Update from Europe

Ok so I've been a negligent blogger...but I'm keeping up on email so if you want to ask anything or give any advice on what to see while here shoot me an email! I can answer them on long bus rides and when there is no internet access.

So after the hiccup with the arrival in Spain, we've just been going, going, going. Rather than attempting to describe everything that's happened since then, here are some highlights:

So we spent two of our evenings in Madrid sitting in the Plaza Mayor, a sort of town square where people come to eat or drink and enjoy the fabulous ambiance of Spanish Summer evenings. Here we are having drinks in the plaza, I ordered a chocolate shake which turned out to be chocolate milk, Ainsley ordered water, as she has done the entire trip...not the adventurous type. Other highlights in Spain include the Prado, visiting the little town of Toledo, and just walking the streets of Madrid.


We went from Madrid to Edinburgh, Scotland which was a dramatic climate change - from hot and dry to cool and humid. Our first evening there we hiked up an extinct volcano where we had great views of Edinburgh (see picture at right with Edinburgh castle in the background on the left) and also met three new friends who invited us to stay, drink, smoke, and sing with them. I was tempted...but my companions were not so we declined.

Other highlights from Scotland include touring the highlands and running into a bagpiper in the middle of nowhere, seeing Loch Lomond, the cute and fabulous bed & breakfast we stayed in, and walking up and down the Royal Mile (the central street in old-town Edinburgh. In this picture I am spitting on a heart in the street. It is apparently the only place in Edinburgh where spitting is legal and it is supposed to bring good luck. However, we spend a good ten minutes standing there while waiting for everyone to get a good picture, and after seeing/hearing all the various wads of spittle fly onto the sidewalk, or in one case, splash up onto me, I was ready to forfeit my spitting rights and vacate the area.

We spent two days in Preston, England, going to the temple on Saturday and church in the morning on Sunday. It was a fairly relaxing stop but we were all ready to get to London.

Monday morning we started the long drive to London, taking detours to the Wedgewood factory, a famous pottery company, and Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare. We loved visiting the Wedgewood factory, the boys were less impressed, but even they had to admit that seeing the way it was made and painted was interesting. I think almost every girl bought at least one thing, I was proud of myself for buying only two items, a cup and saucer, that were very inexpensive. Here Ainsley, Sarah and I are eating at the Wedgewood cafe, which was delicious, off of Wedgewood dishes. All-in-all a fun little sidetrip that helped break up the drive.

When we arrived in London the first night we were all starving so we set out for Picadilly Circus and found a great little Italian restaurant. We were all thrilled to finally have a good solid meal, where we actually felt full. Plus the waiter was great...he told us the nights he's on while we're here so some of us may be going back :)

We decided to do a little bit of walking around aftet dinner, so, guided by my trusty Rick Steves book, I lead the group towards Trafalgar Square. We ended up in a few dark alleys, and at the end it took us a half hour in the rain to find a Tube station, but we were not lost at any point, despite what some may have said or thought. It was a fun way to spend our first night and at the very least we'll have great memories of being soaked in dark London alleys...post-walk pictures and a description of today's edition of 'Lost in London' all coming soon so stay tuned!