Pictures from Erin's Story of our Round-a-Bout Route to Andechs

Just a couple notes to go with these pictures:

1. We rode about 50 km today. And we managed to keep up with Erin even though I have two gears and Stew only has one on his bike.

2. We navigated through hikingg designated trails on our bikes and even had the locals tell us we shouldn't be riding such old bikes on the trails -- coming from such hearty Bavarian folk I took what they said as a compliment

3. Beer Halls are not just for drinking -- they are places to sit for hours over a nic meal, and of course a beer, that has been mastered by specific breweries for centuries

4. Erin reads and speaks German like a pro -- she got us out of many jams on our way to Andechs as we were lost for parts of it and if it was left up to me I'd be wailing on a corner somewhere rather than speak German -- I loved the Italian and French languages, but I can't quite get my head around German.

5. We can't get money out of the ATM machines and we are streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetching what we've got and thinking about my mother and father who said we should consider some Travellor's Cheques as a back-up.

6. I will not be outdone by The BikeMeister -- the foiling continues

7. Bavarians like to eat meat -- a lot of it. Some of the women look like Claudia Schiffler, and eat all this hearty Bavarian food (???????) and some of them look like Rosie O'Donnell and eat all of this Bavarian food. All of the men look the same, except some of them still wear those snazzy little traditional leather shorts with suspenders

8. Germans make me look very relaxed and not particular about anything

9. Every second car here is a BMW, Porche, Mercedes or some other sports car that makes a lot of noise.

10. The bike system here is amazing -- you can go anywhere by bike safely. Just don't stop in the bike lane when there's a green light for your direction because people get upset and say rude things to you in German. That's the one time I have the bell rung at me. :)

Biking Around Munich & a Beer Garden at Chinese Tower

Hello -- Stewart and I have been using the bikes Erin found for us. She went to a great deal of trouble finding these bikes and for this, we are greatly appreciative. Mine is hot pink, and it has a little bell I like to ding all the time to irritate the Germans. Most of them don't care about the annoying foreigner, but you get your odd one that is rather uptight (Munich has a reputation for people being rather strict with the rules, formal and slightly snobby at times, or so I'm told by other Germans who DON'T live in Munich). There is apparently a BikeMeister (bike master) in the building, and he likes to reorganize the bikes if they are not put back perfectly into the racks. I have delighted in this and have managed to foil the BikeMeister's attempts to move my bike around (I found it tossed to the side two times last week) by locking it up in such a way as he can't move it. Stewart's mike requires a great deal of effort to turn those wheels, and he works hard to get from A to B. But not a complaint out of my Stewart. He's as brave as they get and he has ridden that bike like it has 18 gears, even though in reality he's working off of one.

We rode our bikes in the evening to the Chinese Tower Beer Hall. It's actually outside, and it holds approximately 5000 people. Once again, remarkable Eruope! The concept of that many people having beer(s) in Vancouver would mean the riot police would be standing by. Here in Germany, it's just a good night out. Some people bring their own blue checkered table cloths and a picnic, and then purchase abnormally large beers and drink them in quick succession. For 8 Euros, you can buy about 2 litres of beer in one giant mug. The mug alone weighs more than my arm weights at home and I enjoyed having one of these. The food is also nothing to put your nose up at -- here you can have all the fried potatoes, sausages, ribs, salads, fish, and beer you want without being asked any questions. Oh, and the chicken! This was my fave -- when you order a roast chicken, you don't just get a slice. You get half a chicken on your plate along with a whack of potatoes. Now that definitely beats out my Sunday dinner. We rode our bikes home through a pitch black park (our bikes have lights) and laughed hysterically all the way because... well I guess we all were having WAYYYY TO MUCH FUN! Well, love to you all, and thanks for all the responses on the blog -- we'll keep the information coming and the humour along with it!!! Love Amanda, Erin and Stewart :)

Guest Writer -- The One and ONLY Dr. Erin Drew, Live from Munich

All of the above pictures are from our Saturday at Neuschwanstein Castle near Fussen, Germany. Erin is writing about Sunday, our bike trip to Andechs brewery, monostary and beer garden! :)

Wow--me??? What you want me on your blog? After falling over from the shock of being asked, I had to start thinking--what would--should I write. And in the midst of my thinking, I confidently followed the wrong direction home and ended up realizing we were going the wrong way on the wrong side of the tracks. And then Amanda fell over on the bike and ended up on the ground...we needed to get home but I had never been in this area of town...it was getting dark and it had been a long day...

We rode and rode our bikes. Old bikes and all, stopping periodically to pump air in our leaking tires, we managed to travel through biking trails, down roads and strenuously walked ourselves and our bikes up the bumpy hiking path to the old monastary. That's right foks, those German monks were fasting, but beer didnt count as food, so they were able to work on their brew to the perfection it is now. But despite it all we had great views, great food, good times, but most importantly (as the Bavarians say) great beer!

The forecast was thunder and lightening for the whole afternoon and evening--but that wasnt going to stop us. We had a plan, a map book and and picnic packed. So we donned our raincoats and headed out for better or for worse. We headed down to the S-bahn train and travelled to the small village Weissling, just outside of Munich (no Stewart, not "weebling"--its "viessling"). We headed for Amersee, which is one of the biggest lakes nearby. On the way we passed lots of big houses and great lake views, the wind blew, but the rains stayed away. We took a round about route to get to the monastary at the top of a hill which is called Andechs. Stewart made some friends along the way by saying "Ich bin Kanada", which literally translates into "I am Canada" while extending a friendly hand to these surprised and taken aback normally reserved Germans. But, in Stewarts great way, despite the greeting diferences, had a way with the locals and ended charming them over.

We met up with some of my friends who were surprised to find Amanda and Stewart with their old bikes at the top of the mountain. I think It was actually utter disbelief that they had made it. Stewart made a comment that after this the bikes are going to geriatric ward. It was going to be their best last effort.

Yesterday we made another journey up to Neuschwanstein. It was a realized fantasy of the mad Bavarian King Ludwig II. As beautiful as it was it was hard to not feel like herded cattle going into locked gates at certain times for a certain language tour. And then fighting through the tonnes of Asian and American tourists who were frantically taking the pictures of themselves with the castle in the background to show their friends and families at home. It was amazing but also quite tacky despite the stunning scenery and the extravagance of the finished rooms. We met a Korean girl at the bus stop who came along with us in a taxi to get from the train station to the castle, who Amanda loved talking to about her experience there. And the taxi driver was a very Americanized, very funny German who made killer cash driving mainly Japanese tourists up and down the hill to the castle. It made me and Amanda wonder if we went into the right line of work.

So it has been a very full tiering but exhilirating weekend. I have loved having Amanda and Stewart here for so long. They are wonderful friends and I will think findly of our getting lost, the old bikes and the great food we enjoyed together.

Guest

Munich Days 2,3,4 Entries by Stewart & Amanda

Hold on tight folks here we go again. Beers, Brauts and Blow me up with a Knauk wurst Dr. Jones. The land of the 1 litre beer jug can only bring smiles to wayward nerds, corporate dweebs and awfully tired frugal travellers. like us...but i digress. Enjoying the timelessness of travelling can bring true joy to even the most seasoned oddball. So what does that say about wasting camera memory space on random self shots or the price of yak milk in north Van? Surprisingly little. Furthermore: these little German grocery marts(of which me er...or we have thouroughly enjoyed...including my editor and partner) have brought us nothing but good times! The quality and flavour of the goods has been amazing! Amanda(the editor & Chief) & i have relied on deli style menus...without losing our nerve or the winners share of the purse! Austia and Germany deliver the goods...while still maintaining their traditions. Give me some mo'!!

Peace and Blessings from Munich all you Bionic Cone heads!!


So, it's me now. Amanda and blog owner. Now to the details. We are so happy to visit with Erin. She has a fantastic place -- she's decorated it nicely and she has everything she needs to make it "hers". She knows all the cool spots to go for a beer and she also knows how to get the ever evasive waiter over to our table. German service redifines customer dissatisfaction. You actually have to wave, grab, stretch your hand out aggressively or raise your voice to even have them look your way. She has managed to get their attention within 5 minutes which is amazing in a Beer Garden.

The first day here we just relaxed. We walked to downtown Munich, about 14 km there and back. We looked for some shorts, but at this time in the season, a little difficult to find something both fashionable and practical. However, the search will go on. We are determined to find something to ease the heat and the heat rash. I've never seen heat rash before and apparently it's from too much heat not escaping. I'm not sure how the heat can't escape through my $70 MEC pants that I bought specifically for this trip but no matter. C'est la vie. We have seen a lot of Turkish women in full religious regalia, all but their eyes covered up. After having heat rash myself, I wonder if being covered up by robes like that would give them heat rash too? Just a curious question...

The next day we went to Olympic Park, near Erin's place. Stewart really really loved it. The architecture there was revolutionary for the 1972 Olympics. It's like being in a roofed stadium except you can see the sky because it's made of some kind of see-through material.

Today we rode our bides 14 km to Dachou (city near Municy), and 14 km back. We once again were a little wayward in finding Dachou, but we did it in the end. We saw the Concentration Camp Memorial there and it was rather profound and exceptionally disturbing. One can know all about the Holocaust, but to be there where so many people suffered and lost their lives is sobering. As once teacher at my school said, the problems we have with students, parents, or whatever, is just "a fart in a windstorm." Dachou reminded you of this general principle, but made you appreciate how small our problems really are. Legs? Check! Health? Check! Job? Check! Great family and friends? Check! Great city/country? Check. Freedom of speech? Check... Not getting your favorite pair of shoes because they ran out of your size shouldn't count as a problem. Well, "Good night, and good luck"

A & S

Innsbruck to Munich

We hiked around Innsbruck for our third day -- we made it to Patcherkoefel, the top of the mountain in about 5 hours. It was 1300 metres. I mean 1300 feet I think. Anyhow, it was really really high even if I don't have the correct metric measure. Straight up. The whole way. We were a little misguided in parts because when the various trails intersected there were never any signs. We did come across a sign saying ENTRY FORBIDDEN in German!! and knew we needed to recover our blunder. Apparently they take private property quite seriously here, as the happiness of the cows are essential to farms producing top class milk, and foreigners disturbing the cows decreases the quality and quantity of the milk. I think looking at Stewart and I in action would be enough to make any poor little cow stressed out. We have been kind to these creatures, especially because we like their milk and the chocolate that is a result of the milk. Actually, in Austria, we found a chocolate bar named MILKEE MUMM. You do the inferences there folks, but whoever came up with that one must have not done a literal translation for the Western world. I wonder why MILKEE MUMM hasn't made its way to shelves in Canada? We also went to Old Town in downtown Innsbruck. Stewart had a great sausage and some fried potatoes. We also had the best deal on ice-cream in all of Europe -- 2 scoops for 2 euros. It has been full of great people and great times. On our last night at the Hotel, we went down to the sauna room but you needed keys for everything to start it, and as it was 11:30 at night we didn't want to go upstairs and ask for the keys. Instead we filled up a tiled bathtub in the sauna area filled with cobwebs, dead spiders and moths. I made Stewart clean it out before we got into the tub but Stewart only wanted to fill up the tub halfway because he felt filling it up fuller was a waste of water. So I relented, and had a soak in half a tub full of lukewarm water.

The next day we went to Munich on the train, and we met ERIN DREW!!!!!! She brought us to her house and it has been wonderful seeing her. She is forging her own path here in Germany -- she speaks German like a local, rides a bike like a true European, skirts and all, and she also drinks wine like a local. We are so grateful for her hospitality, and as a lifelong friend, it's an honour to be here. Erin made us Thai Curry and it's the first homemade meal, in a real kitchen, we've had in three weeks. As Borat would say, NICE!!! While we were waiting for Erin, we sat down in Marienplatz. There, we watched Turkish children run around in their underwear in the fountain, a German boy run around in his speedo, a plethora of families speaking in every language known to man, and shoppers walking by with bags from PRADA, ESCADA, DIOR, ROLEX, THE GALLERIA, and it goes on and on and on. These women are definitely better dressers than Milan, Hard to believe. So, that was our first day... more to come later!
Amanda & Stewart :) :) :)

The Italian Alps and Austrian Alpine Adventures

Our train journez from Nice to Inssbruck, Austria was approximatelz 12 hours with the standard Italian train delazs. However, it was a lovelz ride and the picture to mz left was taken on the train. Here, Stewart is appreciating the contours of the map of Europe and trzing to figure out whether we were in Italz or in Austria??? We never did figure out where the border was exactlz!!! Except for the obvious influence of the building stzles and the conductor speaking German instead of Italian, the borderline was quite blurred as the two cultures had obviouslz intermarried, so to speak.

The Itlian Alps in Northern Italz were goregeous, and the vinezards seemed to go on forever up the mountain. We arrived in Inssbruck a mite tired, and for the life of us we couldnät find the bus our hotel had instructed us to find?? We ended up finding the spot after asking 10 people in stilted, terrible German and waited for an hour for the last bus. There, we met an 80 zear old Austrian ladz who reminded me of mz Grandmother. Spunkz, fullz of life, no sillz business with her, she talked to us for about 40 minutes in German. We had NOOOOOOOOOOOOO idea what she was sazing except that Stewart somehow managed to hold her attention bz diligentlz looking through the phrase book for something to contribute to the rather interesting conversation. Which once again, we had no idea what was being said. Eventuallz a tri lingual European came along and started translating for us. Apparentlz, she was giving us the historz of

her life. Right from birth, to marriage, to motherhood, to present. She had about 15 grandchildren! Anzhow, we got to our hotel, which is lovelz, and the next daz we hiked for about 8 hours. For four hours of that we were completelz lost and everz sign we read, all in German of course, confirmed we were going in the right direction, but to no avail, we still couldnät get it right. So, we eventuallz found a path that went down onlz and we ended up on the other side of the mountain, one village over, and trudged rather slowlz back to our hotel. I soaked in the tub for about 1 hour and Stewart watched the news to restabalize himself back into societz after certain knowledge that we might be sleeping on the mountain.

This structure is an example of the tzpe of thing zou might see upon entrz into an Alpine trail. We didnät reallz think about it until we were lost but mazbe there is something to these traditional displazs of faith when marching up into the Tyrolean Mountains. PS Ladies and Gents, if anz of zou are looking to spruce up zour arms and get them into tip top shape, forge the weights. Wash all clothes bz hand, in a sink, then do a clean rinse, and within a few weeks, zour biceps will be bulging. Adios!

Nice Translates into Boil and Bake

Hello everzone. Do zou see the golden coloured picture above me... well that szmboliyes the heat we felt in Nice. The temperatures were pushing 40 degrees when we were there, so we opted out of 5 dazs and stazed for 2 instead. Now donät get me wrong. Nice was a nice enough citz 00 it had the glamour, the chic, the food (a scrap of bread cost zou about 4 euros, which is 9 canadian dollars or so), the beach and hte music. But something major it didnät have 00 bathrooms. Where do these Niceans go when thezäve gotta go? We spent one hour looking for a bathroom, and

to no avail 00 the bathrooms were neither high, nor low. But wait, what is this... oui madames et monsiers, we found a bathroom in a park! But, wait, what is this... zou can paz 50 euros to go into the bathroom and the machine swallows it and doesnät open up the door... ahhhhh a bargain tourist trap. Well, thez did have divine little cookies at least. And we tried to watch Harrz Potter but the attendant at the movie theatre told us it was all in French (we the lowlz Canadians forgot that in France, everzthing is in French) and as we had hoped for French subtitles we opted out of the experience. Za za za! Oui Oui!

Do note mz verz trendz Nicean outfit, complete with MEC shoes, pants, and durable cottone shirt. Photo bz in demand writer, SmacJazz.

Pisa Lacks Pizazz

Hello mz great familz and friends. I am writing to zou from Inssbruck, Austria, and trzing to read German as I navigate through the blog instructions, and tzping z instead of y because the z is in the y place on the kezboard, za za za. Pisa, in mz opinion, is a hoax, a trump card and a lot of hooez. It certianlz sounds good in all the travel books, but the realitz is, itäs a dirtz and dustz citz with cars that will run zou down if zou donät get out of their waz.. Even when the little green man is on and weäre not jazwalking. The monuments themselves were gorgeous, but everz street was lined with Huxters selling their wares. Reallz, it was material all suited for a giant garage sale within a few months. Zou know, zou go home and the excitement dies off, and suddentlz all those little plastic Pisa Towers zou bought in Pisa are taking up room on zour lovelz chest of drawers, and into the garage sale box thez go. We loved the monuments themselves, but Pisa is overrated. Overall, a good daz. But not anzthing Iäd recommend as a number one destination.

The In-Demand Guest Writer, SmacJazz!!!

Bonjourno, Merci everyone! Bon Chance to all of you 9-5 working class heroes! Ham and eggers can rejoice and clink glasses with an air of sluggishness...as me the part time journalist-writer attempts to pose his dribble off on you.

This journey has been incredible. Mainly due to my Amandas dilligent eye for travel planning. Furthermore her brillaint planning has only been outdone by my feeble sense of humour. Trying to work one liners,puns and double entondres out on shop keepers and train attendants has been a painful. Imagine if you will...if you can a beautiful sandy beach in the Cinque Terre region. As you close your eyes (and or peruse our Blog pics) you will not only be gushing like a freshy after opening his 1st 6 pack of amber sudds. It is with a gleeful sense of foolishness that I salute all of these splendid locals for their assistance and their magnificient beverages.

The likes of which, as many of you already know and have experienced. Yet for us it is the first time Yep...back on line once again. Live from Nice France where two Italian tradesmen are busily installing a cafe window in the immediate foreground. We are currently enjoying this busy city called Nice as you may well know. However; it is just too hot for us to stay here any longer. 2 nights tops ladies and gents. Amanda has been great throughout some harrowing experiences. Without her palnning & enthusiasm our trip would not be the great journy it continues to be! I am relishing this time together with Amanda! Now I will bid you good day Mates!! SmacJazz Stewart. We are on to Innsbruck Austria tomorrow by train from 10 am until 6:30 pm. Ok Bob. Peace and blessings peoples!!

The Cinque Terre, Italy

Sorry about the sideways pictures - but you get the general idea!

Hello everyone! We have been having the most splendid time in the Cinque Terre. It is basically the unknown Italian Riviera, the place all Italians know about but everyone else passes over for the more fashionable Nice and Cannes. If you want more information for yourself, whether interested or just plain bored, you can go to http://www.cinqueterre.it/ We are staying in Biassa, a small town of 100 nestled in the hills just above the Cinque Terre. It is a wonderful hostel and has breathtaking views. Pictures are pending when we find a USB port.

It was referred to in the Medieval times as °the five lands°. The names of the villages in Cinque Terre are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare. This area is basically the economical hub for wine, basil and lemons. Each of the five villages is located along the waterfront, nestled in the hills high or low on the cliffs. There is a waterfront path you can hike along, connecting all the villages together. The path is quite winding and very steep in many places. You climb up 300 steps or so, then wind town through terraced cliffs of vineyards, and then go up another 300 steps, then down about 600 of them. But, the excercise is worth it and the views are breathtaking.

We hiked this path for three days straight (in 30 to 34 degree weather) and really used our muscles. We met a really nice lady named Tess. She hiked through the Cinque Terre with us for two days (another teacher, British, currently teaching in China, we all had a lot to talk about) The nicest beach is in Monterosso. It has a lot of white sand, and you can rent out beach chairs with umbrellas. We waded in and out of the water for a few hours. Yes, me too. The water was a gorgeous shade of blue and it was warm. Not only did I manage to have people gape in disbelief at my shade of white, I also managed to meet every other tourist on the beach. A few Americans, a couple Canadians.... it is easy to pick out the people who are not locals. The locals at the beach look like bronzed gods and godesses. And their kids too. And EVERYONE is in a bikini. And EVERYONE looks good, for better or for worse!! Stewart and I have been wondering what these Italians are eating that make them look so darned fantastic and healthy, and happy too. The sense of family here is also really nice to see. We have even seen a few newborns here.

A few interesting points
1. Italian toilets are not guaranteed to have locks on the doors to the toilets. You must navigate through the delicate task of squatting into the floor pan or above a porcelain bowl that does not have a seat, and warding off any would be enterers through scattered and poorly pronounced Italian.
2. Train times are negotiable and non binding in nature. You get there early because the train could leave early, or late.
3. The heat here makes you want to drink gallons of water, which then neccesitates an interesting experience in the bathroom with non locking doors
4. Sometimes people do not bother to even shut the door (usually men) because at least you know they are there and you cannot barge in on them.
5. People really appreciate it when you try to speak to them in Italian and they will correct you and help you when you are trying to figure things out.
6. Do not, under any circumstances, ask people for help when they are running down the platform to their train because they will not help you and will likely give you a rude gesture. Sometimes desperation as a lost tourist misses out on the common sense factor when lost.
7. Buses weave and wind up hills along very narrow streets. Essentially, what we would consider a one laner. They honk as they approach a bend to let other cars know they are there.

Well, we love it here and wish we could have everyone here, but seeing as that is not possible we will try to bring it to you.
Love Amanda and Stewart

The 36 Hour TransContinental Trip

(Picture above is of the Milan airport at 3 am in the morning.) Hello All. Now I know I am known for exaggerating things, usually to my benefit, but when I say 36 hours it is to the minute. You see, we (I) decided that rather than getting to mainland Europe by train, we would take the plane as a more efficient route. It was supposed to be 8 hours with connections, rather than 15 to 18 hours from Inverness to Torino, Italy, by train. What I did not consider was this
1. Leaving enough time between flights to transfer successfully AND allow for tardiness
2. Did I mention leaving enough time between flights?

Itinnerary on paper = Inverness to Edinburgh (10 am until 11am) Edinburgh to London (11:20 until 1 oclock) London to Turn ( 3 oclock until 6 or so)

Itinnerary in reality = Inverness to Edinburgh, Major delay because we miss our connecting flight. Me bad. Me realllllllly bad. Note to self, get travel agent next time for transcontinental flights. Edinbugh to London. Another major wait for resceduled connecting flight. London to Paris. Another major delay as our rescheduled connecting flight to Turin from Paris had been cancelled due to an Air France pilot strike. Kick self. Flight gets booked for midnight arrival in Milan, Italy, with promise from airline that we will be bussed to Torino from Milan. Nice, stunning Italian lady meets us with a little sign from the airplane and waits with us to get our bags. Bags..... wait for bags..... no bags... oh wait, I hear an announcement in Italian, Macaskale, Stuuuuarte and Amunde. We are told bags are in Paris still, with all those damned connection tags, applied and reapplied, it seems that the luggage men-women were confused and so left them for someone else to figure out. With no address in Turin as we didnt have a hotel yet, and the bags set to arrive at any time, we decided to slug it out in the airport. In Milan of all places. Fashion capital of the world. Us dressed in MEC comfort, and now slightly smelly, clothes. We did have a handy dandy little toiletry case that we were given by the Air France lady. Really, its the token that says, sorry, I cant do a darned thing for you about your lost baggage but heres something to look at so you feel like you are taken care of. Okay, sleeping in a Milan airport... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in the morning, still awake, not finding marble to be comfortable to sleep on. 6, 7, 8, 9 maybe one hour of sleep. Many people with badges walking by and looking at us now. 10 oclock, bags arrive. YES. I do happy dance and kiss Stewart and jump up and down 20 times (much to the disgust of the 80 people in the Lost Baggage line up who dont know where their bags are) but we dont care. We have done our time and we are on our way. Catch bus to Milan centrale station, get train to La Spezia, Italy (we decided to skip Torino) and then we get a bus from La Spezia to Biassa, which is just beside the Cinque Terra, a UNESCO world heritage park. Very cool. It was 7 pm by the time we got the bed, and we had been up since 6 am the previous morning. Tired is not the word, but we held each other up and decided that being our own travel agents, with the purpose of financial efficiency, might not cut it for Transcontinental trips. We will tell you all about Cinque Terra soon..............
Love Amanda and Stewart

Inverness, Scotland

Dearly beloved family and friends, the pictures will be arriving as soon as i find a usb port that fits with my memory thingamajiggy. What can i say about Scotland... the highlands... a place of rolling lush hills, countless sheep (every bunch i had to bahhhhhhhhhhhhh at for some reason, might be a genetic compulsion as apparently my mother did the same thing when she was in Britain), friendly locals, fried food, blackened pudding, mad driving, and of course, fish and chips. We stayed at LochNess Backpackers, about half an hour outside of Inverness, where Stewartàs grandfather was born. it was a small farmhouse, complete with a kitchen. We met many nice New Zealanders, Dutch, Brits and a couple of Germans. We also met a Spaniard, and we gave him a few English lessons. He was saying that he wanted to get a ride somewhere, so he hijacked a car. We found out how he did it, and what he meant was hitch hiked and it was quite funny. We also drove up the East Coast of Scotland, to Wick, Thurso, John O°Groats, and through the middle of Scotland back down to Inverness. Here are your three hints for the theme of my commentary

1. The fast and the furious
2. Curb bumping
3. Being passed every three minutes

Yes indeed, Stewart did a fantastic job of driving. He managed a manual gear shift, AND a navigating wife AND constant °helpful° reminders about not hitting the curb on the left hand side of the car. Yes, he did very well. Me, not so much. I cringed around every round about about, waved hopefully at all the nice drivers who waited for us in the round abouts as we changed our minds five times as to which exit we were actually supposed to take, and had regular laughing fits when habit took over and we ended up on the °wrong° side of the road, much to the amazement of the British who never lost their cool at the nutty Canadians making a mockery of their driving system. We also on the highway, going an average of 110 kilometres along a cliffside road that makes the Sea to Sky highway look like child°s play, were regularly PASSED by irrated drivers who thought we were going much below the speed limit. Stewart is to be commended. If we were in the city, I would change the gears so he could drive the car. It sounded something like this 0 1,2,3 change to 2nd please. 0 1,2,3 change to 3rd. 3rd amanda, 3rd! Not fifth!! 0 1,2,3 back down to 4th. VVVVRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!! Honey, not 2nd, 4th. Yes, Stew did a great job. And we had a great time together.
Love Amanda and Stewart