To my beloved husband, and all those that have served our country before him and those that are serving our country now, thank you!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Happy Memorial Day
To my beloved husband, and all those that have served our country before him and those that are serving our country now, thank you!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
A Tale of Two Cities
I realize that I have not posted a blog lately. It's not because we haven't been doing things, but simply laziness...and maybe not enough hours in the day. So, I will recap some highlights from the past two weeks.
Cody and I brought our babysitter over one afternoon, so that we could take a half day and evening trip down to Edinburgh just the two of us. We had been wanting to eat at a special restaurant down there and then do some of the underground tours that children are not allowed on. It was a wonderful day and evening seeing a city that we'd seen so many times, but seeing it without a stroller in tow. We started the afternoon by going to the Edinburgh Dungeon, which tells the history (in a very "campy," intended-to-be-funny-but-not-really kinda way) of the sentencing of criminals, etc. way back when in Edinburgh. Suffice it to say, we've done it and were glad we had a 2-for-1 entry coupon. The other tour we did was extremely fascinating! It was a tour of an underground city...under the main streets of Edinburgh! Lots of history there and simply worth taking the time to do! Then, we ate at The Witchery, one of the top three rated restaurants in the UK. It was great food in the setting of an inside Secret Garden. We had a wonderful time relaxing as we ate just the two of us!
Then, two days later, the three of us took a trip down to London on the train. It was another "public transport" holiday! I'm telling you, maybe next time we'll stay in one place and not have to hop on a million public transport options (alright, I exagerrate...we only used four this time: train, Tube, boat and bus). We had a great time seeing LOADS of stuff since we decided to spend 6 days down there. So, here is the recap of the trip (again...won't hurt my feelings if you don't read it all;) ).
Friday, 15 May:
*5 hour train ride down to London Kings Cross Station
*Trafalgar Square
*Dinner at Texas Embassy Cantina. Good ol' Tex Mex right in the middle of London!! It was fabulous and we left with that "Tex Mex belly ache" YUM!!
Saturday, 16 May:
*Tower of London
*Tower Bridge and London Bridge (Jackson was convinced that the Tower Bridge was London Bridge...we went along with it!)
*Lunch on Thames River
*London Eye (big ferris wheel with large closed in "airships" as Jackson called them! I thought that was a pretty accurate assessment of them!)
Cody and J with the Parliament and Big Ben in the background
Big Ben and Parliament from the London Eye view
*City boat Tour on the Thames River
*view of Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Parliament
*Walk through Hyde Park
Sunday, 17 May
*Wellington Arch
*Buckingham Palace for Changing of the Guard...which was canceled because of the weather (it was raining...go figure! And, I found something out...they do cancel the changing of the guard ceremony!)
*The Queen's Gallery
*Lunch at Hard Rock Cafe London (again...YUM!!)
*Apsley House (Duke of Ellington's Mansion)
*Hyde Park again
*Memorial to Prince Albert
*Royal Albert Hall
*Peter Pan Statue in Kensington Gardens
Monday, 18 May
*Train to Windsor Castle
*Changing of the Guard at Windsor Castle
*Tour of St. George's Cathedral at Windsor (this Cathedral along with Westminster and St. Paul's Cathedral were absolutely fascinating to see. We saw tombs of King Henry VIII, Queen Mary, Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth I, and the list goes on. It was so incredibly neat to know that we were standing in the cathedrals of history, if you will.)
Jackson and me in front of St. George's Cathedral on the left and Windsor on the right
*Lunch at some cute little Greek Place in the Windsor Village
*Millinium Bridge
*Shakespeare's Globe Theater
*Harrod's
*Dinner at Tapas Restaurant in Harrod's
Tuesday, 19 May
*Buckingham Palace at 10:00am for the 11:30am changing of the guard (can I just say, after an hour and a half of waiting, rain off and on, I was super glad they didn't cancel it this time!!)
*Westminster Abbey
*St. Paul's Cathedral
*Kensington Palace and Gardens
*Princess Diana's Memorial Playground (Cody and J were here for almost 2 hours! I joined them after the first half hour, as I was still touring Kensington Palace...BUT, this was BY FAR the COOLEST PLAYGROUND I've ever seen!!)
Wednesday, 20 May
*View of Her Majesty's Theatre (which is where "The Phantom of the Opera" plays)
*Brass Rubbings at St. Martins-in-the-Fields
*Picadilly Circus
*Train ride home to Leuchars
We had a great time in London. It is a big city and, given the option, I think I might choose Edinburgh over London. Edinburgh is smaller (although still a very good size), and not nearly as spread out (at least it doesn't seem that way to me). However, I'd like to go back to London with Cody someday to see The Phantom of the Opera or some famous theater show!! Here's to hoping!
Cody and I brought our babysitter over one afternoon, so that we could take a half day and evening trip down to Edinburgh just the two of us. We had been wanting to eat at a special restaurant down there and then do some of the underground tours that children are not allowed on. It was a wonderful day and evening seeing a city that we'd seen so many times, but seeing it without a stroller in tow. We started the afternoon by going to the Edinburgh Dungeon, which tells the history (in a very "campy," intended-to-be-funny-but-not-really kinda way) of the sentencing of criminals, etc. way back when in Edinburgh. Suffice it to say, we've done it and were glad we had a 2-for-1 entry coupon. The other tour we did was extremely fascinating! It was a tour of an underground city...under the main streets of Edinburgh! Lots of history there and simply worth taking the time to do! Then, we ate at The Witchery, one of the top three rated restaurants in the UK. It was great food in the setting of an inside Secret Garden. We had a wonderful time relaxing as we ate just the two of us!
Then, two days later, the three of us took a trip down to London on the train. It was another "public transport" holiday! I'm telling you, maybe next time we'll stay in one place and not have to hop on a million public transport options (alright, I exagerrate...we only used four this time: train, Tube, boat and bus). We had a great time seeing LOADS of stuff since we decided to spend 6 days down there. So, here is the recap of the trip (again...won't hurt my feelings if you don't read it all;) ).
Friday, 15 May:
*5 hour train ride down to London Kings Cross Station
*Trafalgar Square
*Dinner at Texas Embassy Cantina. Good ol' Tex Mex right in the middle of London!! It was fabulous and we left with that "Tex Mex belly ache" YUM!!
Saturday, 16 May:
*Tower of London
*Tower Bridge and London Bridge (Jackson was convinced that the Tower Bridge was London Bridge...we went along with it!)
*Lunch on Thames River
*London Eye (big ferris wheel with large closed in "airships" as Jackson called them! I thought that was a pretty accurate assessment of them!)
Cody and J with the Parliament and Big Ben in the background
Big Ben and Parliament from the London Eye view
*City boat Tour on the Thames River
*view of Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Parliament
*Walk through Hyde Park
Sunday, 17 May
*Wellington Arch
*Buckingham Palace for Changing of the Guard...which was canceled because of the weather (it was raining...go figure! And, I found something out...they do cancel the changing of the guard ceremony!)
*The Queen's Gallery
*Lunch at Hard Rock Cafe London (again...YUM!!)
*Apsley House (Duke of Ellington's Mansion)
*Hyde Park again
*Memorial to Prince Albert
*Royal Albert Hall
*Peter Pan Statue in Kensington Gardens
Monday, 18 May
*Train to Windsor Castle
*Changing of the Guard at Windsor Castle
*Tour of St. George's Cathedral at Windsor (this Cathedral along with Westminster and St. Paul's Cathedral were absolutely fascinating to see. We saw tombs of King Henry VIII, Queen Mary, Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth I, and the list goes on. It was so incredibly neat to know that we were standing in the cathedrals of history, if you will.)
Jackson and me in front of St. George's Cathedral on the left and Windsor on the right
*Lunch at some cute little Greek Place in the Windsor Village
*Millinium Bridge
*Shakespeare's Globe Theater
*Harrod's
*Dinner at Tapas Restaurant in Harrod's
Tuesday, 19 May
*Buckingham Palace at 10:00am for the 11:30am changing of the guard (can I just say, after an hour and a half of waiting, rain off and on, I was super glad they didn't cancel it this time!!)
*Westminster Abbey
*St. Paul's Cathedral
*Kensington Palace and Gardens
*Princess Diana's Memorial Playground (Cody and J were here for almost 2 hours! I joined them after the first half hour, as I was still touring Kensington Palace...BUT, this was BY FAR the COOLEST PLAYGROUND I've ever seen!!)
Wednesday, 20 May
*View of Her Majesty's Theatre (which is where "The Phantom of the Opera" plays)
*Brass Rubbings at St. Martins-in-the-Fields
*Picadilly Circus
*Train ride home to Leuchars
We had a great time in London. It is a big city and, given the option, I think I might choose Edinburgh over London. Edinburgh is smaller (although still a very good size), and not nearly as spread out (at least it doesn't seem that way to me). However, I'd like to go back to London with Cody someday to see The Phantom of the Opera or some famous theater show!! Here's to hoping!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Beautiful Balmoral
We traveled two hours yesterday to another castle...go figure! This one turned out to be one of our favorite castles and produced some of the better pictures that we've taken here in Scotland! It is Balmoral, the summer home of the Royal Family. It was beautiful. Most of the rooms were closed to the public, but we were able to view the ballroom and look through the windows of the garden cottage. The main attraction to Balmoral, besides the castle itself, are the gardens and grounds. It is set in the Highlands of Scotland, which make the location of the castle peaceful and relaxing...and absolutely STUNNING!! It is surrounded by mountains! Had we known we could have rented a cottage there, we just might have for a few days. Alas, we made the drive back home to our other home...which, I must admit, is also in a very peaceful location. I love it!!
This picture cracks me up...what is so funny to me is the entirety of the picture: I'm pushing a stroller with my bag in the seat, while Jackson walks and listens to the guided audio tour. Apparently, Cody thought it was a funny sight too!!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
More of Scotland
Well, I'm just now getting around to blogging about last weekend...you know, May 2-4. May 4th is a Bank Holiday here, so Cody had off work. We did not plan far enough in advance to "go" somewhere outside of a couple hour's drive, so we explored some more of the area right around us...to include a park and more of Edinburgh. Here are the highlights:
Saturday, we went just about 30 minutes down the road right outside of St. Andrews, to a park called Craigtoun Park. It was a beautiful area with green grass and grounds everywhere, putt-putt golf (or, as they say here, "Crazy Golf"), bouncy castle, glass greenhouses, a little train, paddle boats, pond complete with mallards and swans, playground, and trampolines. It was a perfect day to be outside. We then went into St. Andrews to eat Japanese food...mmm, yum (but for those of you that were in Japan with us...nothing like Tan Tan, or Kitikaisen, or Yoshi's, or CoCo's, or Sam's By the Sea, or...well any of it...not even close!)!
Then, on Monday, we went to Edinburgh, but this time, not down to the castle but a different part. We went and saw the Royal Britannia Yacht. This was the yacht that the Royal Family used yearly p until, I think 1997. The yacht was bigger than any house we will ever live in!! It was floors of living quarters, studies, ballrooms, kitchen, stairs, sitting areas and, of course, bars and lounge areas (which actually made me laugh...I've never seen so many on one ship! There were three or four.).
After that, we went to a new restaurant...Frank and Benny's. It said it was a "New York Italian Restaurant." I wondered what that meant, but anyway, it was a good meal.
After lunch, we headed over to Deep Sea World. Now, after being scuba divers, aquariums for Cody and I are simply different...since we've seen fish "up close and personal" (although not all of them...some of those sharks I wouldn't want to have ever come face to face with!). They are still enjoyable, but we just see things in a different light. It's always fun to go to aquariums and "relive" our diving days. But, Jackson seemed to really like seeing all the fish!! In no fashion does it compare to the Okinawa Aquarium (which, sadly, I have forgotten its proper name), but it was neat. And Jackson is now old enough to enjoy seeing the fish. When we took him in Okinawa, he was in the stroller or the sling...so it's been a while! He loved the "Deep Sea World" tunnel...we went on it twice! You step on a moving sidewalk and look all around you...there are fish everywhere. It's possibly the closest you can come to being underwater without actually being underwater.
So, we had a good time exploring a bit more of Scotland.
Saturday, we went just about 30 minutes down the road right outside of St. Andrews, to a park called Craigtoun Park. It was a beautiful area with green grass and grounds everywhere, putt-putt golf (or, as they say here, "Crazy Golf"), bouncy castle, glass greenhouses, a little train, paddle boats, pond complete with mallards and swans, playground, and trampolines. It was a perfect day to be outside. We then went into St. Andrews to eat Japanese food...mmm, yum (but for those of you that were in Japan with us...nothing like Tan Tan, or Kitikaisen, or Yoshi's, or CoCo's, or Sam's By the Sea, or...well any of it...not even close!)!
Then, on Monday, we went to Edinburgh, but this time, not down to the castle but a different part. We went and saw the Royal Britannia Yacht. This was the yacht that the Royal Family used yearly p until, I think 1997. The yacht was bigger than any house we will ever live in!! It was floors of living quarters, studies, ballrooms, kitchen, stairs, sitting areas and, of course, bars and lounge areas (which actually made me laugh...I've never seen so many on one ship! There were three or four.).
After that, we went to a new restaurant...Frank and Benny's. It said it was a "New York Italian Restaurant." I wondered what that meant, but anyway, it was a good meal.
After lunch, we headed over to Deep Sea World. Now, after being scuba divers, aquariums for Cody and I are simply different...since we've seen fish "up close and personal" (although not all of them...some of those sharks I wouldn't want to have ever come face to face with!). They are still enjoyable, but we just see things in a different light. It's always fun to go to aquariums and "relive" our diving days. But, Jackson seemed to really like seeing all the fish!! In no fashion does it compare to the Okinawa Aquarium (which, sadly, I have forgotten its proper name), but it was neat. And Jackson is now old enough to enjoy seeing the fish. When we took him in Okinawa, he was in the stroller or the sling...so it's been a while! He loved the "Deep Sea World" tunnel...we went on it twice! You step on a moving sidewalk and look all around you...there are fish everywhere. It's possibly the closest you can come to being underwater without actually being underwater.
So, we had a good time exploring a bit more of Scotland.
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