Dean Village - an oasis of calm.

I suppose I had better tell you a little bit about the part of Edinburgh in which we are staying. The Village of Dean by the Waters of Leith sounds like it should be a little hamlet miles out in the country but it is actually only 5 minutes walk to the top end of Princes St, one of Edinburgh's mail thoroughfares. (Although to be perfectly honest, there is not much thoroughfaring being done as many of Edinburgh's streets are being dug up at the moment to install a tram system.) The Village was once home to the Guild of Baxters, and the mills on the Waters of Leith provided Edinburgh with all the ground meal required for bread making. Today, many of the buildings in the area have inscriptions and carvings on them representing the role that the Guild played in the local community. One of the old mills is right across the street from us and has also been turned into apartments; the mill wheels however, are long gone.

There is a lovely footpath that goes along beside the water and we are planning to explore it this afternoon. The streets in Dean Village are very quiet as tere is hardly any through traffic. I am sitting on a wide window ledge in our bedroom on the third floor and have just watched two policemen ride up Dean Path on horses. Their hooves made a wonderful sound on the cobbled street.

The apartment we are in is in an old school. Our apartment is at one end of the building and is arranged around a winding staircase. It is very comfortable, but being on 4 levels means a lot of upping and downing during the day. Yesterday evening as we were enjoying happy hour in the kitchen, we looked out the window to see a group of about 20 people all standing and looking up at us - well, the house really! It looked like one of those walking tours that take place in historic areas. We felt very famous, just by association!

5th Arrondissement, Paris

Ahhhh - Paris! Last night we finalized payments for our Paris Apartment. The internet has been wonderful for organizing this trip, especially things like international currency transactions which seem to have so much paper work attached to them. We did the first couple through a local bank branch but soon discovered that it is much easier just to do it yourself from home! Of course, you still need lots of information - bank addresses, IBAN numbers, swift and sort codes, benificiary names and addresses - but once all that is collected the whole process is remarkably pain free.

Our apartment is situated in the 5th Arrondissememnt - the Quatier Latin - close to Rue Mouffetard with its fabulous street market and the Jardin de Luxembourg. It looks a very "friendly" apartment, filled with light and books! Just my kind of place!

Nine Go down to the Harbour!

I finalised the payment for Coble Cottage in Seahouses this afternoon. Just one small glitch with the internet and a moment of panic but I think it all went through OK.
Seahouses sounds so very "Famous Five" don't you think? I am feeling a sudden urge for sticky buns with lashings of lemonade, bought from a jolly farmer's wife! Louise and the girls are booked in just around the corner at Kipper Cottage. I am looking forward to our stay here - the information promises that we are just "a short stroll" from the pub. Sounds very civilized if you ask me - a DVD or game for the children and a quiet pint for the rest of us :-)

The Old Schoolhouse - Edinburgh

Today we are finalising the payment on our apartment in Edinburgh. It is just a few minutes from Princes St in the area known as "The Village of the Water of Leith" - I love that name! Being schoolteachers, I think it is a particularly apt place to stay. Gordon, the owner, has been really great to deal with which is reassuring as we have only chatted via email. He and his partner have several apartments to let in Edinburgh as part of their business A Fab Place to Stay. I will make sure to let you know if it is any good! With the exchange rate so good, this has worked out to about $20 Au per person per night. Another plus for this apartment is that we get a parking space - I believe that these are like gold in Edinburgh!

An apartment in Dinan.

Things are starting to come together. This week we finalised the payment on an apartment in Dinan, Brittany. I am so excited about staying there. The Villa des Remparts is located right in the old town, nestled up close to the city walls. This 18C town house looks magnificent and has recently been renovated. We booked it all over the internet, by email, and the owner Bruce Robinson has been most friendly and helpful. I hope that it lives up to our expectations. The other bonus is that with the Australian dollar being so good against the Euro at the moment the price is most attractive! With six of us staying in the villa, the cost is just over $300 Au per couple for the week!