, in my opinion, is the most moving. There are life size statues of soldiers in rain ponchos that seem to look right at you and yet right through you at the same time. The wall at this memorial reflects the statues so that they almost look like ghosts. If you look at the wall closely and at the right angle, you'll see that it has etchings on it that are of people's faces. Soldiers, Koreans, many faces all along the length of the wall. A very well done memorial with an inscription reminding us that "Freedom is never free".

                                                              Vietnam War Memorial

                                                           Korean War Memorial

                                  View from Lincoln Memorial to Washington Monument

                                                          World War II Memorial

World War II Memorial

                                                  Marine One landing at the White House

Korean War Memorial

Washington DC/Virginia Arlington National Cemetery and Old Town Alexandria Oct 2019

We took the Metro two stops from our hotel to Arlington Cemetery and found the subway exit brings you right to the gates of the cemetery. I'm going to give you a good piece of advice here - pay the extra for the little tram that takes you around the cemetery to the big points of interest. We didn't do that and my feet were killing me after awhile. This place is huge and it's a long walk to see all the major monuments and gravesites. And I wore the wrong shoes for so much walking :(

We saw President Kennedy's grave and the eternal flame, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We were there to see the Changing of the Guard ceremony as well as a couple of groups who were there to lay wreaths at the tomb, one of them was a group of Vietnam War veterans. We even got to see the guard stop and chastise the crowd because someone was talking and being loud despite all the signs that ask for "respectful silence at all times".

We went back to the hotel so I could change shoes and then we took the Metro to Old Town Alexandria. There's  a shuttle that stops at several points along King Street and takes you back to the Metro station which was very helpful.

What a gorgeous place! Beautiful brick colonial buildings and even some cobblestone streets. There's a waterfront area with shops and restaurants. We had dinner in a converted firehouse built in 1883.

Alexandria has a pretty brick City Hall with a clock tower and there are lots of row houses that were decorated for fall. They had gorgeous front doors and transom windows and some of the houses still have original gaslights on the exterior.

We visited Christchurch where George Washington attended services when he was in Virginia. The lady asked if we wanted to sit in George Washington's pew box! Who would say no? Certainly not us! I think that was one of Mike's favorite moments from the entire trip. We're history lovers, can you tell?

There's a Presbytery Meeting House where George Washington would sometimes attend meetings. The clock in the church is stopped at the exact time of President Washington's death.  In the churchyard in back, there's a grave of an unknown Revolutionary War soldier.

What a cool place! We only wished we had more time to look around, maybe we'll be back someday.

                      See the gaslights next to the front door? (Click on photo to see it larger)

                                                      Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

                                                              Cobblestone streets

                                                        George Washington's pew!

                                                              Alexandria City Hall

Washington DC Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History/National Air and Space Museum. Oct 2019

If you like dinosaurs, this is the place to be. Lots of Dino exhibits and models as well as skeletons and fossils.  Mastodons, T rex, triceratops - they're all here. There is the usual gallery of stuffed animals that you see in any natural history museum. They also have some incredible gems but the most famous is the Hope Diamond, a 45 carat blue diamond that even has its own curse! They also have an amazing huge aquamarine that is 10,363 carats. Lots of diamonds and gemstones here too.

We left the Natural History Museum and walked across the Capitol Mall to the Air and Space Museum. Did I mention that everything is very walkable here? The Capitol Mall is very long but practically everything you want to see is right there. There is a red bus that makes a loop of the mall and monuments to reduce the amount of walking if you prefer. It was initially free but they had just started charging a small fee at the end of our visit.

The Air and Space Museum was undergoing renovation so only about a third of the museum was open. We did see a prototype of the lunar landing module, some spacesuits and they also have the original airplane that the Wright Brothers flew for the very first airplane flight!  The canvas has been replaced due to aging,  but the remainder of the plane is completely original. There was a movie theater but we skipped that part. Mike says there is another air and space museum near the airport as well.

Washington DC Bureau of Engraving and Printing/National Cathedral Oct 2019

We had an early morning tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This was the morning that we got on the metro heading the wrong way and had to get off at the next stop and board again to go the right direction, so we had to hustle to be there on time. We arranged this tour through the Congressman's office as well, so we actually had a tour prior to the building opening to the public. It was really nice, there were only a few other people with us. We walked by later and the line to get in was out the door and down the sidewalk.

On this tour you get to see the printing presses and learn about how the money is printed. All the employees were funny and would hold up stacks of money for you to see. There are lots of layers of printing on the currency to try to stop counterfeiting, so there are lots of stages in the printing process. It was an enjoyable tour and you can even buy bags of shredded money in the gift shop. I thought that was a little weird but.. whatever.

We then walked over to the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence,  the US Constitution and the Magna Carta. It was a little disappointing to see that the Declaration was so terribly faded that you could barely make out anything except John Hancock's signature. I'm sure they have a better copy locked in a vault somewhere, I hope so anyway. The Constitution is still legible as is the Magna Carta.

After lunch, we took an Uber to the National Cathedral for a tour there. I wanted to do the Tower Climb tour but they didn't have any that day so we opted for the behind-the-scenes tour instead.  It was an interesting tour. We started in the main cathedral and learned some of the history behind the cathedral. We went up to the upper levels and out onto a walkway to see the buttresses as well as some of the damage from an earthquake several years ago that is still being repaired as funding allows. We even got to go inside to see the top of the vaulting above the nave and we talked about some of the restoration efforts and the craftsmen who work on the cathedral full time.

Washington, DC. White House and US Capitol Building Oct 2019

If you want to tour the White House, you have to apply through the office of your congressman in the US House of Representatives. They contact the White House tour office and you receive a form to fill out and return, and then you wait and wait and wait... The form said the tour office would let us know 2-3 weeks before our requested date if our tour was authorized. They were running a little behind so we actually received our tour date and time 3 days before we left home. I was beginning to think we hadn't been accepted for some reason, Yikes!

There are several layers of security checkpoints that you have to pass through to enter the White House, as one would expect. You're not allowed to bring anything with you except your tour confirmation, your wallet and your cell phone. I was actually surprised they allowed cell phones, but it was nice to be able to take a few photos.

We toured the East Wing, the West Wing is where all the action is so you're not allowed to go there. We were able to see the private movie theater, the East Room (where they hold formal receptions), Green Room, Red Room, Blue Room, Vermeil room, and the formal Dining Room. The East Room has excellent portraits of George Washington (one of the items saved by Dolley Madison) and also of Theodore Roosevelt. There are 3 large chandeliers as well.  An interesting thing about the chandeliers is that even thought they are still large, they were originally much larger and have actually been reduced in size by about one third. An even more interesting thing about the East Room is that when President John Adams moved in, the room was used for laundry because the East Wing was largely unfinished at the time.  A large portrait of Abraham Lincoln hangs in the formal Dining Room and there are beautiful pieces of antique furniture in all the rooms and lovely floral centerpieces as well.

Upon leaving the White House, we had a couple of hours before our Capitol tour so we walked to the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.  We had a friend whose name is inscibed on the wall there.
The memorial itself is nice, there is a water feature and a book to help you find the names of people you're looking for. There is also a museum across the street that has displays related to law enforcement history.

Our Capitol tour started at Representative McClintock's office which is across the street from he Capitol. One of the interns took us through the tunnel that goes under the street and accesses the Capitol Building. We got to see the original Supreme Court chamber as well as the original rooms where the Senate and House would meet.  They have beautiful marble floors and columns and domed ceilings with intricate cupolas. In one of the rooms, if you stand in exactly the right place, you can hear what someone is saying far across the room. It's an acoustic phenomenon that could be a strategic advantage if you wanted to know what the other party was talking about.  It's similar to the Whispering Gallery at St. Paul's in London.

One of the rooms has huge paintings of early American history. There is an excellent painting of George Washington resigning his commission as Commander of the Continental Army.  There are also friezes around the upper perimeter of the room that depict moments in American history from the beginning of the nation through the discovery of gold in California in 1848.

There is a place in the Capitol building where you can see the place where George Washington laid the original cornerstone on September 18, 1793.

The Congress was not in session so we were allowed to go down and actually sit in the front section of seats in the House of Representatives, right where all the generals sit during the State of the Union address I think.

It was a very enjoyable tour and there was just one other couple on the tour with us. At the end, the intern was able to take us onto the front balcony which has a great view all the way down the Capitol Mall to the Lincoln Memorial.

                                                                   The East room

                                                              State Dining Room

                                                        US Capitol Building frieze

                                                            Painting in US Capitol

Washington, DC Metro system/ Smithsonian Museum of American History. Oct 2019

It's been a crazy busy year! I'm finally getting around to posting about our trip to Washington DC in October. Mike has been there a couple of times, but it was my first trip. One of our daughters got married in September, so we only had time for a short vacation this year. We allotted 1 week to see the major sites and museums with a trip to Mount Vernon as well.

We arrived early in the day on a Sunday and checked in at our hotel, the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia. There is a convenient metro stop just across from the hotel with underground access tunnel through the Crystal Gateway shopping center.

As I've said before, we're definitely not experts at using subways but I had done some research and knew which transit pass to buy. There was a transit office in Crystal Gateway center, so we were able to buy our prepaid transit cards there. The lady at the desk was helpful and really funny, we actually checked back with her when we returned to our hotel at the end of the day to let her know we found our way back! The metro system for the main sites in DC is really very simple to use and the subway is very clean.  We only got on going the wrong direction once and immediately realized our mistake, so we just went one stop out of our way.

After purchasing our cards, we headed into DC and our first stop was the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. There was so much to see! We spent a good bit of time on the first floor which highlights American inventions and ingenuity. The second floor's most incredible display is the Star-Spangled Banner - the actual flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. The same flag Francis Scott Key saw as he watched the battle from the ship where he was being held prisoner. The flag spent almost 100 years in the possession of the Armistead family, the descendants of the fort commander. This is a big flag, originally 30x42 feet. It is very worn, as one would expect because the Armistead family used to take it out and display it on holidays and the flag has been laundered several times. It now lies in a controlled environment room with a huge glass window.

We eventually made our way to the third floor which has exhibits on the Presidents and First Ladies of the United States. One of the most interesting things to me was the exhibit of the actual table and chairs used by General Ulysses S. Grant and General Robert E. Lee at the signing of the Confederacy's official surrender to end the Civil War. There are also some items relating to President Abraham Lincoln, but there are lots more at the Ford Theater (a tour I highly recommend). They have George Washington's sword as well.

An interesting story, that I had never heard before, was an account of how First Lady Dolley Madison helped to save precious artifacts of American history. In 1814 during the War of 1812, the British advanced on Washington and burned the White House and the Capitol Building. When the Madisons found out that the British were coming and were only 30 miles away, the orders were given to evacuate the White House. Dolley stayed and oversaw the packing of several key possessions and artwork that were important in American history, and only then did she leave the city. A few days later, after the British had been repelled, she returned to Washington to meet with builders and start making plans to rebuild the White House.

We stayed so long that we actually had a late lunch in the dining area at the museum. I think we spent about 6 hours total, my back was hurting from standing in place so long looking at all the exhibits and reading the information.

It was one of my favorite museums in Washington.

California - San Diego Coronado Island and USS Midway April 2019

We had a whole day and half of the next day before our flight home, so we spent most of the day Friday on Coronado Island. I really like Coronado, the island and the town. When I was a teenager, my family would go to Disneyland and San Diego every year on Easter vacation. We would camp in Mission Bay but we always spent a day on the beach at Coronado.

We took the harbor ferry across to the island (Yes, I remembered my hat and the sunscreen today) and walked through town to the beach. We stopped off along the way at a little Mexican fast-food place for lunch. Sooo much food. It was pretty windy at the beach and the water was freezing cold, but if you could find a place out of the wind it was warm enough for a t-shirt and shorts. We spent some time at the beach and I dabbled my feet in the water a bit. We walked through the grand old Del Coronado Hotel grounds and started a leisurely stroll back to the ferry landing. We decided to walk a couple of blocks off the main street on the way back and saw lots of charming cottages and houses. No cookie-cutter stuff here, they're all different.

Back to our hotel to change clothes then off to Little Italy for dinner. We ate a restaurant called Filippi's that has apparently been there a long time. You have to access the restaurant through a small Italian market and the line was out the door when we arrived. It moved pretty quickly though and we were seated within 20 minutes. Good old-fashioned Italian food in giant proportions. We shared a pizza and had salads but I saw the plates of spaghetti with meatballs the size of tennis balls and a giant plate of lasagna. Yummy stuff and a fun relaxed vibe.

Our flight the next day didn't leave until the afternoon so we spent the morning on the USS Midway.
The Midway is a decommissioned aircraft carrier turned into a floating museum. Both Mike and I have been here before, but it was interesting to see it again. We chatted with a docent who had served on the Midway at the end of WWII, and the guy looked great considering he had to be 90 years old. He told us a little about his experiences on the ship and it was just a real pleasure to speak with him. We toured the interior of the ship and the hanger bay, then went topside to the deck and checked out all the planes, helicopters and jets on display. They frequently have ceremonies own the deck and today was no exception. They had just finished a ceremony for a female pilot being promoted to the rank of colonel.  We had seen some other ceremonies as we went by on our harbor cruise the other day too.

                             Bob Hope Memorial with USS Midway in the background

Restaurant entrance is through that little arch you can barely see at the end of the aisle

California - San Diego Balboa Park and Harbor Cruise April 2019

After yesterday's trip to the zoo, I was pretty confident in my ability to get around by bus. Mike had a half day of his conference left, so I decided to go back out to Balboa Park ad check out the Museum of Photographic Arts. The buildings ion that part of the park were built for the Panama-California Exhibition in 1915 so they're pretty cool old Spanish style buildings. 

The museum of Photographic Art was quite a disappointment to me. It was very small and veru=y limited. You can read my Tripadvisor review here:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60750-d128806-r665579237-Museum_of_Photographic_Arts_MoPA-San_Diego_California.html

I wandered over to the Botanical building but it was closed that day. I contemplated going back to zoo since I was within walking distance, but I couldn't justify the admission price for just a couple of hours. There are couple of other museums in Balboa Park, but nothing that really piqued my interest so I went back to the hotel to wait for Mike to finish up. 

In the afternoon, we took a harbor cruise with Hornblower Cruises. The two hour version is definitely the better option I think, because I enjoyed the second hour more than the first. If you take the 1 hour option you only go halfway along the harbor, either north or south and which way you go depends on when you board. Anyway, I enjoyed the southern loop because they take you past the shipyards where you can see ships being built and refurbished including naval ships. Our captain had been in the navy so he knew all about the different ships and talked about them as we went along. We saw several helicopters in flight and an Osprey as well. Two Navy Seal boats zoomed by us too. There was an aircraft carrier in port too.

I only wished I had thought to bring my hat as I added to my sunburn from the previous day. I did buy some sunscreen that morning but since I had already put on my makeup, I didn't put any on my face. Big mistake, I burned my face a little more and burned my scalp too. We've had so much rain the last several months, that I'm not used to thinking about sunburn. 

California - San Diego Zoo April 2019

Mike was attending a conference in San Diego, so I flew there to join him for a couple of days. We've been to San Diego many times in the past, but haven't been there for about 8 years now.

Mike was in his conference all day Wednesday, so I decided to go to the zoo.  San Diego Zoo is a great zoo - lots of things to see, a huge variety of animals, and it was a gorgeous sunny day. I checked my fitness band and I walked 7 miles that day, just at the zoo!

Fo those if you who don't like zoos or keeping animals in captivity, I understand your feelings. Most zoos have breeding programs or other animal conservation programs so I believe they have a place in our society, especially since so many people would never be able to see these animals in the wild.

Our grandkids love going to zoos and so I go to our local zoos fairly often, but the type of animals to see is fairly small and neither zoo has elephants. I have very fond memories of feeding peanuts to the elephants at our local zoo when was a child, so the first exhibit I headed for was Africa Rocks. The elephants have a nice area, about 3-4 acres in size with its own lake. Two Asian elephants and two African elephants live here.

The zoo has had an agreement with China for over 20 years to receive Chinese Panda Bears and establish a breeding program that has resulted in several baby Pandas. The breeding program is coming to an end so I wanted to be sure to see the Pandas as I hadn't seen them in person before. I got a good look from the bridge that goes above the Panda exhibit. That was a good thing because when I made it to their enclosure later that day, the bear was sleeping and couldn't be seen.

I saw lots of other animals - lion, tigers and bears, oh my! 😉 Sorry, couldn't resist that. I also saw gorillas, orangutans, leopards, meerkats, giraffes, hippo, eagles, otters, penguins, you name it and SD zoo probably has it. They also have 3 walk-through aviaries where you can see the birds close-up. I had a toucan flying back and forth over my head in one of the aviaries, they're so colorful and pretty up close like that. I realized at the end of the day that I had forgotten the reptile house so I'll have to see that another time. By then I was sunburned and a little tired so I hit the gift shop for a little present for the grandkids and then walked back to the bus stop.

Oh! That's something else I should add, it was super easy to get to the zoo via public transportation and San Diego Metro Transit has a really good transit app for smartphones that I found very easy to use. An all-day transit pass (good on buses and trams) is only $5. I was able to catch the bus just one block from my hotel and didn't even have to change buses. This is a big deal for me as we live in a rural area and no public transit options, so I rarely use public transportation and I find it a little nerve-wracking to make sure I'm actually going where I think I'm going when I do use it.

France - Chantilly August 2018

Chateau de Chantilly was the home of the Duke of Aumale, son of the last king of France. The collection of antique paintings is (in France) second only to the Louvre. The chateau itself is beautiful from the outside and very interesting on the inside, not garish or opulent but with an understated feeling of wealth.

There are collections of manuscripts and works of art including two paintings by Raphael.  There are artifacts from an ancient Greece and from Pompeii. The reading room is lovely. It's an impressive collection housed in a beautiful chateau.

Outside there are gardens and fountains, but be sure to visit the Great Stables. Built in the 18th century, they are the largest stables in Europe. They have equestrian shows there, and you can go into the stables and see the horses up close. Really close, so close that one of the horses snorted his spit on me! Even with that lovely bit of slime and grass, it was still one our favorite places and a place I would definitely visit again if the opportunity presented itself.

France - Versailles August 2018

The Royal Palace at Versailles, home of the Sun King Louis XIV. Also home to Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, famous for being beheaded during the French Revolution.

The lines are very long at Versailles. If you go, buy a ticket and a guided tour online because the tour gets you into the park faster than waiting in the regular line. I guess there are timed admission tickets available but I didn't find any when I purchased the tickets, probably because I waited until the day before and all the timed ones were likely sold out.

The tour was interesting and the palace is opulent as one would expect. Mike and I have been to Herrenchiemsee in Germany which King Ludwig built as a copy of Versailles because he admired the Sun King. It is a very good copy and I would even say that the Hall of Mirrors in Herrenchiemsee is bigger and better than the one at Versailles,

We concluded our tour and looked around a bit then went outside into the gardens. It was hot outside that day and inside the palace was pretty warm as well.  The gardens are not gardens in the sense of a garden with lots of flowerbeds, but more of a garden that has lawns, trees, fountains, etc. It is very large and a lot of walking involved unless you hire a little golf cart. It was really disappointing that none of the fountains are running except on weekends and a few specific days during the summer. A little water mist from a fountain would have been a welcome refresher.

We walked down to the lake and had some lunch at a cafe there and even indulged in some ice cream sundaes for dessert. The food was very good and it was nice to sit in the shade.

We then walked over to try to find the little hamlet of Marie Antoinette's,  but we were a little confused trying to find the entrance and it was really hot so we eventually gave up.  If I were to visit again, I would choose to come in the off season and preferably on a weekend to see the water fountains.

France - Normandy D-day sites August 2018

Mike and I had toured some off the D-day sites before, but we encouraged Amanda and Greg to take a tour with us and they readily agreed. I think its important for younger people to understand the sacrifices that Americans made to help liberate Europe in WWII.

We hired a tour guide from the same company we used previously, Overlord Tours. Overload was the military name for the D-day invasion plan.  We stopped at Omaha Beach where our guide Thiery explained the dynamics of the beach landings. Mike and I spent some time explaining too about the loss of life and the seemingly impossible odds that confronted the troops. The beach at Omaha is wide and it stretches out quite far when the tide is out. That's lots of exposed ground to cover when people are shooting machine guns at you.

Our next stop was the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. It's a sobering place with the rows upon rows of markers, and it's less than half of the Americans killed just at Omaha Beach. Amanda and Greg took their time and really felt the effect of the memorial.

We made a stop at the La Fiere bridge over the Merderet. One of my favorite places for the story of their fight to keep the bridge from the Germans.

We also saw the gun batteries at Longues-sur-Mer, and the village of Sainte Mere Eglise.
After a lunch break in the village, we went to Utah Beach and Pointe du Hoc.

Last stop was the tiny village of Angoville au Plain where two American medics worked tirelessly through a multi-day siege to treat wounded soldiers, including a couple of German soldiers. At one point, their position was overtaken by the Germans and the only reason the Germans let them stay and continue to care for the wounded was because they were also caring for German soldiers. At one point, a bombshell came right through the roof of the church but didn't explode. One of the medics had to pick out up and carry it outside. You can go into the little church and see the shellhole in the ceiling and the bloodstains that still remain on the pews.

See my blog post from September 2016 for more on these places.

After a long and emotional day, we climbed into our van and drove to Versailles for a visit to the palace the next day. You couldn't find a more completely opposite set of places to visit.

France - Bayeux August 2019

We arrived for a one-night stay in Bayeux for our tour of the D-day sites the next day. When we checked in to our hotel, the clerk mentioned a light show at the Cathedral that night. We didn't know what to expect but decide to check it out and we were so glad we did.

They had the cathedral lit up in red and blue lights and there were special projection lights set up around the Tree of Liberty in the cathedral's courtyard. When the show started, the lights projected pictures on the tree and there was music to go along with it. But the pictures on the tree actually moved across the trunk and the branches, it was really cool. The show lasted for about an hour I think, I was so engaged that I wasn't even thinking about anything but the show.

If you go to Bayeux, also make time to check out the tapestry museum. It's much more interesting than it sounds, believe me. Definitely worth a visit, especially if history interests you.

France - Mont Saint-Michel August 2018

Mike and I had been to MSM before,  but our visit coincided with one of the highest tides and we wanted to be there to see that. We stayed in a hotel located at the beginning of the causeway to the Mont so we could easily walk back and forth. Plus there's something really cool about waking up in the morning and seeing the Mont right there in front of you.

We went over to the tour the Abbey when we arrived and, even though Mike and I had been here before, we enjoyed visiting again and sharing it with Amanda and Greg. They really liked it and thought the whole place was very cool.  I have to say that I really love this place, there's just something almost magical about it.

That evening, I was all set up with the camera and tripod and waiting for the tide to come in. The bay is quite large and when the tide is out, its possible to walk quite a way out into the bay since it's not very deep. So when the tide comes in, it's not like a giant rushing wave but more of a steady increase in the amount of water covering the bay. The really great part is the beautiful reflections that you can get if the wind is calm. Well the wind was not in my favor this particular evening but there was interesting cloud cover, so I still got some great photos.

The next morning, we woke up to find that the tide was just starting to go out. The Mont was an island once again! After breakfast, we walked over to find that people were waiting to get in the city gate because the water hadn't retreated far enough yet to cross over. It didn't take too long before it was down far enough to cross and just get your shoes a little wet. It was far more crowded today than the day before, it turned out to be a holiday of some sort so there were lots of visitors. We explored some parts of the Mont we hadn't seen the previous day and then reluctantly left for our next destination.

France - Paris August 2018

We had originally planned to fly into Paris from Edinburgh and and go straight to Mont Saint-Michel, but daughter Amanda wanted to meet up with us and had never been to Paris before.  We met Amanda and her fiancé Greg at the airport and piled into a cab for the trip to Hotel da Vinci where we had stayed previously. It's a good location,  just 1-1/2 blocks from the Louvre on the Left Bank in Saint Germain.

We decided to take a walk that evening and found ourselves at the Eiffel Tower. The line wasn't horribly long, so we bought tickets and rode the elevator to the top. It offers a great view of Paris, I especially like looking out across the river and the Trocadero. We were back on the ground and right under the tower when the sparkly light show started so we managed to get some good photos of that.

We got up early the next day and walked to Notre Dame only to find out that the towers are now accessed by advance ticket only, and we couldn't get in until 4pm that day. While Mike and I were figuring out the ticket situation, A and G went inside to tour the cathedral. We decided to walk down to the Louvre as it was still early in the day and bought a museum pass there to get discounts on the places we wanted to go. The Louvre is huge and confusing and filled with so many works of art, see my blog post from 2016 to learn more. Amanda was an Art History major in college, so she loves museums and of course she wanted to see the Mona Lisa.

From there, we found a place to have a bite to eat and went back to Notre Dame for our timed entrance to the towers. It's a long spiral walk up and when we made it to the first open area, Amanda decided she didn't need to go all the way to the top. She and Mike headed back down the stairs while Greg and I kept going to the top level. After looking out across Paris from this vantage point, Greg and I made our way down to find Mike and Amanda enjoying a nice cold ice cream cone! Aha! Could this be the real reason they left us? It was a pretty hot day so we really couldn't blame them. Luckily Mike offered to buy one for me too, so all was well.

The next day, we went to the Musee d'Orsay which both Amanda and Greg enjoyed. It is not anywhere as big as the Louvre but it's less crowded and you don't get hopelessly lost inside. Amanda likes the Impressionists so she got to visit her friends Monet, Von Gogh, etc.

We walked down to the Arc de Triumph and climbed to the top of that as well.  Luckily our museum passes allowed to skip the big line outside. It was  blazing hot at the top and not much better inside, but I do like watching all the crazy traffic down below and all the crazier pedestrians that don't know about the access tunnels. They try running across that huge roundabout and dodging traffic as they go. Yikes!

We had dinner that night at the Paris Hard Rock Cafe. Greg collects T-shirts from all the Hard Rocks he's visited and so he needed one from Paris. Later that evening, we took boat ride on the Seine to see some of Paris' landmarks lit up.

Just a whirlwind introduction to Paris for the kids, but we had to be at Mont Saint-Michel the next day.

Scotland - Drummond Castle August 2018

If you love formal gardens, you would love a visit to Drummond Castle. While you can't tour the castle itself, you can wander the gardens to your heart's content. I love any kind of garden and  Mike especially loves formal gardens so this place was a win-win for us. They have beautiful terraced and sculpted gardens and also some woodland walking paths to enjoy. Loads of roses were blooming when we were there. We were also treated to a nice sunny day.  It also has one of the longest tree-lined driveways I've ever seen.

Scotland - Glamis Castle and Dunnotar Castle August 2018

Glamis Castle was the childhood home of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, best known as the Queen Mother. If you're into the royal family, this would be a stop you'd want to make. They have the Queen Mother's bassinet and there is a painting of the main room with the Queen Mother and another relative playing cards as children, and all the furniture is still the same. They have great ghost stories there too, one about a lady in the chapel and one about the lord whose ghost is still playing cards behind a sealed-up wall.

Dunnotar Castle is a castle ruin located on a promontory overlooking the ocean on Scotland's east coast. We arrived in sunshine but in true Scottish fashion, a rainstorm broke loose. Since Dunnotar is a ruin there isn't much cover but we found a place to get out of the rain until the worst of it had passed. The reward though was the beautiful double rainbow over the castle. Dunnotar is a true fortress-castle, having seen many battles. In the 13th century, William Wallace (Braveheart) attacked and killed an entire garrison of English troops here with just a few men. In the year 900, Donald II, King of Scots, was killed here by Vikings after a vicious battle. Mary, Queen of Scots, visited in 1562. Everyone understood that to control Dunnotar was to control this entire stretch of coastline.

By the time we left the castle, the sun was out again and warmly shining down on us. We strolled a little way along the bluff behind the castle, just taking in the ocean views. We saw a bride and groom having photos taken at the castle and also down in the beach below- what a great setting for that.

                                                 

Scotland - Skye to Pitlochry August 2018

We left Portree on the Isle of Skye and stopped at the iconic Eileen Donan Castle. When you see photos of Scotland, this is the castle most often shown.

The tour of the castle is self-guided, though there are docents to answer questions. We were enjoying the castle and reached the Great Hall.  As we were leaving that room, we noticed an anteroom next to it with a small door in the wall about eye level. Being the curious type, we opened it and realized we could see into the Great Hall. We returned to the Hall and asked the docent about it. He was a very nice young man and explained that the opening was a peephole for watching and eavesdropping on what was happening in the Hall. He then pointed out several more of them around the room. He said the lord of the castle would station soldiers in these areas to watch and listen for trouble, especially if the lord was meeting with opposing groups who might try to harm him.

We also learned an interesting fact about the plaids (tartans) that are worn. I always thought that each clan had always had its own tartan. There was a display in one of the rooms of the various tartans worn by the inhabitants of the castle and what event they were used for - some were for hunting, some were ceremonial, etc. One of the older docents explained that tartans originally were different colors just because of the materials available for dying them. For instance, a clan in the northwest might have different plant dyes than a group in the southeast. And the dyes might change with the seasons as well. The tradition of wearing a specific tartan came about as the clans gathered and wanted to distinguish between the different groups.

We left the castle and made the drive through Glencoe (see my post about this from 2012) to the pretty town of Pitlochry. This was a nice place to stop and spend the night and the town itself is quite charming, flower baskets hanging from all the lampposts. Near Pitlochry, there is a place called Killiecrankie. There is a story told about a soldier fleeing for his life who made an incredible leap across the river at this site. We decided to go check it out. It's a fairly short walk from their visitor center to the spot where the leap took place. I have to say I would not want to try jumping across at that spot! I mean you probably could do it if you had a running start and were very athletic but if you don't make it you hit some rocks and land in the river. Ouch! And you would be a sitting duck for the people chasing you.

Scotland - Isle of Skye August 2018

We have been to Scotland before and stayed on the Isle of Mull. This time we went to Skye for a few nights and I would love to go back someday.

The weather had been sunny and glorious for 3 weeks- before we got there. When we arrived it became cold, windy and rainy. We always adapt to the weather and don't let it interfere with our plans too much, so we just carried on with most of our plans.

I had arranged a private lesson with a local photographer for one day. I like to take photos when we travel but I am definitely just a hobby photographer, so this was a chance to improve my skills.  We met up with Tim at 8:30am and set off for the day. Mike was appointed the dog-watcher for the day as Tim had just acquired a rescue dog and didn't want to leave him alone at home all day. So Mike and Tweed spent the day hanging out together. We stopped at the old bridge at Sligachan then continued on to a spot with a lighthouse. After snapping some shots there, we took the road to Elgol - stopping along the way at Kilchrist church ruins and also to take photos of Highland cattle (love those hairy things!). The beach at Elgol is really unusual, very rocky and you can see the Cuillins (mountains) across the water. So up until this point the weather had been cold and windy but not rainy. We decided to head back toward Sligachan to get some waterfall photos and the rain just cut loose. It's difficult to get photos with raindrops all over your camera lens and I was freezing by that point also we called to quits.  By this time it was 5:30 or so in the evening and I was ready for a nice hot dinner. I'll add some of the photos from that day to the blog.

Our plan the next day was to drive to the Quiraing, or at least the Old Man of Storr and Kilt Rock. The weather was looking pretty good as we drove north and it was nice and sunny when we got Kilt Rock. Despite all the rain there wasn't a ton of water coming over the falls but it was still pretty. We made it to the trailhead for the Old Man, along with lots of other people. The walk up is pretty easy and a well-worn path. By now however the clouds and fog had come in and pretty much obliterated the view of the rocks and pretty much everything else, so we turned around and headed to the other side of the island to Dunvegan Castle.

Dunvegan Castle is the seat of the chief of the Clan MacLeod and dates back to the 13th century. There are very nice gardens there and the inside of the castle is worth touring as well.

Neist Point lighthouse was our next stop and the last one for the day as it was getting close to sunset and Mike didn't want to negotiate the narrow road after dark. After taking a bunch of photos and saving a lady from falling in a creek, we headed back. Now the key to driving on these narrow roads is to know when you're supposed to pull over in a wider spot to let someone pass you from the other direction and they need to know how as well or things get all screwed up. Well, guess what?  Somebody didn't know the routine so everybody got screwed up and one car even blew a tire trying to pull off on the verge in a bad spot. In 2012 on our trip to Scotland we got an excellent piece of advice from a local lady who said do not pull off on the verge (edge of the road) because in Scotland it is very soft and you will get stuck - soooo we avoid the verge! Luckily we made it back to Portree without any mishaps.

There are some things we wanted to see that we just didn't have time for, so we definitely need to go back!

                                   Old Man of Storr in the background

                                 Neist Point lighthouse

                                  Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls