Fallis and a Ghost Town

Beautiful day for a drive.  We grabbed First Officer Spock and headed west on 16A and stopped at Fallis on Lake Wabamun to see the cabins where we used to stay when I was a kid.  Here is the green one -- in the shade.  There was no motorhome there in our day.  It's hard to believe that the six of us managed to fit quite nicely in this 2 bedroom, single toilet, single sink shack.

On the left you can see a chimney standing alone -- that's all that's left of the yellow cabin - they tore it down because of mould.  The blue, red and white cabins are all still standing, but uninhabitable.  The nice family who owns the property have childhood memories of the place too, and won't tear the old cabins down until they need to.  The husband is a boy whose family had a cabin down the lane when I was a child.  I think he hung out with my brothers.

  Such great memories of this place.  So dappled and green and sweet smelling.  It made me very happy to know that the same families still come here.  And Carmen, the owner, knew everyone, including my cousins (who kept going out to the lake a few years after we stopped).

After Fallis, we kept going west to Entwistle, and then turned south on 22.  We drove past Drayton Valley and onwards to Em-Te Town.  Yes, that's right, Em-Te Town.  This is a "ghost town" -- recently made, I'm sure, but very authentic looking.  According to their press, movies and tv have filmed there.  But it is VERY cool looking, and we were the only visitors in the place.  We had a nice lunch and poked around taking photos.  Only the saloon was open, but after peering in the windows, it's the exteriors that really capture the feel of the place.

Brian at the Sheriff's office.  Spock checks out the sod roof.

Meg at the "Lost Women Hotel"

Summer is Here

and it is time once again for weekend drives in the country.  We did this a bit last year and really enjoyed it.  Highlights from last summer:  seeing the big Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg) at Vegreville,

and of course the giant kielbasa sausage at Mundare.  Mundare is also the home of the amazingly beautiful hidden gem, the Basilian Fathers' Museum of Ukrainian Religious and Cultural Heritage.  Awesome!

This year we began our peregrinations with a drive down highway 21 to Camrose - a very nice town with a couple of lovely restored Victorian homes visible on the main drag.  We stopped at O'Shea's Pub for a good lunch, and then headed to Viking.  Viking is about an hour east of Camrose, and downtown Viking was completely silent on a Sunday afternoon.  Only the Cold Beer store was open.  Otherwise main street was deserted.  Viking did, however, welcome us to their troll park.

Velkommen to Viking Troll Park!

This park features a large stone troll-ish looking thing, as well as a sword-brandishing Viking cut-out.   Excellent!!  Also attractive was this Viking long-boat.













The summer drive may not be as cosmopolitan or adventurous as our European holiday, but there is something about small-town tourism that really calls to us.  This is a great part of the world and we are going to document some of the reasons why.

Home

We've been home a few days and the jet lag is starting to recede. We sleep almost until 4:30 a.m. (Brian) or 5:30 a.m. (Meg) now!! *sigh* Staying up past 10 pm is still pretty hard.

The trip home was unadventurous, except for the part where the French customs agent would not believe that my Hermes scarf was in fact an Hermes scarf. I had the scarf, the receipt, the document from Hermes telling me to apply for the luxury tax rebate - but alas, my scarf does not have "Hermes" written on it, and I had only packed the scarf in my carry-on, not the box. (you need to have your boarding card -- so have your luggage already checked -- when you apply for the rebate).


Frustrating, with a pretty little customs agent scouring the Hermes website looking for my scarf. Finally she called her supervisor who looked at the scarf, touched it briefly, and said, Ca va.

Huge sigh of relief! Anyway, my scarf is in their little catalogue, so *I* know it is Hermes, even if nobody else does.

We had pods home to Toronto and regular seats home to Edmonton. Crappy crowded little Maple Leaf lounge in Charles de Gaulle, but a really nice one in Toronto.

Brian spent an hour or so on the plane making the list of items to declare for Canada Customs, and we were a bit over our combined limit of $1,500.00 duty free. The Customs agent wished us a good trip and did not ask us to pay any duty, nor were we told where to go to pay any. Meg had to restrain Brian from repeatedly asking where we should go to pay the duty.

For a few days after we got back we were drinking wine and hanging out at cheese shops to ease the transition.

Great trip but it is good to be home.

Monday 5 October -- final day in Paris

Today was pretty rainy -- good opportunity to use those umbrellas we bought. It is the only rainy day we've had here. A lot of things are closed on Monday, but the Pantheon was open, so we headed there.

We got a bit lost and found the Arenes de Lutece first --- very cool! A Roman arena! I'd heard about this but never seen it. Then on to the Pantheon.

It is a breathtaking building. Just huge. It must have been a gorgeous church -- there are paintings on all the walls detailing the life of Ste. Genevieve (in whose name it was originally built) and St. Louis, among others. See the photo of the painting of St. Denis. Also tapestries. Now of course, it is a "secular temple" to recognize the great men of France (and Marie Curie too). We understand the desire to praise one's own, but have to admit we find the French habit of worshipping themselves a bit much. Especially when they take a church away from the Church to do it. We really liked the upstairs and of course Foucault's pendulum (see the photo). The crypt is where some of the great non-military people of France are entombed, like Victor Hugo, Voltaire, Rousseau, Alexandre Dumas, the Curies, etc.

Then we splashed our way past the faculty of law and headed to the Musee de Cluny. GORGEOUS!! I wish my feet were not hurting so badly -- I could have spent twice as long in this museum of medieval life. The tapestries, the gold, the art, the dishes -- just wonderful. I can't say enough about it -- Mum, I remember you recommended it -- you were so right. The famous tapestry of the Lady with the Unicorn seems to be the most popular exhibit, but I could have looked at just about everything.

Outside there are Roman ruins, right there on Boul' Mich! Gotta love this city.

And what can we say about the Metro system? Brian is totally taken by it. So efficient. Multiple lines that connect, trains every 3 minutes during the week and every 5 minutes on weekends. No need to consult a schedule. Between our feet and the Metro we have gone ALL OVER Paris at minimal cost. Faster than driving or cabs. We only have to cab it from and to the airport. Brian is going to be a big fan of expanding the LRT in Edmonton and plans to use it more to support it.

We ate lunch at Nectarine on the Place des Vosges -- a croque for Brian and an omelette for me. A glass of wine with lunch is so civilized and welcome when we do not have to work in the afternoon. And a final slice of Tarte Tatin with creme fraiche. Mayo was served with the frites (*shudder*).

We have done our last little trip to the market and the boulangerie for the baguette for tonight's dinner. It has been great to "picnic" with baguette (much different than at home), cheese, soup and a little wine each night.

We have packed up now and are tidying the apartment -- bags are pretty heavy on the way home -- sorry girls, it's mostly guide books from all the sites we've visited.

See you tomorrow!!

xoxoxo

4 October 2009 Paris with Rebecca

Today, being Sunday, means a lot of things are closed, like our favourite morning cafe place, our favourite boulangerie (bakery), our favourite news stand, etc. However, we walked around to find an open cafe (still great coffee) and a Daily Observer.

We then got on the Metro and went North to the English language Catholic Church for the 11 am Mass - St. Joseph's Church. It was built in the '70's and is in the basement of a building. Meg calls it Our Lady of the Bunker. Heard Mass in English.

We then, by prearrangement, met Meg's cousin Rebecca and went wandering. A GREAT day of doing so, the three of us.

First, we went to the Arc de Triumph in the Place de Charles de Gaulle. It really spoke to BAV - it was not just the "tourist must see" memorial. We explored that a bit (Meg and Rebecca were patient). We could see NW up the Blvd de Grande Armee to see another arch, La Defence, built very recently under Mitterand. It is 35 stories high. We could also see SE down the justifiably famous Champs Elysee. This time we had lots of time, unlike the other night when Meg and I were a bit rushed. And Rebecca was such good company.

We stopped for fabulous lunch (they all are here) at the famous Cafe Georges V, run by and in front of the Georges V Hotel, out on the street, and watched the world walk by as we ate. BAV thought of his Uncle Art who had his great Paris adventure staying at that hotel. He could just imagine Art walking out the door and into the street. Exquisite Boeuf Bourginion with a nice vin maison. We then wandered further SE looking in all the shops (for rich folks).

We ended up wandering SW along Avenue Montaigne with more exclusive shops such as Dior, Chanel, Nina Ricci, Valentino, Roberto Cavallee and others that seem to mean something to Meg and Rebecca. And, of course, the Canadian Embassy. Very unprepossessing. Not surrounded by a high wall, in a courtyard guarded by Canadian Forces. Just a classy building right on the street.

We arrived at the Place de l'Alma and the Avenue de New York which runs along the river with the Eiffel Tower on the other side. Dozens of tour busses. Meg and I had long planned not to stand in line for a half day (minimum) to go up it. We ended up at the Trocadero which is a beautiful park and a large museum right directly across the river from the Eiffel Tower. Enjoyed the view and the company. Stopped for a coffee and snack at the museum.

We then got on the Metro (changing lines) to go back to the Isle de Cite and Sainte Chapelle so BAV could buy a replica of one of the Notre Dame gargoyles he had seen when we toured Sainte Chapelle the other day. We then parted with Rebecca and Metro'ed home. We stopped at the one (busy) boulangerie open on Sunday for our dinner bagette. As usual, we walked home carrying it under the arm. BAV likes doing that almost as much as eating it.

3 October 2009 Another Good Day in Paris

This morning we started with coffee at the local cafe with the International Herald Tribune again.

Then we set out for Meg's old haunts. First we got on the Metro and went out to the school where she taught, the Lycee Turgot. See photo. We then got back on the Metro and went to the Place Gambetta neighbourhood where she lived in Paris. Much has changed since she lived in the area.

We Metro'ed home and had a great lunch at the Cafe Victor Hugo on the Place de Voges, just down from our place. The French quisine is fantastic.

We then went on a long Metro ride (45 minutes each way) to the far NE end of Paris to see the St. Denis Cathedral. It is a church where the remains of most (if not all) the kings and queens of France have been collected and entombed. It was amazingly bright inside, compared with the other old churches we have been in here and in Scotland. At the back of the church, beyond the nave, is a necropolis with their tombs (and statue likenesses with most of them). There is also a large crypt that is part of the necropolis.

We Metro'ed home again and went to the local market to pick up picnic dinner for the apartment tonight.

Tomorrow the plan is to go to Mass at the English speaking Church up by the Arc de Triumph, to meet up with Meg's cousin Rebecca again and tour the area. Doubtless there will be another great French lunch in there somewhere.

2 October 2009 Paris - Long Day Walking

Today we went out for a long day of walking, or that's the way it turned out.

We started by going out to the local cafe for a shot of coffee and to read the International Herald Tribune.

Then we set out for the Louvre Museum. Rather than have to change Metro lines we walked a few blocks up the street to Place de la Bastille. The infamous prison is no longer there but there is a pillar to memorialize it. Also, the new opera house is there.

We spent the morning in the Louvres. It is a HUGE place. One cannot possibly begin to see it all in one day, let alone a morning. So we prioritized. We saw the ancient Roman exhibits, some ancient Greek and ancient Egyptian. Very interesting to see the statues of the likenesses of Romans BAV recognizes from his Roman history - Pompeii, Agrippa, Caligula, Claudius, Caeser, Augustus Caeser, Tiberius, Nero, etc. We then went to see the Dutch masters. Very cool. By lunchtime we were beat.

We walked across the river to the Left Bank and the Latin Quarter where we wandered around and had lunch in a cafe on Blvd. St. Germain, after seeing the Church of St. Germain (the oldest church in Paris). We had a pleasant lunch outside, while the Parisiens huddled inside. It was a "chilly" 18 degrees. (Some places had heaters going.) We were in our short sleeves.

We then wandered over to see the Church at St. Sulpice, the one that is supposedly in the DaVinci Code book/movie. The details in the book/movie about the church are bogus, mostly and the church exhibits went to some length to point out where. Large and impressive. By the time we finished there it was about 1:45 - not enough time to Metro back to the apartment before going back to Notre Dame at 3:00 for the veneration of the Crown of Thorns. So we wandered around the Latin Quarter and Isle de Cite until it was time for that. Exhausted by the time it came to go into Notre Dame.

In Notre Dame we were part of a large crowd that participated in a service to venerate the Crown of Thorns, as it was the first Friday of the Month. In 1239 King Louis (now St. Louis) acquired 3 relics from the Byzantine Emperor - a piece of the True Cross, one of the nails and the Crown of Thorns. Of course, no one can be dead sure that it is THE Crown of Thorns, as the records only start referring to it around 400 AD. It was an interesting service.

We then walked to the Metro station on the Isle de Cite and Metro'ed home, stopping along the way to buy some grocs and, of course, fresh bread at the local bakery for our picnic tonight. We are beat!!

Paris 1 October 2009

Today we went out to Isle de Cite and met Meg's cousin Rebecca. Together we toured the impressive Sainte Chapelle Church. We then walked down the street and toured Notre Dame. Wow. People glorified God big time back then. We hope to return on Friday as, being the first Friday of the month, the Crown of Thorns acquired by St. Louis is to be venerated.

We then crossed over to the Left Bank, after Meg saved BAV from a gypsy, and had a nice, long French lunch at a boulangerie - Quiche Lorraine avec vin ordinaire. We walked a bit on the Left Bank and ended up in front of the famous English bookstore, Shakespeare & Company. We browsed inside but did not acquire anything.

We then walked and Metro'ed back to the Right Bank to the Place du Concorde area, specifically to No. 24 Rue du Faubourg St. Honore - the Hermes store. There Meg picked up her dream scarf.

We Metro'd home and will have another picnic dinner tonight on fresh baguette (it is really incredible here - puts the baguette at home to shame), cheese, cold cuts, fresh harticots vert fine, eggs, la soupe and, of course, le vin. We love these laid back fresh dinners in the apt after day out, a good French lunch at a cafe or boulangerie. There are so many here and the food has all been good.

Having a great time.

Paris 30 September 2009 (Reprise)

Forgot to post the big picture . . .

This is us yesterday on the Champs de Mars looking North towards the Tour Eiffel.

`

Paris 30 September 2009

What a GREAT place!!

We have a great apartment, large and comfortable. Within a 2 block radius we have a Metro station, a market, a boulangerie (bakery), le Place de Voges and numerous cafes.

Last night after we got in we went to the local market and bought some basic groceries. We went for a FANTASTIC dinner at an outdoor cafe in the Place de Voges. BAV had the steak and Meg had the salmon. With great Bordeau wine.

This morning we got up and had our old folks North American breakfast in the apartment (Bran Flakes, fruit aka fibre, fiber, fiber!) We then had stand-up coffee at the local cafe on the way to the Metro. Took the Metro (a great experience for BAV) to Les Invalides (the military museum). Saw Napoleon's tomb there and the inumerable carved reliefs of Napoleon as Caeser saving the world. Geez, give the French 1 war hero and they do him to death!! Magnificent museum. We toured Napoleon's Tomb, and the Modern period (Louis XIV to Napoleon III). Saw Napoleon's uniforms, camp bed, etc. They were small guys in those days.

We then walked up to the Champs de Mars via the Ecole Militaire. Took pictures and had our pictures taken with le Tour Eiffel in the background. We stopped for another fantastic meal, lunch at a local cafe. Our plan is to eat the big lunch with the French (fine quisine - it's not just a myth) and then Metro'ed home. We hung around in the afternoon to finish the laundry (2 weeks in Scotland kind of used it all up). We also shopped for picnic dinner in the apt (cheese, fresh baguette at the local boulangerie, soup, cold meat and the ubiquitous vin ordinaire). BAV left his Metro pass and Museum pass in a shirt and they were totally destroyed in the laundry.

So we had (twist our rubber arms) to take the Metro (2 lines this time) to Champs Elysess to the Tourist Office (it's no longer there as indicated by the guide book) to try and get another museum pass for BAV. No luck but we did have a nice stroll on the Champs Elysee and BAV still thinks the Metro is a positive experience. There was a guy playing classical violin on the Metro. Not in the station. On the train. Standing up. While it was moving. In rush hour crowd. Bravo, Monseiur!! Came home to a great "picnic" dinner of cheese, bread, soup and vin ordinaire at the apt. Meg also had "une religieuse" - a multi-layere dcream puff with coffee cream/hazlenut filling which was something she had enjoyed here 30 years ago.

We made contact with Meg's cousin Rebecca. We will meet up with her tomorrow at Sainte Chapelle for a tour, and hopefully lunch on the Ilse de Cite.

BAV is in seventh heaven. He is fond of saying "Je suis avec elle" (I am with her). BAV is remembering his high school French and is really enjoying reading the signs and speaking with Parisians. Their mythical rudeness is overrated.

L'appartement

Paris

We arrived late yesterday afternoon from Glasgow. Good flight, great apartment, except for the creaky floors!! Told to NOT RUN the washer or dryer after 10 pm and that the wash cycle took over an hour. So we thought, well, if we start it at 8:45, for sure it will be done at 10. Nope, 10:30. The last half hour I was practically on my knees before the machine, praying it to be quiet!

But the wash is done. Now when to dry it?? Problem is, between 9am and 10 pm, we want to be out and about! Oh well, we'll figure out a way.

In the evening we went to explore the neighbourhood. Bought some water and milk and yogurt and cereal. Wandered down to Place des Vosges and had a great dinner at a restaurant there. Bought a couple of oranges on the way back and then crashed (after the laundry drama). Emailed cousin Rebecca -- hoping to get together today. We are doing Les Invalides this morning -- she is doing the Louvre.

Many of the local cafe/restos do not serve dinner until 8 pm, which is a bit disappointing - we are early risers and consequently like a dinner around 6 or 7. Maybe we'll have a light "souper" at home in the evenings and save our Paris dining experiences for mid-day.

A la prochaine,

Meg

Glasgow 28 Sept

Our one full day in Glasgow.

We Walked up to the St.Mungo Cathedral (magnificent, unbelievable) and the accompanying St. Mungo Museum of Religion and Art. Saw the Necropolis where all the important Glawegians are buried. We then got on a tour bus that you could get on and off and comes along every half hour (a great way to see things when you only have a day). Saw all the majhor sites.

Took a cab to 3 addresses in North Glasgow where Meg's grandmother used to live. Residences no longer exist there. Shopped a little and went for a great Italian dinner. The Scots maitre d' noted that we were Canadians and that Canadians have something in common with the Scots - poor southern neighbours.

All packed for the flight to Paris tomorrow.

Leaving Skye for Glasgow (reprise)

Here is an attempt to post the photo of the Glenfinnan Viaduct, FYI, This is the best we could do in the weather conditions.

Leaving Skye for Glasgow 27 September

Today we checked out of the Eilean Iarmain hotel on Skye this morning after an early continental breakfast and drove the 10 miles to Armadale for the ferry to Mallaig on the mainland. Very windy (as usual on Skye) with very low clouds and rainy. We had 10 minutes between the arrival of the ferry at Mallaig and the train's departure to Glasgow. We (mostlyBrian) were kind of concerned about that tight connection. But all the locals were totally sanquine about it. For good reason. It was about a 3 - 5 minute walk from the ferry to the train.

The West Highland Railway is said to be one of the 3 most scenic train rides in the world. But with the low cloud and rain we didn't see a lot of it. We DID cross the Glenfinnan Viaduct (the stone train viaduct in the Harry Potter movies) and we got a (somewhat poor) shot of it. The train stopped there, apparently due to the high volume of requests for photos. It was a 5 and a half hour train ride after the half hour ferry crossing - a long and mind-fuzzing travel day. We had the Skye hotel make us some sandwiches which was a good thing. About 45 minutes before we arrived in Glasgow they brought a food cart (using the term "food" loosely) around. We would have starved otherwise.

Arrived in Glasgow where we are staying next to the train station and on George Square in the central core of downtown. It is a municipal holiday tomorrow so there are lots of people on the streets. Not really a good walking place. It is the downtown of a really big city without the charm of the Royal Mile as in Edinburgh. We had beer and pizza for supper and will take it easy this evening. Tomorrow we will walk around and tour a bit before catching the plane on Tuesday for Paris.

Saturday in Skye

We don't have good internet access at the Eilean Iarmain hotel, so we feel a bit out of touch. Yesterday we had a remarkable day!

Morning down to Armadale CAstle and the whole MacDonald clan story and gift shop -- amazing gardens too! Then north -- Brian driving and the gorgeous scenery going by -- rocky foothills, bays and inlets and lochs, waterfalls, sheep, highland cattle. Every turn a breathtaking vista.

We went on the search for 2 medieval ruined chapels -- very hard to find, but finally discovered them hidden away on an island in the Snivort river (stay at the Skeabost Country House hotel, fish trout and salmon from their private river). Seriously, we went off the highway down this track and found this amazing hotel -- they directed us to the ruins, and we STILL wandered around lost for a while. But finally found this little island in the middle of a rushing river -- not a flat surface on the island, all bumps and lumps and rock and a mossy/grassy turf so thick it was like walking on foam. There are the ruins of 2 mortuary chapels, perhaps dedicated to St. Columba, and a few modern stones here and there too -- burials, or just memorial stones? Not sure.

But there were TWO stone table slabs for knights! Not concrete-copy-of-original-in-some-museum, but he real mccoy. Just there in the grass, worn away, covered with lichen. It was a very moving place, perhaps because it was so well hidden. Loved it.

Then we drove further west to Dunvegan -- this is the MacLeod Castle, clan centre, gift shop, gardens, etc. Again, killer gardens, also a nifty dungeon, right next to the sitting room that the present Chief MacLeod uses. Hmmm.

We drove home and had dinner at the hotel last night and made a quiet time of it.

Today we have been to Broadford to find the catholic church for mass tonight at 6 -- it looks about as big as a phone booth but was much harder to find -- hidden away behind trees and shrubs and ruins.

Then Portree to the classic waterfront of pastel shops. We stopped here at the Aros Tourist center to check email and let you know we're still alive. Now we're off the Old Man of Stoff (a rock). Tomorrow, ferry to the mainland at Mallaig and then the West Highland Railway to Glasgow.

Inverness 23 Sept

We got a close look at Scottish history today by visiting the 2 most important historical sites: the Culloden moor and Ft. George. Both are just outside of Inverness. We hired a cab-tourist guide to drive us around to these places – Alistair. He was great.
Culloden moor is where the Jacobite Scottish Army under Bonnie Prince Charlie was massively defeated by the British Army under the Duke of Cumberland. The Scots had invaded England, hoping to raise rebellion with the Jacobites there and attract French support. Although the Scots won battles, the English were not welcoming and the French did not come through. The Scots retreated to consolidate and attract more troops in Scotland, pursued by the Brits. Battle was joined at Culloden. Essentially, the outnumbered Scots charged the redcoats who had superior fire discipline and had learned how to use the bayonet while being beaten by the Scots in earlier battles. Charlie fled to Skye (where we flee tomorrow) and that was the end of Scottish independence.
The Brits decided that since they had this army all assembled and in Scotland, this was the time to put those pesky Scots under control. They built the massive Ft. George near Inverness as their base of operations and began the Clearances. They swept through Scotland banning all things Gaelic (the language, kilts, tartans, etc.) , killing any real or potential Jacobites in the process. Many Scots began fleeing to North America. Later, it became clear that it was more economical to raise sheep in the highlands than to have Scots farm there so many chieftans were bought out, speeding up the pace of the Clearances of Scots to North America.
Brian believes that his ancestors were with the Scots at Culloden and were subsequently pushed out of Scotland in the Clearances. Meg’s ancestors were there with the Scots, too and we found their burial marker. Thus, it was good for us to stand on Culloden moor and see where it all began. And to see Ft. George, which was pretty impressive. It is still the HQ of the consolidated Scottish Highlander regiments and has the Highlanders’ Regimental museum.
Alistair then took us to the Clava Cairns, near Culloden. They are three massive stone cairns, each surrounded by 12 standing stones. They are thought to have been ancient burial chambers but nobody knows for sure. The standing stones and cairns are aligned such that the 2 with entrances would have the sun shine in through the entrance on the shortest day of the year. The distance between each cairn is the same.
After about 4 and a half hours of touring we returned to our B&B to find out that there really isn’t that much of interest to see in Inverness itself. It is a regional shopping town of 100,000 people and most of the big sites are outside Inverness but in the vicinity. Time hung on our hands and we ended up walking around until dinner and then walked back to the B&B before reading and turning in. We chopped a day off the end of our intended stay in Inverness to give us more time in Skye, where the accommodations will be better and there will be more to do.
Tomorrow we are off to Skye on the 1:32 train and mighty glad to get going.

Inverness 22 Sept

Tonight we are in Inverness -- gorgeous from the air as we flew in from Kirkwall, less impresssive from the ground. We are sitting in the cushion filled "lounge" of a B & B on a very long road of B & Bs. It is very fine, but it's the kind of place where you have to find room to put the 6 cushions on the bed and the vases of faux flower arrangements on the windowsills that prevent the air from getting in.

It's a good 20 mins to the city centre, but we went down to find the tourist information center closed. We did buy train tickets to Skye for Thursday, though. We have cut a nice off here and added one to the ISle of SKye.

This morning after checking out of the Lynnfield Hotel (verdict -- unfriendly but spotless and if it were not for the crappy mattress adn the intermittent wireless, comfortable), we drove down to St. Margaret's Hope --- AWESOME! We drove over causeways with the sea tossing waves over it. The wind and rain were off and on all day but it was not really cold, just blustery. You can see SHIPWRECKS, masts, just sticking up out of the water!!!





St. Margaret's Hope is on the Island of Ronaldsay, south east of Kirkwall. It's a pretty seaside street or two, adn I finally found you girls a little something at a craft cooperative. Nice ladies knitting and such. -- Margaret, I got a good photo in front of St. Margaret's church in St. Margaret's Hope (why did I think her feast was 23 March? it's not).


Tired now, think I'll turn in and read some more Prisoner of Zenda -- lots of fun.

xoxox
Mum

Orkney 21 Sept

Blog Post for 21Sep09

Got up slowly and had breakfast at the hotel. Meg had the porridge today, without whiskey, but with honey and cream.

We then went back to downtown Kirkwall and finalized out travel arrangements to Inverness for tomorrow. Went to the public library and booked our flight on the Net. We then did a much more thorough tour of the shops than on our first day. Very nice local crafts, jewellery, etc, biut EXPENSIVE. No $350 sweaters appealled to us sufficiently. Lots of beautiful locally knit stuff with local wool. I'd see a gorgeous scarf for one of the girls and think, well, it's a bit much at 30 dollars, and then remember that it was 30 POUNDS!!. Sorry, girls, no scarves.

After a brief rest stop back in he hotel, we drove off to Stromness, the "Mainland's" second biggest population centre. A busy port on the Atlantic but small - 1 street. The Royal Navy has closed the base at Scapa Flow. After a mediocre lunch at the impressive looking Stromness Hotel, we toured the shopping district (all 2 blocks of it). Had to observe the horse drawn hearse with Victorian-dressed attendance transport a real coffin in a real funeral like they did under Queen Victoria.

Ended up at the Stromness Museum. It had an interesting collection of German naval artifacts relating to the scuttling the German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow in 1918 and the sinking of the Royal Oak by submarine in October 1939, also in Scapa Flow. Of greater interest was the substantial collection relating to the Hudson's Bay Company and the huge role of Orkneymen therein, especially John Rae. Throughout the town people raised the HBC connection when learning we were from Canada and that Edmonton started out as an HBC trading post.

Drove back to Kirkwall in time for a tour of the Highland Park distillery, one block down from our hotel. Quite interesting and we all got a wee dram to sample at the end, but pricey. Not my favourite scotch but was good to learn how it all happens.

Two funniest signs on the Okney highways: Otters crossing next 200 yds. and the Church at Twatt. Your mother wanted a picture of the latter but I wouldn’t go for it – she just had to make do with thinking “”that’s what she said” as we drove by.

We had dinner at a place called the Shore in town. Met and had a long talk with a couple from Kingston Ontario. The food was good but the place was noisy because “the Norwegian Navy” was in town – a 3 masted sailing ship with teenagers crewing and they were all partying in the place.

Tomorrow’s our last day here. We have until our flight leaves at about 4:30 pm for Inverness tomorrow.

Sunday in the Orkneys

This morning we drove out to see the Italian Chapel -- a quonset hut decorated by Italian POWs interned here during World War II. It is very pretty -- painted inside to resemble stone and brick work.

Then we went to mass at Our Lady and St. Joseph's in Kirkwall. This was the only weekend mass held in the entire group of Orkney Islands. There were about 30 of us at mass, and the priest was 90 years old and used a walker (zimmer frame!) to come up the aisle. Mentally very spry and an excellent preacher, though. But he is tired, so we are praying especially hard for vocations to the priesthood in the diocese of Aberdeen (of which the Orkneys is part). STill too much kneeling for my taste, but we survived. We had coffee afterwards and chatted with the parishioners and Fr. Walls.

We decided to see some Scottish History sites in the afternoon, starting at the top of Mainland (the largest Orkney island) and working our way down. Birsay has the remains of an 11th century village, only reachable at low tide by causeway (and hopping over big rocks). Looked like about an hour on the map - took us 15 minutes -- seriously, it is very disconcerting doing any navigation around here!

Anyway, we passed a church that bore a sign saying "est. 1068" and stopped at a tea house for "tatties" -- a warm baked potato smothered in butter with cold ham and cheese on top and an heirloom tomato salad. YUM! Fortified, we discovered that the tide was low and so we hiked over the causeway and up to the site of the village -- it was a church, a monastery and a few houses, including a forge and a sauna. I can't really describe how moved Brian and I were -- it was really breathtaking. The sea, the blue sky, the cold high winds (not a bad air temp, the wind is dangerous), the bright green grass and the stone outlines of these buildings. Tide pools and sea shells. Excellent stuff.

Then we drove south to Skara Brae, the 3500 BC settlement. This too was impressive -- the houses remain with their stone furniture-- dressers, beds, pens for fish or bait. Major archaeological jewel. It is on Skaill bay and was first discovered by the local laird, a fellow who lived in Skaill house. He was a local big wig ("Elizabeth R" signed in his guest book) and his house is part of the Skara Brae site and the tour is billed as the most beautiful house in Scotland. People hold their weddings there. It's a huge house. We got to see 6 rooms in one wing. Including a pink bathroom -- it was mostly kind of pokey and sad -- not as grand as my own house, in some rooms. Very odd. I will have to read the guide book (I always buy the guide book) and see if I missed some important something or others.

After this we drove south and east until the Brodgar stone circle. That was fun. A couple of miles down the road was the Stenness Stone Circle and henge (it's a henge if there is a ditch and wall surrounding the circle, I think). It is much smaller and was surrounded by sheep (and sheep shit, of course). For all these sites, you see the water - the North Sea, the Atlantic, the many lochs, and bright green grass. The heather is mostly dark and finished for the season, but the odd sprig of bright purple remained -- letting us identify it!

Then home and dinner and rest.

This really is a cool place. It's clean, people are helpful adn polite and friendly, tourism is bringing even more prosperity to an already prosperous place. There are no old cars anywhere.

More photos for Brian to post -- maybe tomorrow.

Edinburgh, day 2

Another good day.

We began with mass at St. Patrick's down the street, round the block, up a tiny close. Interesting. They kneel from the Preface to the end of mass with the exception of the sign of peace and communion itself. They kneel when being dismissed!!!!! And no homily! Very odd - and hard on the old knees. Lots of "Protestant slouch" going on. But funny, because when Brian stood up for the Euch. Prayer, the Scottish biddies behind us whispered that this wasn't England or Ireland, they do things differently here!

Then a nice affordable brekkie at the Youth Hostel Cafe we found yesterday.

We spent the morning hiking around the New Town.


We explored the Georgian House at 7 Charlotte Square -- Mum you would have loved this! They even had a chamber pot in the sideboard and a silver dish for making toasted cheese (Light along the toasted cheese, there, Killick!).

The shops in this area were excellent - Moss Bros., Church's, Brooks Brothers, Topshop, Cruise, Harvey Nichols, Jenners, places for bespoke suits and hand made shoes. Luscious window shopping.

My feet were dying by this time, so we had a nice lunch at a cafe called Spoon -- trendy, healthy, yummy,. I had the smoked salmon sandwich with creme fraiche and chives.

AFter lunch we took a city bus (Lothian 15) out to Roslin, which is in the country, about 40 minutes from the center of town. We did a quick tour of Rosslyn Chapel and bussed home.

Dinner was at Deacon Brodie's -- a place famous for real traditional pub food. Brian had the steak pie, I had the bangers and mash (cumberland sausage -- divine!). Banoffee pie for dessert -- hey, that's a tradition! -- and Tennant's ale to quench our thirst.

We're having a horrible time trying to upload photos -- maybe we'll have a better connection at Kirkwall. We fly out tomorrow morning.

Also, coffee in Edinburgh is delicious! Not sure why -- but white coffee is really good! Better than a latte, better than coffee with milk. Not quite certain how they make it, but it is fabulous.

More later,

Meg

Friday 18 Sept

Took the 9:40 Flybe prop plane (small Saab puddle jumper) from Edinburgh to Kirkwall on the "Mainland" of the Orkney Islands. We were ready to leave the busy urban setting of Edinburgh and trade it in for the small town and rural setting of the Orkneys.

Rented the Renault Laguna automatic - neat car. No keys. It comes with a card you insert in a slot on the dash and then push a `start` button. Turn it off by pushing the start button again and removing the card. Way cool.

Driving on the L side was a challenge at first and, when we got to our hotel, a horror - a near accident, actually. Pulling out of the hotel drive to turn right (into the far lane for left sided driving) was scary due to a wall to our right that blocked the view of oncoming traffic from the left in the left lane (at 40 mph). To go to town and live we would simply do a left turn (angling the car so the side mirror could see oncoming trafffic from the right) and then go around the block. Took us a half hour to figure out which road would actually get us around the block as opposed to being a dead end. Eventually, we hit on a system where we would just pull into a parking lot half a block down the road and turn around. Highway driving at 60 mph on very narrow lanes and no shoulders - scary for Meggy in the passenger seat as we would nearly brush hedges parked car mirrors, etc. But, fortunately for all concerned I caught on.

We checked into the great suite at the Lindfield Hotel and arranged for high class dinner (world famous) for the evening and then we drove into town,.

We did a quick walking tour of the shopping district with lots of other tourists (its a bank holiday weekend) and had a great lunch at a combination restaurant bar and music school called the Reel.

Toured the absolutely magnificent St. Magnus Cathedral, started in the 10 hundreds and finished about 1450. Huge. Red stone. Medieval. Awesome. Words can barely describe it. Had a great visit with Robert and Margaret (also celebrating their 25th) at the St. Magnus Visitor`s Centre. Then toured the Earl`s Palace and the Bishop`s palace (both ruins now) - very interesting.

Had a good dinner at the hotel that evening.

First Full Day in Edinburgh

What a GREAT day!! We got over the jet laq.

The Great Porridge Hunt was a failure. The Hotel wanted 16 pounds each for a breakfast - yikes!! We tried several places but none had oatmeal or porridge. Eventually we ate a cereal (meg: and bacon!!) breakfast at the TravelLodge but on our travels we have now found one, count them, one place with porridge on the breakfast menu for tommorrow.

Here is our hotel, the Radisson on the Royal Mile:


(note - we can't seem to upload anything -- here or on Facebook. Maybe the wireless signal not strong enough? will try again later)


We then walked up the ridge (west from our hotel) towards the Edinburgh Castle. On the way we walked past the St. Giles Cathedral and went in. It was a fantastic find! Wonderful artwork. Carved wooden ceilings with various crests on them. The walls were lined with memorials to fallen Scottish soldiers from every war from the Indian Mutiny in the 1840's to WWII. Tombs with sarcophogi of the good guy (Duke of Argyll) and the bad guy (Marquis of Montrose) from the movie Rob Roy. The Thistle Chapel has to be seen to be believed - ornate wood work on all but the floor with various family and clan crests added from 1911 to the present. Truely awesome.

The Castle was grand - large and with lots to see. This included the National War Museum and the Scottish War Memorial - an entire building with stain glass windows and the walls covered with memorials to various Scottish units, army, navy, air corps, Royal Marines and Royal Naval Air Service for WWI. It also had a palace with the Scottish Crown Jewels (saved from destruction by Cromwell) and the Stone of Destiny. Yes, the real Stone. Margaret's Chapel, a beautiful little building with nice stained glass, is the oldest remaining building in Edinburgh. Also, right next to it the monster medieval cannon Mons Meg. A real "meggy" place. Hallowed ground. Had a wonderful lunch (Haggis with turnip and potatoes, called Neeps, Tatties and Haggis as an appetizer.

After lunch we took a cab to the port of Leith on the Firth of Forth to Kinlock Anderson, master kiltmakers. Great stuff acquired for Clan Donald (Meg's family) and Clan Russell (my family) to be custom made and delivered to Canada in a few weeks.

We then, on a whim, did a tour of HMY Britannica, the now-retired Royal Yacht. It was fascinating. Naval stuff and neat info about the Royals, including china, silver, crystal, entertainment protocols, etc. which Meg was more familiar with.

Went to see No. 7 Jane Street where a Donald ancestor was married in Leith in the 1800's. It's a car dealership now. And a great Scottish dinner (steak and ale pie) to round it all off.

Tourist town

Edinburgh is gorgeous, but the Royal Mile is one big tartan tourist shop. Amazing old/restored buildings and architecture. Lots of restaurants/cafes that serve haggis, neeps & taters. Wall to wall cheap plaid.

The bonus? They also have cheap sporrans, John! I found you one for 55 L, went off to think about it and found the same one (white, rabbit fur, 3 dangling rabbit feet) at a different store, but the clerk there smelled sale and so he gave it to me for 45 and threw in the chain for free. He looked Chinese but had a Scottish accent. I love this place!

And you owe me $83. Canadian.

OH! And we went to The Bank pub for supper -- the burgers were RARE! Bright red -- unless they added something to the meat that I couldn't taste that made it red? Oh well, if we have e coli tomorrow, you'll know why.

Am so tired can hardly breathe, but trying to hold out until 9 pm before sleeping.

Will take camera along next time we go out.

xoxox
Meg

Pods and lounges

The Maple Leaf lounge at the Edmonton Airport is certainly not worth the money. Not enough air conditioning, not enough seats, pokey little bathroom, and loudmouths talking to the air on their Bluetooths (Blueteeth?).

We ended up going down to the gate where it was cooler and less crowded.

The Pods, now. They were interesting. Still not easy to sleep, but better than a regular seat, I guess. Except at take off, when you are not facing forward, so you're pushed back on a funny angle. I dozed for an hour or so, but Brian managed a good 3 hours of sleep. Go figure!

The food was horrendous. The wine was really good. The service was excellent.

Julie and Julia was NOT one of the movies offered, so I watched Robert Downey Jr. in The Soloist and then Sandra Bullock in The Proposal.

We are now in the BMI Lounge at HEathrow waiting for our flight to Edinburgh. It is lovely and big and cool... a nice glass of fizzy water and I might even grab an apple. Yeah right.

I am amazed at all the ritzy shops here -- if you were a millionaire you could live in this airport. But since we walked about 5 miles to get to this lounge, I think we'll just sit and try to cool down a bit.

Decisions

Big purse?
Small purse?
Looks?
Convenience?
Backpack?
Carry-on?
Both?
Neither?

I had all this planned, but of course with only 2 days left, and everything all ready, I really have nothing left to do but second guess myself.

ARGH!

Less than a week to go...

... and we're fine-tuning the travel arrangements, home arrangements, packing.

My banner is the MacDonald of the Isles Ancient Hunting Tartan. Nice, eh? I'm thinking maybe an evening skirt. A sash for each of the girls.

I keep running through packing lists, trying to think of everything the kids will need while we're gone, making lists of things we have to make sure to see while we're there. Do I have the confirmations for each hotel, car rental, B & B? Will we be able to buy the train, ferry, bus tickets without reservations?

I know it's all fine....

I just want to GET AT IT!

I hate waiting.