Blogs from Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 7

I’m not sure where the time has gone but after weeks of sitting and enjoying the sunshine and catching up with friends our bags are ready, and the maps and guide books safely stored for the start of our biggest adventure yet. The warm up weeks, so to speak, would give us a chance to get used to being back in full travel mode again and to make sure we have everything we need. Woolly says – Warm it will not be and everything we need!!!!! There’s a car full of stuff to root through, how the women are going to get it all into two backpacks is beyond me! First though was the highlight of Alayna’s Christmas fun, the Christmas Market, now in it’s eight year it would be my fifth time of going and ... read more

It's not a castle, fortress, battlement, cathedral, church, abbey, tomb, cemetery, crypt or even a golf course! In fact I'd be surprised if you've ever seen anything like this. It's one of only two (pretty sure) boat lifting wheels in the world. And it is amazing! And it is big. Spectacular yet very, very effective and efficient. It consumes the equivalent amount of electricity as 8 electric kettles when lifting 250 tons! It's an engineering marvel (and possibly a work of art?) that lifts vessels almost 30 m into the air and deposits them back in the canal ready to continue up or down stream. The photos tell the story but I was particularly impressed and certainly glad we took the time to visit. Next big thing. The Antonine Wall. Well pretty big. It's the poor ... read more

My Decision to reroute my Scotland schedule was indeed a wise one! The weather in the North was none to good and Edinburgh was a blast. I can't count how many fantastic people I met over the last two days in Edinburgh but I'll share some of the highlights with ye ! I didn't arrive in Edinburgh until about 5:00 because I ran into some traffic between St. Andrews are here. However, I felt refreshed and was ready to explore and partake in all that Edinburgh offers knowing that I didn't have to jump back on the bike the next day. I grabbed a bite to eat at Footlights where to my surprise my waitress (Ally) recognized my Packer jersey. One of her co-workers is a huge Packers fan (not from the US) and has a ... read more

The rain subsided but low clouds threatened the morning and I knew well enough to pack my rain pants (quick reminder- all of this is internally accented with a fine brogue). It takes some courage to get started the first few mornings of a journey. I have to brace myself for awkward misunderstanding and periodic puzzle-solving to make my way in the world. Of course, the language is a breeze here, and the culture is predictably Western. However, I tend to have the codependent problem of worrying about being polite enough, and I'm convinced that by simply being American, I'm ignorantly offensive in dozens of subtle ways. This gives me a nervous tick of uncontrollable bursts of thank-you-so-very-much and please-if-it's-not-too-much-trouble and I'm-so-sorry-to-be-a-bother. Meanwhile, I count my change like a baby who hasn't learned about numbers. It ... read more

The flight was fine. You do what you must on a transatlantic crossing. Movies. Gazing. Reading. Eating. I'm happy to have left in the afternoon; I was able to stay up all night until it was night in Scotland. It was much easier to acclimate this way. My abode is a sweet wee apartment in the West End, within walking distance of the castle and Old Town and New Town. The owner left me a bowl of fresh fruit, biscuits and jam, and coffee to get me started on my first day. Okay, I'm just going to have to say right now that, in my head, I'm hearing all of this in a Scottish accent. It can't be helped! I'm surrounded by brogue, farleh droonen' en eh'! My first day was so wet. I brought rain ... read more