Edinburgh and Kirkcaldy...

We began the day with a Scottish breakfast (or so we were told) that consisted of fried eggs, bacon, sausage(both very different from American style), toast, baked beans and grilled tomatoes-lucky for us there was no haggis or black pudding. We caught the bus into the city centre (no that's not a misprint that is how it is spelled here) to check out the sights. First stop was the Edinburgh castle which is perched high on the hill above town surrounded by cliffs on 3 sides. We were able to tour throughout the castle and military museums located there.

After a few hours we headed for a stroll down the Royal Mile which is a street lined with museums, churches, and shops that gradually descends from the castle down to the Holyrood palace which the Queen usually stays at one week of the summer. We made stops at the most important cathedral in Scotland (it's where John Knox preached Presbyterianism and basically converted the entire country) and the Museum of Childhood (a collection of toys from over the years with some hands-on exhibits). We caught a double decker bus back to our B&B to get the car and head to the nearby park to hike Arthur's seat, a 998 foot mountain in the middle of town. Whitney was a good hiker and enjoyed rolling down the grassy trails on the way down.

After the hike we decided to drive across the bridge that spans the Firth of Forth and head to Kirkcaldy. Some of Jim's ancestors are from that area. We drove through town and stopped at a park that was located along the water and near the castle ruins. The park was fun in that it not only had fun equipment for the girls to play on including an in-ground trampoline but it also had a separate high adrenaline teen/adult playground (see video below). We enjoyed a wonderful Italian dinner at a local restaurant there before heading back to Edinburgh.

Whitney was a trooper with all the walking and hiking albeit with a few complaints. We thought it was funny when we asked her what the favorite part of her day was she said "riding the bus and playing at the playground." So much for taking them to some amazing places when they can be so easily entertained otherwise.

My artwork...

W: Well Mom has hijacked the blog lately but at least she's keeping you up to date on our adventures. I just wanted to share some of my pictures that I drew lately. The first is a picture of me and my sister. She is a good friend to play with. The second is a picture of my angry face. I drew that the day that I was angry at my mom.

Lincolnshire, Sherwood Forest, and Hadrian's Wall...

For round two of our adventures we decided to head north up into Scotland and catch some parts of northern England on the way. We spent the first day making our way up to Edinburgh, Scotland (which we learned is pronounced Ed'n-burah) with a few side trips on the way. The first stop was in the town of Lincoln. Some of my early ancestors from my dad's side of the family were from this area so we decided to stop by to check it out. It is beautiful driving through the surrounding farmlands and as you come into town there is a large cathedral built on the hill at the top of town. We walked around for a bit to see the cathedral, the neighboring castle, and the first houses in England to have a numbered address.

Next side trip was a short stop in the Sherwood Forest of Robin Hood fame. We continued on our drive maximizing our time each day by doing lunch in the car while driving. I'm getting pretty good at making PB&J on my lap.


After a few hours of driving we stopped at Hadrian's Wall. This wall was built by the Romans beginning in 122 AD and marked the northern boundary of their empire. It stretches 75 miles coast to coast across the narrowest part of the island. There were forts every mile along the wall so it was quite the building project (I'm sure not as impressive as the Great Wall of China but incredible nonetheless). From the parking lot you have to hike about 3/4 mile through a valley and up a hill to reach the actual wall and fort. The trail goes right through the middle of a sheep pasture. The entire walk Maren kept yelling "Baa!" from her backpack carrier and would get excited every time a sheep would reply. Whitney kept reminding us not to step in the sheep poop. It was fun to hike along the wall and check out the remains of one of the roman forts. The girls thought it was great with all the rock to climb.






After leaving there it was back to the car to wind our way through the hills and valleys on our way to Edinburgh. We arrived in time to check in to our bed and breakfast, grab some food for dinner, and head to bed.

Day 3: Blenheim Palace and Windsor Castle

The first place we headed today was Blenheim Palace outside of Oxford. It is the largest palace in England and the current home of the Duke of Marlborough. The palace itself is huge but I think the real highlight were the acres of fine gardens and lawn that surrounded it. Included here are some pictures from the Fountain garden and the Pleasure garden which included a large hedge maze, checkers on steroids, and playgrounds.

After the palace we headed towards the outskirts of London to the town of Windsor and the primary residence of the Queen (though I think she mainly only uses it on the weekend). She wasn't there that day but we enjoyed checking out the place anyways. There is a small city contained within the outermost walls of the castle complete with a large church. They don't allow any photography inside so we can't show you any pictures of the amazing displays of armor and other pillaged treasures or the dining table that seats up to 160 people. Whitney was getting tired towards the end so that's how I carried both of them until we caught back up to Jim.

Day 2: Bath, Salisbury, Stonehenge, and Avebury

The first stop of the day was the City of Bath. This city once known as the Roman town Aquae Sulis has now simply become Bath as that is where people would go to take a bath. It is the only natural mineral hot spring bath here in England. The Romans first built a structure around the baths in the 1st century but the hot springs have been used since prehistoric times. Much of the original Roman structure including a neighboring temple has been excavated and can be toured along with the improvements that were made in the 18th century. It was very interesting to tour the remains and see the artifacts from that time. The popularity of this town waxed and waned over the centuries until the late 17th century when Queen Mary fighting infertility bathed here and bore a child 10 months later. The water is said to also have other curative powers gained from soaking in it and drinking it. We had a chance to taste the water and I hope I got all the cures I need from the one sip as it was pretty awful tasting. You can't actually bathe in the old baths for health reasons but there is a nearby modern spa that has water from the spring that is delivered through newer bore holes.

The interest in the town took off in the 18th century and many new buildings that still remain were erected during that time. After leaving the baths we headed out for a wonderful walk around town to check out the architecture. I loved the flying buttresses on the church and the circle of curving homes.

On our walk we stopped to check out the Fashion Museum. I know it doesn't seem like something our family would be into but it was very interesting to see some of the fashions from the mid-1700's and some of the early bathing suits made of wool (sounds very itchy!). The dress below is from the 1760's, I'm sure glad I wasn't alive then. Whitney also had a chance to try on some of the fashions to include a corset and the steel rimmed skirt that replaced the layers of petticoats that were previously worn. She wasn't too fond of either item! Overall we weren't super impressed with the museum but seeing some of the early fashions was cool.

The next stop was the Salisbury cathedral. This cathedral has the tallest spire and is one of the largest here is Britain. There are so many old churches and castles here that you have to be selective as to which ones you stop and see. The Salisbury cathedral also houses the world's oldest working clock from 1386 AD and the best preserved of the remaining four original copies of the Magna Carta.

Next we headed north to check out Stonehenge. They don't let you get very close to this monument anymore so we opted to just view it from the road. Definitely an amazing work given the time period it was constructed.

We then headed a little further north to Avebury which a prehistoric site similar to Stonehenge but dates to an earlier time period, is 4 times as large, and you can walk throughout the site. Many of the rocks at this site were damaged beginning in the 14th century to be used in the construction of local buildings. The earthworks (ditch) that surrounds the stone circles were amazing in that they are 70 feet wide, 36 feet deep, and over 3/4 mile long and dug by hand with deer antlers.

Day 1: Coventry, Warwick Castle and the Cotswolds

We've had a few days to rest up while Jim finished his block of shifts before heading off on our first round of adventures. Well actually the first adventure was the going to the grocery store and church our first few days here. It was not the actual activities but the getting there that was the adventure (though the grocery store and sacrament meeting can be a great challenge with a toddler.) You see here in England they drive on the other side of the road and the cars are all configured with the drivers seat on the right hand side of the car. It took me 5 minutes to figure out how to get the car in reverse (you have to depress the shift handle before shifting it into gear). I actually learned how to drive on this side of the road growing up in Japan so it hasn't taken long to make the adjustment. However, the first few times out just required a lot more conscious thinking about what I was doing. For this first trip we decided to head out west of London to check out some of the sites there.

The first day we headed first for Coventry which was heavily bombed by the Germans during WWII due to the weapons making capacity of this industrial city. The city has rebuilt and is a great symbol of forgiveness and reconciliation. One of the sites that has been preserved is the bombed out old Cathedral. We were explaining to Whitney about the city being bombed during the war and as we are walking up to the cathedral there were these large stones (like Maren is sitting on) marking the roadway near the cathedral and Whitney says "look Mom there's a bunch of bombs in the road." Probably not what they are supposed to symbolize but that's what it reminded her of.

Next we headed south from there for Warwick Castle. This site originally held a fort built in 11th century by the Normans. In the 14th and 15th centuries a fortified castle was built in its place which remains today. The interior was updated in the 18th and 19th centuries to include a royal residence. While visiting this castle we were able to climb the tight staircases that climb to the tops of the towers, walk across the walls where the archers would've stood, and tour the dungeon, royal residence and state rooms. There were also demonstrations by an archer that showed the various weapons of the time. I didn't realize there were so many different types of arrowheads used by the archers for various purposes. They had a falconry demonstration with an owl, bald eagle, vultures and another type of eagle. It was fun to watch them come swooping down over the castle towers. The last demonstration where they shot a burning cannonball over 100m with a trebuchet (the random catapult contraption shown above) was very cool to see.

With the long summer days here in England we still had time for a few more stops before heading to our hotel at a nearby military base. We made a quick stop in Stratford-upon-Avon with it's fame being Shakespeare's hometown. It was very touristy with lots of traffic so we didn't stay long. We would've loved to see a show done by the Royal Shakespeare Company while there but with little ones in tow it wasn't possible. We then drove through an area of the country called the Cotswolds. This area was a very wealthy area at one time due to it's wool production. However with the rise of cotton the economy of this area collapsed and many of these villages are frozen in that time period. They are beautiful to walk through with their limestone walled and thatched roof homes alongside the beautiful English gardens. We stopped in one of the villages for some traditional English fish and chips before heading to the hotel for the night to rest up for another action packed day!