Day 11 - London, Day 2

This was  vacation was one day too long. Overpriced breakfast with meh service. Then, we took the metro to Buckingham Palace. This is when it started getting quite warm. In fact, it was 20 degrees hotter than the average.  89F was the high. This is the day we decided to walk the most, I think. 8 miles. It definitely felt like the most. We walked from Buckingham Palace, through St. James’ park (stopped for a bit at the playground), to Westminster Abbey and Hall, past the Elizabeth Tower (and the bell within, Big Ben), and onto a very touristy (if those places weren’t) Southbank. We arrived in Southbank just in time to beat a TON of school kids to the bathroom…the very dirty bathrooms. Got some chicken nuggets (very McDonald’s like…but not as good) and got in the line for the London Eye. It was a nice ride. It’s 443 ft. tall. The Las Vegas High Roller is 450 ft. tall and is currently the tallest Observation Wheel in the world. From the London Eye we could see a playground and we spent some time there next. Then, on to….lunch?….at a burger place. Ellea enjoyed her non-breaded chicken strip sandwich. Avery got a smash burger. He’s been enjoying burgers recently. After that, we had a boat tour, which was pretty good for 15£ each. We went to Draughts next which is a board game pub under the train tracks. Pretty cool area. I don’t like how you have to pay to get in, but there are a ton of missing pieces from the games we tried. Also, food wasn’t so great. We had a couple ideas of how to close out our trip and we decided to walk around Queen Mary’s Rose Garden in Regent Park. This would have been a great idea if it wasn’t the same weekend as Taste London, the bridge wasn’t under construction, I didn’t have to pee, and my feet didn’t really hurt. But there we were…chasing after ducks and posing with roses. Lindsey did find a restroom, so that was nice. Would have been better if that place was still serving food. I would have liked to have eaten there. I would actually have pictures to share if we had.

Instead, we walked out of the park and back to our neighborhood when I found an overpriced Japanese food restaurant. It was pretty good. We sat on the patio. But that’s when trouble started. We see a guy on a Lime rental bike almost run over a couple guys. He then comes towards us…looking our way…then turns away and goes to the other side. I know now he was setting the bike up for an easy get-away. He walks towards us and says he’s very hungry and only has a couple pounds, which he shows us and points to our edamame. We…stupidly…both turn our heads…and that’s when I think he grabs my phone from the table. Rudely, he also takes our edamame, throws it in his mouth (without evening opening the pods), and runs off on his bike. I had no idea what had happened at this point. Lindsey just wants to close out and be done with the place. I get up to go pay and realized I left my phone on the table. Head back to the table and that’s when I realize what had actually happened. I then used Lindsey’s phone to put my phone into lost mode, but by that time he had already gotten down the block and had turned my phone off. We paid with a standard card and went back to the apartment.

When we left the states, Lindsey thought I was crazy for taking 2 emergency phones with us. To quote Branch from Trolls, “well who’s crazy now? Me…crazy prepared.”  From my new phone, I was able to send an erase command to my iPhone 15 Pro. I assumed the phone would never be turned on again. Early the next morning, though, it was turned on and I got confirmation the it had been erased. We pack up and I got my iPhone 11 set up the best I could with what I needed for the next day, then…bed time.

Day 10 - London, Day 1

Found a really nice bagel shop with salmon lox in our neighborhood. From there we started walking to the tube but Linsey realized she forgot her phone so she ran back.

We got to the Shakespeare’s Globe Theater just on time for the tour. It was very interesting and the kids got to try on a bunch of costumes, which they loved. We then saw the location of the original globe theater along with the information panels installed there.

We then found the best pub of the trip so far, Pulse Bar London. Amazing service and really good food. They had connect 4 along with a bunch of other games. Good cask beers and cold beer from the tap. I loved the wings, but we all loved the chicken bites.

From there, another bar right on the Thames, at the Old Thameside Inn, then over the Tower Bridge. We talked by the Tower of London, went to a Starbucks Reserve (where they had nothing special), and found dinner at The Crutched Friar. Good price for the food. Good beer.

The pubs around London get REALLY busy after 4:30 or so. They get quickly filled by men in button up white shirts with backpacks and women in skirts.

Now, to bed.

Day 9 - Edinburgh and the Road to London

We woke up late. I drove fast. Lots of traffic at the gas station by the airport. We got to the drop off 15 minutes late. I wrote a stellar review for them mentioned my check-in agent by name. They were cool.

Stressful getting to city center with all our stuff, but we managed. Had some issues finding Brew Dog at Waverley, but we found it with just enough time to grab a couple dogs and 5 beers. Got on the train with 5 minutes to spare. Train left 1 minute early. Good thing we weren’t running right on time like we have been for most of the trip. Enjoyed the scenery and played a round of Mario Party. Had 6 beers. Lindsey said I couldn’t. I proved her wrong. But, I think this is where I left my water bottle. So…jokes on me, I guess.

Got to King’s Cross and tried to find gate 9 3/4. There was a long line. It was a tourist trap with a gift shop. No thanks. On to the underground. I didn’t understand that you simply Tap & Go for the cheapest fair. Also…kids go free, so you use the handicap entrance. Instead, I bought individual tickets. When we checked into our AirBNB, our host explained how it works…for the most part.

Went out for dinner and realized we’re in a very eclectic burogh in the city. Had some ramen, then bruschetta. Back to the airBNB and into bed.

Day 8 - Inverness and the Road to Edinburgh

The night on the banks of lock Ness ended and the sunlight drifted in through the back window of our campervan. I felt the pressure of a long day to somewhere I did not know, fore we had not booked our next campsite between here and Edinburgh. I also felt another pressure and removed myself from the van to find relief.

Upon return, I woke the family and we quickly readied ourselves for the day ahead. We drove up the hill and over the river to the trailhead of the Fall of Foyer. We walked down to the falls. Very touristy. Very confined. Awesome falls, but fenced pretty well. We will not be swimming here. Honestly, a lot of rocks. Probably not possible to swim here.

We went to a local shop at the trail head to grab some cheese and crackers for breakfast on Day 9, as we wouldn’t have enough time for a real breakfast when we head down to Edinburgh.

From there, we drove up to Inverness and Lindsey took a lot of great pictures of Loch Ness and River Ness on the way.

In Inverness, we went to a little pizza place and brewery called Black Isle. Their beer was delicious. They even had 3 Fonteinen Oude Lambik (2020) on draught. From there, to a book store back to the can, and on the road.

A bit after 4:00 PM, I realized we hadn’t booked a campground for the night, so Lindsey was able to find something. We stopped at House of Bruar on the way down for some horrible fish and chips and Lobster. The kids now hate fish and chips…that’s House of Bruar. We should have listed to the guy who recommended the Cod over the Haddock. Might have been better. I had the half lobster…which was good.

Made it to the campground and checked in. Started a load of laundry and went to go visit another waterfall a short walk away. Apparently I forgot the body wash and shampoo at the last campground. Lindsey was not pleased. She and Ellea ended up using hand soap from the bathroom. I was lucky enough to find someone’s leftover Body wash and shampoo combo in the men’s side. Avery preferred to use the dish soap I brought in, so I had the good stuff all to myself. Bed time. Early morning tomorrow to head into Edinburgh. We’ve gotta drop off the van by 10:30 PM.

Scotland

Scotland was magical and I’m only semi-jokingly planning our move to the UK. It’s green and lush and the people are, for the most part, down to earth and sweet. We visited standing stones, toured the Edinburgh Castle, stayed in a Leslie Castle, touched the water of the Loch Ness, and walked through a hermitage. We walked on steps from the Middle Ages, walked through walkways from 1000 years ago, touched stones from 4000 years ago, and met some awesome, wonderful people.

Day 7 - The Road to Loch Ness

Leslie Castle was a wonder escape from the campervan. Avery and Ellea’s first and only bath of the trip, as everywhere else only has showers, and the only time they’ll have their own beds. Two nights in a campground near Edinburgh, tomorrow night we’ll be closer to Perth, but tonight we sleep next to Loch Ness.

This morning we had a wonderful breakfast prepared by the Bee Baroness and her husband with estate harvested honey.

Last night, we decided there’s no was we’ll be able to make it to the Callanish Stone Circles so we asked our host about others that are a little closer.

We left the castle and set off for 3 different standing stone spots: The Maiden Stone, East Aquhorthies Circle, and The Bradbury stone. The Aquhorthies circle was the most impressive with its recumbent stone. The plan was to head up to Inverness until I realized there was a distillery on the way that had openings for a 300PM tour. I booked it. Who needs lunner anyway.

We arrived at Tomatin Distillery just after 3 and were right on time for the tour. Tolerance for drunk driving is low in Scotland, so if you’re a driver, most distilleries give drivers mini to-go bottles to take their tasters with them. Do, Lindsey got to taste the whiskey and I got mine to go. The tour itself was very interesting.

From there, we took a very small road down to Loch Ness, we found our campground, then went out for dinner. Lindsey and I both had the traditional Sunday roast.

Back at camp, the kids played with another kid starting the night, then, bed time.

Day 6 - Leslie Castle

It rained a ton last night. The drive today was rough. Don’t think I’ll get used to driving on the left side of the road. Had breakfast at the camp restaurant/bar and headed out. Lunner in Dundee at St. Andrews Brewing Campany, then finished heading up to Leslie Castle.

We got a lot of history on the place, but I won’t bore you with that here. Had a great dinner that the owners prepared and took a tour. Baths and bed.

Day 5 - Edinburgh

Our original plan was to leave Edinburgh today after spending most of the day there, and spend the night along the coast in Aberdeen. But, I didn’t feel comfortable enough with the van to find parking in Edinburgh to spend the day there. Plus, this campground has laundry and we did a load in the morning, limiting our time in Edinburgh. So, we changed plans and took the bus in to Edinburgh. The majority of the day was spent in Edinburgh Castle. We saw the Crown Jewels of Scotland.

From there, we found a great fish and chips place, Bertie’s. Incredible Fish and Chips. We finally found another dinner dish that Ellea loves.

From there, we took the bus back to the campground and hung out in the onsite restaurant/bar and played Uno until they closed at 10:00.

I have to take a moment here to say that this is the nicest campground I have ever been to. First, the restaurant/bar is great. The bathrooms by our pitch are large, beautiful, and have great music playing all the time. And, they’re incredibly clean, thanks to every camper cleaning up their own shower after each use, AND a group of 3 staff members cleaning every day for at least an hour. there are laundry facilities, a store, game room, and playground. Good night.

Day 4 - Paris to Edinburgh

Early morning and long day. Cleaned up the apartment and left by 6:45. Got to the local train that took us to Gare De Nord. Found the EuroStar platforms and went through UK security pretty easily. But, I only realized there might be a problem when I look at our tickets.

They apparently forgot 2 coaches and had to move everyone around. They put Ellea and Avery on coach 18, and me and Lindsey on coach 16. Seems like a bad plan to me. I was told to go back up to the stand thingy 15 minutes prior to departure to check for any no-shows. They gave me new tickets so I texted Lindsey to move to a coach that didn’t exist. That didn’t go over well. Eventually, we have ended up on the same coach, in the same aisle, but we had to hang out between coaches for a while so they could move people a round to find room for us.

I truly do not understand how we could be moved to a coach with passengers checked in that doesn’t actually exist. This company makes revenue by selling seats on trains. You’d think they can figure out how to do that well.

I had originally booked a set of 4 seats together at a table in coach 12 because of research I had done on getting from a Eurostar in London arriving in St. Pancras to a LNER train out of King’s Cross. I gave us 30 minutes to get from one train to the other. That was barely enough time. By 2 minutes technically. They were shutting doors as we were running down the platform.

At that point everything went pretty smoothly, except we needed to kick people out of our seats. They had a good reason though, they “have a big family.” Maybe that’d be a good reason to book earlier, so you get the seats you want. Didn’t really help me with EuroStar though.

Once we got to Edinburgh, we found a nice park for the kids to play in and Lindsey stayed with the kids there. I took a tram to the airport and another bus just a bit further to pick up the campervan. The agent locked the keys in the van while showing me how everything worked and had to break open the side window to get back in I guess they don’t have spare keys.

Oh, then someone decided to empty their crap onto the drain nearby. That was gross.

Then, I had to drive this giant van back to pick up Lindsey and the kids in the middle of Edinburgh…on the left side of the road. It’s amazing how much more stressful driving is when you are on the left side of the road instead.

Once I picked up Lindsey, we headed to our campground, Mortonhall, on the south side of Edinburgh. The onsite restaurant stopped serving food at 8:00, so we had to take the van out one more time to find a restaurant, which wasn’t too hard, and quite delicious. One wet get back to camp, we’re set up our beds and fell asleep.

Day 3 - Paris

Busy day today. Had 9:00 AM reservations for Notre Dame, so we had some smoked salmon and croissants for breakfast and hit the road. Got to Notre Dame with plenty of time to spare. So we walked around for a bit and checked out the construction still being done. The Chapel reopened after the fire 6 years ago earlier this year, but the bell towers still are under repair. Once our time came we walked right in and walked around. The kids were mostly well behaved. We bought a stupid golden commemorative coin. Not my idea.

From there, at 9:45, I got a beer, Lindsey got an espresso, the kids got a chocolate croissant, and we shared a French onion soup, at the same place I fell in love with French onion soup 10 years ago. We bought some tourist crap and went to the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation. That all ate up enough time before our 12:10 appointment at the Arc de Triumphe. The Eiffel Tower is NOT the best view of Paris. Why? Because you can’t see the Eiffel Tower. The Atc de Triumphe does not have that same problem and IS the best view in Paris. From there, we grabbed some ice cream and went to the Lourve. Long lines, but once you’re in the lessor visited halls, the crowds are much more manageable. Saw the Mona Lisa, Vinus De Milo, and other notable works of art. Spent about 3 and a half hours there. From there to dinner (where I think I ate some bad Tuna Tartare) and back to the apartment.

We were planning on heading out again for the 11:00 PM Eiffel Tower sparkling, but…well…as I said before…bad Tuna Tartare. So, drank the wine and ate the cheese here. On our way early in the morning to London and Edinburgh. Good night.

A real mummy

Day 3 in Paris

Last day in Paris

Notre Dame

Memorial for the Deported Martyrs

The Arc de Triomphe

The Louvre

After midnight here. Trying to get some laundry done. Good day. Ellea echoed my sentiment from 10 years ago: “I hate stairs!” Europe loves their stairs. 🤣

Early start tomorrow. Need to be up for the Chunnel at 5:30. Headed to Scotland. 🙌🏻

Day 2 - Paris

Kids stayed awake WAY too late last night. Today, they fell asleep earlier, so hopefully we’re on a good schedule now.

This morning started off a bit lazy, but we ended up at a great little cafe with incredible service by Champ-de-Mars called Le Parisiennes. The server definitely earned a tip. No one else today did.

Then, we walked the Champ-de-Mars to the Eiffel Tower, found entrance 2, went through security and got in line for the elevator to the summit. That elevator actually takes up to the 2nd level (which is actually the 3rd level if you count the ground). You’re supposed to take another elevator from there up to the summit, but we hung out on two for awhile. After another long line we eventually made it to the top. Views are great. Went back down the elevator to two, then took the stairs from there down to one, where we had a couple beers and a couple slushee like drinks. The whole experience took us about two and a half hours.

Didn’t get to do the Eiffel Tower last time we were in Paris, so really wanted to get to that this trip. Last time, we also wanted to get to the Catacombs, but our last day was on a day that they were closed, so we couldn't go in. This time, I worked hard to get tickets for today at 3:30. We took the train over to the area and sat down at a cafe across the street from the catacombs. Had some French onion should and a beer. We made our way over to the Catacombs just to see a sign saying they were closed due to a strike. So, not getting there this trip either.

We started to frantically try to find something to do and ended up going to the Chocolate museum and river sightseeing cruise.

We then found the best Fish and Chips in Paris, and that might have been accurate.

Back to the apartment, showers, then bed.

Day 1 - Paris

That plane ride was not fun. I thought I had a hard time sleeping on planes without kids. With kids, it’s a whole lot worse. Oh, and I felt light-headed at one point and lost circulation to my fingers so I had to lay down on the floor by the bathrooms with my feet up. That was fun.

But, once we got to Paris things got easier. Border control was a breeze, we got our luggage and took the B train into Paris.

We got lost in a mall and saw a car driving along a pedestrian walkway and hit a stair railing in front of a 500 year old church all within 30 minutes of arriving at our local train station.

We walked along Rue Montorgueil dodging bikes and motorcycles to our rental apartment a few blocks away. I’ll post a comparison of our AirBNB 10 years ago and the one now, tomorrow.

After settling in, we headed out for dinner and I was reminded of a few things.

1. The French love to smoke after their meals on patios.

2. Ask for still water unless you want to pay for a bottle of sparkling.

3. Frambois is a Belgian beer, not French.

4. In France, you wait on your server. They do not wait on you.

But, at least the food was delicious. Lindsey had scallops, I had duck breast, and the kids had fried chicken and fried fish. We had a charcuterie platter with some odd meats and 5 beers. It was a long meal.

Afterwards, I found a grocery store with water and some local beers and Lindsey and the kids got gelato. It’s 1:00 PM in Murrieta, so I’ve got some work to do. But after that, bed time.

Day 1 in Paris

We landed and exited the plane around 4pm. Got through customs and baggage claim in about an hour. Train took about 30 minutes. Got into our cute airbnb by about 6pm. Got settled and then went out to dinner. I forgot how long the experience is here in France. The French spend their time savoring the dining experience. It’s now after 10. Here’s hoping jet lag doesn’t sink its teeth in for too long.

The Plane

11 hours on a plane is not the most pleasant experience. First image: take off. Second: landing.

Day 0 - Last Meal

Our last menu before our long trip to Paris and the UK is at Eduardo's in Corona. I figured, there's probably not going to be any decent Mexican food in Europe, so load up while we can. 

I posted something very close to that exactly 10 years ago today. Except…now we have 2 kids in tow.

Our Adventure 2025

We’re going back to Europe 10 years later. But, this time, with two children in tow. Wish us luck.