Itineraries

Beth reminds me that I owe her an itinerary. So, such as they are, here are my travel plans:

Today (Monday, June 29) I am on my way to Lyon in a few hours. I will be there until the 2nd of July. There is a bit of a haze between the 2nd and the 8th. I wanted to go to Reims, but apparently so does everyone else as I am not finding rooms. At least not rooms I am willing to stay in. A castle for $2k a night (wonder why they aren't full??), hovels that look frightening even in their website beauty shots, and stuff so far off the beaten path that a car would be a must. Which still may be an option. Need to think about that...

However, on the 8th I need to be in London so that I can catch my flight to Dublin. I will be there for a week, home base in a self catering apartment not far from the infamous Temple Bar, Trinity University (home of the illuminated copy of the Book of Kells), and the Writer's Museum. I plan on many side trips to various places throughout the country.

Then it is on to Scotland where I will start my return to London for the trip home. Still working out the logistics of that. Is it a ferry from Northern Ireland? Is it a flight from Dublin? And do I go far to the north (Skye?) or more centrally (Inverness?) or head to Edinburgh? These are questions yet to be answered. I hope to make a stop in York as I am told that it is wonderful - Betty's for tea is supposed to be a must. Finally I will most likely spend my last two to three nights in London before heading to New York to partake in the hospitality of a good friend for a few days, and finally back to Portland to crash with Beth and George while I re-start the job hunt.

This is a new adventure for me in that I am normally much more organized on my trips. While I have been known to make last minute changes during the trip, I have never been this nebulous. It is somewhat liberating! Scary in a good way.