The trip so far

Plans are moving along -- well except for that cactus thing -- and 7 weeks from Sunday, we will be on a plane from Charlotte to London.  We are making a quick stop in New Jersey to attend my college reunion and will then fly from Newark to Charlotte and then Charlotte overnight to London.

We'll be spending 6 days in London where we hope to accomplish the following:

* attend a performance by the London Philharmonic
* take a day tour to Stonehenge & Bath
* cruise down the Thames to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich
* spend a day in Cambridge and -- if given enough "wife-points" -- take a bike tour of the town
* FIND AND SPEND HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS IN THE DOCTOR WHO STORE!!!!!!
* see the Tower of London

In addition to walking around and seeing Big Ben, Westminster Abby and the usual touristy spots.  London has fabulous museums, but we're more of the walk around and absorb the culture & feel of the place, rather than spend time indoors.  We'll see what we have time for.  We'll be there 6 1/2 days before we take the Chunnel to Paris. 

And speaking of Paris......

We're bo-ho'ing it and have found an apartment to rent in the Montmartre district, just a stone's throw from Sacre Coeur, aways from downtown Paris, but close to the Moulin Rouge.  It's like visiting New York City and staying in Greenwich Village.  Here's the link to our room for 4 days:

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1653798

Looks pretty funky, but appealing.  I showed Gene 3 choices and he liked this one the best, even with the mattress on the floor.  I think the fact that the mattress was big sold him.  It is really hard to find a place to rent that has at least a queen sized bed.  We had the same issue in Spain.  The Europeans apparently really like plain ol' double beds.  Oy.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to this place for some reason.  I think we're gonna love feeling like Parisians.

We're only in Paris 4 days and one of those days will be spent going to Normandy and taking a tour of the beaches and the cemetery, something I've always wanted to do.  I'm also hoping to get a reservation at La Tour d'Argent, one of the oldest restaurants in the country.  There has been a restaurant on that spot since 1529, I've read.  I went there in 1982 and had a lunch that still ranks as the highlight of that trip.  I'm hoping that we will have the same experience even under different owners.  I chose it because it belonged to the Terrail family.  Papa owned Tour d'Argent and sonny came to Los Angeles and opened Ma Maison (does that still exist?)  Papa died sometime since 2000 and the restaurant is under new ownership, but still goes by the same name.  It's located on the 6th floor of its building with a spectacular view of Notre Dame. 

In Barcelona, we're near --- you know, I've kind of forgotten.  It was about a month ago and it's all mushed together.  Here's the link:

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1904671

Now I remember how lovely it is.  I'm not planning anything for Barcelona.  I'll have information, but we'll plan each day as it comes.  I have a feeling we're gonna be winding down and I want to make sure we're able to just do nothing -- maybe sit on the beach and watch the Mediterranean Sea or walk up and down La Rambla again -- if that's how we feel.  But there is an interesting monastery only an hour's train ride from the city and in the other direction, there's the Salvador Dali Museum, a hoot just by itself. 

So much to do, so little time.  But we'll have a blast!