Sore feet, full belly, happy eyes

What a day.  We started with a coffee and scone at the Milkman.  The buildings here are so wonderful with the bare stone walls.  I love the brick walls in restaurants back home, but the age of these stones give it a whole new meaning.

After our rejuvenating coffee, we walked up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle.  Luckily, we thought ahead and purchased our tickets ahead of time so we didn't have to wait in the Disney Land like Q for a ticket.  We just walked right through the portcullis gate.  We even saw US military walking smartly down from the castle with flag in hand, clearly on their way to raise said flag.

The castle is a self-tour, unless you want an audio guide or tour group, but it was well marked and plaqued for the casual attender.  The oldest building was built in 1130!! and was St. Margarets Chapel.

St. Margarets Chapel

We saw large cannons, the actual crown jewels (which we couldn't get a pic of) and the Scottish War Memorial.  The Scottish War memorial was amazing.  There were dozens of large, leather bound books listing the names of those who perished in the wars and what regiment/clan/etc. they were from.  This was the modern wars - 1914 and forward.  Thousands and thousands of names.We were also able to walk through the personal rooms of Mary Queen of Scots and enter the Great Hall.

Personal Rooms of Mary Queen of Scots

Great Hall

After we finished touring the castle, we went for a walk into the city and we walked towards the Grass Market and had some cheddar mushrooms with brochette at "The Last Drop".

Then we began to make our way back towards the Royal Mile, but Eric couldn't help himself but stop for an Oink sandwich at "Oink".  A well known shredded pork walk-up.

We then made our way over to New Edinburgh and walked up Rose Street, stopping at a pub, the Rose Crown.  They let us know about another pub in the near area on Queen Street which was a bit of a "speakeasy".  They didn't know that terminology, of course, but that's what it was fashioned after.  Everything on the outside makes it look like a barbershop, but you head inside, walk down some stairs, go through a fake bookcase and there is the pub.  It's called Panda and Sons (I suppose it's named after the pandas in the Edinburgh Zoo)

The Signage

The Secret Door

From there we headed back towards Old Edinburgh and decided to find a place for dinner.  We HAD to stop at "The Worlds End" Pub.  For those of you Outlander fans, you'll know why.  We had a pint and then finished up with some Fish and Chips for me and Sausages for Eric at The Mitre before walking around a bit more and heading home to sleep.  I'm exhausted...  It's just after 10PM and it's still light out!!

See the greenback right in the middle of the frame??



Did we mention the fact that people in Edinburgh do NOT need stair masters?  Stairs, stairs everywhere.  And the last picture is of the building across the street from where we're staying on Cockburn St.  The sunset glow - beautiful

Tomorrow we hire a car and travel "somewhere".  We hear wifi can be sketchy, so I'll try to post soon.







Living it up on High Street

Before we begin our update on Edinburgh, I have to talk about one more amazing thing in Dublin.  Wallaby!  Yes, I did see one and I don't care how crazy Eric thinks I am.  There was a wallaby hopping around the airport grounds as we taxied for take off.  He was on the pavement where they stored extra ladders, etc. by the Ryanair terminal.  I'm not making this up.  Anyone care to confirm/refute that there are wallaby's hopping their way around Dublin?

Photo credits to the Google Machine

Edinburgh is ...  adjective's are too small.  The postcards don't do it justice.  It's everything we hoped for when deciding to visit this city and we were only half lucid after being awake for 25+ hours. (and no that doesn't have any bearing on the wallaby sighting I commented on above).

We are staying in Andrew's apartment on Cockburn street (pronounced koburn), right off of High Street.  Andrew is a nice chap who rents out a room on Airbnb.  He has the original parquet floors from the National Portrait Gallery in his apartment - several hundred years old and has had countless people grace them with their feet.  He laid them himself and they're pretty spectacular.  1" thick oak (I failed at getting a picture of it).

First thing we did when we arrived, besides chat with Andrew and take a shower, was to have dinner at the Witchery, just at the foot of the castle.  Thank you Michelle for turning us onto this several months ago when we made our reservations.  It was outstanding!!  The service, the food, the ambiance.  Honestly, the best meal I've ever had.  We started with asparagus with a spring garlic aioli and Eric had haggis and neeps and tattis.  It was all very good.  Well, haggis was OK... I did try it, just not a fan.  Then we had Lamb Wellington which was served for two along with basil mashed potatoes, ratatouille, and greens.  The greens were a bit astringent, and that's the only thing that can be construed as less than fabulous. Although, they did act as a good palate cleanser.  I don't like lamb, it's generally... I pause here because I'm typing this in Andrew's apartment and he's talking with his young daughter and it's cracking me up.  He's tuckered and his daughter is giving him a hard time.  He's calling her a funny sausage...  Oh these Scots and their words.  OK, back to the food.  This lamb was delicious - not too gamy at all, which is my normal complaint.

After the Witchery we went to the Real Mary King's Close tour.  It's an underground tour of Mary King's Close.  Much like the underground city of Seattle, etc.  Accept these streets were around and kicking during the plague, a few centuries ago.  We walked on the same cobbles as their cows that they kept inside for milking.  It was truly amazing to see the size of their houses and a glimpse into how they lived.  It was a fabulous tour and I highly recommend it to anyone who is waffling on spending the 15 pounds or whatever it was.  Well worth it.

It had been full sun when we went into Mary King's Close and when we emerged the Haar had rolled in.  I think I typed that right.  Basically, fog.

Afterward, we were coming up on being awake for about 40 hours and we needed to figure out if we could sleep.  We weren't quite settled yet, so we stopped in at a pub who had atrocious live music, Whistle Binkies, for a pint. We saw a bachelorette party there, who we had traveled on a plane with from Dublin AND sat next to in the Witchery.  Couldn't seem to shake these people and I was getting the idea that we were maybe in places a bit too touristy...  Oh well, it's touristy on High Street for a reason - it's spectacular.  More High Street today and more will follow about Edinburgh.

Whistle Binkies Bar

Hurry Up and Wait in Dublin.

Once I had my wallet firmly in hand, we had a fairly uneventful set of flights to Dublin. The only items that really stood out were that Aer Lingus doesn't offer free beer and wine service on their transatlantic flights (what?!?) and a 7 hour layover in Dublin is some kind of hell.  It doesn't matter that it's perfectly acceptable to order a Guinness at 6 AM or that they have a full Irish breakfast for 10 €, we are in IRELAND, but not. Wah,wah,wah. We can see it through the windows. It's right there. But out of our reach. It's like cooking a nice, juicy steak but you have to wait that 10 minute resting period before you dig in. So frustrating.

Our customs officer in Ireland was the nicest gent I've encountered in the profession, when he heard we were flying Ryanair to Scotland later in the day he gave us tips to avoid making a mistake with their boarding passes, they must be stamped at the visa counter first or you'll be turned away at the gate. THANKS customs dude.

The Dublin airport is small and there are a lot of couches around with other passengers like us, sprawled out and trying to catch a few winks. We caught about ten.

Another note on the airport. There is a HUGE mall past security. Lots of shopping and eating. We even found an outdoor smoking area/bar and it waws SUNNY. No, we don't smoke, but it's a lovely place to catch some sun all the same.  Just wish we hadn't waited several hours before passing through security.

Funny start

So, picture this: Portland airport departures drop off at 4 AM.  A woman running down the middle of the road with her backpack thumping her with each trot as she yells, "Wait, Dad!! Dad!!!! Waaaiiiitttt!!! Her arms are flailing wildly as she attempts to get his attention. Luckily for her, an onlooker had a shrill whistle, for she forgot her wallet in the backseat. Yep, exciting start.

Tomorrow!

OK.  We are T-minus-10ish hours before we take off.  Airbnb is leaving me notifications to not forget our reservation.  As if we could.  We've been in contact with our host, Andrew, in Edinburgh and we're set.  We even have some Oregon and WA made items for host gifts. (Compass coffee and Moonstruck Chocolate) :)  I'm medicated with 2 huge margaritas and a shot of tequila so I can sleep tonight.  Unfortunately, the huge margaritas were on happy hour, and clearly they were made of sugar water...  But I'm counting on the shot of good tequila to see me into oblivion for a few short hours before we have to wake up at 2:30 AM to catch our flight.

Tomorrow is the day!!  I'm all packed, except for tomorrows essentials, and ready to go.  Poor Tino sat on the bed next to my suitcase as I packed.  He was not a happy camper.  Fergus, in his dismay, left the room all together.  At least they have Grandy and Granddad to take care of them in our absence.  And Grandy and Granddad LOVE them.

 Eric is currently performing stretching and deep breathing exercises after vacuuming a few minutes ago.  He's been dealing with a wonky back and it's the WORST time for it to flare up.  Thanks to our Chiropractor, Dr. Hau, and our Masseuse, April Chambers, he is MUCH better than a few weeks ago, but still....  I can hear him inhaling and exhaling in the room next to me.  Pray he makes it through this trip without pain.

So... I have a suitcase and a hired car, but I'm not sure it's made more room....  I actually had to remove my pajamas so I could close the luggage. :/  I still have my boots, hiking shoes, flats, and booties though.

Now to watch the season finale of Night Manager before bedtime.  Cheers!  Next time you hear from us, we'll be on our way, or THERE!  Can't wait!

The Concept

I'm a planner.  We generally plan our vacations an entire year in advance.  We know where we're staying, how we're getting there, what activities we'll enjoy, yada, yada, yada.  I know... this doesn't sound very fun, BUT I always think it's fun to have the months of anticipation leading up to the trip.  I eat the marshmallows last when eating a bowl of Lucky Charms, if you get my meaning.  

However, we have decided there are two types of trips.  There is "travel" and "vacation".  We usually go on vacation.  This consists of us sitting under a palapa or some suitable sunshade while we order our fancy drinks and enjoy a few days of utter relaxation.  Case in point, me and my little friend. :)

Don't get me wrong.  We don't sit like a sloth the entire week.  We do things like zip lines, shopping, playing in the surf, etc.  But we stay in one location and have all of the main details planned.  

Then there is Travel.  May of 2013 was the first time we took a "Travel Trip" and it was to Italy.  It was glorious.  The only thing we had planned was our flights and our stay the night we arrived in Venice and the nights before departing, in Rome.  The two weeks in between were completely unplanned.  Talk about out of my comfort zone.  My hubbies, not so much.  He's a pretty laid back, go with the flow type of guy.  But me... hmmm.  It was my fist time across the Atlantic and I should have been nervous, but I wasn't.  It was like the time we went skydiving and I found it to be the most peaceful experience of my life.  I know, I'm strange.  
Anyway, it couldn't have been a better trip.  Other than all those blasted tourists in Rome (yes, I see the irony), we had a wonderful time.  After that trip we decided we'd Travel every few years.  
Well, it's 2016 and it's time for another trip.  This year, it's Scotland and Ireland!!!  We leave in 4 days.  Yep, it's much like Italy - we have our tickets, night stay when we arrive in Edinburgh and leave two weeks later from Dublin.  Actually we do have another stay booked at a castle.  We had to or else it probably wouldn't be available and we HAVE to stay in a castle. Right?  The Airbnb app is on my phone (we used this exclusively on our Italy trip) and we're also not opposed to walking into a pub in a small town and ask if anyone has a room to rent for a night.  
The additional item on this trip is a car.  We "hired" (as they say in the UK) a car.  I'm a tad nervous about this.  Never driven on the opposite side of the road, but I hear you get used to it fairly fast.  We've watched a few Youtube videos on what to be aware of, etc.  We also purchased a GPS on Ebay for $60.00 with Ireland and Scotland maps loaded.  It'd be $15.00 a day to rent with the car.  I figured this was a better deal and we'd be able to sell it afterward.
Not only does the car allow us to go "off the beaten path", but we also have a place to store/carry a suitcase.  So unlike Italy, where we carried our backpack for two weeks, I get to bring a suitcase with more shoe options. :)  This makes me happy.   Here is the backpack for Italy - not a lot of room for options... 

So, for the next few days we'll be packing and preparing to leave the house at 3:45 AM on Saturday morning... To be continued.