The sun, two rivers and a story…..

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View from bus in Germany.

Heading to a Rhine River Cruise and Heidelberg today. Lots of driving, lots of traffic. All worth it with scenery like that!46B49004-D4A8-48F3-8DD2-AAEF2B0FA3DB.jpeg

The cruise was like a dream, the views purely magical. Castles, homes, small towns, lots of churches and vineyards. So many vineyards! They are situated on steep slopes which likely benefit from the sun and rain. Harvesting on the other hand is not without risk. No machines, all by the hand. Students are hired to perform this task.

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One of the many vinyards.

Views from the boat:

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As you can see the sun was our friend for this leg of the trip!

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How about this one……creepy

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On to Heidelberg!

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Heidelberg Castle, high on the hill.
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Narrow cobblestone streets

Trusting the journey, an amazing story of one courageous womans’ life, love and grief.

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This woman brought her father back to Heidelberg.

He served in the military during the Vietnam war, feeling fortunate that he was in Germany. He shared stories and memories with his only daughter. He wanted to bring her to this spot, the bridge looking out to the castle, with the Nectar River flowing below. He never got the chance to bring her, dying too soon from pancreatic cancer. So she brought part of his ashes to mingle in the water under the shadow of the bridge, under the castle view. He lives on through her and her boys. May his memory always be a blessing.

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Definitely a dad sky.

Tomorrow on to the Black Forest, the Rhine Falls and the home of ROGER FEDERER!!! Woot woot!

 

Rainy with a chance of more!

Early start to the Eurostar Train today. From London, through Belgium to Amsterdam. 1.2 million bikes and 177 different nationalities reside here. It is the most diverse area in the world.

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Bike parking for 20,000 of the 1.2 million!

There is no childhood obesity here, children start learning at age 7, then take a test at the age of 8 and off they go! The biggest problem of owning a bike is theft. If you don’t have insurance you may have to buy your bike back at a local flea market. In Amsterdam they call this ‘re-cycling’……get it?!?!?

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Who is this? Our tour guide this evening of old Amsterdam. Sorry I didn’t catch his name. It was due to all the mmmhmm’s, yes please’s and I’ll be what he’s having’s!

Oh baby! We walked and he told us stuff, we walked some more and he told us more stuff. The details were lost in his accent! I did manage to capture his favorite view of the canals:

and this:C21A4947-A084-4978-BFAE-467F55EC9DB3.jpeg

A church, ha ha ha! No details!

When we arrived in Amsterdam we went directly to our canal cruise boat headed by this guy:

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Our captain, Jack…..captain Jack Sparrow!

When it was time to board he says to us in his most piratey (word?) accent ‘only the short people may board!’ At this point I’m standing in front of him and he stands up, I came up to the middle of his chest! I burst out laughing! He says ‘we grow ‘em big here!’. He told great stories,  goofy jokes and just plain fun! He dropped us at our hotel. 45711EAA-5241-4B18-B430-9470A7C5B724.jpeg

Fortunately the boat had a roof and windows that slide so pictures could be had. Yes, of course it was raining!

Some views:74FC7531-237E-4BBC-8902-A16B6FCD39A0.jpeg

 

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The Venice of the north
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 Beauty even in the rain.
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Seriously awesome view.
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One of the many bridges.

Dinner!

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Wonderful, fun company!
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Whilst in Amsterdam, you must have a Heineken!
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Pancakes, ice cream and orange liquor…yep, awesome.

Tulips, train, umbrellas and brooms(??), tiny coffee, and a ‘coffee shop’!

Off to the Rhine River and Heidelberg tomorrow, Goot evening!

Do you fancy a cuppa with the Queen?

Not bloody likely!  She wasn’t at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, I wasn’t expecting the royal red carpet, or anything, but a wave would’ve been nice. The views of both weren’t bad.

Buckingham:

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Kensington:

No matter, I would much rather a cuppa  with Kathleen Meehan, the best sweater knitter in Ireland! She knows hospitality, the queen could learn a thing or two from her.

It was quite a busy day, up at 6, breakfast and first a tour of St. Paul’s Cathedral where the royal weddings and coronations are performed. I stood in the spot where Charles married Diana, where Elizabeth (the queen to you) was coronated and where Winston Churchill’s funeral service was held. When Churchill was asked if he wanted to be buried at the church his response was: ‘No, I do not want to lay in eternity with people I couldn’t stand when I was alive’! Ha ha! It is a marvel of architecture, not just for the worshippers, but for masterpiece that it is.

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This was outside the cathedral, a golden statue of the ‘town crier’. Before newspapers, this was how people found out the news of the day, they would gather around to hear what was going on.

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Finally!! Sheep!! Made of metal, but still….sheep! ‘A shepherd and his flock’ also outside the cathedral.

No pictures inside, I cannot describe it’s magnificence. Yes, that’s right, a statue of Queen Anne in front of the cathedral. So for those that know me as MiLady, here’s why!

I thought this was odd:

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Hmmmm…….not sure what they are saying.

Also…..as you enter the castle grounds and when you leave there is shopping, kind of takes away from the history of the castle.

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Windsor Royal Shopping

First stop on our Taste of London tour, a traditional pub:

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Ye Olde Cock Tavern

Julie, stop giggling!!! Fish and chips, Amstel beer?!? Vanilla Cheesecake with fresh cream to pour on. Thank goodness it was a lite beer!!!! Great table mates:

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From the left and around: Carol, MiLady, Alan, Chris, David and Kean

From the Thames at night, the London Eye and the Tower Bridge are among the most amazing views.

London reception….one of a kind (wink wink)

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I’ll get to the wink wink…..

After a very safe flight to Heathrow, weaving through the airport to ‘border control’, you know, they don’t let just anyone in….I was asked my plans…’I’m meeting a tour’ oh? He asked, where are you going in London? My response ‘I am drawing a blank!’ Sleep deprivation and cramped seats for 7 hours, worked on the memory (ha ha, he still let me in!)

Another hour to the hotel, looking forward to stretching my legs! When I arrive at the hotel I am greeted by the Globus staff, very welcoming I must say! They asked if I was interested in an afternoon tour…..sure, I say! The lovely tour guide told me to check in, maybe my room would be ready. (Anyone who knows me, knows there is NO CHANCE my room would be ready.) The receptionist says, ‘oh, miss Welsh, your room……….wait for it……………..is ready! In my best American accent I say ‘no shit?!?!’ No, I really didn’t say it, I acted like that happens all the time!

wink wink time…….

‘So, you are in room 1509 welcome to London and enjoy your stay.’ At this point I looked at my watch (yikes, it’s 12:45 and my tour starts at 1:05). Ok, I can drop my bags, refresh for two minutes and meet the tour to the Tower of London.

Off I go to my room, my key works (always a good start) and low and behold I’m greeted by a man laying on the bed, on his phone, watching TV, ‘oh, hello there’ wow, the London Hilton goes above and beyond.  Well, he was just as surprised as me!!! He was ever so nice, his checkout time was 1:30, he extended his time so he could pray at 1:05.  I told him I would go downstairs and check my bags, he said ‘no’ he would go because he could tell I had just arrived after a long flight (oh my gosh! How bad do I look!). I said, what about your prayers? he said ‘I can do that anywhere’. He left, I dropped my bags and had 3 minutes to get to the tour!!! No rest for the weary traveler.

Off to the Tower, much better than back in the day; it was ‘off with your head…at the Tower! 32680C0A-1346-45C0-9A10-B77C5BA05CB8.jpeg

Well, before we get to the Tower there’s this building. It’s the tallest building in London, it’s made of 8 acres of glass and it’s called ‘The Shard’. Odd name, but if it comes down the name wouldn’t change much, just add an ‘s’ on the end! Our tour guide said it was designed by an out of work glass cleaner (bwaaaaa)!

It was changing of the guard at the Tower, not the usual looking guard, these scots were out in their kilts. If I had hit record on my phone I could be sharing that with you, but I didn’t (ugh).

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It was quite the rainy day here, still enjoyed though! I saw the Crown Jewels…they were ostentatious. A 503 carat diamond on an elaborate stick, so The Crown!!

The Ravens:

So, it is said, that the ravens have been on the property since the beginning. It is also said that if the ravens would ever leave The towers would fall, the monarchy would end. So what do the British do? They take very good care of these birds, feeding them seed and biscuits soaked in blood (yep, blood). Oh yeah, and they clip there wings so they can’t fly away, oh my!

Until tomorrow…..

No longer ‘lost’ in Scotland!

For that matter, I never was. Aye, Scotland how I miss ye. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about Ireland either, I’m always on my way back.

This is a whole new adventure, still traveling solo, but on a tour this time.

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Brian, took me the 2 1/2 hour trip to Newark, what a guy! He’s just gonna hate that I posted this….oh well!

This time I’m off to London, Amsterdam, Lucerne, Heidelberg, Rhine Falls and Paris.

I’m through security, having a:

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Guinness!! The best way to start!!!

Off to the gate, here I go again!!

Vera, Yuri and Stavesh

Interesting story.

Today, the tour I had planned on doing was changed to another. It would require another go around those bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond.

Mom and dad always said things happen for a reason. Half way through the trip I was chatting with a woman on the tour. She spoke English very well, but with an accent. I asked where she was from and she said ‘Minnesota’. Hmm. Then I met her husband. We had a nice chat about winters in Minnesota and Pennsylvania, and how short spring is, according to Vera, it’s about a weekend there! It’s a cold, cold winter and a hot muggy summer and a weekends worth of spring.

Vera and Yuri immigrated from Russia in 1991 (I think that was the year). Yuri first, and then Vera, their children and his father. Very sweet couple. More after I torture you with more pictures!

Just one of the views:


Not only did we see Loch Lomond, we also saw quite a few castles. First Doune (famous for Monty Python and the Outlander series). We saw Kilchurn castle which if I remember correctly was ruined by lightning instead of the English, at least, it’s a nice thought?? That’s Kilchurn in the first picture above, ‘artsied’ up by yours truly!

The Doune castle:


This one we could go in and hear the stories of how it must have been ‘back in the day’. More crazy steps. Oh, and it was narrated by the Monty Python characters!

After these we went to Inveraray Castle. Much, much more opulent and kept up. Decorated as if you walked onto the Downton Abbey set. It is lived in part of the year by the Duke of Argyll.

Entrance:


Not too shabby, but is it strange that I prefer the ruined castles?

Fancy view:


View from Doune:


Well, just agree to disagree. They are both lovely in their own way.

A window view in the town of Inveraray:  I just love these!


We passed many sheep and lambs, I am going to mss them.

So the tour ended back on the Royal Mile, but Yuri and Vera invited me for dinner! So, two Americans from Minnesota with Russian accents, one American from Pennsylvania (that is 70% British) meet in Scotland and go to dinner in a Mexican restaurant. I cannot think of a more spectacular way to end this amazing trip. We chatted like old friends about our kids grandkids, our (well, Vera’s) dogs, his fish, my birds and an adorable cat. My only regret is that we didn’t get a picture. We can do that in Minnesota or Lancaster, whichever comes first, ’til we meet again.

Oh, and Yuri emailed me to make sure I got to the hotel alright. Adorable.

About that ride to the hotel. Yuri uber’d the ride, he and Vera went to their hotel, then the driver took me to mine that was 20 minutes away. His name is Stavesh (I doubt I spelled it correctly). He came to Scotland from Greece 3 years ago with his then 14 year old son. We had a lovely conversation about how life is complicated, but happy to just, basically, be. When we pulled up to the hotel, he got out, gave me a great big Greek hug, wished me the happiest of birthdays and a happy life.  Amazing.

Still no puffin, but how about this guy who came right up to me and begged for shortbread:

It’s my second day on the Forth


Today I went on the Maid of the Forth to Inchcolm Island Abbey. We all got an upclose look at the three bridges of the Firth of Forth. The oldest built in the 1880’s and probably the most structurally sound! It’s a cantilever bridge that trains cross, requires minimal maintenance. It’s just astounding that this was built so long ago, it is one of Scotlands marvels. The other bridge was built in the 1960’s and has recently been diagnosed with some of the cables degrading. It’s still structurally sound (so the experts say). Just in case though, lets build a replacement, have it up and running by 2017 and take a wee closer look.


Onto the Island and Abbey, but just before we dock, there is a small island that greets us called INCH GNOME:


Hopefully you can zoom in and see all of the gnomes in their ‘natural habitat’!!

The Abbey:

Short story about the Abbey and how it came to be, and how the English eventually tried to destroy it (Bloody English).

Crossing the Forth in 1123, Alexander the first was blown off course and sought shelter at Inchcolm. Stormbound for three days, he and his buds were looked after by a hermit, who shared his meager diet of milk from a single cow, mussels and small fish. Afterwards Alexander was so grateful he vowed to build a monastery on the Island but died before he could. In 1124 King David the first honors his brothers wishes and founds the monastery.  English raiders badly damaged it in the 1300’s.

The walk around and the views:

The Island is a sanctuary to many sea birds. You can walk freely throughout the Island, the only suggestion is to stay on the short grass path, and not venture into the longer grass, as to not be attacked by the nesting gulls. They grow some bigly (yuge) gulls here! I think POTUS would agree (ha ha).

They squawked when I walked by, but did not seem to mind terribly that I was there.

An impressive show of numbers (also reminded me of the movie The Birds).

The other end of the Island was used as a look out station during WW2.

You never truly walk alone:

This was the coldest day by far! I had to buy a nerdy woolly cap, but wore it, thankful for it!

So, all this history was very interesting (to me, anyway!). The real reason I wanted to come here was to maybe see those cheeky little devils, know as Puffins.

Fortunately they have them in the gift shop, in case you don’t get to see them in person! At least this way I get to bring one home.

One more day, one more tour. As much as I have absolutely loved this trip, Home is calling me back.

The Firth of Forth

On my way to the Firth of Forth? Would you believe it’s the River Forth that meets the North Sea and two other bodies of water. There are three bridges crossing the Forth….I was confused too! Reminds me of ‘who’s on second?’! But what a sight.

Breakfast view, not too shabby.

Mountain walk, another road less traveled.

Gorgeous views on my way to Queensferry for more sightseeing





Two more days of travel.

Weather permitting tomorrow a trip to Incholm Island (keeping my fingers crossed) to see puffins and seals and Incholm Abbey.

No puffin.

The lambs are everywhere, can’t handle the cuteness.

An Affair to Remember……

Intrigued?? No, I did not meet up with Cary Grant. That was my mom’s favorite movie, and the first song that came on the playlist after disembarking the ferry and start of another road trip. Next song, Ain’t Misbehaving by Woody Herman (from my road trips with dad) and the a little Ain’t Nobody but Me, Supertramp.  They were both with me on this trip, I got a wee bit lost (of course, dad’s influence). Eventually found my way and I will have some ice cream (mom’s end of trip treat!).

So, I did drive a lot today. That wasn’t really my plan at the start, but, I talked to a couple on the ferry. ‘Have you been to the Scottish Borders?’  Well, no I haven’t.  They showed me on the map where they were, I needed a ‘goal’ town, which they suggested Peebles. So, off I go!

The picture above is on the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond. It seems this area has been a point of ‘going around to get to someplace else’. No bother! It’s just gorgeous! I met these two soon to be mom and dad:

I shared some crackers, wished them all the best with their new little wee ones.  She looked like it could be very soon!

I cannot do justice to the scenery here. The evergreen forests are always changing. The trees are planted and harvested on a schedule. In the highlands, the pine is the only thing other than the heather that grows in this soil. Here at the Scottish Border, I think I’m closer to England. I tried to take a picture of the orderly forest, truly planted in lines and squares. Instead of the hodgepodge of Scottish forests. But, I was shooed by a honker on a road with no one else about. The bloody English!


I’m settled into a lovely hotel/B&B in Peebles. Planning what to do tomorrow. Here are some shots from today:




Not a Puffin!

Another ferry, another story


Ah, the Port Ellen stop. Mother Earth at one of her finest. On that note, my daughter in Florida and myself in bonny Scotland showing solidarity with the marchers all over the world:


Kate and I in our matching shirts! #happyearthdaypotusandgoons

On the Island of Islay, where apparently whisky dreams come true. Smokier , peatier and ‘lots’ available. At Laphroaig distillery literally ‘pick your lot’!

Up early today to catch the ferry to another name I cannot possibly pronounce. ‘I’m sorry, what?’ Has been my saying here! I stayed at a B&B last night called The Trout Fly. On the phone he said; ‘thtrotf’. Literally couldn’t understand. Where are you located? ‘Jusawee’ oh! I get it now…..no. The lovely woman at the hotel translated. ‘It’s the trout, you know, like the feesh. It’s just a wee walk from here’. Sheepishly, I walk a wee bit and check in! 


What a lovely couple, Linda and Niehls. Almost full for the night, due to a wedding at one of the big distilleries, and a birthday party in town. I was ever so grateful. I did not get to meet their ‘wee one’ a 6 year old girl, Iona, who likes to put a pin on the world map where people are from. Linda said she will have her pop a wee pin in Pennsylvania, Lancaster county!

Suggestion from another visitor at the B&B: take a day and just enjoy yourself. Take is easy, take in the land, the sights and sounds. Now, that’s the plan. That’s kinda what I’ve been doing, but the driving does get a wee bit tiring.

Scenes from Islay. Pronounced E-luh, or I-luh, but definitely not Is-lay! Try and ask for this whisky in a pub!