To make a long story very short: I have a bad case of tennis elbow and consequently I am trying to minimize computer use – especially at home. This is why there were no recent web page updates and why this one is going to be very short.

In spite of the lack of news, the past two months have been very eventful. We traveled quite a bit: Bath and Brighton in England, Paris and a whirlwind tour of Scotland.

Only telegraphically then.
(Click on the picture to see it full size, use a back button to return to this spot.) Bath was a spa resort during the Georgian era but has Roman roots. All of this was based on the presence of a hot spring, which was originally worshiped by the Celts. Very pretty town, but what surprised me, was the size and preservation of the Roman Baths. Much bigger than I thought.

Brighton became the resort destination during the Victorian era, apparently initiated by a society doctor who declared that sea water was good for your health. Not to swim in, but to drink! Brighton is not as pretty as Bath, but it has a very extravagant, India-inspired royal palace, pebble beaches of flint and very cold water. Even though we did see a few brave souls swimming. May have been Scotts or Canadians.

Next we headed to Paris on the Eurostar. It is a big time saver, mainly because one does not have to spend an hour and 20 quid getting to the airport 2 hours before departure. We bought a package deal – train and 3 nights in a hotel. In spite of 3 stars (I wonder who does the ranking) the hotel was quite basic, but adequate. After all we did not go to Paris to stay in a hotel. It has been more than 30 years since my last visit, but things did not change all that much. We were lucky with the weather, actually a little hot the last day, and were able to see all the places we wanted to see. Interesting contrast to London, both fascinating cities in their own way, but very different. At the moment, though, London feels like home.

To finish our vacation plans we took the train to Edinburgh. Spent one night in town, just enough to get a taste of the festival, which was a lot of fun but also the main reason for very expensive accommodation. B&B for 50 quid per person. The next day we rented a car and started a tour of Scotland. The rental company ran out of Fiestas and upgraded us to a Mercedes. Unfortunately this was the rainiest summer in Scotland in a long time. Just as we were trying to leave Edinburgh we found out that the main road to Inverness was closed due to a landslide. BR>

We ended up going in a big westward arc: Sterling, Fort William, Inverness. Narrow, curvy roads, heavy traffic are probably the reason for my tennis elbow (clutching the steering wheel too hard) and definitely made Kumiko sea sick for most of the journey. I suspect it will be a long time before we head out on another car trip. The next day we went looking for Loch Ness but had no luck. The weather improved, however, and we had a very good time in a small fishing town of Cullen on the coast of Moray Firth. Visited a few castles, a whisky distillery and then headed back to Edinburgh. We had just enough time to squeeze in a visit on the royal yacht Britannia before we caught a train back.