Fall color in Washington and NY state

When we went back in the truck we were hoping to see some fall color. We did hit the peak of color in eastern Washington- look for yourself
  
Unfortunately- we missed the peak in the northeast- heres what we saw in upstate New York

Turkeys at our back door

We had six days at home in Kettle Falls after we returned from Europe. We woke up on our first full day at home to find two dozen wild turkeys at our back door  

Like Threading a Needle

On Friday morning near Chicago we picked up a load out of this "hole in the wall" loading dock. They had to stop 4 lanes of traffic while Kurt backed in-- it was quite a sight to see.

Now you see the truck....

and then it is going...

going....

going....

GONE....

Time to go home- but last stop - Pisa

On our train trip back to Milan we got off for a couple of hours in Pisa. We really liked this city- it was colorful and quaint and not so crowded as Florence. Seeing the leaning tower was a kick. We paid to go inside and up to the top. It was funny trying to walk upright as you climbed the stairs. The view from the top was spectacular as well.

5 days on the Mediterranean

Sarah loaned us the use of her apartment in Castiglioncello for the final days of our holiday. The weather was perfect, the water was gorgeous- we had a grand and relaxing time.

Here is our first approach to the beach


Later, our feet are very happy

A day in Florence

While at Sarah's we traveled into Florence- a hairraising 30 minute bus ride away. We walked all over, viewed Michelangelo's David, visited the Uffizi Gallery and stopped for our favorite drinks at a sidewalk cafe.

Under the Tuscan Sun

Next stop Italy where we stayed with my cousin Sarah in the Tuscan countryside near Florence

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LIving IN a Postcard

We spent 5 days in the Swiss Alps. It was like living IN a postcard- each direction you turned was another view that was more spectacular than the last. We were in awe continuously. I must have 100 photos- but here are a select few.
The tallest mountain in the background is the JungFrau- the tallest peak in Europe

We stayed in the town at the base of this funicular train

The hiking was spectacular- we hiked for hours each day

the town was way too cute and gorgeous with all the flowers

Beautiful Paris

We had about 4 hours to wander around Paris. It is a vibrant, colorful city. We visited Notre Dame, had lunch at a street side cafe and even managed to buy fruit, bread and cheese for our next train ride. Here we are overlooking the Seine, with the Eiffel tower off in the distance.

On to Paris

We took an early train from London to Paris- under the English Channel- and met up with Amy and Tim who had just flown in from the states. When the four of us emerged from the subway the first thing we see is a scale model of the rocket ship that will be carrying Amy and Tim's next satallite into space- of course we had to take a picture.

London

We next spent two days in London. On our first evening we enjoyed a delicious English dinner- thank you Anne! And thanks for joining us Lucinda and Eleanor, it was a wonderful evening.

The next day we toured the city. First stop- Buckingham Palace and it just happened to be time for the changing of the guard. We also toured the London Tower and ate lunch near the Tower Bridge. Here is a picture from Buckingham Palace.

The English Lakes District

Next stop after Scotland was two days in the Lakes District of NW England. This is a hikers paradise. Public walking paths cris-cross the hills around these beautiful lakes. The Paths often take you right through fields with sheep and cows. Here is the view from up above Derwent Water lake and another of Kurt shooing away sheep as we walk along.

Next stop - Edinburgh

We couldn't leave Scotland without visiting the beautiful city of Edinburgh. This castle was an easy walk from the train station. We explored around the castle and several blocks down High Street. The street and its side alleys are very narrow-since they were built centuries ago. It was fun to poke around and find little out of the way shops and dead ends.

Loch Lomond

On Sunday David and Jennifer took us to another district in Scotland- the highlands. We saw scottish highland cows and ate lunch in a pub at Loch Lomond (incase you are wondering-we took the LOW road)

5 Scottish gate and farmland

After two days in England we traveled on to SE Scotland. Above is a picture of the gate in the back wall of our B&B with farm land beyond. This was our morning view from our bedroom window.

While in Scotland we were wined and dined and chauffered through the countryside by David and Jennifer-We got quite a taste of scottish life. Below is a picture of their hometown of North Berwick

4 Glastonbury Abbey

When we hiked back down from the tor we entered the Glastonbury Abbey grounds. The Abbey was destroyed by Henry VIII in the 1500's - but the skeleton that remains is still amazing.

3 Hiking up the Glastonbury Tor

We spent one morning exploring the town of Glastonbury. After coffee at a sidewalk cafe we hiked up to the top of the Glastonbury Tor- a famous hill at the edge of town. There is a tower at the top and a fabulous view.

2 Quaint English countryside

While staying with our relatives Susanna and Geoffrey in SW England we took a stroll through the neighborhood. This house on a quiet lane was just too quaint for words.

1 Stonehenge

Our first stop after leaving the airport. To our surprise Stonehenge is located in a very unassuming place- right alongside the county road. The overall size of the formation seemed smaller than I expected, but the individual rocks are massive- hard to comprehend how it was constructed.