On Saturday our return trip to Austin was long. We were delayed in Vegas for almost 6 hours; fortunately I had a book. When we walked out of the Austin airport at 1:30 a.m., the heat was intense, but it felt good to be home.
My Blog
Stockholm
Traveling from Copenhagen, our train crossed into Sweden via the Öresund Bridge. The five-hour trip to Stockholm took us past small towns and farms with typical brightly-colored wooden houses. Although Sweden has brutal winters, its summers are verdant and green. Once...
Overview of Copenhagen
An overview of Copenhagen.
Copenhagen
Amsterdam to Copenhagen was a day-long train ride through Holland, Germany and Denmark, but worth every minute. Copenhagen is amazing, the people, the culture, the history, the architecture and the natural beauty. By the early 10th century there was a small village...
Canals of Amsterdam
Scenes from a boat tour through the canals of Amsterdam. Many people live on their boats.
Dam Square
Amsterdam is very walkable; it’s flat and fairly compact. We went exploring around Dam Square. We could have done with 3 more days, but that is the drawback of giving ourselves an itinerary that allows us to see much of Europe - lots of beautiful places where we’re...
Van Gogh Museum
One of our favorite things about Amsterdam: the Van Gogh museum. In addition to the several hundred paintings, the museum really introduces the brilliant, serious artist and man. As his psychosis began to overtake his life, he struggled to produce more and more art,...
Amsterdam
We arrived Monday at Amsterdam Centraal Station, a huge modern structure that has been incorporated into a very old beautiful red brick building. The station is also a hub for taxis, buses, trams, the Metro (subway) and ferries. It includes restaurants and a mall....
The Louvre
On our last day in Paris, the Louvre. The sheer size of it is overwhelming; it’s the largest museum in the world. We began in the ancient world. Most of what remains from those times is sculpture. Then we moved forward. Be sure to click on the other photos to see us...
Our Second Week in Paris
We’ve finally figured out a traveling schedule that works for us: day 1, easy sightseeing for 3 or 4 hours; day 2, intense all-day sightseeing with lots of physical activity; day 3, collapse into a heap of inert protoplasm. Repeat. Today was a Day 3. We slept until 3...
Musee de Montmartre
Our apartment in Montmartre was just across the street from Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) Basilica. We took the funicular up and made a visit, then we walked from the other side to the Musee de Montmartre. The neighborhood has been home to many artists, writers and...
Palace of Versailles
We took the train out to the Palace of Versailles, which is now enveloped by the lovely Parisian suburban town of Versailles. The opulence makes it easy to understand how the palace became a symbol of everything the French revolutionaries resented about the monarchy....
Race in Paris
Last night we happened across a film from 1961, Paris Blues. Sidney Poitier and Paul Newman were jazz musicians living in Paris, and Diahann Carroll and Joan Woodward played American women on vacation together. Race played a significant role, as the couples fell in...
Eiffel Tower
We stayed up talking about this last night: our most romantic date ever! We watched the sunset from the Eiffel Tower (obscured by the clouds), then continued up to the summit to watch the lights of Paris come on.
Musee d’Orsay
The Musee d’Orsay has an incredible collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art, including exquisite statuary we’re still talking about. It occupies an old train station with a 5th floor terrace that’s a great spot for looking out over the city. Fun fact:...
Paris
Today we went farther afield to the Parc de Bercy, and walked across the Seine toward the Zoo. We’ve decided to spend two weeks here, being tourists at a bit more relaxed pace.Walking around exploring. At the Louvre, crepe suzettes, and our first Paris flea market....
Beautiful Paris
This is the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen, architecturally. I love the way the Seine winds through, and there are trees and parks and flowers everywhere. I’ve seen beautiful cities - certainly Vancouver’s natural setting is the most magnificent I’ve seen. But...
Paris
On the second day of August, we took the Eurostar from London to Paris. Eurostar is a super-high-speed train that goes through a tunnel under the English Channel then across the French countryside to Paris. [video width="426" height="240"...
Bath
Bath is located 97 miles west of London, in the county of Somerset. It's a small city with about 88,000 residents, and one of the prettiest towns we saw. Of course, almost every town we saw was picture-worthy, but Bath was interesting to us because it's big enough to...
Stonehenge
We came. We saw. We felt the energy. Alas, the mystery remains unsolved. Stonehenge has been designated a World Heritage Site, along with Avebury, which lies to its north. UNESCO describes their importance: The Stonehenge, Avebury, and Associated Sites World Heritage...
Windsor Castle
Palace GroundsWe reached Windsor Castle early Sunday morning, just before the it opened. Although it is a private home for the Queen and her family, many parts of the castle and its grounds are open for viewing and are managed by the Royal Trust. As our tour guide...
A Taste of Scotland
Kelso We had called ahead to reserve one of the last rooms available at Cross Keys Hotel in Kelso. When we arrived, we were surprised to see a large, impressive building dating from 1769. Even before then, since the earliest days of the Scottish coaching inns, there...
The North
As we left Aldeburgh and continued toward the town where the next day we’d be meeting friends, we began seeing highway signs saying, “The North.” It reminded us of the doomsday references in Game of Thrones. In the U.S., the only time you’d refer to “the North” is if...
In Search of Family History
Like many Canadian families, my mother’s family has its roots in Scotland, via England. Although I don’t know where my antecedents lived beyond my grandparents, I had a couple of places I very much wanted to see. Sitting at the right-hand wheel of our rental car...
London
I was sure I’d fall in love with London. We saw it first from the sky. Our plane flew over it just as the sun was coming up. Below us the Thames bisected the city and the iconic landmarks were easily recognizable. My mum lived in London as a young woman before the...
A Week in Devon
We knew traveling abroad would be more complicated than it might have been another year, so we agreed we’d stay flexible. The complications began immediately. We had planned to spend the second two weeks of July in the U.K., but just a few weeks before we arrived, the...
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles…
And we’re off!The first train ride on our 90-day Senior Global Eurail Pass. Each country has its own railroad (or several) and Eurail is the umbrella entity. We’ll be learning as we go.
Road Ready
Luggage: Since we so often pack more than we need, and we wanted this trip to be simple and easy, we invested in a couple of backpacks. We went to REI, the outdoor store, and we were measured for the packs to be sure they would be comfortable for us to carry. Our son,...
Welcome to Our 15 Weeks in Europe!
We're glad you're here, and we hope you enjoy the ride. I couldn't be more excited! I'm Jillian Coleman Wheeler, and my beloved companion in life and adventure is my husband, Dempsey. I'm a writer and counselor, and Dempsey retired in 2018 from a career with the...