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Friday, July 18, 2008

Thursday, July 17, 2008

  • Europe part 11 - Return to London

    IMG_1636 After flying in from Scotland, we had one last full day in Europe and this was our chance to take in London.  We began at Buckingham Palace, along with a few hundred other people, for the changing of the guard.  Just before 11:30 AM it began with groups of guards approaching the palace.  Some were in bright red with the stereotypical tall black hats, some were in blue, some were on horseback, and some were in Indian garb.  There were also two different bands with them providing music throughout.  The entire ceremony took longer than I expected, around 45 minutes total, but it was definitely worth seeing, even if at times we weren't sure what we were supposed to be seeing because it mostly took place behind a large fence.  I was also surprised by some of the music they played such as the theme to Superman!

    IMG_1745 Leaving "Buck House", we hopped aboard a big red double-decker sightseeing bus for a trip around the city.  We rode through Piccadilly Circus, around Trafalgar Square, by Westminster & Big Ben, then along the Thames past the London Eye & St. Paul's Cathedral, over the Tower Bridge, and finally ended at the Tower of London.  Once there we hopped a boat for a cruise back up the Thames.  It was quite cool to again take in the sights we'd seen on our earlier stop in London, but this time from the water.  We sailed under London Bridge and Millennium Bridge, chugged past St. Paul's Cathedral, Shakepeare's Globe Theater, and the Tate Modern Museum, before finally putting in to dock at Westminster.

    IMG_1781 Seeing Big Ben towering overhead let's you know you're really in London!  We walked around the block, taking in the home of Parliament from all angles.  We also strolled by Westminster Abbey, but were too late to actually go inside.  From there we crossed the Thames once more, grabbed a cheeseburger at McDonald's, then bought tickets for a flight aboard the London Eye.

    IMG_1771 The London Eye is a giant observation wheel sitting on the bank of the Thames.  It has a commanding view of the broad river along with numerous London sights.  We climbed into our air-conditioned capsule with a dozen other sightseers for a thirty minute ride above the skyline.  As our Jetson-style tube rode high into the sky, our eyes could trace the curve of the Thames, a half-dozen bridges arching over it.  The dome of St. Paul's peeked above the business buildings to the north and Big Ben dominated the western bank.  As our bubble descended, the setting sun lit the buildings with a fiery orange glow.

    IMG_1876 From there we took a last few pictures of Big Ben, hopped the tube back to our friends' neighborhood, stopped in a local fast food place near the bus stop for hot wings, chips and Tango orange soda, then collapsed for a final night of sleep before the long plane ride home.

    That was it.  Four weeks in Europe, twenty-eight eventful days, had come to an end.  A few months earlier I wasn't even considering going abroad and now here I sit with nine countries in my rear view mirror.  Life is good.  I think Blake would agree.


    King Blake  
    King Blake Wesley I

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

  • Currently Listening
    Arriving
    By Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman
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    Europe part 10 - Scotland

    From Rome we flew into Glasgow then hopped a bus to Edinburgh. Actually, it was much more involved than it sounds and took us several hours but I'll spare you the gruesome details. But we finally arrived at our B&B, woke up the owners to let us in, and crashed.

    IMG_1229 The next day we began by walking from our B&B, past the University of Edinburgh, and up to the Salisbury Crags that run along the east edge of Edinburgh. We hiked up a winding path along the base of the cliffs and then down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen's Royal Residence in Scotland. Prince Charles was actually staying there while we were in town so we had to settle for a few pictures from outside. Next to the palace is the new Scottish Parliament.   After not having their own parliament since 1707, in 1998 their parliament was restored.  To celebrate, the Scots spent an amazing $800 million on a new  parliament building.  Equally amazing is how completely hideous it is considering the price tag.  I think I could have done better for $80.

    IMG_1336 From the palace we started up the Royal Mile, so named because it runs between the Palace of Holyroodhouse and Edinburgh Castle. Along the way we passed St. Giles Cathedral where John Knox, the Scottish version of Martin Luther, preached the Reformation. Eventually we reached Edinburgh Castle, an impressive edifice high atop a hill surrounded on three sides by cliffs. As we were milling about the inner gate Blake said, "Hey, is that Chris Tomlin?" I wasn't sure what Chris Tomlin looked like but the fellas with him looked like they could be in a band so Blake went over, introduced himself, and sure enough it was him! They were in town for the Fringe Festival and had a day to kill so they were visiting Edinburgh Castle too. (FYI: Chris Tomlin is a singer/songwriter and worship leader.)

    IMG_1340 After the castle we walked along Princes Street, past the Scott Monument, then down high-dollar George Street. We were tired so we headed back to the B&B and asked the owners for a recommendation for dinner. They suggested a nearby Turkish place called Hanedan Restaurant. I'm glad they did because it may have been the best meal I had in all of Europe, and that's saying something considering the amazing food we had in places like Rome and Budapest!

    We gave our compliments to the chef and staff then took a leisurely stroll towards our B&B. Along the way we decided to drop into a pub for some local color. The place we happened to choose was a bit noisy, with locals belting out Sinatra songs on the karaoke machine, complete with Scottish accents, but we found a place at the bar and ordered a couple pints. While we were standing around soaking in the atmosphere a rather large man walked over and began chatting to us. A few minutes later his wife came over and the four of us stood around talking for probably two hours! They were very friendly and treated us like honored guests, telling us stories and buying us drink after drink they said we had to try. Eventually we had to go so we exchanged email addresses and ambled home. Towards the end, our amble turned into a near sprint as our bladders were ready to burst from all the complimentary beverages!

    IMG_1371 The next day we took our first, and only, guided tour in Europe - a two day journey into the Scottish Highlands. (Our tour guide, Marty, was extremely entertaining and we dubbed him the Scottish Curt Harlow, both for his physical resemblance and his sense of humor. Six months out of the year he lives in Scotland giving tours, the other six he lives in Canada performing stand-up comedy.) The first day we saw Stirling Castle, the Wallace Monument from a distance, Doune Castle (which doubled as Camelot in Monty Python and the Holy Grail), Inverlochy Castle, Rob Roy's grave, the Three Sisters mountains, bagpipers, and hairy cows named Hamish. We also got to try two distinctly British dishes, haggis and fish & chips. I was a bit leery of the haggis but it was delicious and I had it at least two or three more times before we left Scotland.

    IMG_1446 We spent the night in Fort William then it was off to Eilean Donan castle, the most photographed castle in Scotland. But before we left our B&B it's worth mentioning the full Scottish breakfast we had. Very similar to the full Irish breakfast, it's pretty much cardiac arrest on a plate but dang it was yummy! It consisted of bacon (what we'd call ham), sausage, egg, tomato, mushrooms, bread, potato, and blood pudding - all fried, yes, even the bread.

    IMG_1451 Once our host broke out the defibrillator and revived us, we met up with our tour group and headed to Eilean Donan. It's been featured in numerous movies, most notably for me, in the original Highlander movie, also known as "the good one". After exploring the amazing castle, we took a cruise on Loch Ness aboard the Royal Scot. Our captain, Ricky MacDonald, was a notable expert on the monster and claimed to have seen it seven times over twenty years along with another nearly 700 sonar sightings. The boat was equipped with sonar screens and we did indeed see two large blobs at one point he claimed were two of the famed beasts but I remained skeptical. Regardless, it was a beautiful day for a lake cruise, even without fabled leviathans rising from the depths - though that would've been cool!

    After some more haggis and a few additional stops, we made it back to Edinburgh. The next morning we visited the Royal Botanic Gardens then it was off to the final destination of our European Extravaganza: London - the place where it all began.


    Edinburgh pics http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2247112&l=05549&id=7012064

    Highland pics http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2247178&l=64d71&id=7012064

    Blakent Recap of Scotland
    (filmed very quickly in California)


Thursday, July 03, 2008

KentyMac

  • Visit KentyMac's Xanga Site
    • Name: Kent
    • Country: United States
    • State: California
    • Metro: Sacramento
    • Gender: Male
    • Member Since: 11/18/2004
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