Where does the time go?

In two weeks plus two days we are leaving for Europe.  It has been a busy few months since my last post.  There seems to be an endless stream of things to do - never a chance for boredom.  Now I am busy with the last minute details of getting ready for our trip.  Our first stop is Scotland.  We'll fly non-stop on KLM from Mexico City to Amsterdam (unbelievably long flight - ugh - but at least we do not have to change planes in the US or anywhere).  From there we will take EasyJet (local European airline) to Edinburgh where we will spend the night near the airport (and it will be our 31st anniversary). The next day we will take a 2 hr train ride to Aberdeen followed by a taxi to our home exchange.  Here is a picture of the home where we will be staying for two weeks:

The interior of the house looks very comfortable with open spaces, lots of light and a lovely kitchen - all my favorite things in a home.  It's in a rural area not far from Aberdeen - lack of Mexican noise might take a little getting used to.  We are exchanging cars so will have transportation to get around for side trips and shopping.  Our exchangers, Paul and Murial, are very experienced (like us) in house swaps so we know they will have lots of information at the house regarding things to see and do.  Being not far from the sea, I am looking forward to being able to buy fresh delicious fish.  Muriel said she loves to cook and so the kitchen is well equipped (like ours).  We couldn't quite work out the timing so that we could meet in person but we have had a lot of email correspondence and one phone call.  They are leaving Scotland for Mexico the day before we arrive at their house.  She mailed us a key to their house and surprisingly, it arrive here only 9 days after she mailed it.  Kudos to LaConexion!

After the brutal trip to get there, we probably will spend a day or two just recovering.  As we get older, it seems to take a little longer to adjust our old bodies to a new time zone.  We are making no specific plans for Scotland until we get there - just reading up a bit on the Internet.  Part of the fun for us is to not make detailed plans - we'll get the feel of things when we arrive, see how the weather is and take it one day at a time.  This has always worked well for us.  John will do lots of reading and I will blog about our adventures in between our explorations.  And, we might check out the distilleries that Scotland is know for - and castles and other, as yet unknown, sights.

At the end of our stay in Aberdeenshire, we will head back to Edinburgh for an overnight (or maybe more if we decide we want to see the city).  We'll have an early morning flight back to Amsterdam and then a flight from there to Toulouse and a drive from there to Magrie.  More about that in my next post.

As I blog along - please feel free to leave your comments below.  I write these blogs to remember our travels but also, some times friends like to read about it.  So, it would be nice to know that someone is reading.