Fredricks Take Europe :: The Cinque Terre

One of the first stops on our Italy tour was the Cinque Terre. 

We only had one day before continuing to Florence,

so we were only able to stop in 

Monterosso al Mare, 

Vernazza, 

and Manarola. 

We wish we had more time to explore the beautiful towns. 

 

Advice: 

- buy a Cinque Terre pass online in advance

(lines to buy any tickets are unbelievably long)

- look up the train schedules in advance

(train staff is very limited and only speak Italian)

- stay a while and explore

- make dinner reservations before you travel

(There are some amazing restaurants with 5* views 

and food, but they will be booked-out well in advance)

Let's Go See the World :: Italy

Final stop on the Epic Adventure: 

Italy

Lessons learned:

- If a night train ticket from Milan to Rome is under 15 EUR,
the seat is most likely less than ideal
- BUY TICKETS ONLINE
- The Colosseum gets crowded quickly - go early
- Gelato fixes *almost* everything- Don't depend on trains to be on time (or even running)
- Couchette's are worth the extra money

Let's Go See the World :: Zurich

I don't know where the summer went but this post is now almost 10 weeks overdue.

Since I did such a terrible job sharing our adventures for the summer, 

I am going to skip the photo sharing for now 

and show you the video I made of our next stop: 

Zurich

Let's Go See the World - Zurich from Ali Fredrick on Vimeo.

Zurich was more of a lazy stop on our European tour.
We did a lot of laundry,
napping,
and relaxing.

And at the end of our stay Bobby twisted his ankle.

You know.
Perfect timing. 

Let's Go See the World :: London

In classic American fashion, 

the boys wanted to see more than Scotland,

so we caught an early flight to London. 

 We stopped by the Sky Garden for lunch and fabulous views over the city. 

We strolled around the city

After a long day of exploring, visiting the sites, 

and experiencing a fire drill in the British Museum, 

we met up with Madeline at her studio. 

She took us off the beaten path for a delicious food festival.  

Before heading in for the night, we made a stop at Kings Cross Station.

Let's Go See the World :: Scotland Day 4 {Highlands}

On day 4 we drove back through the highlands. 

Stop 1: Eilean Donan Castle

Stop 2: McRae clan cemetary in Morvich

Stop 3: Glenfinnan Viaduct to see the Hogwarts Express

In the evening, after a delicious indian curry dinner, 

we took a ghost walk around Castle Semple. 

It was a late night packing everything up

and preparing for our early flight the next morning. 

Let's Go See the World :: Scotland Day 3 {Skye}

On day 3 we packed up camp and drove out to the Isle of Skye

Portree, Skye, Scotland

 The Old Man of Storr

The fog set in and made the hike quite creepy and cool. 

We climbed along the coast for some beautiful scenery.

Mealt Falls and Kilt Rock

Next stop, the Glenbrittle Fairy Pools. 

We had to do it. 

When in the UK...

After our super high adventure day, we were ready for some hearty Scottish food. 

We stopped in the small town of Carbost at "The Old Inn" pub. 

While eating delicious fish n chips, haggis, bison burgers, and smoked salmon

we heard incredible folk music coming from the bar. 

It

was

perfect. 

After our late dinner, we found a cool camp spot in the woods and called it a night. 

Lets Go See the World :: Scotland Day 2 {Highlands}

On day 2, Bobby and Anthony flew in from America. 

We picked up the rental car and set out into the Highlands. 

Those Scott's are so funny. 

We stopped in Succoth to hike Ben Arthur

more commonly referred to as

"The Cobbler"

It did not succoth. 

I stepped in the bog. 

The saddle of The Cobbler with views over Loch Lomond.

At the end the hike we were exhausted and hungry, 

so we took a drive and stumbled across the Tyndrum Inn. 

While in Scotland, eat as the Scott's.  

Haggis, neeps, and tatties in a white whiskey sauce. 

(lamb, turnips, and potatoes)

Holy moly yum. 

After dinner we drove further up into the highlands to find a camping spot. 

The views on this drive were INCREDIBLE. 

I didn't take too many pictures,

but I did capture a lot of video footage. 

Video compilations of the trip will be posted later :)

We stopped at a spot along Loch Garry and set up camp. 

About 10 minutes after arrival,

we were greeted by some friends. 

Thousands of midges came out of the grass and woods and surrounded us.

It was impossible to open your eyes or mouth without having some fly in. 

We became very creative in our approach to setting up camp, 

and quickly made a smoky fire to shoo away the bugs. 

The tent was put up in lightning speed

(or at least as fast as possible when setting up a new tent for the first time...)

It should also be pointed out that these pictures were taken around 11:00 pm. 

Summer days in Scotland are long, with only about 5 hours of darkness.

When the tent was ready, 

we climbed in and had a quick dance party to celebrate the avoidance of midges. 

At one point, we poked our heads out to check the dying fire 

and it had miraculously grown from mere smoke to a massive glorious fire. 

Too bad the midges liked the fire too, 

otherwise we would have sat around before going to bed.