The Best of Britain and Ireland: Day 8

Happy May Day! Today we woke up and got ready to leave Edinburgh. I was sad to leave because there was so much more exploring that could have been done but I'll have to save that for another trip. :)

Today was a long day of driving but we saw a lot along the way. Our first stop was at Gretna Green. For those of you avid Pride and Prejudice lovers like myself will know that this is where the Bennet family hoped that Lydia was headed when she ran away with Wickam. Gretna Green is famous for runaway weddings. We couldn't actually go into the blacksmith's shop while we were there because they were getting ready to host a wedding so we just passed the time with some shopping. There was a really big store full of touristy goodness but when we went to get in line to pay, we were behind thousands of Japanese tourists. Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration but that is what it felt like. It took FOREVER to get through the line and we ended up being about 5 minutes late to the bus...a big no no. But, we were not the last ones back so I feel a little better about that.

A view of the Gretna Green blacksmith's shop.

A sign outside of the blacksmith's shop

After leaving Gretna Green we drove through Lake Country. We drove through back and scenic roads. Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of this. Not sure what I was doing at the time (probably sleeping). Oops. We eventually arrived in Grasmere. Grasmere is a beautiful small town famous for Beatrix Potter, Gingerbread, and the burial site of Wordsworth.

Part of the cemetary where Wordsworth is buried. There was this strange man in a jail uniform running around the town. I'm not sure what was up but I assume it was some sort of May Day celebration. We also heard kids yelling "See a robber, catch him". But I thought it might be better to just snap a picture of him than to tackle him in a cemetary. :)

Grasmere Gingerbread store. The store itself was a teeny tiny room but the Gingerbread was really yummy. I'm not usually a fan but this stuff was good!

Grasmere Gingerbread

We left Grasmere and drove to Chester. This city is surrounded by a wall and since Erin and I hadn't walked a walled city yet, we decided to give this one a go.

Chester

A beautiful cathedral in Chester

A view from the wall surrounding Chester

A watch tower along the wall

Some buildings just inside the wall

A church near where our bus was parked

Next up: Wales

The Best of Britain and Ireland: Day 7

Okay, so it has been awhile since I have blogged about my vacation. I decided that it was about time to finish writing about the last vacation before it is time to go on the next one. So without further ado...here is the start of the second half of The Best of Britain and Ireland.

Day 7 of our trip found Erin and I in Edinburgh, Scotland. We started the day with a guided tour through the city and our tour guide was an honest to goodness Scotsman...accent, kilt and all. After driving through the city and being explained fascinating history (all of which I have since forgotten) we went to the bottom of the Royal Mile to the Holyrood Palace which is the palace is the official residence of the monarch of Scotland.

A tea house on the grounds of the Holyrood Palace.

A cottage on the grounds of the Holyrood Palace.

After visiting the Palace we went to the top of the Royal Mile to the Edinburgh Castle. It was here that our tour guide told us about how much Scotmen hate the movie Braveheart. He said that the movie gets history all wrong, especially with how Robert the Bruce is portrayed. It is really interesting how he put Robert the Bruce on a pedestal and sort of put William Wallace down. Who knows what really happened. I guess movies don't really portray historical facts! :) Haha!

Holyrood Palace (also called Palace of Holyroodhouse)

Our tour group walking into Edinburgh Castle.

Inside the grounds of Edinburgh Castle. The blonde guy was our Scottish tour guide.

A view of Edinburgh from the Castle.

How cute! A doggie cemetary!

A sleeping area inside the castle prison.

Another view of the Edinburgh Castle grounds.

After we left Edinburgh Castle, our tour of the city ended and we were allowed to roam free for a few hours. Erin and I took the opportunity to run back over to the Royal Mile and take a tour of the Edinburgh underground. There were a few of these tours but we chose the one where we got to walk Mary Queens Cross. The underground is reportedly haunted...although we didn't see a ghost, darn it!! This tour was one of my favorite things that we did on our trip. It was so full of history and was incredibly interesting. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a fascination with ghosts and creepy things.

When people actually lived in Mary Queens Cross (a narrow street) it wasn't actually underground but as time went by, the city built on top of the existing street. The poorer a person was, the lower down on the building their family lived. The peasants lived at the very bottom. The picture below is the actual street that people lived on. Of course the hand rails are a new addition for us tourists.

Erin and I striking a pose in the Edinburgh underground. It was really dark down there so the lighting was infrared or something like that.

The final thing that we did today was visit the Royal Britannia. This is the ship that the Queen of England lived on for many, many years. It is also the ship that Charles and Dianna used for their honeymoon.

The Queen's bedroom. I was floored when I saw this. If I was the Queen of England I would certainly have a bigger bed!!

The Dining room.

A formal sitting room.

Today was a long day but it was a wonderful one. I absolutely adore Scotland and I want to go back there some day!