Holiday in Scotland

I left Wichita at 5:30pm to meet up with Cassidy and Sami in Atlanta. It was a long flight that I tried to sleep through. We were in the middle of the plane so our air and lights were not able to be reached unless we stood up. Part of Sami's light fell on her. I made a big deal about it to the flight attendent.... Little did she know I had something to do with it falling down. :) We took a train to the hotel we would be staying at while in London. I thought living in NYC and walking up 5 flights was rough. We walked up 4 very narrow and steep stairs to our closet of a bedrrom. So small! And the bathroom was a closet. That day we went about London and explored/toured House of Parliament, Palace of Westminster, House of Commons, House of Lords, and Big Ben! We took the subway to save some money and man it was so hot and humid and we were down there for 2 hours with some lines closing and using alternate routes. We ate dinner at a Pub that night (the first of many!) and I had a british beer named after Sam. That night we went to LOVE NEVER DIES. It was actually better then I thought it would be. The Phantom was great and I love his song he sings in the first act. The special effects on the screens were really cool and the technical aspects. We sang three songs from this show the entire trip! "Love Never Dies..." "Bathing Beauties...." and "My Christine.." people who heard us (mostly me) would think we are crazy. Which we are!

We woke up early and had a Traditional English Breakfast which consisted of a fried egg, ham, sausage, beans and a tomato. Sami ate the beans and some peaches! We headed out to Westminster Abbey and went to the War Cabinet Rooms that Mr. Churchill set up during WWII. The underground rooms/quarters are where people lived for over 16months with no light or windows. It was pretty amazing and very interesting. We headed over to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard and then we toured the palace. I want to live in a castle. During the Changing of the Guards we looked over and there was a little boy peeing and his dad was so proud of him and gave him a kiss. The rest of the trip I kept saying in my horrible British Accent "Mommy...there is a little boy over there peeing on the queen's flowers!" Took a taxi to the Tower of London and I never realized so many executions took place there. We took a taxi to Traflaga Square and had some photo shoots there. It was quite the site to see me and Sami get up on those lions!!! I even helped a little boy down. I am so Christlike I know. Cassidy and Sami finally found the candy store and bought a lot of it!!! I bought some and shared it with the office at home. That night Sami and Cassidy went to Wicked. I went to Priscilla Queen of the Dessert. I absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED it. I can't wait to see it again when it comes to Broadway. The dancing, costumes, singing, and the bus were absolutely brilliant!!!

The next day we checked out of our four story walk up hotel and took a train to Salsbury to go see Stone Henge, Old Sarum, and the Salsbury Cathedral. I loved it all. It is all getting so commercialized but it is just breathtaking to see all these sites that I have heard of since I was a young boy. There is so much history over in Europe that I absolutely adore. I loved the city of Salsbury. I thought it looked like the town that Pinocchio took place it! I was just waiting for people to break into song and dance! The tower in the Salsbury Cathedral is the tolest in the UK and the 4th tallest in Europe. It was quite the site inside and out. There was a boy who kept staring at Sami ever since the train ride and I kept calling him her boyfriend. He was always where we were that day...Interesting. Cassidy met a nice family from Spain and chatted it up with them in Spanish. We got back to London and took a flight to Edinburgh to spend the night there.

Edinburgh is my one of my favorite places we went to. The old architecture is beautiful and all the hills that the buildings are on are cool but were quite a workout for my calf muscles. We walked up the cobble stone streets to the Castle and had a wonderful tour of that and even saw the cannon go off! We saw the Scotland Crown Jewels and THE STONE OF DESTINY!!! There was so much history with this castle and all the events that had taken place there. After the castle we walked down the main street and there were street acts, mimes, singers, performers everywhere. We were there during the Fringe Festival. We stopped and watched a few of them and they were very entertaining. We looked in the shops and decided to shop at one where they were very friendly and wanted to know all about it. The son was quite embarrassed when he made a joke about me and Sami and she responded "the gent is my brother" his face turned red... We thought it was funny. All of there things are made in Scotland unlike an Indian fellow who owns 30 shops on the street who ships stuff in from India. I thought that was interesting. That is where I got some scarves and my kilt!! We ate at a pub called Whiskeys and I had some fish n chips. I also had an Edinburgh beer and some whiskey of course. That night we headed to the castle for the annual Military Tattoo Festival. It was like a glorified Marching Band, motorcycles, dancers, army trainees, horses, and even a band from North Carolinia. It was quite the show...Just wish it didn't rain most of the entire time. The show must go on! Don't forget fireworks at the end.

We left Edinburgh and took a train to Inverness where we picked up our rental car after waiting an hour and not understanding where to meet the rental car lady.....but then we were off and we drove by and waved to Nessie and were on our way. We were nervous about driving on the left side of the road but we did well. The country was beautiful and one of our first stops were the Steps of Whaligoe. They were old fishermen steps where they women would get the fish from the boats and walk up with the fish on baskets on their heads. There were supposed to be 365 but I believe there were a lot more! We stopped by several castle ruins along the coast. It reminded me of Avonlea. I bet the two of them got sick of me saying that all the time. :) but it really did look like Prince Edward Island, Anne of Green Gables, Avonlea, etc... Cassidy's driving wasn't the best and Sami got a little sick and laid down. We stayed the night at a B&B and it was very nice. The next day we had a Scottish Breakfast. I even tried the black pudding. We were off to Orkney Island. We got on the ferry and it was like a cruise ship!!! We arrived in Stromness and drove around that little town for a bit before we were off for our day of history. We stopped by the Stones of Stennes which are currently three standing stones between two lochs of water. Down the road was the Ring of Brodgar. This is the oldest set of ring stones in the world! Even older than Stone Henge. We then took a guided tour of Maeshowe. It is an ancient burial with graffitee in it from the Vickings! It was really neat. We drove up to the Brough of Birsay which is an island that can only be accessed at low tide. Sami and I got some seashells and touched the ocean!!! We also went to Skara Brea Prehistoric Village. It is the oldest ruins in the world. Older than the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids. It was neat to see how the houses were set up and the surroundings. They were built in the ground with connecting hallways from house to house and common areas. We were runing short on time so we just spent a little time at Kirkwall. Looked at a shop and the cathedral and we were on our way. We kept driving and stopped at the Italian Chapel that was built by some Italian Prisoners during the war. We made the ferry back to the mainland and had dinner at the School House. Cassidy saw a review for it online. It was good, but a little...A LOT...pricey. A very friendly and very talkative lady and her son ran it.

The next day we did a lot of driving. Our first stop was in Durnass where we climbed down to a cave. We stopped at an craft fair and got some hot chocolate. I bought some truffles and some chocolate there also. This area is completely different than the rest of Scotland that we saw. Mountains, trees, waterfalls, etc.. It was beautiful. We stopped at a beach and walked around a bit. We got to our B&B and went out and watched the sunset. We went to a pub and got some food and drink. This experience entertained us for a long time. Listening to the locals and their choice of words and actions! haha. The next day was another long day of traveling to and on the Isle of Sky. We stopped at the Eilean Donan Castle. It was pretty neat and a great location. We stopped at a local craft fair and it was really neat. We found some hand woven shops that I bought a sweater and a vest from. I am excited to wear them when it gets cold. Made stops at Kilt Rock, Mealt Falls and to Dunlum Castle. A Great location for the castle...but not much of a castle left. We eventually found Fairy Glen after some wrong turns and it was very magical. Looked like it was out of a movie. Cassidy and I got out and took the hike to Neiss Point (Sami was sick again from the driving). It was quite a hike but the views were absolutely to die for. I sat down for a bit and looked out. There was something very spiritual about the whole atmosphere and experience there. I tried to take some short cuts getting back to the car....and low and behold my shoes were covered in mud. That will teach me. We made it to our B&B and the best one of the whole trip! The ladies name was Jan!!! Just like our mother.

We drove down to Glascow to get on our flight to London. We spent the night in London and then made the journey home. None of our T.V. screens had sound for the entire flight!!!!!!!! AHHHH. But we are alive and able to talk about it. It was a beautiful Country and I am glad I got see all that Scotland had to offer.