What's over there?
UNITED KINGDOM – We’ve been traveling around the United Kingdom for just over two months now, and I have to say…
And thank God for decimal-denominated money.
Luckily for us, we haven’t had to deal with guineas, crowns, shillings, farthings or any other extinct denominations of British money. Continue reading “Pounds, pence, meaty money and more”
NEAR ORKNEY ISLAND, SCOTLAND – Right now I’m traveling with a white-knuckled husband who is gritting his teeth. No, I’m not talking about my driving. We are, in fact, riding in a very comfortable express bus from the Orkney Islands along the mainland coast of Scotland to Inverness, still a 3-hour trip once we are off the ferry.
It is a fantastically beautiful sunny morning. The rugged coastline is exquisitely lit up, with shadows in just the right places. There are sheep and cows posing in the fields, traditional thatched roof barns right next to the road, and all other sorts of daily life things that hold your eyes in wonder.
Continue reading “Scotland’s exquisitely beautiful coastline”
KIRKCALDY, SCOTLAND – Washing dishes with FAIRY liquid.
Yep, that is what we have here in Scotland. FAIRY brand washing up liquid (dish soap to us Americans), “By appointment to Her Majesty the Queen” (It says so right on the label).
And it works great – like magic (I am assuming). I bet it used to have a picture of a fairy right on the label.
It took me a few days to think this through. It was so odd to me to find a commercial product named “FAIRY.” Where is the strength in that?
Continue reading “Fairies and Unicorns in Scotland? Of course!”
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – The food here is really wonderful.
OK, I see Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonald’s, but we don’t eat there even in the states. Otherwise, it is cooked to order and takes a few minutes more. Time is no problem over a good beer anyway.
In the morning we can walk across the street to the little hole-in-the-wall grocery and buy fresh-baked croissants, meat, and curry or chicken pies for the rest of the day. It’s great this inner city living. Continue reading “Edinburgh has a bit of a sweet tooth”
SCOTLAND – Melanie and I have been in Scotland for just about two weeks now. We’ve (mostly) adjusted to the 8-hour time difference from back in Stanwood, Washington; figured out how the buses and trains work; can make proper change when we pay for something; and we’re getting used to some of the differences in language (yes, they speak English, too, but it often sounds quite different from the American English we’re used to).
In our past travels, this would have been the point in the trip when we had to head back home (and back to work) after a much-too-short vacation, with way too many places still on our “we should go there” list.
But not this time. We’re just getting started…
Continue reading “If it’s Wednesday this must be Stirling (Castle)”