#chrismanabroad

[chrismanabroad]

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After months of prep, we’ve minimized a month of our lives into these 50L bags. En route to LIT.

[chrismanabroad]

We’ve been in 🇮🇹 since the evening of the 13th and have put in over 40 miles and over 95k steps in this country alone. Oh wait...we have trains and planes to catch tomorrow to add to the count.

Where are we going next? Two hints: beaches and tapas. 🇪🇸

[chrismanabroad]

6/9 Tour en route & on the Isle of Skye.

1 Our tartan clad tour guide. 2 Loch Ness & Urquhart Castle. Nessie pictured but uncapturable on an iPhone sensor. There’s actually a gentleman that’s camped out on a beach there for 25 years waiting to spot it. 3 Eilean Donan castle at low tide. 4 One of the misty peaks of the black Cuillin mountain range. 5 Portree, the largest town on Skye. Traditional style 🐟 & 🍟 down by the harbor for lunch. 6 Kilt Rock overlook with a cheesing Allison. 7 The treacherous drive up to Quiraing. 8 The perfect way to give cheers to a great day trip–with a sip of single malt Glen Moray.

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6/8 Inverness. The “capital of the Scottish Highlands.” First shot is from the window of our Airbnb’s living room. We have a whole apartment to ourselves which is a nice change from traditional small hotel rooms. Notice the seagull in the top right–they’re everywhere here.

Second photo is from Culloden Battlefield, where a major battle between the Jacobites and the government was fought. Outlander fans should recognize this field.

[chrismanabroad]

6/11 Peterborough Cathedral

Two great women are/were buried here: Katharine of Aragon & Mary Queen of Scots.

Katharine’s marker was destroyed during a civil war in the 1600s but her remains were undisturbed. The Daily Mail during the 1800s put a charge out to all readers with the name Katharine to contribute a penny to fund the marker that still lives here today.

Allison is pictured next to Mary’s former grave. It’s a shame at the slanted verbiage that explains the situation behind her rule and death. The contentious undertone between the English and Scottish is subtle but lives on–in more ways than one.

[chrismanabroad]

6/7 1. Greyfriars Kirkyard. Many famous Scotsmen and women are buried here. Including this Edinburgh famous pup named Bobby. I won't give this story away for those who might visit. The Elephant House. In this very cafè, J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter. The coffee is good, atmosphere cool and bathroom...signature for fans.

[chrismanabroad]

6/7 Edinburgh Castle. In short: Mary Queen of Scots. John Knox. King James. Best views of Old Town. Allison is a connoisseur of Queen Mary knowledge. (No, she didn't tell me to write that.)

We zoomed through this huge edifice in 2 hours after an uphill hike the whole way from the station.

[chrismanabroad]

6/14/17 Rome, Italy

1. Castel Sant'Angelo was originally a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian and his family, but is used as a museum today. 2. Gelato was an absolute must. Today we got Honey Lemon Rosemary, Pistachio, and Sage Raspberry. Minds were blown. 3. Piazza Navona wasn’t as crowded as we expected. The fountain was quite the sight to see. 4. Water break! In Italy, there are free water fountains like this all over. And it tastes great, too! 5. Here are your sweaty adventurers, again. This time in front of the Pantheon. Not to be confused with the Parthenon. 6. The Trevi Fountain is truly giant. And yes, there is gelato next to it.. just like in the Lizzie McGuire movie 😍 7. I talked Liz into eating McDonalds here- their menu is totally different! These curly fries were awesome. 8. The roads here are, you know, ancient. Be smart about shoes. Unlike, you know, this chick. 9. SuperPope to the rescue. 10. Birdy. 🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲 pines are everywhere. Pines of Rome has been in my head all day. 👋🏼, ❤️ Allison