Dartmoor - Day I

This place looks idyllic and peaceful.

But it's a real nightmare:

• driving on the left side of roads
• manual transmission
• one track roads
• 2 way traffic on one track roads
• hedges or rock walls on both side of one track roads

I wonder if we'll drive tomorrow, or just walk?

Three Isles in the Hebrides

July 13 was big day for us.  2 bus rides, 2 large ferry rides, and 3 smaller boat rides to visit a wee bit of the Hebrides.

We started and ended our trip with this huge ferry.

Looking across the harbor in Oban at the ferry that takes people to Mull.

We got on the Caledonian MacBrayne with tourists, locals, dogs, etc, all bound for the island of Mull.

On Mull, we boarded a coach with the lovely driver, Colin.  Colin entertained us with stories of the island as he drove us across Mull on a one track road.  We shared the road with oncoming traffic, sheep and highland cows.  The island is only about 30 miles wide to our destination, but it took a full hour.

At the edge of the island, we stood in the pouring rain to board a smaller boat headed for the isle of Staffa.

A lot of us were crammed onto this boat.  Many of us had to stand on the back deck, in the rain.

We hiked along the edge of the cliffs to peek into Fingal's Cave.

We hiked in the other direction to see the colony of puffins.                 

From Staffa, we took another small boat to the Isle of Iona.  A man named Columba started the first Christian community here in 563.  It was ransacked later on by the Vikings. We saw the Abbey that has undergone many reconstructions.

We also poked around what was once the nunnery.

We were lucky that the sun came out while we were on Iona.  We had extra time to walk around in the sun, and to appreciate what a hidden gem this island is.

When the sun comes out on Iona, the children jump into the clearest water imaginable.

This shop looked very appealing to me.

The cows enjoyed snoozing in the sun.

Goodbye, Iona.

Bits and Bobs about Western Scotland

I'm practicing Scotch/Brit speak, hence,

Here are a few bits and bobs:

• The Scottish have the finest cuisine that I have experienced in all my travels.  Every meal has been outstanding.

• Right now, black and white horizontal stripes are on trend - for both men's and women's clothing.  Red pants are also popular, but I am too shy to take a photo of anyone wearing them.

• There is a lovely glen on the island of Mull.  It is inhabited solely by sheep, and there is no electricity in the area.  The weather in Mull is mostly rainy year round. The council saw fit to install a bus stop/shelter in the glen.  Since there is no electricity, they installed solar panels on the roof.  When there is enough sun, the shelter lights up at night and is apparently quite lovely sitting by itself in the glen.  There are no people to take the bus. There was no way for the driver to stop the bus for a photo of the actual bus stop, but this is what a glen looks like.

• The weather is often dirty in western Scotland. Surely you can figure out what that means.

• If you are offered tablet, it means a piece of candy that resembles butterscotch fudge. 

• This is not tablet, but have you ever seen anything cuter?

• 
  

  

  Knitters throughout the world are nuts.

Whirlwind

The last three days have been a whirlwind.  If we weren't struggling with jet lag, the days would have probably seemed like normal tourist days. As it is, all we've seen and experienced have the potential to become a blur.

Edinburgh is not the largest city we've visited, but it certainly has a huge variety of sights to see.  Friday, July 10, we explored New Town (developed in the 1700s) and went back to Old Town (built in the 1100s) to see St Giles Cathedral.

However, the highlight of the day for me was the Edinburgh Royal Botanic Garden.

We had a guided tour from a wonderful man who taught us so many things about plants, soils, climate, etc....that we came away with our heads spinning in a pleasant way. One of the most interesting things he taught us was that in a botanic garden, each individual bed is like a library bookshelf, and each flower is a book.  The organization, like that of a library, is key.


Individual plants were intriguing.

Mistakes made by professionals make me feel good. This swath of meadow flowers were supposed to be red poppies to commemorate WWI and the red poppy fields of Flanders.  However, the seed company sold the garden the wrong seeds and the red statement turned out to be blue cornflowers and mostly yellow blossoms of some sort. It's so nice to know that experts aren't perfect.

This meadow was supposed to be the red poppy fields of Flanders.

Saturday, July 11, we met up with a small tour group and drove to St Andrews, the home of golf.  On the way, we stopped at the charming fishing village of Anstruthers where we had fish and chips worthy of the queen.  We were told she orders take away from the same shop when she's at Balmoral.

Fish and Chips worthy of the Queen.

Fish and Chips worthy of Taylor - only in Anstruthers.

We found many surprises at St Andrews.  The Open starts any day now so we didn't see much of the the golf course. Preparations for huge crowds are under way.  Since we aren't golfers we didn't care.  Instead, we enjoyed a lovely walk along the coast path, stopping to admire St Andrews Castle.

St Andrews Castle.

St Andrews Castle.

Further down the coast, we were able to walk among the ruins of St Andrews Cathedral, which was once the largest cathedral in Europe.  Cromwell had it sacked, so we only saw the remains.

St Andrews Cathedral.

Unexpectedly, when we stopped for a tea break, I saw "bread and butter pudding, with a proper custard" on the menu.  I've sworn off bread pudding in restaurants because it's usually quite nasty, but this one was worth every calorie.  As you can see, it was beautiful as well as delicious

Bread pudding worthy of Jamar.

The final stop of the day was Falkland Castle.  It is the hunting cabin of some member of royalty.   They can't afford to keep it up, so they charge people like us to come admire it.  I especially enjoyed the grounds. As you all know, I'm the happiest when I'm in a lovely garden.

This castle was really more beautiful on the outside than it was indoors.

A garden worthy of Jamar.

Next stop, Oban and the Isle of Iona.

Dazed and Confused in Edinburgh

Here we are, in Edinburgh.  We left PDX at 6 a.m. July 8, and arrived here at 6:45 a.m. July 9.  Do I need to say we are dazed and confused?  Our innkeeper at Ard-Na-Said (which means top of the arrow) let us stow our bags and gave us coffee.

Ard-Na-Said, our home away from home in Edinburgh.

We kept our sightseeing to a minimum today:

The main thoroughfare going in and out of Edinburgh Castle.

There are lots of charming nooks and crannies at the castle

A stroll down the Royal Mile

At the end of the day, we strolled over to the Salisbury Arms, where we had our first Edinburgh pint.

Cheers!

2015 Travel Season

Travel season starts on July 8 for Taylor and me.  While we are excited to continue exploring the world, our hearts will be with Solomon Pearson Dennen, aka Soup, in Taipei, Taiwan.  Born June 25, 2015, he is the light of our lives.

Travel Season 2015

We are leaving for Scotland, Cornwall, Jersey, Normandy, Brittany, Cambridge and London in two days!  I wonder if I'll see ukuleles over there?