Background: Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999, but the latter is suspended due to bickering over the peace process.
July 24th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Stirling Well, long day of travel, but great scenery in Scotland. We were up at 6:30 and off to the airport by the city bus for our flight to Liverpool, England. Got in at about 10:30 and got our rental car ... [full story]
July 23rd 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Stirling I know it's been a while, but due to internet issues and software issues with my camera, I haven't been able to update until now.
So, not long after my last post, Katie and I headed up to Stirling ... 7 photos[full story]
June 11th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Stirling Ever seen the movie "Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail"? Well some of the scenes from the movie were shot at Doune Castle which is located just outside of Stirling. Since the fine ladies a ... 19 photos[full story]
June 8th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Stirling Has been another interesting couple of days. Weather has continued to be absolutely beautiful - sunny, warm and NO RAIN! YESSS!
Yesterday I had grand plans to see Edinburgh Castle and Camera Obscur ... 29 photos[full story]
May 30th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Stirling Yesterday I woke up early to see Kathy off. Tonight Harriet and Colleen are taking the over night bus to London to catch their flight in the morning. God, I love public transportation :)
I spent ... [full story]
May 27th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Stirling I suppose it just wouldn't be right if each year didn't get a little bit more difficult in my five year long battle against the evil company.
In February, about a week before I left for Scotland, I ... [full story]
May 26th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Stirling This morning, I woke up early to say goodbye to Nick. He's the first of our group to return to the states. The rest of us aren't really leaving until the end of the week, but Nick was by far ready t ... [full story]
May 22nd 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Stirling It is that time next month, time to get ready to head back to Texas. It's going to be extremely difficult. I'm far from being disappointed that I came to Scotland- I'm anything but. At the same tim ... [full story]
May 21st 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Stirling First trip of 2008 took me to the beautiful Stirlingshire. Armed with a new tent and mountain bike I stayed at the Witches Craig Campsite and it's probably so far the best I've stayed at. Good flat pi ... [full story]
May 9th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Stirling Spent the last couple of days in the South of Scotland. Went and saw the Castle in Stirling - had an excellent audio tour.
Striling castle is where the Scottish royalty spent most of their time for a ... 4 photos[full story]
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