Lochs, Glens, Castles and such

On the train again; headed back to London. 


I think that there were more travel logs or journals in the last century because it took longer to travel to and from places. Thus people had time to record all their tales and travel adventures. If I didn't have this time on the train I don't know when I'd update you all! Traveling keeps a person so very busy. 


So, SCOTLAND! Yes, what a place that was! Let me tell you all about it. 


Edinburgh


Edinburgh is of course the capital of Scotland as well as one of the oldest cities. It is the only city that has a castle built on a volcano in the center. It is the epitome of mystery with it's winding streets and little "closes" or alleyways that lead to more buildings or streets hidden from the unobservant.


Down one of these Closes (Lady Stair Close) was The Writer's Museum dedicated to famous Scottish authors like Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Lewis Stevenson. Looking inside this museum was almost as fun as finding it! 


We walked up and down the Royal Mile which stretches from the Castle to Holyrood Palace/Park. Stopping in little Museums and churches; Lorna and I discovered a mutual love of old graveyards! So we lingered in one of those. 




The Castle

Every City should have a castle. We are certainly remiss of them in the States. Edinburgh Castle is immense! Sitting on a cliff of volcanic rock in the center of old town you can't miss it. I loved walking along the battlements looking out. On the top the wall went higher than my head; I could only look out the slits in the stone made for archer's to release their arrows. 


*Travel Bulletin* The rain is really coming down now. Sheets and sheets. We can only hope we get a reprieve when we reach London! I wish you could hear it against the roof the train coach; it so soothing; it makes me sleepy. 




The Sword


My good friend Gwen also made the journey to Scotland and told me great tales of an armory near the castle; swords for sale she said; you have to take a look. Well, look I did. And I one wheedled it's way into my heart and pounds out of my purse. It is simply stunning though. A short sword actually, with a carbon steel blade (I could use it if I wanted)it's used for defense; held in the left hand to parry a blow. I quite love it. I'm going to have to check the laws in IL about carrying a sword. 




Haggis


Everyone has heard of Haggis. 


If you haven't here's the definition:


A traditional Scottish dish made of the heart, liver, etc., of a sheep or calf, minced with suet and oatmeal, seasoned, and boiled in the stomach of the animal. 


I'll give it to you; it sounds quite awful, it really does. But I since I was IN Scotland I was determined to give it a try. And as luck would have it we happened upon a cafe that was giving out free samples. SO, we tried it, Lorna and I. And we LOVE it! In fact I had it for dinner one night and lunch the last two days in Scotland (Haggis paninis and baguettes are delicious). Who'd have thought? 

Holyrood Palace

Holyrood Palace is the royal residence for the Queen of England. And she was actually in when we went to tour the palace; her flag was flying, that's how you can tell. So, I was probably the closest I'll ever be to Royalty! 




The Palace is stunning; but of course. It was interesting to see the Bedroom of Mary Queen of Scots as well as the old Abbey ruins alongside. 

The Underground Caverns


When in Edinburgh, you have to go on a ghost tour. It's not a rule but it should be. Lorna and I had signed up for "The Double Dead Tour" a SUPER scary ghost tour that went to the graveyards and the caverns. BUT the guide went MIA, and the guide for the Underground Cavern tour said we could go on that tour and get a refund for the difference. So that's what we did. We went down, down into the bowels of Edinburgh that were first filled with the poor and then run over by criminals of the worst kind. The caverns were dark and dank, water still drips from the ceiling or rather the street above. And if you don't bring a light in with you, there'll be none. A truly chilling experience. 

Loch Ness and The Highlands

Looking out from the boat onto Loch Ness. 

On our last day we took a day tour all the way to Loch Ness, through the Highlands. What country it is; it is all at once beyond description and bursting with it. Here's an excerpt from my journal about riding through the Highlands:

Our first stop riding through The Highlands.

"I think I can die now that I've seen The Highlands. The land isn't desolate as much as it is endless. The sky is just white mist and the mountains disappear into it. 

We're traveling through the valley now. Lochs on one side and mountains on the other; so rocky and wooded I can't see up the side. 


We're on our way to Loch Ness; which is over 800 m deep. Who knows what lives beneath those black waters? I could capture the beauty of this land with a brush. Photos seem just a pale copy of such staggering country; brimming with life." 




Well, that's all for now. Catch ya Layter then! As they say in Scotland. 

Last London Days

I am on a train to Scotland at 6 a.m. I don't usually do things at 6 a.m. but if you can't get up early to go to Scotland; when can you? Luckily the National Rail in England has FREE Wifi on their trains! So, I have plenty of time to update you all on my travels (for free no less)~

Regents' Park 

What I really do enjoy about London is the shear expanse of their parks. The main ones are Hyde and St. James and Regents'. We went and wandered Regents' because it was Lorna's old stomping grounds; she went to school at Regents' College which is plopped right in the mist of the gardens and such. Nothing recharges my batteries while traveling like a visit to the park. Somehow connecting with nature and soaking up some sunshine away from the city din is just the thing. We walked about looking at waterfalls and ducks (ask me sometime to show you the duck video; perhaps I'll post it here when I have more bandwidth) 

* Travel bulletin* The sun is rising over the hills and is blindingly beautiful. 

I do love a good stroll in the park; I got a tad carried away taking pictures of flowers but thats bound to happen in the gardens!

Baker Street

Can't be in London and be a Sherlock Holmes fan and not pay homage to 221B Baker Street can you? Obviously not; 221B has been turned into the Sherlock Holmes Museum; three floors of a complete facsimile of the Great Detective's Rooms complete with an actor playing Dr. Watson!

 You can take pictures of course because it is all pretend but very well done the "memorabilia" from Sherlocks paints for disguise to full scale mannequins depicting scenes of his famous cases. I really had fun in here and here's a shout out to my dad; a fellow Holmes Virtuoso!  * Fun Fact* The statue of Sherlock Holmes outside the Baker Street Tube Station is the only statue of a fictional person (I'm not sure if this is in the world or just London). 

Charring Cross Road

For any bibliophile Charring Cross Road is the place browse, buy and basically yearn for books; old beautiful books. This is my second trip to this hallowed road, well alley really, but my first on purpose. Last time I stumbled upon it by happenstance; us bibliophiles and sniff out a bookstore at a 100 paces. My favorite shop this time around was "Rare Maps, Books and Prints: T. Alena Brett." I bought two Prints there; an engraving and a small color one could be water color. 

The Engraving is so detailed of a little country scene and it's over 150 years old! The small color print is a Jane Austen drawing complete with quote; I just couldn't pass that up! Next I visited the bookshop I frequented on my last visit and picked up a small volume of compiled poetry. It's got a smooth green cloth cover and isn't bigger than the length of my hand. I love it. Lorna and I quickly left then as to keep us from buying more than would fit in our luggage. 

*Travel Bulletin* The sun is up and we're well on our way to Edinburgh; I'm having tea and biscuits from the trolley cart and we just passed through a sleepy little town that had a beautiful cathedral.  

The National Gallery

If I could I would pull up a grate in the floor of the National Gallery and live there. No matter how long I spend there it is never enough. Lorna and I hit the gift shop first; since we both weren't able to spend much time or money in the last respective times we were each in London. I got all kinds of goodies; the best probably being the companion guide to the gallery. Which probably weighs 5 lbs; we both decided that we're carrying it on the plane for the trip home, afraid it will tip our check bag over the weight limit! 

"Sunflowers" by Van Gogh

We broke down the gallery into the rooms we HAD to see so that we wouldn't lose ourselves in there; easy to do indeed. I, of course, had to see the Van Goghs as well as the Turners and Monets. 

"Rain, Steam and Speed" by William Turner

Lorna and I discovered we both had a love for the painting "The Execution of Lady Jane Gray" we sat on the bench and stared at this one for a bit. 

"The Execution of Lady Jane Grey" by Paul Delaroche

If a person can be in love with a place; that's me and the National Gallery - its sort of a long distance relationship, we're both understanding that way. 

* Travel Bulletin* Well, I'm going to take break from blogging for a bit. We're about an hour in to the journey. Sure to post more before we leave England proper. 

Walking Amongst History

We did a day trip in which we saw Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. It was a Long day indeed; starting bright and early at 7:30 am. We were in a tour bus or "coach" as they call them here. Windsor castle is the oldest inhabited royal castle in the world! It definitely puts to awe in awesome. I did get a bit caught up in the audio guide and had to rush back to the "coach" but we made it! 

It still is a bit thrilling to walk over the same stones and halls as kings and queens from centuries past. My favorite room was the hall of knights of the garter with small shields representing each one's coat of arms. There was also blank shields; which noted when someone was de-knighted; there were quite a few.

Interesting fact: The fire in Windsor Castle in1992 did extensive damage to the royal apartments and in order to pay for the restoration it was decided that Buckingham Palace would be opened to the public and the revenue from that would cover the costs. What that money goes to now I don't know but I'm sure it's some other worthy cause for maintaining heritage, England does have more than it's fair share to keep up.

One of my favorite things about seeing the inside was as we passed through the great banqueting room; there were women in there ironing table cloths on the round tables for an event. Just struck me as amusing.

Then we had lunch at "The Bell"  a quaint little pub on the way to Stonehenge. I had splendid Bangers & Mash and a pint of ale and split a Sticky Toffee Pudding with Lorna as well as tea. There is always tea. I felt wonderfully British. 

By the time we got to Stonehenge it had started to rain. I had noted last time I went to Stonehenge that it wouldn't be as fun to see in the rain and . . . I was right. But Lorna and I still enjoyed it. They are so majestic, those stones, standing silent on that great plane; watching the world go by.

Last and sadly least was Bath. Due to traffic we were late getting to Bath so we didn't really get to explore. But we did get to tour the Roman Baths which are quite peaceful and serene. What I didn't know is that the Roman built their baths over existing ones built by who knows; it seems the natural warm and healing waters of bath have been harnessed for the inhabitants for longer than anyone can imagine. 

It was a glorious, if exhausting day. 

The 24 hour flight and other various intriguing tales . . .

I am IN London. You do not know what a great accomplishment that is. Seriously. To be brief. Because I do want to actually write about London in this blog entry; this is the long and the short of it. 

We flew from Chicago to New York (JFK) to meet a connecting flight to Heathrow. 

This 1 hour and 30 min. flight with 45 min layover turned into 7 and half hour in various holding patterns due to weather over NYC; with a slight detour to Pennsylvania. 

We made it into JKF where we were squeezed onto the London flight; but we didn't get to sit together. 

We got to our hotel around 1 pm London time; we'd left Chicago at 2:30 pm the previous day. 

Needless to say our plans were completely dashed as we could barely stand straight. But we did have tickets to the Globe Theater for Merry Wives of Windsor. So after a much needed nap we pulled ourselves onto the tube. 

I was completely amazed at the Globe. I got to tour the theater last time I was in London but this was my first performance.  We decided to get actual seats in the tower instead of being a "groundling" and standing in the open air. This turned out to be an superb choice as it down poured the first half of the show and everyone; actors included got a good soaking! 

We rented cushions, as the theater seats are authentically wooden plank. Sitting up there looking down as the play enfolded was astounding. This was Shakespeare, how it is supposed to be enjoyed. My inner Shakespearean was quite happy! 

We walked back across Millennium bridge and took some photos of the city lights. I love this city at night; even the bite of the wind off the River Thames. I can't get enough that skyline. 

It has been hard to catch you up daily between getting in late, leaving early and having to pay by the hour for my Internet (our hotel is rather lame). But here is a re-cap of Day 2 and 3 and photos to whet your whistle for now. I'm trying to keep you in the know! 

Day 2 - Museums, Fleet Street and Spontaneousness

We had to overall our itinerary due to losing a "day" with the travel . . . issues. So we went to The Tate Britain; which hosts a wondrous collection of art. Lorna and I went specifically for the Romantics. 

Our favorites were "Ophelia" by Millais and " The Lady of Chalot"  by Waterhouse. I'd seen them in books but . . . to see them in person. 

"Lady of Chalot" by Waterhouse

"Ophelia" by Millais

The colors are so vivid and I felt myself floating down the river with them. Their brocade trailing among the reeds and hair flowing behind them. 

Next we visited the Sir John Soane Museum which is an absolutely jam packed full of the collection of antiquities and paintings as well as the beautiful architecture of Sir John himself. 

My favorite part about his house is the skylights he had inlaid with yellow and orange tinted glass to recapture the Italian light that he fell in love with when he spent two years on scholarship there. 

Next was Fleet Street; infamous for the legendary Demon Barber and Mrs. Lovett's Meat pies. We went with a particular purpose though, to eat lunch at the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. This is an ancient pub ( rebuilt after the great fire) that I stumbled across on my last visit and I just love the atmosphere as well as the ale and delish pub food. 

We then spontaneously bummed about Westminster and took photos and made our way Tafalgar Square. We ended up eating dinner at the Penthouse Restaurant with a great view of the south bank skyline as the sun set. 

I will fill in more detail on our day trip today where we took a tour to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath on the morrow as I am very tired and need to rest up for yet another day of London adventure! 

Almost at Hours

1 DAY It's my last day at work before I head off for my trip! I can hardly sit still with all things weighing on me to get done before Monday! I am NOT packed but I did start getting things together, dusting off my luggage and compiling a list of shopping to do. . .  


Packing and traveling is the worst. I love seeing and exploring different and new places, I'm just not a fan of GETTING there. Seriously, teleportation needs to be invented already. 


I had a horrible dream that I was running late to catch my plane and forgot my passport! It reminds me of my last pre-flight jitters before I went to London; it was my very first international flight, and I kept checking my passport and ticket every 10 minutes! 


Not to say I won't be JUST as compulsive this time around. . . Look out London, here we come~

Written In Ink

6 DAYS from today I will be touching down in London town! It's a little surreal and it's always slightly nerve-wracking as Lorna (my friend and travel companion on this trip) see to the last minute details before we leave the States. The Itinerary is D-O-N-E! Being the complete studious geeks that we are we made an actual color coded spreadsheet complete with legend. Yeah, we're pretty awesome. The best quote during the planning process was from Lorna; "We can't change it! It's been written in INK!"

Continuing the Count Down

The Count Down Continues; 18 Days until departure via NYC to London! 

The days I'm not working, which are few and fewer due to my seasonal second job at the Renaissance Faire, are consumed with planning and scheduling and combing the internet for information. 

I find myself becoming a tad cross-eyed between squinting at maps and train schedules. How far is Liverpool Street from Hackney High Street, and how many connections to get there? How many Museums can I hit in one day before burning out? Where's the BEST place to have Fish N' Chips???? 

Burning questions indeed. 

I think it's harder to RE-Visit a place than to Visit a new place. For I not only want to see new things but I want go back to my old haunts (Earl's Court Road) and favorite places (The National Gallery).  I have just begun to THINK about packing which is its own unique adventure . . .