On the Road to Morocco

No camels, no kitschy sand-dune Hollywood sets, no Dorothy Lamour shrouded in veils singing a siren song, and, alas, no Bob Hope and Bing Crosby leading us to fabled Karameesh. But like Bob and Bing (and Webster's dictionary), we're Morocco bound.

We ferried from Algeciras, Spain, skimming past the monolithic Rock of Gibraltar, and arrived in Tangier, Morocco in just over an hour. What a cultural difference an hour makes! Spanish is replaced by undulating Arabic on road signs and billboards, and shorts and t-shirts are replaced by long and flowing djellabahs. Starbucks is nowhere in sight, but roadside juice stands run by women in colorful, wide-brimmed hats spring into view at every curve. And in the fields, round wheels of hay are replaced by hay stacked in neat square packages. It's a whole new exciting world.

On the Straits of Gibraltar
















The Road to Hotel Club Le Mirage

An Afternoon Stroll













Street Signs

Hotel Club Le Mirage

Scotland Heat Wave

The Scots say that nobody comes to Scotland for the weather. A breezy 70 degree summer day here is a heat wave. Imagine how prepared they were (or we were!) when we encountered 90 degree temperatures in July. Nevertheless, we dragged ourselves all over hilly Edinburgh, melted in barely air-conditioned buses, and puddled at the foot of Calton Hill after an afternoon climb. On the plus side, the sunshine made for great photos. Oh, and tell the Scots that Kerry did come to Scotland for the weather. We paid good money to see castles rising from ghostly mists and ruined abbeys shrouded in fog. And though we didn't expect the restless spirits of Highland warriors sighing from wind-whipped battlefields, it would've been nice to be able to imagine them. Hey, sometimes drizzle and gloom is what sells.

The Ben Nevis Distillery, Fort William

Whisky helps (what heat?)



















Lots of it















Raffle Winners!

(more whisky)



















Urquhart Castle Ruins

It actually did rain here. Kerry was quite happy.















Loch Ness













At Invermoriston Bridge



















Glenfinnan Hills

See Harry Potter anywhere?



















The Jacobite Steam Train

(aka the Hogwarts Express)

Kerry and Kim in Hyde Park

Our trip to the UK started in London in the rain, the afternoon of the tube and bus bombings. This was Kerry's first trip to the UK, and her first impression of England was of a London bobby carrying a machine gun. Not what any of us expected. Once the Heathrow Express resumed service, we made our way through the city by cab, the only way to get to our hotel in Mayfair. Once we arrived at the Grosvenor Square Marriott, we found that the block around our hotel was taped off due to our proximity to the American Embassy. Despite the obstacles, we took a long walk through Mayfair and Hyde Park in the rain. As you can see, our spirits are high.


Rules Restaurant

Here we are at Rules, the oldest restaurant in London. We enjoyed a tasty meal, good wine, and decadent puddings under the watchful eye of Maggie.

Here's Maggie. (See, I wasn't kidding.)

Around London