Friday, April 15, 2011

Continued Travels in Scotland, Saying Good-Bye and Traveling Home

I am currently sitting on a train from Glasgow to London (but I'm not going to London, I have to switch before the train goes that far). I will talk more about my travels home a little later. Before I get to that, I should pick up where I left off on the last blog. I stopped after our Catholic mass experience on Sunday the 10th and it is now Friday the 15th. A lot has happened since then! We have just been so busy and had so much fun that I haven’t had a chance to blog. We also haven’t had any internet connections on our travels through Scotland so I wasn’t really motivated to type anything up. I guess I shouldn’t say we didn’t have internet access, we did, but we had to pay extra for it. Now, I’m sitting on a train with all the time in the world so I thought I would reflect a little bit on my time with my family.

So, mass on Sunday was very cool and the church was amazing. After mass we still had a couple of hours before our tour officially started so some of us wandered around Glasgow. Our hotel was right in the center of town and close to everything we could possibly need. We found a pedestrian shopping strip so we had a walk around. Guess what we found? My favorite store over here in the UK… Primark! I have shopped in this store a few times now and I just love it. They have super cheap clothes and shoes and more and it is all so cute! It is probably a good thing there isn’t one in Bangor or I would have bought one of everything by now. Anyways, we shopped for awhile and then at 2:30 we loaded our tour bus for the first of many times. We were going for a guided bus ride though the town. Barbra was our awesome tour guide and Jim was our awesome driver. Jim had a really thick Scottish accent so that was fun! Dad always got a kick out of how he always called him Peter with the accent (Pee – Ta). So for the next couple of hours we drove around the city and saw everything from the three universities, the BBC, a bunch of parks, cathedrals and everything else Glasgow had to offer. We also stopped at one of the museums. I’m not huge on museums but this one had a HUGE organ in it and it was being played the whole time. I simply sat up on the balcony and watched the man play this massive instrument that made music that went right through you as he played. It was just amazing! There were cameras on his hands and feet so you could watch him play 3 levels of keys with his hand and a set with his feet. There were also numerous knobs on the organ that he could constantly be pulling in and pushing out. What a magnificent instrument; I couldn’t imagine how long it took him to learn to play like that! That night we enjoyed a drink in the hotel bar that was compliments of the tour and then we enjoyed the first of 3 very formal dinners. After dinner we decided to have our own party in our rooms. We had stocked up on some beer and wine earlier in the day so we did some drinking and played some euchre. This ended up being a tradition for every nightJ.

The next morning (Monday the 11th) we had to have our luggage in the hall and be down to breakfast by 7 to be ready for a departure at 8. We enjoyed yet another full Brit breakfast! There was more food then I knew what to do with, but it was so yummy! Soon enough we were all loaded back onto the bus. We were informed the day before that the tour requires the seats to be rotated so we had to check the sheet before we got on to see where we were assigned to sit that day. Our group was in the first four rows on the left side of the bus; prime real estate for sightseeing. We also found out that the tour we were on was continuing on to Ireland after the Scotland tour and since we were not going to Ireland we would have the front of the bus rotation first J. Our journey to the highlands involved lots of history of the kings and queens of years past in Scotland. We made a lot of random stops but most of the day consisted of driving. There were a couple of highlights such as driving along the lochs (including Loch Ness). I even got Nessie to poke her head up for a photo shoot ;o). We also stopped at Urquhart castle, which was cool but there were tons of people there and it started to rain. The castle did have an amazing view of Loch Ness where I spotted Nessie. We eventually made our way to Newton hotel for the night which looked more like a castle then a hotel. The hotel was so beautiful! For dinner that night we had a traditional Scottish meal. This included haggis neeps and tatties, (haggis, turnips and potatoes which believe it or not, I ate) Scottish broth soup, a fancy chicken breast main course and a raspberry/pudding/oatmeal dessert. This was the most formal meal I had ever experienced. It took us about 2 hours to get through all the courses and I really enjoyed it. If it was my choice I probably would have skipped the meal but it ended up being great. After our meal we were indulged in traditional Scottish music and dance. This involved to young girls doing some Celtic dancing and a man playing an accordion and another man playing the bagpipes. The dancers were amazing and the old guy playing the bagpipes was amazing (he even wore the kilt and admitted he didn’t wear anything under it!) This was very entertaining and I probably enjoyed this part of the Scottish experience the most.

The next day (Tuesday the 12th) started with another traditional breakfast served right to us. The hotel staff was so awesome, I never felt so catered to… I could get used to that! We headed out by 8:30 from the hotel and we were shortly at our first stop for the day. I think most of us could have lived without this stop but some enjoyed it. We went to a battle field where Scotland and England battled in the 18th century. There was tons of history behind it and it was cool to see the guns and stuff but we spent way too much time there. Oh well! After that we headed south toward Edinburgh. The day involved a lot of stories from our awesome tour guide accompanied by beautiful landscapes out the bus windows. We made a stop in a small tourist town where we had a delicious lunch and did some shopping. After that we pushed onwards to Edinburgh. The hotel we stayed in for our Edinburgh experience was about 7 miles out of town and it was super ritzy. I don’t know if that is the right word because all of the hotels we stayed in were pretty ritzy, but this one was different. It just had a different feel to it. It was part of the golf and country club and everyone staying there just seemed stuck up, like they were above us. We (as in my family and I) really felt out of place. It really just sucked because we were so secluded from town. Anyways, that night after arriving at the hotel we had a chance to freshen up and then we loaded the bus to go into town for dinner and a walking tour from a real Scotsman. The dinner was the last of the dinners that were included in the tour and yet again it was extremely formal. The restaurant we ate at had an amazing view of Edinburgh castle, which was all lit up after the sun went down. The meal was pretty good and I had cheesecake for dessert which was amazing! There was some confusion about the drinks. We assumed they were included with the meal and were complimentary since they were the two nights before, but we were wrong. All the tables ended up getting drinks but we didn’t realize we had to pay. Some of the people got all the way outside before the waiters tracked them down to pay. It was kind of funny, but how were we supposed to know. They gave us the drink menus to order off of just like our meals so we didn’t think anything of it. After we got everything figured out we were off on a short tour of the old city. Richard, our authentic Scotsman tour guide, told us ghost stories and was extremely entertaining. He made the stories feel real and he was just so into it. Made the tour very interesting; he even told the story of how Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde came to be. After returning to the hotel we enjoyed a drink at the bar and then called it a night.

The next day (Wednesday the 13th) we went back into the city with Richard as our guide. We traveled down the royal mile which connected Edinburgh castle to the Holyrood Palace (home to the Queen for at least 1 week every year). We also saw other historic sites in the city and then ended at the castle. Richard gave us a tour of the castle and then we had the rest of the day free. We explored some more in the castle and even saw the Royal Crown and Jewels of Scotland. They were in this highly secured room behind glass that looked like it was about 10 inches thick! They were very cool and of course there were no pictures allowed. After we explored more of the castle, including the dungeon prisons, we were off to explore more of the city on our own. At this point, technically the tour was over but we were still able to take the bus back to the hotel that afternoon. So we wandered around and hit a few pubs and shops. We ended up eating at Hard Rock Café because I have been craving American food. Our waiter was from Canada and he gave us a hard time about being American and eating there. The main highlight of the afternoon was when Steve, Aggie, Mom, Pat and I climbed the Scott Monument. This was a huge steeple looking monument in the middle of the city. It had four levels to climb. All the levels were connected by two-way spiral stair cases that got narrower and narrower as your climbed higher. It was crazy when you met other people going he opposite direction because at some points they were hardly wide enough for one person. For about the last 10 steps or so, I even had to climb sideways just so I would fit. The view from the top was absolutely spectacular! You could see pretty much every inch of the city with Waverly station just below and Edinburgh castle just off in the distance. Words can’t describe and pictures just don’t do it justice. If you ever visit Edinburgh, the Scotts Monument is a must! We had just about an hour before the bus was going to pick us up so we decided to grab some subs and beer to keep us occupied for the night. We drank, we were merry and we played lots and lots of euchre. It was an absolute blast hanging out with my family!

The next day (Thursday 14th) was an extra day for us. The rest of the tour was on to Ireland and we had the day to enjoy Scotland. We had a few things picked out that we didn’t get done the day before. Our first adventure for the day was getting back into town. We had to walk from the hotel down to the main road where there was a bus stop. We were instructed to take the 27 or 28 into town and it would take us right to the city center. Seemed easy enough and it was. After we arrived out on the road a bus was there within 5 minutes. It was a huge double-decker bus so of course we had to ride on top! The view from the top was just insane. Every time the bus slowed down for a car in front of it we were sure it was going to run it over. We would peer down the window and there would still be plenty of room in between the bus and the car. It also seemed like the bus was going to take out everything on the left side but it didn’t. It must not have been his first day driving! One of the things we wanted to do that day was go down to the water front and we thought maybe if we stayed on the bus long enough we would end up down there. That didn’t end up being true. After we passed by the city center the bus soon came to a stop near the Scottish government building and it shut down. We figured we better get off. The driver advised us that the number 44 would get us close to the water so we decided we would do that. We had day tickets for “First Bus” so as long as we took one of those buses we wouldn’t have to pay any more. The problem with that was the fact that there are about 10 different bus services circulating around the city. We found the closest bus stop that appeared to be a stop for 44 so we waited there, and we waited and waited. Needless to say we really didn’t know what we were doing and everyone we asked tried explaining it a different way, but the 44 “first bus” was going to be the only one that would get us close to where we wanted to go. Finally it came so we got on. We asked the driver if the bus would take us to the water and he told us eventually it would; that didn’t sound overly promising. As we rode around it seemed like we were going further and further out but eventually the water was close. I asked the driver when we should get off and he said we could get off any time and walk to the water. We were hoping to find a board walk and shops and restaurants but that didn’t seem to happen. However, we did find the water so the girls stuck their toes in it. I didn’t because I had tights on; I survived and they said the water was freezing. I could have told them that before they stuck their toes in. The day was still young so we headed back to the city. Once there, we found a cute little pub to have a drink and lunch at. Aggie even went out on a limb and tried some chicken curry; she said it was great. We were going to do something called the Underground City but we talked to one of the waitresses at the pub and she said it wasn’t worth it. We were unaware that you had to pay to go to this underground city and we thought it was literally like an underground city. The waitress told us it was more like a museum… so much for that. There is a little café in Edinburgh where J.K. Rowling started writing the Harry Potter series so Pat and Aggie and I went to check it out. It really wasn’t anything to see but it was still cool to be where Harry Potter was brought to life. The rest of the afternoon we just kind of walked around and enjoyed the little shops and all the cool architecture. And you ask what we did to entertain ourselves that night at the hotel? Well we played cards of course! It was another great night of friendly cards and drinking. I couldn’t have asked for a better night.

And now we finally come to today (Friday the 15th) which means I’m almost caught up! As I write this I am currently on my third train for the day (I only missed one and it wasn’t even my fault, but I will get to that eventually). This morning was a sad one. After our last full Brit breakfast we were all taxied to the airport. I was told it would be easiest for me to go to the airport and then just take a bus to the railway station. The taxi to the airport was included with the tour so it was just as easy. So after lots of sad goodbyes and hugs I was on my own. I had such a great time with my family it really made it hard to say goodbye. I will be back home with them in less than 2 months but it was still hard. I put on my strong face as I hugged them all but a few tears were shed when I was on the bus back into town. The airbus arrived at Waverly station a few minutes before 8 and I looked at the monitors and saw there was a train leaving at 8 for Glasgow so I scurried to platform 10. Before I could get on the train I was stopped by the ticket people. Sometimes you can buy your ticket after you get on the train and other times you have to buy them before you board; of course this had to be one of those times. I quickly bought my ticket and made the train just before to took off. It was a short ride back to Glasgow and then the fun began. I had looked up my route before we ever left for Scotland so I was pretty sure I needed a train that took me to Warrington Bank Quay (whatever that was). I looked at the monitors and I didn’t see anything that had that name… hummm… now what? I asked the closest guy that looked like he worked there. I asked what plate form for Warrington and he asked me where I was trying to go and then explained I needed to be at the other Glasgow station… great! How do I get there? Well thankfully there was a bus that goes between the two stations and if you have a ticket already for the trains, the bus doesn’t cost anything extra! So I hopped on the train and a few short minutes later I was at Glasgow Central. This was the same station we came into earlier in the week so it at least felt familiar. I looked at the monitors again and still didn’t see anything that said Warrington. However, I did see one to Crew so I thought maybe I would jump on that one since that was the way we came. Instead of jumping right on I asked and I was told I had to have a specific ticket for that train so I needed to take the original route I was looking for. The lady told me it was the train leaving from plate form 2 going to London Euston. I had a few minutes so I paid my 30 pents to use the rest room and then boarded the train. The train ride was just over 2 hours long and as we got closer and closer to London the train got fuller and fuller. I had general tickets which didn’t reserve me an actual seat so eventually I had to get up and stand. That wasn’t too bad since we were only about 15 minutes from where I had to get off, or so I thought. I was supposed to arrive at Warrington at 12:20 and get on a train to Chester at 12:26 and it was 12:21 when I looked at my watch and we still had one stop to go. I was getting really anxious as they announced they were being delayed because of speed restrictions in certain parts of the tracks. Great… it was 12:28 when we finally arrived in Warrington and I asked right away if the train to Chester was gone already and he told me it had pulled out just before we pulled in. Awesome… Oh well, at least there was one every hour so it wasn’t too much longer.  Once I was on the train to Chester is was all smooth sailing. I had done that route before so I knew exactly what I was doing. I knew the train I was looking for was Holyhead so there was no guessing. So it took 2 buses, 4 trains and 8 hours for me to get home. I really shouldn’t complain because the rest of the family will be in transit for at least 9 more hours. Right now they should be getting close to the USA. Then they have a 6 hour layover in Chicago before they can get to Dubuque. That would drive me crazy knowing they could drive home in less than 4.

I’m pretty sure everyone had a great time and I know they were all ready to go home. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye but I was ready to come back and be done traveling for a little bit. They asked me if I was ready to come home and I really don’t think I am. There are a lot of people and things I miss, but I’m not done exploring yet. I know when June 4th comes around I will be ready. Until then, I’m going to keep enjoying myself! I have this next week free and there really isn’t anyone around campus. When I got back the parking lot was pretty much disserted, so we will see what kind of trouble I can get into. If the weather is nice I might go climb Snowdon again tomorrow.

Until next time…

~Amy


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