Off to London... cheerio!

Another day with an alarm clock to awake us.  After 2 days in Edinburgh, Scotland, we are off to London, England!  Packed up all of belongings from the city center apartment we had stayed in for the last two days and were off down the cobblestone streets, baggage in tow.  Luckily, the train station was literally right around the corner from our apt. so we were there within minutes.  We had gone by last night, to ensure that we knew exactly where it was and what we needed to do.  The ticket office was still open so I went ahead and turned in our E-ticket for real train tickets so we would have less stress
 in the morning.  This train trip is Brian, Diane, and David's first trip on a train of this type.  We had our luggage, and tickets, and Brian and David went in search of some breakfast before we boarded the train.  Once we located our train, we found a great seat and were good to go.  We are actually bound from Edinburgh to Glasgow, and then we will catch a connecting train from Glasgow to London.

Arrived in Glasgow without incident, but then, were told that our next train was NOT being picked up from the same station, and we had to speed walk over to the Glasgow CENTRAL station, which was a good 5-10 minutes away.  And our next train was only 40 minutes after we arrived, so we had to book it!  Got to the station and had to stand in line to trade, again, my E-ticket for real ones.  Long line, and a couple of scary moments when the lady told me that the tickets were NOT issued to me  (and she wouldn't tell me who they WERE issued to!) and I would have to get out of line...(and our train was leaving in under 25 minutes!) But, I was thinking on my feet, and quickly pulled out David's passport and asked if this was who the tickets were made out to...  and, thank heaven, they were!  So, received our tickets and without further ado, were off to get on the next train.  We are actually on the train right now, and I purchased a WiFi package so I could catch up on last night's blog, and get an early start on today as well.


We have comfortable seats and are watching the peaceful looking countryside go by outside our windows.  Again, green, green parcels of land, partitioned by bushes and surrounded by tress of different varieties.  Cows, sheep, and horses dot the landscape, with an occasional highway thrown in for good measure.  the train ride is smooth, and we will soon be heading to the cafe on-board to get some lunch for our growling tummies! Diane and I shared a tomato and cheese panini and the guys had a BLT, salt and vinegar chips, and a drink.  That hit the spot!

We arrived into London at 3:15 to NO RAIN!  Again, our luck seems to be holding as we bring the sunshine (or lat least no rain) with us where ever we go!  We took a taxi to our hotel, and on the way we passed Buckingham Palace.  The flag was raised, indicating that the QUEEN WAS IN!  So, here, I am meeting the queen!  :)  We arrived at the Dover Hotel.  SMALL rooms, but everything that we need.  We are currently lying on the bed with maps all around us, trying to figure out our plan of attack on this city.  We will be taking the underground rails and walking our little feet off for the next 3-4 hours.

OK...  let's say that the beginning of our trek to explore London did NOT quite start as smoothly as we had anticipated...  but, we are not quitters, and so we just rolled with the punches!  Our first stop was the Tower Castle.  Immense and beautiful in the late evening light.  The green grass represents where the moat would have been.  Then we walked over to the Tower Bridge.  We saw it before the sun went down, and then again after when the lights were all lit up.  Stunning in either light.


We were hungry again after our walking, (around 8 miles today and that was AFTER we were on a train for 6 and a half hours!  Brian spied a great restaurant called All Bar One, and we decided to try it.  We walked it and were so happy that it was Tuesday because they had an incredible special where you could get 4 tapas and a bottle of wine for 20 pounds.  An AMAZING deal!  So we ordered crispy duck dumplings, calamari, feta and spinach bureks, and slow cooked pork.  The food arrived and we jumped in and each and every dish was delectable!  So, we ordered 4 more!  A garlic flatbread, patatas bravas (a potato dish), lemongrass prawns, and chorizo with halmari (cheese) skewers.  We also downed these dishes with no problems!

On top of the incredible food, we met a great guy who worked at All Bar One.  His name was Patrick von Veenendaal, and he was not only a fantastic help with our food, he was also an extremely personable guy!  He had recently visited the states, California, and wants to come to Arizona on his next trip to the states.  We HIGHLY recommended that he go see the Grand Canyon and do white water rafting or hike down it, or both.  We had a highly engaging conversation comparing and contrasting our views of the different countries.  Such a wonderful time and a terrific guy, to boot!

After our incredible dinner, we were off again walking the pavement.  Our goal was to hit the St. Paul's Cathedral.  Up one road, down another, led us to our destination.  As we walked up, I took a double take, because there was a dome on top just like the White House!  Such an stunning piece of architecture.  Under the dome was a massive building with Corinthian columns and intricately carved details.  The night was getting late, and it was full dark before we were heading back to our home base at the Dover.  We hit the underground railroad, which was amazing!, and followed our way back home.  I sooooo like the underground for speed and efficiency.  We hit home right about 11 p.m.  Need to finish my blog and then get my butt to bed, because we are going on a tour to Stonehenge, Salisbury and Bath at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow.  Until then, chow, cheerio, and goodbye!

Loch Ness and Scottish Highlands

We actually had to SET our alarm today!  Our tour to the Loch Ness and the Scottish Highlands started at 8 a.m. and we had to check in at 7:45.  We were all up on time and headed over early to be able to get a breakfast sandwich and a coffee.  Then we had to get in line AGAIN to check in for the tour.  Diane is totally figuring this out, as she just slid right in behind the first person in line, and we were second and she didn't offend anyone!  lol.  Our tour guide is Keith and we are set to leave at 8 a.m.   Once we got on our bus, we had people from Hong Kong, China, Canada, New York, California, and our group from Arizona.

We took off promptly at 8 and our guide, Keith, complete in his striking kilt, started in on a history lesson right away. We learned many interesting facts as we rode along the way.  Of course the information given discussed William Wallace aka Mel Gibson in BRAVEHEART!  That story led way to much expounding about Robert the Bruce.  Such historically interesting information. Keith had a wealth of knowledge that he freely shared with us off and on the entire 12 hour trip.   Our tour guide also had some great music, both traditional and modern Scottish tunes.

We passed bridges, both for railway and for cars, mountains (montons), immensely beautiful and plentiful lakes (NOT!!! they are lochs), and an incredible amount of greenery around the environment. We passed some brilliant yellow fields, and upon inquiry, discovered that they were fields of canola plants in bloom.  Our guide noted that while Americans use it for the oil, in the UK it is used for biofuel.  Interesting... We crossed over the River Tay, which is the longest river in Scotland.  A few times during our journey we spotted deer, which we were told were Roe deer.

One of our first stops was a quaint little town, Pithlochy, where we were supposed to just look around and use the bathroom.  BUT...  we came across a great little deli where we wanted to order lunch.  We got fresh sliced salami, sliced ham (prosciutto), six different cheeses from across Scotland and Wales, an assortment of olives, fresh strawberries, bagettes,

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and a bottle of wine.  By the time we got to the Loch Ness, we were STARVING and so ready for our lunch, which we set up on a fountain.  We were supposed to be on a tour of the Loch Ness loch with a few of our fellow van riders, but we ran into a few snafus along the way that made us late...  more about that later.  Let's talk about the Loch Ness.




Loch Ness is actually the biggest loch in all of Great Britian (which includes Scotland, Wales, and England).  I am sure you have heard many different tales of the Loch Ness Monster, Nessie.  Well, we had an impressive view of the enormous water that is called Loch Ness, but, alas, no Nessie was to be spotted by us today.  The weather was absolutely beautiful the entire trip.  Keith said that that is totally not the norm, and we were VERY blessed to have sunshine with us almost the entire day.  But the winds were blowing off the loch, and it was very cool in the shade.  I have totally learned to dress in layers, as Alexis commented on earlier.  You HAVE to.  I would have pants on (I know, I know!!!) and a nonsleeved shirt (lol) but then add a light sweater and a waterproof jackets AND a scarf! I have a few beautiful ones that someone either gave me or I purchased, and I have NEVER worn them before, but they were perfect here.  We look very stylish, if I do say so myself!  :)  Anyway, walked around the lovely village that accompanied the Loch Ness and enjoyed the amazing views.  We were there about 75 minutes, then back in the van and on the road back home.

Keith did a great job of stopping at many breathtakingly beautiful places along our adventure.  What I noticed about the Scottish countryside is that it seems to be a lot "wilder" than in Ireland.  This was especially true in the highlands.  Just the types of the trees, bushes, and layout of the land lended to this feeling.  One of our stops was to Ben Nevis (sp?) which was the highest mountain in all of Great Britain.  Incredible views. Another stop was at Glencoe, where we had the opportunity to go out for a short 30 minute hike.  We traversed down the rocky slope and up to a river that spanned a small river.  The mountains that we were surrounded by were absolutely ENORMOUS.  We just stood back with our mouths open admiring the view before us.  Astonishing!  

OK...  back to the snafus... one of the snafus was a group of cyclists who were riding 100 miles today!  And a total of 300 miles in 3 days.  Just incredible the stamina these people have!  We were cheering them on along the way.  But, as they were riding, they were also taking up the road space and there was not room for us to get past them.  So, we just had to wait until the other side of the incredibly SKINNY road was clear before we drove around them.

A twelve hour trip can be exhausting, especially if you didn't sleep well the night before...  but what a memorable and unforgettable experience it was for all of us.  The Scottish Highlands are truly an inspiring portrayal of the people and history that occurred there.

Chillin' in Scotland

We began the next leg of our journey, driving into Belfast Airport.  Dropped off our rental car, a sleek, black BMW Series 3 stick shift, which I think Brian fell a little bit in love with!  No problem arriving on time, checking in with our plane tickets, and getting our luggage tucked away in the cargo hold of our little purple prop plane!  We had time enough before our flight to eat at a little cafe and taste a few different desserts. Then, through security (which made me throw away my AUSSIE MOUSSE, which is the ONLY thing that works on my hair to keep it curly...  :(  We'll see how I look in a few days.  lol).  Then upstairs to have one last Guiness before we left Ireland.  We looked a a couple of mini stores up there, one with HBA trying to find me some new mousse...  no luck.  BUT...  we took a seat just until they called our gate, which they did minutes later.  And we were RIGHT beside it, and were the FIRST people in line to check in and get on the plane.  That has NEVER happened to us before, nor is it likely to ever happen again.  But the luck of the Irish was hanging with us even til we flew off their soil.

After a quick 50 minute flight to Edinburgh, Scotland (UK) we arrived without incident and went down to "reclaim" our baggage and again, our luggage was the first ones off!  Had to navigate through the airport, which proved to be a bit challenging, as there was construction in a few different places.  Finally found where we were to load our taxi, and we were off to West Side tower apartments.  I was amazed how large the city was!  Row after row of sky-touching apartment buildings and businesses lined the streets.  Inter-strewn were breathtaking historical and architecturally perfect churches, clock towers, and a fortress of a castle, called, aptly enough, Edinburgh Castle.  Perched on the side of a rock mountain, it rose above everything around it, dwarfing our figures as we stood admiring it from below.            
As we continued to walk around the city, the winds picked up and a dense fog started to roll in, chilling us to the bone.  We began to search in earnest for somewhere to find some traditional Scottish fare to eat, but


since it was getting late on a Sunday evening, many places were beginning to close.  After countless restaurants that just wouldn't work, we stumbled upon Albanas. As soon as I entered the crowded place, I noticed a table for four open right beside the door and jumped on it.  We sat down and ordered some Irish coffees to warm our blood, and then decided to share a few of the meals.  Beef pie, traditional fish and chips, and a Scottish shrimp scampi made the cut for dinner.  DELICIOUS!!  Dessert was raspberries soaked in honey and whisky.  David tried a shot of "Lowlander" whisky and it was extremely smooth.

Continued walking the streets in search of where we had to meet up with our Loch Ness/Scottish Highlands tour, early tomorrow morning, and we so lucked out, as it was literally 5 minutes walking distance away from our centrally located apartment.  And we also noticed the train (which we will need to travel by on Tuesday) is right down the stairs from our place as well.  Thank you James and Alexis, you couldn't have found a better site for us to be! Well, it is getting late (12:04 a.m!) and we have to get up early.  It is so hard to go to bed early because sunset isn't until almost 10 p.m. every night!  So, g'night and cheerio!

Morning Serenity in Draperstown

Our short nights were catching up with us, and we decided to try to sleep in.  I had my eye mask beside me to pull on when the sunlight started creeping in...  which was just after 5 a.m.  I actually slept until almost 8!  That is soooo late for me.  But I woke up feeling so refreshed and invigorated! Terrance had been cooking pancakes and they smelled like heaven.  Diane and I poured ourselves a cup of coffee and went outside to take in the morning.  The view that met us was beyond any expectation that we had a glimpse of the night before.  Sheep softly baaing in the meadow beside us, and the wide open expanse of green, dotted with houses and church steeples.  Huge mountains loomed in the distance.

        Brian and David got up and joined us outside for a delicious breakfast feast.  The pancakes were literally some of the best I have ever had.  We added fresh berries, both blueberries and raspberries (that are HUGE compared to what we get in the states!) fresh butter, and real maple syrup.  A glass of orange juice and more coffee and cream just nailed down an amazing morning.  Terrance walked us around their immense property, showing us many of the upgrades and decorative touches he has added to their home.

Great company, beautiful scenic view, the sun shining (STILL!) and our morning could not have been better.  We are sad to leave this amazing country of Ireland, but we will have fond memories of this place and the new friends we have made will be with us for our lifetime.
Off to Edinburgh, Scotland!!

Road Trip!

Woke up early again (6 a.m.), but this time it was to total silence.  What a contrast it was between yesterday's busy city street morning, and this morning's middle of nowhere peace and quiet.  Peeked my head in and woke up Diane.  We got ready, had a cup of coffee (me) and tea (Di) and a piece of toast before embarking on a brisk walk down to the ocean.  The nearly deserted beach had only the sounds of some magpies, seagulls, and the lap of the waves as they came quietly in to the shore.  As Diane and I walked down the beautiful black sand beaches, we picked up an occasional shell or piece of driftwood.  The sun was beginning to rise and show its soft pastel colors in the East.  We walked and talked and just took in our peaceful habitat.  We were out for about an hour, total, and meandered back up the narrow roads towards, surrounded by green upon green lush plants and soft white clouds.
     Got back to the house, packed up and were off on an adventure,  a 5 hour driving tour of Ireland.  We headed north up the west coast towards our destination of Swatragh, where my daddy's good friend, Willie Turner lives.  OK...  trying to navigate through Ireland proved to be challenging...  Brian was a master driver, keeping such a cool head when we were faced with some hairy driving situations, especially when the roads were only wide enough for ONE car, and TWO were trying to go down the same road!  The names of the towns as were listed in our GPS did NOT match the names that the towns really had, or the nicknames that they had been given.  Anyway, thank heaven we had some snacks in the car, bread, meats and cheeses again. Eagle eye Brian spotted an amazing cemetery where we stopped to check out and stretch our legs.

     Willie must have called at least 4 times to check and see where we were.  Every time we would be closer, but not close enough.  FINALLY around 4 p.m. we met up with Willie just outside the town of Swatragh.  He took us back to his house and we left our car there and jumped in with him.  Willie drove us to a wonderful restaurant and we met his friendly and outgoing family.  After a delicious dinner, we decided to let the "locals" show us around, rather than being sucked in to some of the touristy places.

Paula, Willie's daughter laid out a plan for us and took us up mountains (where she made Diane and me HANG OFF!), around lakes, down into valleys where sheep and cows wandered around in their own world.  Our time was filled with getting to better know this wonderful Turner family and also get the opportunity to explore sites and unchartered adventures that we would have never had the chance to do so with out their assistance.  We spent hours enjoying our special time.  At around 9 p.m. Willie drove us to our next Airbnb home.


A beautiful home with welcoming host Paula and Terrance.  They had an AMAZING patio, which was lit up and had a warm and cozy fire.  We sat outside with a glass of wine and admired the lights of the city below us.  It is after midnight but our night if far from over.
Until tomorrow...

A Sunny Day in Ireland

I awoke today to a very strange sound...  seagulls squawking away - NOT roosters, but seagulls!  lol.  And it wasn't even 5 a.m. yet.  I guess that's what you get when you are on an island.  I couldn't go back to sleep so I got up and got ready for my day.  There was an odd contraption in the bathroom that was supposed to run the shower, but none of us could figure out how to work it, so I just took a quick splash bath!

David and I walked down to a small grocery store to get some water for our trip as the sun shone brightly above us!   We also decided to pick up some cheese, meats, and rolls so we could do a brot side later during our drive.  Diane and Brian got up and got ready and we went to the Good Food Store for breakfast.

 Sausage rolls, a chocolate croissant and a cup of mocha was just amazing.  We then grabbed all of our luggage from our room and headed out to flag down a taxi to take us to the airport to get our rental car.

 We got a snazzy black BMW series 3...  stick shift with the steering wheel on the WRONG side!  Brian took on the task of driving and within no time he was a pro.  We departed from Dublin around 9:00 and off to Galway we went.  The countryside was absolutely breathtaking!  Green, green grass with rock walls lining the edges of every field.  Ivy, flowers, and moss were growing profusely out of the rocks, and the lush vegetation was everywhere.  Having control of our own day, we stopped time and time again.  A unique cemetery, an old church, a castle (Dunguaire - where Di and I are shown) was built in 1020 A.D.! ), any interesting thing that caught our eye stopped our car.

 Our goal of a ferry ride out to the Aron Islands did not come to fruition due to missing the last ferry from Galway.  But we would not be dissuaded from our goal of visiting the magical Cliffs of Mohr - yes, those amazing cliffs from the movie The Princess Bride. It took many hours to traverse our way down tiny, skinny, road paths but when we finally arrived, the view took our breath away. Our drive to Kinvarra to our next Airbnb was lovely and we met our amiable hostess Karen.  It seems she is a bit of a Utube phenom...  check out Sweet Dreams Banjo ! We drove in to town to Merriman's Restaurant for dinner.  Our meals were unbelieveable. On the drive home, the sun began to set (at 9:40 p.m.!) the sun was a weirdly beautiful blood red.

Delightful Dublin

We arrived in Dublin with no problems.  Luggage came in, we received our passport stamps, and we were off in search of a taxi.   The ride took us about 20 minutes and it was a busy city.  The Airbnb place we booked to stay at had a tenant the night before, so we had to wait a little bit before it was ready for us to enter.  Our host, Tom, recommended The Good Food Store for lunch, and we were NOT disappointed.  We ordered some By 1 pm our apt. was ready and we took up our luggage and got ready to explore the city.  The sites that awaited us were so worth waiting for.  The Christ Church, pictured, was breathtaking.  We were able to walk around the exterior and part of the interior as well.  The architecture began on this church in 1030 A.D.  Beautiful stained glass windows and aged, but impeccable architecture were amazing to view.   Me passed many churches, arches, and such old buildings that it makes anything in the U.S. seem new.

We walked, and walked, as is the norm in the city.  We visited the Guinness Storehouse, then off in a horse-drawn carriage to the Jamison Distillery.  We are all amazed at the craft and structure of the buildingsand liquor here.  After hitting an Irish grill called the Brazen Head that boasted being the oldest bar in Ireland.  Then we walked some more, and found a traditional pub and had the pleasure of listening to a true Irish Band  and their lyrical music.  So pleasurable.

We headed back, walking of course, to our residence, and  got to thoroughly enjoy the building, along with the  outside patio area where Diane and I had a cooling beverage at the end of our long walking day (approximately 7 miles).  We used Airbnb to book most every place that we had to stay (unless we had friends in the area).  We have been pleased so far with the places we have seen, and gotten great reviews from our friends.  As is the motto, "Why just stay there, when you can LIVE there?  We DEFINITELY like living there!

Leaving AZ

Arrived at my dad's house by 7:40 a.m. Wednesday morning!  Yes...  we ALL made it on time.  Here is a picture of our luggage.  We were VERY proud that we only used the smaller suitcases for our 3 week visit. We got to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and had a couple of hours to wait until our flight to New York.  After we checked in our luggage, we went to have some breakfast.  As soon as my sister and I sat down at a little restaurant to have breakfast our waitress came over and asked, "Can I get you a Bloody Mary?"  Diane and I looked at each other and said, "HECK YA!"  lol.  And we are off.   We had an uneventful trip from Phoenix to JFK New York airport. Take off was good, and we were ready to sleep on the plane as it flew over the ocean towards our destination of Dublin, Ireland. Nighty, night!

Here I go again!

And so...  it begins again. In just about 3 days I am going to embark on another journey to Europe.  But this time, I am taking my husband David, my sister Diane, and her husband Brian.  Instead of just concentrating on one country, we will be off with abandon to 5 (for the hubbies) and 6 countries for Diane and me.  My sister and I have spent countless hours pouring over sites, booking Airbnb rooms, ferry rides, excursions, etc.  It has been a load of work, but I KNOW it will all be worthwhile as soon as we board our first flight towards Dublin on Wednesday, May 25th...  So, are you ready to travel with me again?  Let's do it!