We left Scotland on Friday evening and flew Easy Jet to London.  Move over, Southwest Airlines.  Easy Jet is the ultimate no-frills airline.  You even have to pay for a soda or water (which we, of course, declined)!


Arriving in London around 11pm, it drizzled as we walked into James's home (also from AirBnB).  He was so welcoming and made us a glass of tea so we could warm up and dry off.  What a great way to start off our weekend!  James's wife works in Glasgow during the week, so he hosts travelers and makes a bit of side money doing it.  He was also a history buff (and from Scotland), so we asked him a ton of questions we had about Scottish and British history throughout the weekend.  We were up until 1am the first night just chatting.

The following morning, we grabbed the Underground and started off at Piccadilly Circus.  We walked ALL day.  First stop: We went through St James's Park to Buckingham Palace.  It's very proper and gorgeous, but incredibly expensive (almost 20 euro) to just see a tiny part of it.  So, we just admired from the outside and proceeded to Westminster Abbey--consecrated in 1065.  The cathedral has stunning architecture and is, of course, the site of most royal coronations, funerals, and burials.  That was also 18 euro just to go in, so we skipped across the street to Parliament and Big Ben.  It seemed particularly impactful that there is a statue of Oliver Cromwell in front of Parliament. Yes, he certainly symbolizes Parliament.  He helped lead the rebellion against English monarchy for their lavish ways which led to the execution of King Charles I in 1649, thereby creating the Commonwealth and eventually becoming "Lord Protector."  That was, of course, shortlived, and the monarchy was reinstated.  

Finally, we walked along the Thames River, which also enjoys a great deal of history, including receiving all the executed bodies hundreds of years ago.  Then, we walked by a very nice hotel where I proceeded to walk in like I belonged there, and use the restroom.  In case you do not know, I have a very small bladder.  That makes it quite difficult when traveling and constantly in public places.  I'm very fond of using luxury hotels because they have the cleanest and nicest restrooms around.  It then occurred to me that I'll be getting to experience all the fanciest hotels...through their restrooms!

We grabbed gelato and coffee at a little joint in Notting Hill Gate before meeting up with a new friend and her boyfriend for dinner.  It was our first social (ie not just Chris and me) encounter, so it was nice to chat with some great people and share stories.  We had a lot of fun!

Since we walked about 8 miles the day before, we were quite exhausted on day 2.  We overslept a little, and basically saw the last 5 minutes of the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.  We got there just in time to see the uniformed guards march past the crowd.

We decided to spend the money and check out the Tower of London, which was home to British royalty, and also the site of prisoner torture and execution (including Anne Boleyn): http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/stories
Before the tower tour started, we enjoyed a nice view of Tower Bridge.  Most people mistake Tower Bridge for London Bridge, but the pretty tower you associate with London is Tower Bridge.

On the tour, the Yeoman Warder leading us chose me to demonstrate a beheading execution to the crowd.  It was great fun, although he said my neck was hard to twist around because it kept popping.  I think I need a massage!!!  The tower was really interesting to see (2nd time for me, 1st for Chris) because of the rich and intriguing history and exhibits.  The first portion of the tower was built in the 1080s, and although it has undergone many changes, it's still remarkable to walk in buildings that kings and queens lived almost a thousand years ago.  It's where royalty made key decisions to attack or defend their country, and where some lived their last night before execution.

After the Tower, we again walked along the Thames River (past St Paul's Cathedral) and over Millenium Bridge to Shakespeare's "Old Globe."  It's the most legitimate recreation--the first Globe burned down during a show when the thatched roof caught on fire, and the second abandoned when Charles I instituted a Puritan (ie anti-theater and other unworldly activities) phase.  Nearby, there was a traditional British pub where Chris and I sampled the fare--Fish & Chips for him, and Steak & Ale pie with peas/mash for me.  Truly yummy!!!

Then, we headed home to prepare for our early 4:45am wake up time to catch our train to Paris.  It was a brief 2 days in London, probably our shortest time anywhere.  But, we did a lot and enjoyed ourselves...we can always sleep later, right???

Two cents from Chris:
A few days before we left Sacramento, my mother and her brilliant bohemian spirit talked with Katie and I about her experience in Europe when she was not yet out of high school.  She had moved about the continent with a backpack, some friends, stayed in campgrounds, and rented cars.  While I didnt see KOB and I staying in a campground, the car rental seed had been planted.

And so we did.  We chose to rent a car and head to St. Andrews - a small coastal town 50 miles north of Edinburgh, home of 1000 year old buildings, and the birthplace of golf.  Going there sounded amazing and we were both extremely excited about our trip about the country side.  From the city you can see how majestic and mythic the country is.  Dark green hills with lush grass, trees, and bushes.  You can almost feel the centuries of history just looking at it, knowing that 1000 years ago, some guy (or gal) in a dark cloak was hiking on the hillsides, griping about the exchange rate from GBP to USD.

Fast forward to 8am on our last day.   The reality that I would be driving around a country on the "wrong" side of the road set in.  The reality that these city streets are not grids, or their names aptly displayed, or what a sign with a black circle and a horizontal line means, or how the hell one navigates a "roundabout".   I was terrified.  There was quite a bit of risk involved and it was hard to keep my head in the morning.  Finally, and I think strategically, Katie told me, "Just go get the car.  I'll wait here".  So, I did.  It was about a mile walk and gave me some time to work through my fear.  I arrived at the rental place, confidently paid for my rental, took the keys to a beautiful Chevy Spark, and promptly opened the door to the passenger seat.   Oops.  Thankfully, this wouldnt be the last of this mistake.

After navigating my way back to the place we were staying, Katie and I loaded up the car and headed off to St. Andrews equipped with nothing but written directions and a flashlight.  "We'll figure this thing out", we thought and proceeded to jet away.

Katie is a brilliant navigator of foreign countries.  I will hire her out, if anyone feels petrified to take on the foreign road systems alone.  She was able to get me to the correct exit on the roundabout, she looked out for street names, and reminded me - quite often - whenever I would drift too far to the left (which of course, is off the road pavement).

About an hour and a half after take off, and with absolutely no problems at all, we landed in St. Andrews.  We found a place to park, walked over to a cafe and grabbed a bite and some coffee.  It was lovely.  It's a wealthier town, I suppose.  Reminded me a bit of a 1000 year old La Jolla.  Lots of youngins running around, as well.  We found out that this was also the home of St. Andrews University, which schollared some notables, such as the future couple, William, Prince of Wales and Kate Middleton.  In fact, Katie had a nice chuckle whence we passed another cafe boasting a sign that read "Where Kate met Wills for coffee".  It is funny, really, considering the town is about 1sq mile.  They're really isn't anywhere else to meet.

We walked over to the golf courses, of which there are 5 or 6, but none more significant than the "Old Course".  It was breathtaking for me, to watch some older gentlemen line up on the first tee box of the Old Course.  The course is, of course, about 600 years old, originally consisting of 22 holes in the 1400's.  It's magnificent.  Right on the water front, deep sand traps, thick brush outside the fairways.  I played the course quickly in my head and I think I lost about 25 balls.  After some drooling and dreaming, we made our way over to the other side of town and walked around the ancient cathedral.   

Most of the cathedral is at this point dilapidated, but preserved, having been ruined by fire and mutiny centuries ago.  It was full of gravestones hundreds of years old.  We found one housing a man who died in the late 1600's.  It was the first time I realized that the 1700's was as far back as my brain could tangibly comprehend.  I suspect that is due to our own American history timeline.  But seeing a tombstone from 1685 was incredibly humbling for me.  I think it may have made me feel smaller than the buildings themselves did.  They also display some of the old "tombs", where they buried their religious leadership.  These open tombs, without names or current occupants, were molded in rock to proportionately hold the bodies.  This type of history tends to stop me in my tracks.  Its breathtaking to see things this old and still standing.  KMarts come and go, I guess, but cathedrals and castles do not fall.

We had about an hour left before going back and headed over to the other side of the golf course.  This also happened to be where the driving range is.  I debated for a bit and ultimately decided that golf balls needed to be hit there.  And so there were.  I "hired" a 9 iron and got a 25 ball bucket.  Then proceeded to hit golf balls towards more ancient buildings.  Knowing the history, seeing the landscape, the buildings, sharing this same space that has been traveled for so long and by so many overcame me.  Swinging the club and looking out as the ball took flight I found myself among the more satisfied I'd ever been.  "This is why you're here", I said to myself.  To do and accomplish something that had not been possible for me before was an absolute dream.  To top it off, Katie wanted to take a swing, as well.  I provided a very terrible first lesson and let her have at it.  The result was brilliant, but I'll let Katie tell her own story.

We slowly walked back to the car.  Took a couple of deep breaths, soaked in as much as possible, as this drive back would essentially take us to the airport and off to London.  I loved Scotland.  We both did.  Scotla  We will be back there one day.  Hopefully that is sooner.

We left Dublin around noon on Saturday and headed by bus to the airport.  Chris barely slept at all from jetlag (similar to my first night) so he was quite tired.
I must say, the Dublin airport is fantastic!  It's very modern, clean, and architecturally interesting.  It is also well staffed.  There were about 5 people going through security with 7 lines open.  Needless to say, that was quite easy and fast.
We were also really impressed with Aer Lingus.  The Airbus plane was new, the seats felt comfortable, and leg room was adequate.  This was our favorite travel experience so far.

Once in Edinburgh, we again opted for bus transportation (1 hour) into the city.  It's very cheap and gives you a good feel for the city's geography.  

We arrived at our location at around 4pm...where, you might ask?  Well, we chose to try out a site called www.airbnb.com.  If you haven't heard of this, it's basically a service where people can rent out a room in their place. It came recommended to us by a few different people before the trip.  It's cheaper than a hotel (similar to hostel pricing) and gives you a more "local" feel for the city, versus touristy experience.  Our hosts were out of town the first 3 nights, so we grabbed the keys from the downstairs "chip" shop.  Afterwards, we walked around the area for a little while and then had dinner at a hole in the wall Italian joint.  It was lovely.

On Day 2, we got a chance to more fully explore this gorgeous city.  We walked the Royal Mile--the stretch between Holyrood Palace (where the Queen still stays while visiting in Edinburgh) and Edinburgh Castle.  On the way, we saw this old church and veered off to check it out.  There was a cemetery with gravestones over 300 years old!  It was really tragic reading how many infants and young children died, especially during specific periods of time when there was clearly a plague.  We also saw some people lived to be over 80 years old back in the 1700s, which seemed quite rare.  It struck me, too, that I only saw one woman's name on a headstone that wasn't tied to her husband.

Then, we purchased some fudge (which made me very happy), and proceeded to the Mary King's Close tour.  Just like how every body of water gets a name over here (Loch this, Loch that), every narrow alley ("close") off the Royal Mile also gets a name.  One is named Mary King's Close.  Essentially, a whole block of 1600's-era homes and streets was preserved underground: http://www.realmarykingsclose.com/  This was really cool, and we couldn't get over being in a place--cold, musty, and dark--that used to be inhabited by people hundreds of years ago...with the plague!

On Day 3, we scoped out renting a car for the following day.  Afterwards, we went to the Edinburgh Castle which was built sometime around the 12th century.  It sits on a hill and provides amazing views of the city!  The history was amazing--for example, there was a chapel built back in 1093.  They also housed prisoners of war, so we got to see their barracks and crafty creations they made (like jewelry boxes and etches on wooden doors) while detained.  History has always been a big interest of mine, but it's been very fun for both Chris and me to learn about all of the historical events, monuments, and people throughout this journey.  
Chris note: among the prisoners of war, were Americans captured during the American Revolution.  Carved into the doors Katie mentioned were many detailed ships of the era.  One, in particular, included the American Flag, which I found to be quite astonishing.  A totally different perspective on our own history in the middle of someone else's history.
It was rainy and very cold, so after 2 1/2 hours of visiting the castle, we walked around George's St and then had dinner.  Walking home, we got a bit lost.  Unfortunately, our bladders were not pleased about this delay so we stopped in a "local" bar.  This ended up being quite lucky, though, because the bartender lady was really amazing.  Which brings me to my final point, and I'm just going to say (write) it...Edinburgh folk are so friendly.  People struck up conversation and chatted with us everywhere--in restaurants, at shops, in the ticket line, etc.  This was different from our experience in Dublin, which was not quite as gregarious.  Not only was the scenery in Edinburgh (pronounced "ehdin-ber-uh") absolutely incredible, but it was nice to also encounter such friendly people.

All in all, I'm in love with Edinburgh.  It sits a little deeper in its history yet still carries into the modern world.  Seeing the lush greenery with historical buildings and monuments was truly spectacular.  We even got the sound of bagpipes in the background! :)  One day, Edinburgh, we'll be back...