My Travel Blog
Wow, what an amazing apartment we have!! We have just spent 3 nights in a small room that had very hard beds and a strange odor… so anything would seem better than that, right? Well, this place surpasses anything I could've imagined. Two huge bedrooms, beautiful linens and soft beds, a giant living room that is quite honestly much nicer than home, a spacious kitchen…. I could go on and on. The weather is also a welcome sigh of relief after 6 very hot and stuffy days; we are currently listening to the pitter-patter of rain out the window and have a beautiful cool breeze blowing in.
We drove for 8 hours today to get from Salisbury, England to Edinburgh, Scotland. That included the first hour of confusion (and perhaps not the greatest road choices) and then two pee stops and a half hour stroll along the bay just before the Scottish border. Kudos to Jeff for keeping us on the right/wrong side of the road the whole time! It took massive concentration on both of our parts to navigate and stay alive - but here we are! The car is now safely parked away for the next few days and we'll navigate on foot to recuperate from that massive exertion.
The first half of the trip was fairly boring - just pavement and cars. I will acknowledge though that the British are much better about their lane usage than North Americans. Almost everyone pulled out and in to the various passing lanes very efficiently which made the traffic flow much better than we see at home. Of course, just like at home, you get a few idiots now and then but what can you do. In general I was very impressed.
The second half of the drive was much more interesting as the geography became hilly and green with lots of sheep and cows. The kids were amazing on the drive and the 8 hours were not very painful at all. We haven't had the chance to see much of the scenery here in Edinburgh but it looks super interesting. After we arrived we settled in and then went for dinner (which was excellent sushi - these Scots know what they're doing as it was packed!) . We're so happy to be spending the few hours before bed just spread out in this great place doing whatever we want to do. The kids heard on the radio that there was a Honey Boo Boo marathon on tonight, but thankfully (for Jeff and I) they couldn't find it on TV. That show is like crack cocaine… you hate to watch it but you can't stop once you start.
My parents arrived into Edinburgh tonight in preparation for the Saturday wedding, but I just got a message from my mom that she has come down with a bad cold. Yuck! We were hoping to meet up with them tomorrow but I guess we will wait and see. Regardless, we're looking forward to seeing all that Edinburgh has to offer!
It was a scorcher here today and I felt like I may melt. I expect these temperatures when going somewhere Mediterranean, but not in Jolly Ol' England!
We had a much better sleep last night after they flipped the mattress on the double bed and having the kids sleep on it together. We discovered that one of the single beds was actually long enough for Jeff, so he managed to sleep without having dangling ankles while I took the short bed. (My ankles were fine…)
Our destination this morning was Stonehenge so we took the 20 minute drive north to check out the insanely old circle of stones. It's mind boggling to consider how old these things are; 2600 BC is hard to get your head around. We didn't want to wait in a huge line up in the sun in 33C temperatures, so instead we walked through a sheep field and looked at it through a fence. We had to keep our eyes on the ground because those sheep eat a lot of fibre! Getting an extra 20m closer would've been nice for picture taking, but it wasn't worth heat stroke so that was good enough for us. Then, as a pleasant surprise, we took an alternate route back to Salisbury and got an amazing view from the highway!
On our way back we stopped into Old Sarum Castle. The history of this area is pretty remarkable and shows human habitation from as early as 3000 BC (as in, Stonehenge), but it is also a major player in early human history. The Romans, Saxons, Vikings, and Normans have all played a role here, and the fact that it was abandoned in 1219 for the 'new' Salisbury site is slightly boggling. There isn't much to see now aside from the giant moat and the outlines of some rooms and common areas, which is still extremely impressive considering the age. 
Much of the site was taken apart for building materials and it's driving me nuts that I can't remember when that happened and which King authorized it, but I feel it was somewhere in the 13 or 1400's. In any case, even if it was the 1500's that's a heck of a long time ago! It is an inexpensive place to visit and a nice dip into some really old history. Plus they sell popsicles on a hot day, so the place was a hit!
After a quick tapas lunch (I guess we are practicing for Barcelona next week!) we needed a siesta before meeting Jennie for 'tea' in our courtyard. One thing the kids and I wanted to accomplish on this trip was a 'proper English tea' when you get those cute little scones and sandwiches on a stacked plate. The kids each had 3 cups of Earl Grey tea and we will see how that plays into bedtime tonight… and they also really enjoyed the cakes and little sandwiches. The only thing left were some strange cherries that were soaked in something that may or may not have been alcohol. It reminded me of Black Forest Cake - one of the worst inventions of all time. (Sorry to all of you who love it, but I just can't handle it. Too soft, too much fake cherry… just not my cup of tea!) ;)
We then enjoyed a few lazy hours just sitting and chatting and enjoyed a nice dinner before Jennie needed to get home. It rained in the early evening and it's now very nice, cool and fresh which is a very welcome change. I love the warm summer weather, but tonight's sleep will be much more comfortable and it will make nice driving weather for tomorrow as we're off to Edinburgh!
Now we need to pack up and get organized for our early departure - Scotland bound!
About Me