Woke up bright and early, had a quick breakfast at the hotel, and took the 30 minute train ride to Sintra. This little town is the Versailles of Portugal, being home, as it is, to the many palaces of Portugal's recently extinct royal family. It's also a very pretty town, perched on several hills covered in thick trees. I first started at the palace at the absolute top of town, called Pena Palace. Of the 3 in town, Pena is actually relatively new, dreamed up by a Romantically-inspired prince in the 19th century. It's therefore a sometimes weird collection of styles and designs, from Arab gates to almost pastel colored walls to Disneyland-like towers. Incredible views as well. Next hiked down about ten minutes to the ruined Moorish castle walls. These date from I think the ... read more

Headed South today, leaving Inverness on the early morning train for Glasgow. In by around 11ish. Glasgow I've decided is actually a very cool city. It's gritty and rough around the edges, not at all like the picture perfect Edinburgh just an hour away by train. Glasgow is a living and breathing city. It's also definitely the Chicago of Scotland, mainly because Glasgow is all about architecture. One man, during the turn of the 20th century, Charles MacKintosh, revolutionized architecture with strikingly Modern, minimalist buildings when everyone else was still caught up in overdone Victorianism. He set the stage for later developments in the States, like in Chicago and New York. And his buildings grace Glasgow, and really provide probably the greatest draw to the city in the first place. Then took the train back into ... read more

Missed Harry's breakfast, mainly on purpose. Another Scottish breakfast and I might drop dead in the street. So grabbed a quick coffee en route to Waverly Station and the short hour or so ride up to Stirling, the true heart of Scotland. This little city was actually once the capital of Scotland, and I think contains far more Scottish history than Edinburgh. I went mainly because it's an extremely quaint, inviting place, and also because probably the two most important battles in Scottish history happened in the surrounding fields. I first took a short bus ride to Bannockburn, where, in the early 1300s, the Scots once and for all defeated the English under Edward II. For Scots, this is like Waterloo, which I also visited a couple years ago, to the English, or like Gettysburg to ... read more

Left Durham on an early morning train for Edinburgh, about 2 hours away. An especially beautiful ride because the train mainly follows the shoreline of the North Sea, which made for some scenic views. In by 10:30ish, and relatively easily found my new guesthouse, the Elder York, in the New Town. It's truly a family guesthouse, with the really nice older dad greeting me and providing a lot of information. I've quickly learned that Scots are extremely hospitable, but only ask them a question when you know you can stand around nodding and smiling for like 15 minutes. So nice but so long-winded, but with their bonnie-wee accent it's fun and easy to listen. Then basically just walked around Edinburgh for the rest of the day, especially down one end of what is called the Royal ... read more

I left bright and early from Leeds, which really is a very cool city - it's very clean and modern and feels like maybe it's the yuppie capital of the North. Took a short train ride to York, my main destination for the day. This city really is the capital of Northern England and is absolutely jammed packed with history. Most people forget that this area was once the Northernmost extent of the Roman Empire, and York itself began as a garrison town. Then came the Vikings and then the Normans and finally Edward I moved his capital here in the 13th century - he actually started Parliament in the York Minster I visited today. The York Minster really is the whole reason I came to York. It's a massive, beautiful cathedral packed with history and ... read more