We are alive and back in Canada

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Hey everyone sorry we've been slacking on whats been going on. We flew back to Canada on April 22 and are currently in Manitoba. Dave and I are staying with my sister Nadine, and helping my dad on the farm. We will be in Manitoba until the wedding.

Before we left Europe we spent a week in Edinburgh Scotland, staying with a friend of my sisters. Edinburgh is a great city and we didn't get to see even half of it. We spent pretty much the entire week walking up and down the Royal Mile doing the touristy stuff along the way. The Royal Mile is the mile long road that connects Edinburgh Castle to the Queens Palace. There was lots of things to see and do, and with our pass that we bought we were able to see most of them and not have to pay as much.

We left Edinburgh on April 18th and rented a car and drove down to Newbury where Leila, Dave's Aussie cousin is teaching. Newbury is an hour west of London. We drove straight from Edinburgh to Newbury in 7 hours. We crossed almost all of Britian in less time then it took me from Lethbridge, Alberta to Oak Lake,Manitoba! While in the Newbury area we went to Avebury and Stonehenge, both are old stone rings. Avebury is actually older and larger then Stonehenge, this stone ring is formed inside of a huge ditch that was hand dug and the whole area itself covers about 28 acrers. Some of the stones used to make this ring weigh up to 40 tons, it would have taken some effort to build this ring back in 2600 BC!

We couldn't be that close and not stop at Stonehenge as well so we played tourist again. Unfortunetly Stonehenge is really touristy and for us all the appeal of it was lost. The stones are right along side the road, but you have to pay to get into the field where they are. And once you payed you still couldn't even get near the stones to touch them, you had to follow a path outside the stones. So instead of paying we did what the rest of the cheap people did and took pictures over the fence, we still got as close to the stones as the people who paid. Silly people!

That same day on our travels we also went to see the Westbury White Horse. We're not sure why they're there, but the view from the top of the hill where it sits was nice!

Like I said before we left Europe on April 22 and have been in Canada since. It's nice to not have to live out of a bag anymore, and to have more then 3 outfits to choose from!!

Hope everyone has enjoyed reading about our travels and hopefully we'll see most of you in September for our wedding!!

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Photos

Armagh
Our last day of travelling in Northern Ireland we went to Armagh. We went to St. Patricks Cathedral, this is a statue of St. Patrick.

The most famous dog in Scotland
Greyfriars Bobby, after his owner died the dog sat on his grave everyday only leaving to get feed by the locals.

Advocate's Close
There are many closes leading into the High Street and other parts of the Royal Mile, in the 'old city' of edinburgh, you see there everywhere, they are generally get there names from the predomiant industry on them, eg fishmongers close, fleshmarket close etc

The forth rail Bridge
The 2.5 km. (1.5 mile) Forth Railway Bridge, the world’s first major steel bridge, with its gigantic girder spans of 521 m. (1710 ft.) ranks as one of the great feats of civilization. It was begun in 1883 and formally completed on 4 March 1890

Inchcolm Island
This historic island and abbey in the Firth of Forth is a significant place in Scottish history there has been a church here since 1235, and during World War II, defenses were erected on the to protect Rosyth naval dockyards

Edinburgh Castle from Princess St gardens
Edinburgh Castle is an ancient fortress which, from its position atop Castle Rock, dominates the sky-line of the city of Edinburgh

The King's Lodging
These are the former Royal Apartments, dating from the 15th century and including a small room known as Birth Chamber or Mary Room where King James VI of Scotland, who was to become James I of England was born to Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary, through claiming the throne of England, incited the anger of her cousin, Elizabeth I of England, who had her captured, imprisoned and eventually beheaded. Woohoo

Great Hall Pole Weapons
The Great Hall of the Castle was built in 1511 on the orders of King James IV. It has a hammer beam roof. It was used for meetings of the Parliament of Scotland prior to the building of Parliament Hall next to St Giles Cathedral in 1639. The Great Hall is still sometimes used for ceremonial occasions.

Avebury Circle from the above
Avebury is the site of a large henge and several stone circles in the English county of Wiltshire surrounding the village of Avebury. It is one of the finest and largest Neolithic monuments in Europe dating to around 5000 years ago

Kendra at Avebury
Avebury has been a site of human occuppation and activity for 6,000 years and the Henge was built slightly more than 5,000 years ago. Stonehenge is a comparative newcomer having been started around 3,000 years ago.

Donnington Castle
Donnington Castle is sited at the top of a hill overlooking the River Lambourne, a mile north of Newbury, where Leila is working

Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument located near Amesbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury. It is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones and is one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world. Archaeologists think that the standing stones were erected around 3200 BC

Westbury White Horse
The Westbury White Horse is a hill figure on the escarpment of Salisbury Plain in England. It is the oldest of several white horses carved in Wiltshire. believed to be made around 1742.