Scotland Day three and beyond - By Lori

Our last day in Scotland we explored the Royal Mile. We spent a good part of the morning at the Edinburgh Castle. After that we met up with Rachael (a Scotland native who knows my mom and Leah from New Zealand YWAM). We had lunch with her and went over the the Scottish History museum. Since it was Thanksgiving, we treated ourselves to a gourmet fastfood dinner.

Today we woke up really early for our last travel day (Thank goodness!!!). I don't think the bags will make it up or down another flight of stairs. They are loosing wheels and zippers left and right. We were most worried about today as everyone we talk to says Barcelona is known for its pick pocketers. After two flights (We love British Airways - they feed you) we made it to Barcelona and took a Taxi to the hotel. Kathryn and I have even practiced a little bit of Espanol.

Tomorrow morning we embark on our Transatlantic cruise. We are assuming the next time we will have internet/phone access will be December 11th in Miami. More to come then!
Hasta Luego!





Washing clothes in the bathtub Thursday night.


Edinburgh Castle.


View of the Royal Mile.


Cannon.


Down to the Dungeon.


Prisoners of War.


"Let me out of here!"


Whats Scotland without Kilts and Bagpipes?!


A room in the Castle.


Castle entry way.


Front of the castle.


Museum of Scotland with Rachael.


Kathryn in space.


View of Edinburgh Castle in the back.



Trying to reorganize for the last leg of the Journey.

Scotland Days 1&2 - By Kristin

Firstly, the London blog below has been updated and the rest of the pictures have been added.

Scotland: Days 1 & 2—By Kristin
We arrived in Scotland by train. We navigated Edinburgh by foot. We explored the rest of Scotland by bus. And we love Scotland. (And anyone with the syllables ‘scot’ or ‘land’ in their name.) I think it might have been the cobblestone streets, or maybe it was the castle-like architecture, (I’m sure there’s an official term for this type of building. I just call it old) but the city reminded us of the UK part of Disney World.

People were very friendly. After not eating all day I went into a café to get some soup (Lori and Kate ate a very Scottish sandwich from Subway) and the man behind the counter asked us where we came from and when he found out we’d been lugging bags all over Europe that day he gave me a free sandwich to take with me.

Our second day in Scotland we took a tour bus all over Scotland. We saw lots of the Highlands, heard lots of facts about Whiskey, William Wallace, and Cows. The best part of the tour was the two-hour stop to wander around Loch Ness. We got a picture of the Loch Ness Monster. Or at least it looks like the Loch Ness Monster (you can see the pictures below and judge for yourself). Even though it was freezing outside, Kate and I shed some of our layers and waded out into the shallow part of the loch. It was cold, but rewarding.

Several hours and a couple stops later we arrived back in Edinburgh tired, but satisfied by our adventure.






Forget Scotland...Kate is going to
Hogwarts'!


Hangin' out in London Kings Cross Train
Station.


Doing math on the train.



Kathryn taking a picture into the glass window
on the train.


Lori with Hammish the Highland Cow.


View of a rugged area of Scotland.


Scotland Highlands.


More of Scotland Highlands.


Kathryn found The Loch Ness Monster!!



Fort August's Village - next to Loch Ness.


"Is that Nessie in the distance?!!!"



"Nope, just a couple of Loch Ness Ducks!"


Bravely standing on a rock in the Loch.


Lori in front of Loch Ness (not going
bravely out to a rock.)


Crazy Loonies! Its so cold!


After their wade in the Loch.



Putting all the layers back on again.



Final layer of pants.



The goose tried to attack Lori when she went
to put her fingers in the Loch.



Self portrait.

London - By Kristin (Updated)

Right now we are sitting on the train to Edinburgh, Scotland. We are watching castles, farmland, and other beautiful scenery roll by while checking e-mail, updating blogs, etc. You’ve got to love the 21st Century.

London was a whirlwind. After waiting a long time for our lost luggage, we got on the London Underground dragging along our 300 pounds of luggage and trying to fit it all onto an already crowded subway. Then Lori pulled out the maps and had them spread out over the suitcases. You might as well have tattooed “tourist” on our forehead. We got to the hotel a little past our expected time, but decided since we would be so cramped for time the next day, which was our only full day in London, we headed out to visit the British Museum for 45 minutes before it closed. This is one of the highlights for me so far. We got to see the Rosetta Stone, and…MUMMIES!!!!!!! Lots of real live (well, dead, actually) mummies!! Big mummies, small mummies, boy mummies, girl mummies, mummies with their feet sticking out of their dressing, mummies that fell out of their sarcophagus and got eaten away by the sand, and mummies of unknown origin. I didn’t want to leave, but the museum closed and the evil guards made us leave.


Kathryn and the Rosetta Stone.


Kathryn and Kristin and the head of a Sphynx at the British Museum.



Kristin and some sort of Egyptian statues at the British Museum.



Monday was a packed day. We went to London Tower in the morning. It was very educational, and eye opening to the brutality in Medieval England. We decided we were all very glad to be alive in this day and age. The worst were the torture rooms. They had stretching machines that stretched the torture victim in two directions until all their joints were dislocated. If you think our society today is political, try being beheaded just because you might be a threat to your cousin’s throne.


Kristin and Lori reading a tile on the sundial.



Lori and Kristin in front of the Tower of London.


Kathryn and Kristin (not Leah) trying on the old
amour of the British army.


We saw all the typical London sites, i.e. Buckingham Palace, Harrods, Big Ben, etc. We finished out our day seeing Spamalot in London’s West End. It was hilarious. We walked back to our lodge via Jack the Ripper Road (It’s not really called that, but the road to our hotel was dimly lit, old, and we were the only people on it at night. We knew not to accept any grapes, were a random man to come out and offer them to us.)



In front of the London Bridge at the Tower of London.


The London Eye



Kristin and Big Ben (and also a statue horse)



Buckingham Palace.


Circular staircase in front of Buckingham Palace.


A statue near Hyde Park.


Lori and Kristin combine efforts to get to the next location.


Behind the gates of James Park.


Self-explanatory: Kate in a phone booth.


"Please Mind the Gap."


We got lost in Harrods for a couple
hours.



Dinner at Planet Hollywood.


A wonderfully funny show. We got a free upgrade
and had great seats for 22 pounds each!



Read the poster.


We are almost to Scotland, which is the last leg of our tour before getting on the cruise back to America. We are having fun, but looking forward to not dragging our bags all over Europe.