• Autumn,  Travel

    gay paris

    paris update– life is good here, and in our little studio apartment in gobelins.  the weather has been PERFECT for us (not too cold, blue skies and sun almost daily) and we’ve been enjoying kicking back, sleeping in, and exploring like it’s our job. there is so much to see in this city that twelve days leaves a mark, but a pretty small one.  i keep stumbling onto new streets, like rue moffatard– famous latin quarter market street only a short jaunt from my place. or rue montmarte, or rue lombards!  everything i find i wish i had found sooner. paris is WAY more expensive than i remember from visiting eight…

  • Autumn,  Travel

    rolling into london

    “picadilly circus? what a shitty circus.” — garth just rolled into paris from london on a nine hour bus journey!  (and remember kids, book your channel tunnel train tickets early!) it really wasn’t that bad since we were on a ferry for three hours of it. we were really lucky to be able to stay with one of our previous host’s sister, who lives in the pimlico district of london, so i felt right at home.  my favorite part of london was the first night we got in which happened to be warm and calm (before it starting gradually pouring down rain): walking along the opposite side of the river…

  • Autumn,  Vagabond Days

    edinbURGH

    finishing up our time here at the woodland estate in penicuik– it’s been a straaange but decent week. highlights of this week for me was definitely the opportunity to sing latin hymns with a small choir in the crypt of rosslyn chapel with our male host. rosslyn chapel was high on my radar and i sort of forgot it was in our neck of the woods here near edinburgh.  this is the chapel featured at the end of both the novel and the movie ‘the da vinci code’.  it’s particularly fascinating to me because of the strange religious groups connected with it and the mystery that surrounds it.  it has…

  • Autumn,  Vagabond Days

    isle of islay

    it was a little sad leaving the farm as alex and i both felt completely at home there and wished we could stay longer.  however, the sheep season was wrapping up and during our time there we were mostly vaccinating the sheep and getting them ready to ship off to the isle of bute for the winter, where they’ll graze their hearts out and come back in the spring nice and plump-like. fortunately!  we headed straight for the isle of islay– a place i’d been convinced since several weeks ago that i needed to go to since it was nothing more than a medium sized island with stunning scenery and…

  • Autumn

    life on the farm; iona

    since we’ve been at barndromin farm, i think we’ve both felt really lucky to end up in such a great place with such amazing and thoughtful hosts.  and dogs!  our 24hr stint as B&B and farm owners went well as the guests left happy and well-fed and no sheep were harmed.  yesterday in particular was of note because most of my work for the day involved helping at morag’s annual church luncheon.  there were nearly 200 guests for a lunch and raffle and i was running around being a waitress again, carrying bowls of soup for the elderly guests as well as going from table to table with a tea…