Blogs from Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 379

We went on a FABBY trip last weekend, by invitation from our pal Morven's parents George & Maureen, to the most beautiful island of Barra, which is one of the islands of the The Outer Hebrides on the West Coast of Scotland. You can get to Barra two ways - ferry from Oban, or flight from Glasgow. We flew. It wasn't that expensive really - about 100 pounds per person including tax and Beth went free of course as she's so teeny. Flight takes 50 mins and if it's a clear day you get the most amazing views imaginable, heading out over Oban, up the Sound of Mull (with top views of Tobermory 'Balamory' harbour with its gorgeously quaint painted buildings facing the sea), over the Atlantic ocean bypassing other beautiful islands such as Muck, Eigg ... read more

Saturday, July 28th, Glasgow 10:00am- Start our descent into Glasgow (they’re 8 hours ahead of LA). Mike (or is it Mark)- my seat buddy- has been kind enough to stock pile food and forms for me while I sleep. So, I fill out the immigration form and finally have some food (hadn’t eaten since midnight Friday morning (LA time). 10:30am- We land and the hunt for the suitcase begins. Find it on the conveyor belt and pick it up. The front zipper flap (which, luckily, wasn’t holding anything) is now torn and the metal frame under the fabric of the side handle (that you could carry the suitcase with- it’s got rollers, who’d carry it?) is now bent way out of shape and it bulges. I’m so tired and unsure I don’t care and start to ... read more

Must... stop... procrastinating... So, on a day that seems like a really long time ago, I explored Edinburgh. I started by getting on a bus that took me to Prince Street, next to the gardens that are below Edinburgh Castle. The castle is built on an extinct volcano and has had human habitation on it for millennia. I hiked what felt like straight up and got there at 9 am, just as the castle gates were opening. The first order of business was to take a guided tour, led by the lovely Fiona with the lovely Scottish burr. She led us through the multiple gates that form an impenetrable defense. Our walk took us past the St. Margaret Chapel, which was built in the early 12th century and is the oldest building in all of Edinburgh. ... read more

After emerging from the Museum of Scotland, I got back on track heading down the Royal Mile, mainly window shopping and peeking down all the narrow alleys ("closes") that run off to the sides. At the bottom, I reached Holyrood Palace. Last time I was in Edinburgh, we were unable to visit the palace, because Queen Elizabeth II was in residence - to knight Sir Sean Connery. :) While deciding if I wanted to spend the money to go in, I went to the cafe and had a cream tea - which I have now enjoyed on several occasions. You get a pot of tea and a scone with clotted cream and jam. The scone is more like what we Americans call a biscuit, not like what we call scones. Here, they are round and are ... read more

You may have heard about all the floods that hit England recently. Well, as you can tell from the title of my blog, I live in Gloucestershire, which was the worst hit in the recent crisis. I personally didn’t have any flooding (just mushy ground) where I live, but the water treatment plant for a few hundred thousand people was flooded, so we didn’t have any running water for over a week. No drinking water, no showers, and no flushing toilet. My solution? Flee the country. Well, sort of. I stayed in the UK but boogied it out of England. I rented a car and headed North to Scotland. When I got to the car rental place, I was slightly nervous about driving on the left side of the road in a car where the steering ... read more