Sept 27-28, 2011 - Edinburgh

Haileo All,

We are up early and headed to Mark's place to pick up Jonathan and Amy and then headed off to Edinburgh.  The trip was about three hours from Marks, stopping at Gretna Green.  It had been 34 years since Fred and I visited here and it certainly had changed.  When we were last here it was just the quaint blacksmith shop where couples have come to get married since 1753.  The blacksmith shop was built around 1712 and the hall in 1710 and it became a tourist attraction as early as 1887.  It is now a very commercial site with new shops, restaurants, a cafe and a small food market all built around the original blacksmith shop and hall.  It is rather a shame as it has now lost its quaint appeal all in the name of tourism.  We grabbed tea's, coffee, shortbread and a sandwich for Jonathan before carrying on to Edinburgh.  We checked in at the Marriott Dalmahoy  Golf and Country Club, which is in the middle of nowhere according to Jonathan, who I suspect thought we would be right in Edinburgh.  Once we had checked in we drove to the park and ride to get the bus into Edinburgh.  We have booked a tour of the Edinburgh Vaults, which was another site that Jonathan had a

great interest in exploring.  These vaults are located under South Bridge and were once used as shops, pubs, brothels and storage areas.  However, the dampness ruined items stored forcing the merchants out and the seedy illegal side moved in.  It was also thought that the notorious body snatchers Burke and Hare stored cadavers here before selling them to the nearby hospital.  The picture on the left is one such storage area.  The vaults were eventually closed up to get rid of the unwanted homeless and illicit trade that took place.  Two hundred years later the vaults were discovered and after an archeological dig they were once again opened up as a tourist attraction.
Once the tour was finished we headed down to the bottom of North Bridge and Princess Street so Jonathan and Amy can meet up with a friend from Vancouver, Adam who now works in Edinburgh and lives as it turns out close by to the Marriott.  Greetings done the kids headed off to spend an evening with Adam and his wife while Fred and I continued to explore on our own.  We headed back to the Royal Mile to take more photos as the earlier crowds had now dispersed and went into St Giles Cathedral also known as The High Kirk of Edinburgh, it is the Mother Church of Presbyterianism and contains the Chapel of the Order of the Thistle (Scotland's chivalric company of knights headed by the Queen).  The church has been a religious focal point for over 900 years.  The present church dates from the late 14th century and underwent extensive restoration in the 19th century.  It also is not a cathedral in the formal sense as The Church of Scotland has not had bishops, diocese or cathedrals for most of its post-reformation history.  High Kirk, is an older recognized title that was in place before the church was a cathedral for two  short periods in the 17th century.  The picture on the
right is the front of St Giles.  Fred paid 2 pounds to purchase a photography permit for inside the cathedral and the gentleman on the desk suggested that we head to Thistle Chapel first as we were near closing time and the Chapel is closed first. This chapel was built in 1911 and though small the carvings and painted fittings are very detailed.  The chapel is the place of worship for the knights of the Order of The Thistle founded by King James VII in 1687 and consists of the monarch and 16 knights.
Exploring and photos done we headed up the Royal Mile to the Castle to see if we can get any shots of it lit up.  With this completed we headed back to the hotel, had a late supper then hit the sack.

We met Jonathan and Amy for breakfast, checked out then headed back into Edinburgh to tour Edinburgh Castle.  The picture at the very top is a panoramic view Jonathan made of Edinburgh from the Castle walls.  We last visited the castle 34 years ago and to be honest I really did not remember a lot of what was open back then so this was like a first visit for me as well. There are 26 different areas to explore and we spent a good two hours exploring and taking photos.  As it was now mid afternoon we headed down the Royal Mile which is so named as it runs between the Castle and the Palace of Holyrood House (the Queens summer residence).  We were not able to visit Holyrood House as the Queen was still in residence.  We stopped for some refreshment at Deacon Brodie's pub before heading back to the park and ride to start our journey back to Liverpool.


Sian leat,

Sandy & Fred

Sept 23-24, 2011 - Off To Liverpool and Game Day

Greetings All,

This morning Jonathan and Amy headed back to Hamleys, as Jonathan wanted to pick up a Lego Christmas Advent Calender for himself.  He then decided that he wanted to go to Harrods so they were a little late in getting back to the flat.  Fred and I stayed at the flat putting things back in order and getting the car packed as we thought we would walk over to the Imperial War Museum after lunch. However, after lunch Jonathan decided we should just head back to Liverpool.  We took secondary roads back as I thought we could take in the Cotswolds so that they could see some of the quaint towns and countryside in the area.  Leaving London turned out to be a disaster due to roadworks and it took us almost two hours to get out of London.  We finally arrived at Burford in the Cotswolds and looked to stop but finding parking late on a Friday afternoon turned out to be mission impossible.  So we took the motorway and made our way back to Liverpool.  We unpacked, sorted clothes for laundry and had a relatively early night.

Up and at 'em early I did one load of laundry then we had lunch before heading off to the Clarence for pre-game drinks with all the guys before heading up to the match.  It has been a habit of the boys to meet at this rather sketchy pub for a couple of pints before heading up to Anfield.  There are five guys, Amy and myself so soon the table was full of drinks.  Jonathan comments that the drinks just keep coming and coming.  The game today is Liverpool vs Wolves and Bryan, Fred's cousin was giving Jonathan and Amy a razing about if the team loses they will not be welcome back.  I said not to worry as Liverpool has not lost any game that I have ever attended.

Jonathan and Amy enjoyed the game and Liverpool won 2-1 with the goals coming from Suarez and some new guy called "Own Goal".  After the match we all met and headed back to our cars.  On the way Bryan told Jonathan that he could come back any time.  I laughed and said my record was still intact.  Once back home and after supper we had a relaxing evening watching TV using Jonathan's PC that was streaming movies from Vancouver that he has.  It is amazing what technology can do when you know how to use it.  Jonathan and Amy had a relatively early night as they were being picked up early by Mark, Fred's second cousin, and his fiancee Rachael the next day as they were heading off to tour Wales and the Lake District for the next two days giving Fred and I a chance to catch our breath.

Ta Ra,

Sandy & Fred

Sept 22, 2011 - London Day 5

Greetings All,      

Today we have a somewhat late morning after a long day in Paris yesterday.
Jonathan and Amy indicated that they wanted to see some shops in London and then Buckingham Palace.  We took the tube to Oxford Circus and the heart of the shopping district.  Amy wanted to check out Liberty which a friend had recommended to her.  The store is high-end but interesting for window shopping.  We then walked along Regent Street with a short detour to check out Carnaby Street which had a lot of construction going on and had changed quite a bit since Fred and I last visited it.  Jonathan and Amy found it disappointing. Back to Regent Street and we stopped in Hamleys, a huge toy store that has seven floors.  Jonathan is like a kid in here.  The models, cars, games and Lego had him mesmerized.  We spent considerable time in here with a small purchase by Amy for Wedge.  From here we continued along the street to Lillywhites.  A store Fred hates just due to the crowds and warehouse type layout with clothes.  This store was one of Fred's Mom's (Amy) favourites.  Jonathan and Amy take to the store and we lose them inside for about a half a hour.

We stopped for lunch at The Imperial Pub near Leicester Square for lunch.  You can see from the picture on the right just how much Jonathan loves having his picture taken.  Once our tummies were full and our thirst quenched we continued our walk to Covent Garden for a visit to the Apple Store.  From here we continued along the Strand to Trafalgar Square.  There was some construction and maintenance work being done in the square so I can finally get a good shot of the Lions without people climbing all over them.  So in some cases construction is a good thing.  I have a quirky thing about people being in my pictures.  Unless I am taking pictures of people, I don't want them there.   Once all photo opportunities are completed we walked down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace.  It was not as busy as it has been on our previous visits, but that could just be of the time of day and year.  Though, we still had to deal with rude people while trying to get pictures of the kids in front of the palace's gates.    

From here we continued our walk all the way back to the flat with a stop at Sainsbury's to get cheese, crackers, some veggies, beer and wine for supper.  Another good seven hours of walking.  Sadly we did not get to everything we wanted to show the kids but time has been a factor.   We are all exhausted and I think Jonathan who likes to walk everywhere is even feeling it.  Tonight we packed up to get ready for our journey back to Liverpool for the kids final week.  This week has just flown by.

Cheers for now,

Sandy & Fred

Sept 21, 2011 - Paris

Bon Jour Mes Amie's,

We were all up early to catch the Eurostar train to gay old Paris.  The journey passed quickly and we were able to purchase tickets for the Metro, Paris' subway system which saved time by eliminating the need to line up once we arrived.  We also enjoyed croissants and orange juice once we were in France. With watches adjusted for the one hour time difference we took the subway to Place Denfert-Rochereau and the Paris Catacombs.  Jonathan had expressed his desire to see this site from when we first started planning their visit and the things that they would like to do.  The line up was long but we waited. The wait in line was almost an hour before we entered the catacombs but it turned out it was well worth it.  The underground tunnels are what remains of stone quarries that were long abandoned and the government of the day was looking for a use for them since 1777.  However, I am getting a bit ahead of myself.  Burial practices changed with the rise of Christianity with the burial of people on the consecrated ground of church yards.  By the 10th century Paris had expanded and took in many of these churches that were once on the outskirts of town.  With the population growth soon only the wealthy could afford to be buried on consecrated ground.  The 12th century brought about a change in how the common people were buried, mass inhumation - bodies buried upon bodies without caskets.  You can imagine the rampant disease that resulted from decaying organic matter that got into the water table and subsequently the wells that the city was dependent on.  It was not until the 18th century that these mass cemeteries were condemned and all burial sites were moved outside the city limits.  Now getting back to the abandoned mine tunnels.  In 1777 Police Lieutenant General  Alexandre Lenoir had the idea to renovate the tunnels and use them as an ossuary.  It was not until April 7 1786 that the remains of the mass graves where moved to the tunnels in a special consecration procession with chanting priests.  The work of moving all the cemeteries was not completed until 1788.  The remains of about six million people are arranged in a somewhat decorative manner along with urns, crosses and other decorations from churchyards.  The site was first opened as a tourist attraction in the early 19th Century and has remained open to the public on a regular basis since 1867.  They were closed for a short time in September 2009 due to vandalism, re-opening in December 2009.

There are also some sculptures that have been carved in the limestone walls that depict the early port and city of Paris and surrounding parishes.  While this may seem creepy to some, we all found it both fascinating and eerie at the same time.  We spent over a hour here exploring the catacombs.

Back into the sunshine we got back on the Metro and headed to Avenue Des Champs Elysees to view the Arc de Triomphe and then walk towards the Eiffel Tower.  The stores on the Champs Elysees are quite exclusive, all having doormen and amazingly people are shopping at them.  Unfortunately for us most stores are well beyond our pocket books.  We stopped for a late lunch at Cafe Le Grande Corona.  I, of course, had escargot as an appetizer followed by a club sandwich, Fred has ham and cheese on a baguette with frites, Jonathan had a chicken curry only because the waiter ordered the wrong meal but he enjoyed it as he said the sauce was rich and buttery and Amy had a sandwhich with frites as well.  Jonathan had a coke and the rest of us shared a bottle of red wine.  It was great sitting outside at a sidewalk cafe in Paris enjoying lunch and good company.  Refreshed together with toilet breaks we continued our walk to the Eiffel Tower.  The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 and is named after its designer Gustave Eiffel.  It has become the most prominent symbol of both Paris and France
It was not as busy as we expected but the lineups for tickets to go up the tower were longer than we liked as we wanted to get to Notre Dame and the Louvre before catching our train back to London. Once photos were taken we headed back to the Metro to catch a train to Notre Dame.

Notre Dame de Paris (French for Our Lady of Paris) is also known as Notre Dame Cathedral.  Construction began in 1163 and was completed in 1345 and is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic Architecture.  It was  among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress (arched exterior supports).  Throughout its history the Cathedral has suffered through periods of desecration and damage from the Huguenots riots (1548), French Revolution (1790) right through to WW II with intervening periods of restoration and maintenance.  It is truly a magnificent structure both inside and out and we spent about a hour admiring it and taking photos.  As we walked along the garden path and river by the Cathedral we over heard some Americans comparing structures in Boston to the Cathedral.  They were going on about how much better the Boston ones were.  It makes you wonder why they bother to travel if things are so much better in the USA.


We continued our walk hoping to get to the Louvre before we have to head back to the train as we are all starting to fade.  We stopped for water and Amy and Jonathan split a chocolate crepe.  We passed some more amazing examples of Gothic architecture before reaching the Louvre.  We were at the back end, however, and did not get to the front that has the arches and iconic glass pyramid.  Time was not kind to us again as there was so much to see but at least the kids got a taste of Paris.  Next time we will take a few days to further explore the historic sites we missed.  We are all exhausted as we took the train back to London for a good nights sleep.

Adieu

Sandy & Fred

Sept 20,2011 - Day 4 - Windsor Castle

Greetings All,


After yesterdays eight plus hours of walking we decided to do a little less walking and headed out to Windsor Castle by car early in the morning.  Fred once again got a concession ticket and is a happy camper.  Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world.  Since our last visit just over a year ago they have opened up the Round Tower to tourists.  After some discussion we signed up for the tour as there are 200 hundred stairs to climb and medical concerns.  The tour has a timed entrance so we had a very short wait before we did the tour.  The stair climb it turns out, is very easy.  The stairs are wide and relatively straight and the upper part to the tower curves gently not at all what we had expected given our experience at the Tower of London.  The views from the top were fairly good given that it was somewhat overcast.  The guides talk is continually interrupted by planes on the way to land at Heathrow as the castle is in its flight path.  I wonder what the Queen hears when she is in residence.

We explored the rest of the castle on our own visiting the State Apartments that house Queen Mary's Doll House.  It's not a child's toy but a large model with working miniatures, lights and running water.  We finished off at St George's Chapel.  Before leaving Fred and I exchanged our entrance tickets for a years pass which is something many of the major sites do so you can visit again.  The kids allow me to get a photo of them outside the castle before we headed into The Horse and Groom Pub situated across the street from the castle for lunch.  Jonathan has fish and chips yet again, Amy has a chicken pot pie, Fred has a steak and ale pie and LOL I can't remember what I had. We walked around the town before heading back to London.  The picture on the left is Market House which was built in 1718.  As you can see it looks just a little crooked we were not sure if it has settled that way over the years or was built that way because it is on a sloping surface.  We had an early night as we must be up and on the 8:00 a.m. Eurostar train to Paris.

Cheerio,

Sandy & Fred

Sept 19, 2011 - Day 3 London & Tower of London

Greetings All,

We started the day early by taking the tube to Old Street station and walking first to the Spitalfield market and then to Tower Hill.  Our walk was a combination of two walks from our London Walks cards.  The first stop was Bunhill Fields a former Dissenter's burial ground.  Three of England's most notable nonconformists are buried at Bunhill Fields.  John Bunyan author of Pilgrims Progress, Daniel Defoe author of Robinson Crusoe and William Blake a poet/painter.  From here we continued to Spitalfield market and the area that is noted for the notorious Jack the Ripper.  As we were waiting for a light to change a truck driver inquired as to where we were from and it turns out he was from Brazil.  As the light changed he wished us a good day and drove off.  We crossed the street and looked into the pub The Ten Bells, which is one of the pubs a couple of the rippers victims drank at the night they were murdered.  After The Ten Bells we continued to The White Hart another pub a victim of the ripper drank at the night they were murdered.  As it was now opening time we opted to have a drink.  The basement of this pub is also noted as being the home to George Chapman who was suspected of being Jack the Ripper.  This was never proved and unfortunately, George was hung in 1903 for poisoning three women.    

Refreshed we continued onto Tower Hill and the Tower of London.  Fred is quite excited as he got to purchase a concession ticket for the first time, which is what they call a senior discount.  We opted to explore the grounds on our own rather then be part of a guided tour with a Yeoman Warder or Beefeater as they are commonly called. Fred and I had done that tour a couple of years ago so we were able to share with Jon and Amy some of the highlights of the Tower.  As we were doing our own exploring we also covered areas that we did not see on our last visit so it was a bonus for us.  The displays in the Tower had also changed except for the Crown Jewels.     The picture above and on the right is of a gargoyle on a wall as we walked along the Wall Walk.  The White Tower houses the armory and the picture on the left is a dragon constructed from various pieces of armaments.  Rifles, pistols, shields, breast plates to name a few.  Very impressive use of armaments from various ages.  We spent a good three and a half hours exploring the Tower grounds before heading out to walk across the famous Tower Bridge as pictured below and on the

right.  Jonathan was not aware that the Americans thought they were purchasing this bridge when they purchased London Bridge.  London Bridge in comparison is just a plain road bridge.  We continued on to the Hayes Gallery and a view of HMS Belfast which is anchored along the Thames Embankment with a view of the Monument to the Great Fire of London (1666).  We stopped in the Borough Market area and looked in Southwark Cathedral.  The building dates from the 13th century when it was a priory church. The church only acquired the status of a Cathedral in1905 when the Anglican Diocese of Southwark was formed.  As we visited we were greeted and asked where we were from.  The gentleman and lady thought I was from somewhere in the Mediterranean due to my complexion.  I laughed and explained nothing so exotic but told them of my heritage and where we were all from and that Fred and I now live in Liverpool.  They were impressed for some reason and we learn that there is a North American Indian buried in the Cathedral's cemetery. We continued on our way, finally hopping on the Tube at Embankment getting off at Victoria Station so that we could do some food shopping before heading back to the flat and relaxing before supper of barbecued chicken, new potatoes, carrots with tarragon, wine, beer and dessert of raspberry cream filled puffs.  Over eight hours of walking and a lot of area covered for our first full day together in London.

Cheerio for now,

Sandy & Fred

Sept 18, 2011 - London Day 2

Greetings All,              

After a good nights rest and breakfast we headed out for a quick tour around Westminster taking in the Parliament Buildings and Westminster Abbey. Jonathan once again graciously allows me a photo op of him and Amy by the Sovereign's entrance to the Parliament Buildings.  Our walk also takes us into the Dean's Yard and we looked into the grounds of the Westminster School.   As it is a Sunday morning it is quiet on the grounds and we see a number of individuals in military dress and ladies dressed in their Sunday best.  It turns out there is a special Memorial Service for the Battle of Britain being held at the Abbey.  There was an Honor Guard at the entrance to the Abbey as well as guards by the Gate.  We headed back to the hotel to check out and then headed to John's flat, our home for the next week.  After being greeted by the pups and settling in, Fred and Jonathan headed off to the football match at Tottenham.  Amy and I headed off to Harrods, Fortnam and Mason and whatever other sites we pass on our journey.  Christmas has arrived in all the major department stores and Harrods is by far the most impressive.  The picture below is of one of the displays in Harrods.

On our way to Fortnam and Mason we visited the Royal Academy which was having an open house.  We went in but tickets were required to view it properly, so we continued on our travels.  We ended up at Piccadilly Circus and Amy could not get over the masses of people that were there.  Next, we headed into China Town to check out what was going on as they were having some sort of festival.  The picture to the right is of one of the decorations in China Town.  We finally decided to head back to the flat to meet up with the boys and see how the game went.  The game it turns out was a disaster with Liverpool losing 4-0 thanks in part to some very dodgy refereeing.  Fred and Jonathan also mention how ghetto the area looked thanks to the riots in August.  We had supper out at Pizza Express which was within walking distance from the flat and had a relatively early night as we wanted to be out early to tackle the sites of London.

Cheerio for now,

Sandy & Fred