To Paris and beyond...

Whew.
Spent a lovely morning at Mont St Michel, the abbey on top of a granite island. It also was used as a prison and a fortress back in the day, but now is an abbey and a small community of monks and nuns live there, sharing their space for contemplation, work and worship with thousands of tourists a day. Jeff and I took a tour- it was beautiful!
Then we had a quick picnic on the ramparts above the water, and caught a bus to catch our trains to Paris. Took all day, but we got into Paris at night and got to see the Eiffel tower sparkling and lit up! It started sparkling just as we walked up! Our hotel was 2 blocks from the park. We found a cute cafe and enjoyed some Parisian classics, and wine from the Bordeaux region we had just come from.
The next day we walked through most pf the main part of the city. Arc de Triumph, the Louvre from a distance, alone the Seine river, and saw lots of other landmarks I don't know how to spell and don't have time to look up right now.
Then we caught our flight in the nick of time into Edinburgh, got a nice car upgrade and got acquainted with driving on the other side of the car and the road, and arrived at our hostel. Getting ready for a tour this morning of the Royal Mile. :)
Thanks again to Starbucks for free WiFi.

We have places to sleep!

We have officially booked each night of our trip! Or, in one case, decided not to book something. Yes, we plan to stay up all night, and/or sleep in the airport during our final layover in Reykjavik, Iceland. Wow. This is happening!

Jeff and I have started a list of things we want to do in each city/area ... any suggestions?
We'll be in:
Berlin, Munich, Fussen, Germany
Lauterbrunnen & Gimmewald, Murren, Switzerland
Bordeaux region, Paris, France
Edinburgh, Western Coast, Isle of Islay and Isle of Skye, Scotland

Now, on to the packing... since we're traveling budget airlines, we have to pack lightly!

Sneak Peek

Here's a quick peek at our itinerary...

Flying from Seattle to Reykjavik, Iceland - from Reykjavik to Frankfurt, Germany. From Frankfurt, we take a train to Berlin, Germany.
From Berlin, train to Munich - OKTOBERFEST!
From Munich, we split up - J&A will head to family in SW France, and we will head to Switzerland.
We will meet up in Bordeaux, France - then head up to Paris and the Normandy Coast.
Then we fly from Paris to Edinburgh, travel to the west coast of Scotland, and spend time on the islands.
Fly out of Inverness to London, then London to Reykjavik again - this time, with a layover, and then we'll be headed home.

Whew. I'm tired already! 3 weeks will go by fast!