Trip Report: J&M in the UK and Ireland (plus Philly)
Jun 24th, 2007, 02:00 PM
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Trip Report: J&M in the UK and Ireland (plus Philly)
We started planning this trip around Thanksgiving, and the Fodors members were fabulous in helping us out! So hopefully the trip report will entertain some of you and help future travelers as well.
The travellers: Jennifer (that's me), very type-A planner, "young professional," age 26; and Maegan, best friend from college, recent pharmacy school graduate and just excited to be there, age 25. Both of us spent a semester in London in college, and ever since we'd been talking about how, one day, we were going back to Europe. This month wound up being perfect timing. We tried to pack light - especially since we were taking a Ryanair flight between London and Ireland. M was more successful than I was, but she also really wanted some clean clothes by the end of the trip, so I'm okay with that! She took a carryon size and a backpack; I took an LL Bean roller (with a spare duffel inside) and a messenger bag.
We were most definitely traveling on a budget - our accommodations averaged about $45 a night apiece, and we got sandwiches and fruit from grocery stores a lot for meals. (Honestly, I think that's easier than trying to search for a place to eat that everyone will agree on!) We did have a cell phone - I got an unlocked Motorola V180 for about $60 on eBay, and alexis2525 actually sent me a T-Mobile sim card. We just topped up our credit at Boots when we arrived.
For those who want to see photos: I'll put a link to the set for each day at the end of that section. But the collection for our entire trip is at http://tinyurl.com/347eyd.
The travellers: Jennifer (that's me), very type-A planner, "young professional," age 26; and Maegan, best friend from college, recent pharmacy school graduate and just excited to be there, age 25. Both of us spent a semester in London in college, and ever since we'd been talking about how, one day, we were going back to Europe. This month wound up being perfect timing. We tried to pack light - especially since we were taking a Ryanair flight between London and Ireland. M was more successful than I was, but she also really wanted some clean clothes by the end of the trip, so I'm okay with that! She took a carryon size and a backpack; I took an LL Bean roller (with a spare duffel inside) and a messenger bag.
We were most definitely traveling on a budget - our accommodations averaged about $45 a night apiece, and we got sandwiches and fruit from grocery stores a lot for meals. (Honestly, I think that's easier than trying to search for a place to eat that everyone will agree on!) We did have a cell phone - I got an unlocked Motorola V180 for about $60 on eBay, and alexis2525 actually sent me a T-Mobile sim card. We just topped up our credit at Boots when we arrived.
For those who want to see photos: I'll put a link to the set for each day at the end of that section. But the collection for our entire trip is at http://tinyurl.com/347eyd.
Jun 24th, 2007, 02:03 PM
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<b>Philly</b>
We originally had a four-hour layover in Philadelphia, but USAir changed it to two hours (without telling us, I might add). That wasn't enough time for me, so we changed it to our only other option: an 8-hour layover. Fortunately, everything was on time, and we took the SEPTA train to the Market Street East station ($5.50 each way) and walked around the historic district. One of the staff members at the visitors' center directed us to Campo's for lunch (around Market & 3rd). I'm no connoisseur of cheesesteaks, but that was the best one I've ever had. (Cash only. Our cheesesteak and bottled water was around $9.)
After lunch, we headed down towards Penn's Landing. The area itself was closed, but we saw the river and the memorial area to Irish immigrants - particularly fitting since we were headed to Ireland in a few days. We walked down Chestnut to Carpenter's Hall and Independence Hall, got some gelato and went to see the Liberty Bell. We walked back through the visitors' center, then walked by the Constitution Center, the Mint, Ben Franklin's grave, the Quaker meeting house, the Betsy Ross house, and (the scaffolding in front of) Christ Church. By that point we'd decided we'd walked enough for the day, so we headed back to the station to catch the train back to the airport.
We got back to the airport in plenty of time, went through the easiest security I've ever gone through, had a snack, and got ready for the overnight flight. The flight was on time and fine - we didn't get much sleep, especially with the broken call button somewhere on board (seriously, every five minutes it would ring). But we made it, and that's the important thing. Next: we're finally in England!
Philly pictures: http://tinyurl.com/2sz3pu
We originally had a four-hour layover in Philadelphia, but USAir changed it to two hours (without telling us, I might add). That wasn't enough time for me, so we changed it to our only other option: an 8-hour layover. Fortunately, everything was on time, and we took the SEPTA train to the Market Street East station ($5.50 each way) and walked around the historic district. One of the staff members at the visitors' center directed us to Campo's for lunch (around Market & 3rd). I'm no connoisseur of cheesesteaks, but that was the best one I've ever had. (Cash only. Our cheesesteak and bottled water was around $9.)
After lunch, we headed down towards Penn's Landing. The area itself was closed, but we saw the river and the memorial area to Irish immigrants - particularly fitting since we were headed to Ireland in a few days. We walked down Chestnut to Carpenter's Hall and Independence Hall, got some gelato and went to see the Liberty Bell. We walked back through the visitors' center, then walked by the Constitution Center, the Mint, Ben Franklin's grave, the Quaker meeting house, the Betsy Ross house, and (the scaffolding in front of) Christ Church. By that point we'd decided we'd walked enough for the day, so we headed back to the station to catch the train back to the airport.
We got back to the airport in plenty of time, went through the easiest security I've ever gone through, had a snack, and got ready for the overnight flight. The flight was on time and fine - we didn't get much sleep, especially with the broken call button somewhere on board (seriously, every five minutes it would ring). But we made it, and that's the important thing. Next: we're finally in England!
Philly pictures: http://tinyurl.com/2sz3pu
Jun 25th, 2007, 06:37 AM
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Thanks!
<b>We're in England!</b>
After a fine but not very restful flight, we went through customs and immigration in Manchester and headed to the airport train station. Our tickets to Windermere were the only ones we didn't order beforehand, since I didn't want to buy them and then have our plane be late. They wound up being £16.90 apiece and had us changing once, in Preston. We had awhile in Preston, so we got some lunch at Upper Crust - first baguette sandwiches of the trip. So much more fun than regular bread.
Our bed & breakfast was Ashleigh House in Windermere (£24/night/person) - I'd booked one close to the train station, since we didn't have a car. For those purposes, it worked perfectly, and we had a great stay there. If you do have a car, I'd suggest one of the more scenic towns - Windermere isn't actually beside the lake, and our room looked out over a courtyard. But if you stay in Windermere, I'd definitely recommend Ashleigh House. It was one of the least expensive ones I found, but was really comfortable and had everything we needed.
Once we checked in, we both showered and then went to Boots to top up the phone and get a replacement hair dryer (M's had blown - it was English but had two voltage settings, and apparently we picked the wrong one!). That afternoon we walked down to Bowness and saw Lake Windermere. It was pretty disgusting and rainy that day, so the lake was very cloudy/foggy, but still pretty. We were pretty worn out, so we got dinner at a "Swiss Italian" restaurant in Bowness and headed back to the b&b. (We never figured out the Swiss part. We each had a pizza and split some garlic bread [about £6.50 apiece] while enjoying some tunes we finally decided sounded like Mexican disco and an Italian Lionel Richie.) Fortunately for us, we were back "home" just in time to catch the British Soap Opera Awards on TV, with Fern and Phil hosting. Awesome.
Pictures from today: http://tinyurl.com/25j664
<b>We're in England!</b>
After a fine but not very restful flight, we went through customs and immigration in Manchester and headed to the airport train station. Our tickets to Windermere were the only ones we didn't order beforehand, since I didn't want to buy them and then have our plane be late. They wound up being £16.90 apiece and had us changing once, in Preston. We had awhile in Preston, so we got some lunch at Upper Crust - first baguette sandwiches of the trip. So much more fun than regular bread.
Our bed & breakfast was Ashleigh House in Windermere (£24/night/person) - I'd booked one close to the train station, since we didn't have a car. For those purposes, it worked perfectly, and we had a great stay there. If you do have a car, I'd suggest one of the more scenic towns - Windermere isn't actually beside the lake, and our room looked out over a courtyard. But if you stay in Windermere, I'd definitely recommend Ashleigh House. It was one of the least expensive ones I found, but was really comfortable and had everything we needed.
Once we checked in, we both showered and then went to Boots to top up the phone and get a replacement hair dryer (M's had blown - it was English but had two voltage settings, and apparently we picked the wrong one!). That afternoon we walked down to Bowness and saw Lake Windermere. It was pretty disgusting and rainy that day, so the lake was very cloudy/foggy, but still pretty. We were pretty worn out, so we got dinner at a "Swiss Italian" restaurant in Bowness and headed back to the b&b. (We never figured out the Swiss part. We each had a pizza and split some garlic bread [about £6.50 apiece] while enjoying some tunes we finally decided sounded like Mexican disco and an Italian Lionel Richie.) Fortunately for us, we were back "home" just in time to catch the British Soap Opera Awards on TV, with Fern and Phil hosting. Awesome.
Pictures from today: http://tinyurl.com/25j664
Jun 26th, 2007, 06:23 AM
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<b>Grasmere & Ambleside</b>
Our first full English breakfast was good... but no way could I eat that every day! However, it kept us full through our long day of walking. After breakfast we picked up our train tickets for the next day, then took the bus from Windermere station to Grasmere village. (I think we were still jet-lagged - it took us three tries to get on the right bus, and then I tried to buy my ticket by putting a £5 note in the ticket slot. I think we confused the bus driver.) We wandered around Grasmere, thankful for the weather: before we left, it kept saying the forecast was rain, but it was the perfect English sort of day - partly sunny with big fluffy clouds.
We found a riverside path and walked down to Lake Grasmere. Now, I could have sworn I saw a sign the day before that said "Ambleside 8, Grasmere 9," so, thinking the two were a mile apart, we decided we'd just walk on down to Ambleside. It's actually more like 4.5 miles. A bit more than we bargained for! But it was an absolutely beautiful walk. We walked along the main road for awhile, then when the sidewalk ended, headed for a path through the woods.
In Ambleside, we relaxed by the mill for a bit, shopped, wandered, and then attempted to have cream tea - only to find that the restaurant we were at had just run out of scones. This was to be a common theme for us; every time we tried to have cream tea, something stopped us!
We took the bus back to Windermere and stopped at the Booths next to the train station to pick up sandwiches, fruit, and English junk food (chocolate digestives and mango chilli Kettle chips) for dinner. (The Lakes were meant to be our "decompressing" location, as we were both really stressed from work and school before we left, and the scenery and lack of nightlife did the trick!) Back at the b&b, we packed up for the next day, then read, studied, knitted and watched more excellent television. (Today's selections included a particularly touching episode of "Deal or No Deal" - seriously - and the first episode of Big Brother 8. Absolutely fantastic.)
The next day, we headed back down to Bowness after breakfast. Since the weather was again beautiful and we had a couple hours before our train, we decided we'd check out the lake in good weather. So much prettier. We relaxed lakeside for awhile, then picked up our luggage and went off to the train station. Next up: Edinburgh.
Pictures from Grasmere & Ambleside: http://tinyurl.com/254smd
Pictures from Bowness: http://tinyurl.com/yvvkh6
Our first full English breakfast was good... but no way could I eat that every day! However, it kept us full through our long day of walking. After breakfast we picked up our train tickets for the next day, then took the bus from Windermere station to Grasmere village. (I think we were still jet-lagged - it took us three tries to get on the right bus, and then I tried to buy my ticket by putting a £5 note in the ticket slot. I think we confused the bus driver.) We wandered around Grasmere, thankful for the weather: before we left, it kept saying the forecast was rain, but it was the perfect English sort of day - partly sunny with big fluffy clouds.
We found a riverside path and walked down to Lake Grasmere. Now, I could have sworn I saw a sign the day before that said "Ambleside 8, Grasmere 9," so, thinking the two were a mile apart, we decided we'd just walk on down to Ambleside. It's actually more like 4.5 miles. A bit more than we bargained for! But it was an absolutely beautiful walk. We walked along the main road for awhile, then when the sidewalk ended, headed for a path through the woods.
In Ambleside, we relaxed by the mill for a bit, shopped, wandered, and then attempted to have cream tea - only to find that the restaurant we were at had just run out of scones. This was to be a common theme for us; every time we tried to have cream tea, something stopped us!
We took the bus back to Windermere and stopped at the Booths next to the train station to pick up sandwiches, fruit, and English junk food (chocolate digestives and mango chilli Kettle chips) for dinner. (The Lakes were meant to be our "decompressing" location, as we were both really stressed from work and school before we left, and the scenery and lack of nightlife did the trick!) Back at the b&b, we packed up for the next day, then read, studied, knitted and watched more excellent television. (Today's selections included a particularly touching episode of "Deal or No Deal" - seriously - and the first episode of Big Brother 8. Absolutely fantastic.)
The next day, we headed back down to Bowness after breakfast. Since the weather was again beautiful and we had a couple hours before our train, we decided we'd check out the lake in good weather. So much prettier. We relaxed lakeside for awhile, then picked up our luggage and went off to the train station. Next up: Edinburgh.
Pictures from Grasmere & Ambleside: http://tinyurl.com/254smd
Pictures from Bowness: http://tinyurl.com/yvvkh6
Jun 27th, 2007, 06:32 AM
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<b>On to Edinburgh</b>
We took a relaxing train ride from Windermere to Oxenholme, then had the worst train trip I've ever had from Oxenholme to Edinburgh (involved a hen party, a group of drunk, obnoxious poker players, a very grouchy man, having to sit with legs on top of our suitcases, no air conditioning on a very full coach, and a tipsy Scotsman who groped me while trying to disembark - train newbies, they are NOT all like this, but it does make for good stories). Once we arrived, Maegan said: "I think we need to buy ourselves things." Good call, M.
We were staying at SmartCity Hostel, which is very nice for a hostel (about $40/night for 6-person female room) and is located a bit off the Royal Mile on Blackfriars. It's not quite the "ultimate urban resort experience" which it claims to be, but it does have great showers, individual cabinets and free internet. The only downside was that there was no A/C, so we kept the window open - but our room faced the street and the bar directly across. So about 3am the first night we were awoken by the bar patrons. But after that, I remembered the earplugs I had stashed, and had no further problems. The location was great - Blackfriars crosses the middle of the Mile, very close to the bridge.
After checking in, we went off in search of retail therapy on Princes Street. We were only somewhat successful, but H&M and the smells of Lush did make us feel better! We walked around Princes Street Gardens, past the Castle, and down the Mile, looking for a dinner spot. We had found a recommendation for Gordon's Trattoria, but couldn't find it for the life of us (our own fault completely - we found it the next day in plain sight). We did, however, have a coupon for Bella Italia. I know, it's a chain, but it was open late and delicious! And that coupon let us get dessert. We walked the rest of the Mile down to Holyrood and Parliament, marveling at the sunlight at 10:30pm.
Pictures from today: http://tinyurl.com/2zvyqs
We took a relaxing train ride from Windermere to Oxenholme, then had the worst train trip I've ever had from Oxenholme to Edinburgh (involved a hen party, a group of drunk, obnoxious poker players, a very grouchy man, having to sit with legs on top of our suitcases, no air conditioning on a very full coach, and a tipsy Scotsman who groped me while trying to disembark - train newbies, they are NOT all like this, but it does make for good stories). Once we arrived, Maegan said: "I think we need to buy ourselves things." Good call, M.
We were staying at SmartCity Hostel, which is very nice for a hostel (about $40/night for 6-person female room) and is located a bit off the Royal Mile on Blackfriars. It's not quite the "ultimate urban resort experience" which it claims to be, but it does have great showers, individual cabinets and free internet. The only downside was that there was no A/C, so we kept the window open - but our room faced the street and the bar directly across. So about 3am the first night we were awoken by the bar patrons. But after that, I remembered the earplugs I had stashed, and had no further problems. The location was great - Blackfriars crosses the middle of the Mile, very close to the bridge.
After checking in, we went off in search of retail therapy on Princes Street. We were only somewhat successful, but H&M and the smells of Lush did make us feel better! We walked around Princes Street Gardens, past the Castle, and down the Mile, looking for a dinner spot. We had found a recommendation for Gordon's Trattoria, but couldn't find it for the life of us (our own fault completely - we found it the next day in plain sight). We did, however, have a coupon for Bella Italia. I know, it's a chain, but it was open late and delicious! And that coupon let us get dessert.
We walked the rest of the Mile down to Holyrood and Parliament, marveling at the sunlight at 10:30pm.Pictures from today: http://tinyurl.com/2zvyqs
Jun 28th, 2007, 10:28 AM
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<b>Day Trip to Stirling, Arthur's Seat in the Evening</b>
Judging by the weather forecast, Saturday was the day for our day trip to Stirling. (Side note: We both had been to Edinburgh and done the Castle and Holyrood Palace before, so I decided I'd rather spend time doing something I hadn't done. I do, however, definitely recommend Edinburgh Castle.) We bought return train tickets for about £7 each, grabbed bagels at the station, and had a much more pleasant ride to Stirling than yesterday's ride in! When we got there, we wandered about the town centre for a bit. It seemed much quieter and more sedate than Edinburgh... which I suppose makes complete sense, being a smaller town.
We caught the hop-on-hop-off bus (£7.50 each, though M got a student discount) and got off at Stirling Castle. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the castle was very cool. Besides the normal things, the day we were there they were having a "History of Horrors" event, holding mock witch trials, telling stories of famous murders and executions, that sort of thing. It was a fun atmosphere, even if they were talking about blood and guts. We didn't get the audio guides, but one of the castle employees, dressed in period costume, struck up a conversation and gave us some background on the king and queen's chambers. It was a lot more interesting than it probably sounds! We saw the Chapel Royal and visited the tapestry studio, where they're working to recreate the five "Hunt of the Unicorn" tapestries that used to hang in the castle. We easily could have spent more time there, but wanted to eat and make sure to get to the Wallace monument. We both had soup at the castle cafe (£3.50 - and good soup, too). After lunch we discovered that "bus returns every 45 minutes in summer" did not necessarily apply to early June: we had a good hour till the next one. So we went back into the castle and heard the story of Lord Darnley, Mary Queen of Scots's second husband, as part of the HOH events.
The bus took us from the castle through Bridge of Allan and up to the Wallace Monument. We took pictures with the Mel Gibson-lookalike statue, then hiked up the hill to the national monument. We elected not to go inside and the climb the stairs (we had plenty of climbing to do later), but the views just from the base were great.
We took the last bus back to the town centre, where we stopped by Marks & Spencer to pick up some sustenance, as we had decided to climb Arthur's Seat when we got back to Edinburgh. Now, M had climbed Arthur's Seat before, and kept claiming "it's not a bad walk." And it's not an strenuous hike, for hikers... but I am not a hiker. And I think it was harder than M remembered. The views at the top were really pretty, though. I will say that if you can do this on a sunny day, it would be much better than the cloudy/hazy weather we had. I might do it again in sunny weather, but not on a cloudy day.
To reward ourselves, we ate at...Hard Rock. Please, don't judge! We knew where it was, we knew the food was decent, and most importantly: It was open. (It was about 9pm when we got there, about 10 before we ate.) I just tried not to think about the fact that I was paying $20 for a hamburger. We ran into another hen party there - apparently Edinburgh is the place to be for these!
Pictures from Stirling: http://tinyurl.com/yqaqcv
Pictures from Arthur's Seat: http://tinyurl.com/2azpzy
Judging by the weather forecast, Saturday was the day for our day trip to Stirling. (Side note: We both had been to Edinburgh and done the Castle and Holyrood Palace before, so I decided I'd rather spend time doing something I hadn't done. I do, however, definitely recommend Edinburgh Castle.) We bought return train tickets for about £7 each, grabbed bagels at the station, and had a much more pleasant ride to Stirling than yesterday's ride in! When we got there, we wandered about the town centre for a bit. It seemed much quieter and more sedate than Edinburgh... which I suppose makes complete sense, being a smaller town.
We caught the hop-on-hop-off bus (£7.50 each, though M got a student discount) and got off at Stirling Castle. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the castle was very cool. Besides the normal things, the day we were there they were having a "History of Horrors" event, holding mock witch trials, telling stories of famous murders and executions, that sort of thing. It was a fun atmosphere, even if they were talking about blood and guts. We didn't get the audio guides, but one of the castle employees, dressed in period costume, struck up a conversation and gave us some background on the king and queen's chambers. It was a lot more interesting than it probably sounds! We saw the Chapel Royal and visited the tapestry studio, where they're working to recreate the five "Hunt of the Unicorn" tapestries that used to hang in the castle. We easily could have spent more time there, but wanted to eat and make sure to get to the Wallace monument. We both had soup at the castle cafe (£3.50 - and good soup, too). After lunch we discovered that "bus returns every 45 minutes in summer" did not necessarily apply to early June: we had a good hour till the next one. So we went back into the castle and heard the story of Lord Darnley, Mary Queen of Scots's second husband, as part of the HOH events.
The bus took us from the castle through Bridge of Allan and up to the Wallace Monument. We took pictures with the Mel Gibson-lookalike statue, then hiked up the hill to the national monument. We elected not to go inside and the climb the stairs (we had plenty of climbing to do later), but the views just from the base were great.
We took the last bus back to the town centre, where we stopped by Marks & Spencer to pick up some sustenance, as we had decided to climb Arthur's Seat when we got back to Edinburgh. Now, M had climbed Arthur's Seat before, and kept claiming "it's not a bad walk." And it's not an strenuous hike, for hikers... but I am not a hiker. And I think it was harder than M remembered. The views at the top were really pretty, though. I will say that if you can do this on a sunny day, it would be much better than the cloudy/hazy weather we had. I might do it again in sunny weather, but not on a cloudy day.
To reward ourselves, we ate at...Hard Rock. Please, don't judge!
We knew where it was, we knew the food was decent, and most importantly: It was open. (It was about 9pm when we got there, about 10 before we ate.) I just tried not to think about the fact that I was paying $20 for a hamburger. We ran into another hen party there - apparently Edinburgh is the place to be for these!Pictures from Stirling: http://tinyurl.com/yqaqcv
Pictures from Arthur's Seat: http://tinyurl.com/2azpzy
Jun 28th, 2007, 10:43 AM
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Really enjoying this trip report. Thanks so much for posting each day's pictures - makes it easier to enjoy them in segments instead of all together.
My sisters and I are going to Ireland and Scotland in Sept 2008. Your experiences are very helpful.
My sisters and I are going to Ireland and Scotland in Sept 2008. Your experiences are very helpful.
Jun 29th, 2007, 12:24 PM
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I'm so glad someone's enjoying it! We had a great time.
<b>Sunday in Edinburgh</b>
Sunday morning we went to the early service at St Giles - I love going to church in the cities I visit. Afterwards, we went to Always Sunday on the Royal Mile for lunch. I can't recommend this place enough - good food and good atmosphere at reasonable prices, in the middle of the tourist district. It's a cafe sort of place; M and I both had baked potatoes filled with ratatouille and brie, and I had some rocket salad as well. I think mine was £5.75.
After lunch we split up; M just wanted to wander and souvenir shop, and I wanted to go to the Museum of Scotland. I wandered through The Meadows for a bit, then headed back towards the museum. I really enjoyed it; it's arranged in chronological order, so you can follow things easily. There were also some traditional Scottish dancers there that afternoon. Admission is free.
M and I tried to meet back up for cream tea at Always Sunday... but alas, they had run out of scones since lunch. We had shortbread and maple pecan dessert instead. By this point the weather had turned gray and rainy, and we were pretty tired. We went to the train station to get our tickets to London, went to Lush again, then had dinner at Pizza Express (as usual, about £6 for a pizza margherita). Feeling a bit rejuvenated and curious, we decided to climb Calton Hill and explore. I was really glad we did; it was so quiet and beautiful in the rain and fog.
Pictures from St Giles and the Museum: http://tinyurl.com/338my5
Pictures from Calton Hill: http://tinyurl.com/3a3qbl
<b>Sunday in Edinburgh</b>
Sunday morning we went to the early service at St Giles - I love going to church in the cities I visit. Afterwards, we went to Always Sunday on the Royal Mile for lunch. I can't recommend this place enough - good food and good atmosphere at reasonable prices, in the middle of the tourist district. It's a cafe sort of place; M and I both had baked potatoes filled with ratatouille and brie, and I had some rocket salad as well. I think mine was £5.75.
After lunch we split up; M just wanted to wander and souvenir shop, and I wanted to go to the Museum of Scotland. I wandered through The Meadows for a bit, then headed back towards the museum. I really enjoyed it; it's arranged in chronological order, so you can follow things easily. There were also some traditional Scottish dancers there that afternoon. Admission is free.
M and I tried to meet back up for cream tea at Always Sunday... but alas, they had run out of scones since lunch. We had shortbread and maple pecan dessert instead. By this point the weather had turned gray and rainy, and we were pretty tired. We went to the train station to get our tickets to London, went to Lush again, then had dinner at Pizza Express (as usual, about £6 for a pizza margherita). Feeling a bit rejuvenated and curious, we decided to climb Calton Hill and explore. I was really glad we did; it was so quiet and beautiful in the rain and fog.
Pictures from St Giles and the Museum: http://tinyurl.com/338my5
Pictures from Calton Hill: http://tinyurl.com/3a3qbl
Jun 29th, 2007, 06:13 PM
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Great trip report. Looking forward t the rest of it. Thanks for sharing.
Pizza Express may be a chain, but it was a lifesaver on several days when traveling with two nephews who were bottomless pits and who love pizza, etc. The ones we ate in were clean, reasonably priced, and predictable.
Pizza Express may be a chain, but it was a lifesaver on several days when traveling with two nephews who were bottomless pits and who love pizza, etc. The ones we ate in were clean, reasonably priced, and predictable.
Jun 29th, 2007, 06:49 PM
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jent103 - Nicely done with lots of helpful information regarding cost etc.
I can go along with mango chilli Kettle chips being called English junk food but surely not McVities Chocolate Digestive Biscuits that have been around for close to 100 years made from whole wheat flour! I always get numerous requests to bring these delicious little biscuits back to the States when I am back in the UK.
Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts about your trip, food etc.
Sandy
I can go along with mango chilli Kettle chips being called English junk food but surely not McVities Chocolate Digestive Biscuits that have been around for close to 100 years made from whole wheat flour! I always get numerous requests to bring these delicious little biscuits back to the States when I am back in the UK.
Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts about your trip, food etc.
Sandy
Jun 29th, 2007, 07:05 PM
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Sandy - are they really whole wheat? I had no idea! I mean, I know their original purpose, but it had never occurred to me. That makes me feel much better about the packet in my kitchen cabinet...
Even if the digestives don't count, I'll reassure you that we did get our fill of Cadbury, salt & pepper crisps, and peanut butter Kit-Kats throughout the trip.
Thanks to everyone for the kind words! More to come...
Even if the digestives don't count, I'll reassure you that we did get our fill of Cadbury, salt & pepper crisps, and peanut butter Kit-Kats throughout the trip.
Thanks to everyone for the kind words! More to come...
Jun 30th, 2007, 12:03 AM
#16
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I'm loving your report too....its kinda funny but one of my Shetland Sheepdogs (Shelties)is named Stirling, after the castle! I hope to get there one day...I keep going to Ireland (my 12th trip coming up!!)...and, my favorite cookie (biscuit) in the world are McVitties...the Caramel digestives....OMG...GREAT!! They are hard to find though...I look for them in every store in Ireland....and, when I find them I buy about 7 packages of them!!
Great report!! Thanks!
Shadow
Great report!! Thanks!
Shadow
Jul 1st, 2007, 06:17 PM
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I'm so glad y'all are enjoying it! It's fun to write, since it helps me relive our trip. Sheila - we actually had great weather almost every day of the trip... except when we were in Scotland. There, it was about what I had been expecting! We still enjoyed ourselves, though.
<b>On to London</b>
Monday morning, and we're headed to London, for which we are both extremely excited. We picked up scones and jam for breakfast at Always Sunday (seriously, the place was great) on our way to the train station, then had an uneventful train ride to King's Cross.
Once at the station, we asked the underground ticket agent whether to get some combination of travelcards, or load cash on an Oyster. She was extremely helpful, and we wound up putting £10 each on Oysters (also had a £3 deposit, as we were only staying three and a half days). I wound up putting an extra £5 on mine, but got back a bit of that when we left.
We checked into our hostel - Astor Museum Inn on Montague, just across from the British Museum. The location was perfect for us; I'm slightly biased towards staying in Bloomsbury, since that's where our student flats were during our university semester. But it's also in a great spot for walking to so many things. The hostel itself was fine; clean bathrooms, creaky luggage lockers, no lift, £19.50/person/night for a 4-bed female room.
After checking in, we went to the museum for an hour or so - we spent so much time here in college, and I've been back since, but I can wander in that place for days. When the museum closed, we went to the Bloomsbury wagamama for dinner. I know some people hate this chain, but I love the food and the atmosphere, and it's hard to beat the price in London! After dinner we set off on what became a five-hour walk around most of the major London landmarks. We started just going to Covent Garden, then wound up going to Trafalgar Square, down the Mall to Buckingham Palace, past Horse Guards to Westminster, back by Trafalgar to Piccadilly Circus, and then back to Trafalgar Square and Westminster to take nighttime pictures before walking back up Charing Cross to the hostel. (We had a brief stop to try the Cadbury Caramel Delight McFlurry at the Piccadilly McDonald's. I have a strict no-McDonald's policy, but this was definitely something we couldn't get at home. Unfortunately, it was underwhelming to say the least!) For us, it was pretty much a perfect London night.
Photos from today: http://tinyurl.com/2farh3
<b>On to London</b>
Monday morning, and we're headed to London, for which we are both extremely excited. We picked up scones and jam for breakfast at Always Sunday (seriously, the place was great) on our way to the train station, then had an uneventful train ride to King's Cross.
Once at the station, we asked the underground ticket agent whether to get some combination of travelcards, or load cash on an Oyster. She was extremely helpful, and we wound up putting £10 each on Oysters (also had a £3 deposit, as we were only staying three and a half days). I wound up putting an extra £5 on mine, but got back a bit of that when we left.
We checked into our hostel - Astor Museum Inn on Montague, just across from the British Museum. The location was perfect for us; I'm slightly biased towards staying in Bloomsbury, since that's where our student flats were during our university semester. But it's also in a great spot for walking to so many things. The hostel itself was fine; clean bathrooms, creaky luggage lockers, no lift, £19.50/person/night for a 4-bed female room.
After checking in, we went to the museum for an hour or so - we spent so much time here in college, and I've been back since, but I can wander in that place for days. When the museum closed, we went to the Bloomsbury wagamama for dinner. I know some people hate this chain, but I love the food and the atmosphere, and it's hard to beat the price in London! After dinner we set off on what became a five-hour walk around most of the major London landmarks. We started just going to Covent Garden, then wound up going to Trafalgar Square, down the Mall to Buckingham Palace, past Horse Guards to Westminster, back by Trafalgar to Piccadilly Circus, and then back to Trafalgar Square and Westminster to take nighttime pictures before walking back up Charing Cross to the hostel. (We had a brief stop to try the Cadbury Caramel Delight McFlurry at the Piccadilly McDonald's. I have a strict no-McDonald's policy, but this was definitely something we couldn't get at home. Unfortunately, it was underwhelming to say the least!) For us, it was pretty much a perfect London night.
Photos from today: http://tinyurl.com/2farh3
Jul 1st, 2007, 09:12 PM
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Jen,
I just found your report and I love it! I can't believe I haven't seen it until now, but that's probably because I've been spending all my time posting my own trip report.
I did have a question...I love that picture of the bridge in Grasmere - we were just there at the end of May, and I can't for the life of me ever remember seeing either the bridge, or the area around it...is it near the center of town?
Our group of three had a car - how long did the walk from Grasmere to Ambleside take you? It seemed really pretty, but were you walking through the countryside
or near the roads the whole time?
Waiting for more!
I just found your report and I love it! I can't believe I haven't seen it until now, but that's probably because I've been spending all my time posting my own trip report.
I did have a question...I love that picture of the bridge in Grasmere - we were just there at the end of May, and I can't for the life of me ever remember seeing either the bridge, or the area around it...is it near the center of town?
Our group of three had a car - how long did the walk from Grasmere to Ambleside take you? It seemed really pretty, but were you walking through the countryside
or near the roads the whole time?
Waiting for more!
