Off to Glasgow

Posted on May 23, 2017 by herktrav

Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

Up early to clean up and pack for check out. We will be spending the next three nights in Glasgow. It’s hard to believe that the first week is over already. Check out is a matter of waving good-bye and saying thanks for everything. Then it’s off to the Waverley Train station.

We’re a little early, but we found seats and bought some snacks – so we’re all set. We sat next to a delightful woman and chatted about our visit and she offered up a couple hints for places to check out when we return to Edinburgh.

She was telling us about her son-in-law, who is in the military. He was Prince William’s boss while he was serving as a helicopter ambulance pilot. At a function that they attended, everyone was addressing William as Your Highness, but when her son-in-law approached, William chirped up – “Hi Boss!”

She was such a nice woman and very much how we have found all the people we have encountered here.

Our train was due to arrive soon, so we headed over to the platform to wait. The trains to Glasgow run frequently, so there are only four cars to our train. The ride is quick and smooth, cutting across to the west. We arrived right on schedule at the Glasgow Central Station.

Our hotel is called the Hotel Indigo and is only three blocks from the train station. Just a five minute walk and we were checking in.

It seems like a nice hotel. The building was originally an electric building built in the early 1900’s. There’s a nice lounge in the lobby and the hotel houses a very nice steakhouse that I’ll report on Thursday.

The room is nice. Not quite as large as the apartment, but still comfortable. There is, however, a large walk in shower that looks inviting before dinner tonight.

We went to a restaurant named ‘Gamba’ this evening. They specialize in seafood and it came highly recommended. We lucked out as the restaurant is only about five blocks away from our hotel, so we were able to walk over. We were greeted warmly upon our arrival and seated straight away in a cozy little nook.

We were immediately presented with an amuse-bouche to whet our appetites. We started with a nice kir royal before ordering. Everything on the menu sounded delicious, so it made the selection process difficult – but in a good way!

Sue went with a beetroot, goat cheese, sautéed onion and pureed apple soup followed by grilled rock bass. I chose the crabmeat with siracha aioli followed by grilled halibut. We accompanied our meals with a nice bottle of Chablis. The recommendations were spot on. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and the prices were once again reasonable.

Grilled Rock Bass
Grilled Halibut
Crab appetizer

Took a nice walk back to the hotel where we enjoyed relaxing for the evening.

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Hop On – Hop Off – Day 2 – Holyroodhouse Palace and New Town.

Posted on May 22, 2017 by herktrav

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Today we’re off to the other end of the Royal Mile to see the other royal attraction – the Palace of Holyroodhouse. It is still used today as the Royal residence and as a tourist attraction when not in use.

We made our way over to the bus station to learn that the palace is closed today. It seems that Princess Anne is in town for a function and is using the palace. Oh darn! We’re still able to view the artwork in the Queen’s Gallery, but won’t be allowed on the palace grounds.

Holyroodhouse Palace
Holyroodhouse Palace
Palace Guard

The bus we took over had live narration as we tooled around town. Anne talked quite a bit but we’re not exactly sure she followed the script. We would pass by before she would mention a place. We only caught up when the bus had to pause for a few moments while the driver sold tickets. Jeesh!!!

Since the palace is closed, they gave us free souvenir booklets as keepsakes, which was nice. Arriving at the Queen’s Gallery, we found that the current exhibition is called ‘Butterflies’. The artist loved the metamorphous process and bugs and reptiles. It’s a good thing it was a free exhibit. Eye rolls and snickers were coming from more than just us.

Back to catch the bus we go. We rode the circuit until we reached the New Town area. The New Town section was built in the late 1700’s and was the place to be – think indoor plumbing.

We decided to divide and conquer. Sue was going to visit and tour ‘The Georgian House’ while I scoped out a pub for liquid refreshment and dinner when Sue returned.

Sue loved her visit to the Georgian House. Having read regency novels for years, it was right up her alley. There were guides at every area that would describe the room and answer questions. She made some instant friends!

In the meantime, I settled into ‘The Printing Press’ Pub and became acquainted with some Scottish gin. Move over gin & tonic with lime, today it was gin, tonic, fresh herbs and grapefruit. Very refreshing. I had two whilst waiting for Sue’s return.

The menu looked good, so we stayed on to grab a bite. I’d say it was a bit of an upgrade to normal pub food. I started with a smoked trout salad followed by a spiced duck leg and chips. Sue went with a warm goat cheese salad followed by gnocchi with roasted garlic and asparagus. I know what your thinking, those two poor souls are scrambling to eat properly, fear not, we are doing well.

Just two more times will I have to scale the stairs at Mount Warriston. Up tonight and down tomorrow.

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The evil stairs of Warriston’s Close

Since we move on tomorrow, we decided to just relax for the evening.

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Hop On / Hop Off – Day 1 – Hail Britannia!

Posted on May 20, 2017 by herktrav

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Edinburgh has a Hop On – Hop Off bus with three different routes. Our Majestic ticket allowed us to ride them all, plus it provided entrance tickets to the Royal Yacht Britannia, the palace at Holyrood and the Edinburgh Castle.

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HO – HO Bus

We’re starting out with the majestic route so we can visit the Royal Yacht Britannia. The ride is pleasant as we cut through the new town on the way to the waterfront. The ocean terminal where the ship is docked has been turned into a small mall with shops and restaurants.

The Britannia was commissioned in 1954 and wasn’t decommissioned until 1997. It was noted that the decommissioning ceremony was the only time the Queen cried in public.

The ship is quite large. We toured four decks, which included sleeping quarters, a state room, huge dining hall, crew quarters, a kitchen, a laundry room and notably, many, many bars. The ship was decorated very tastefully and was bright and welcoming. You could see why the Queen loved it so much.

There were many interesting photographs throughout the ship depicting the royals enjoying their time on-board. Also, many mementos from prior yachts and the persons who sailed them. It was a great sneak peek at another side of British Royalty.

We caught the bus back to Waverley Station and since it was still early, we hopped on another bus for a tour around the city. This tour took us through some of the Old Town and New Town streets pointing out places where historical events have taken place. It was a nice way to relax and see the city for an hour. I must say, they do an excellent job with the audio guides on the tours.

Afterwards, we headed back to the apartment to rest up before dinner.

After our meals of the last few nights, we decided to go simple. There is an Italian restaurant called Zizzi next door that we tried. A little pizza, some pasta and a nice bottle of wine capped off a good day. The thirty meters back to the apartment was nice too!

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Tour day – Rosslyn Chapel and the Scottish Borders

Posted on May 19, 2017 by herktrav

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Another tour day, this time we are headed south of Edinburgh. Highlights will include the rolling hills of the lowlands, a stop at the inspirational view point of Sir Walter Scott and then ending at Rosslyn Chapel.

We made our way over to the starting point in the drizzling rain; little did we know what weather lie ahead for today’s journey. Our driver / guide today will be Jodie. We have our full compliment of sixteen people loaded so off we go – cue the rain. It rained steadily the entire day, with a few bursts of downpours. While it surely took a bit away from the overall experience, it was still an interesting journey.

On our way to Sir Walter Scott’s inspirational point, Jodie shared some history of the area and told us the story of Mary Queen of Scots. Mary lived a rough life, even though she was crowned Queen at only 6 days old after the death of her father. She was married three times, imprisoned by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, and was beheaded as a traitor to the state at the age of 44. Luckily, we arrived at the viewpoint before the story became any more lurid.

Despite the rain, the view was beautiful. Definitely inspirational, especially for someone coming from the excesses of the city.

Back on the bus and off to see the first William Wallace memorial. It was an oversized statue built on a hill overlooking the valley. This one wasn’t our favorite as we had to hike about fifteen minutes in the rain to get there from the car park. It played into the itinerary, so we grumbled quietly to ourselves.

Our next stop was the town of Melrose. We had a little time to see this quaint little town and also Melrose Abbey. Melrose Abbey is where William “Braveheart” Wallace’s heart is buried. Since we’ve not seen the movie, we were forced to learn the true facts rather than the movie version. Interesting and definitely a hero of the people.

Finally, for us DaVinci Code people, the final stop on the tour – Rosslyn Chapel. Very charming little chapel on the lands owned by the Sinclair family, with much mystery surrounding it. Inside the chapel, floor to ceiling, are carvings that are still argued about today.

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Rosslyn Chapel

It truly was a site to see. Angels, devils, animals of every kind, people, fruit, flowers and mysterious faces everywhere. Yet, the stained glass windows kept it spiritual and warm feeling.

A couple of interesting notes: the chapel was falling into ruin and had actually been abandoned for a great many years. When the Dan Brown book came out, the Rosslyn Trust people were thrilled. The additional tourists it brought in helped bring in some extra funds for restorations. When the movie people came calling, the Rosslyn Trust people were ecstatic. The film makers helped out greatly with the restorations and additional tourist funds have allowed the trust to restore and protect the chapel for the future.

As for the supposed treasure, I think the chapel itself is a treasure.

With this as our last stop, we journeyed back to Edinburgh and bid farewell to Jodie before heading back to the apartment.

Tonight’s dinner is at a restaurant called Michael Neave – Kitchen and Whisky Bar. This is another highly anticipated dinner (aren’t they all). Dinner was fabulous! The restaurant definitely lived up to the ravings we had heard – casual yet elegant, great food, terrific service and reasonably priced. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals from start to finish – ratatouille, scallops, lamb, venison and sticky toffee soufflés. Our main wine for the evening was a Mercurey Burgundy. On our way out, Sue even had a chance to compliment the chef.

Beautiful evening as we strolled back to the hotel – and it wasn’t raining!

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Edinburgh at night

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Tour day – St Andrews and beyond

Posted on May 18, 2017 by herktrav

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

In case I didn’t mention it, the bed is really comfortable in the apartment. That said, we got another good night’s rest before heading out on our tour this morning. Today we are taking a Rabbie’s Tour to St Andrews, which includes stops at the fishing village of Anstruther and the town of Falkland.

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Rabbie’s Tours

We meet the group at 9:30 am, which I’m sure surprises many of you who know our normal sleeping pattern. The tour group is limited to 16 people and the driver / guide Nik is terrific. Nik told us lots of stories along the way and was very entertaining, besides being knowledgeable. So while we’re driving along, he shared the following story.

Please skip the next paragraph if you’re easily offended.

So back in the day, Edinburgh was not so developed as far as plumbing goes. People would fill a bucket when they needed to go to the bathroom. When filled, it would be tossed out the window. To make things a little more civil, people would toss the bucket early in the morning or late at night. When they did, they would shout out “gar de loo”, which basically translates to “watch the water”. Well, people, especially sailors from other countries would come into port and go out and get drunk then walk back to their ships. Not understanding the local customs, they would unfortunately look up when they heard people shouting out “gar de loo”. And that is supposedly the birth of the phrase to be “shit-faced drunk”.

Onward, our journey took us down to the waterfront where we stopped to catch a glimpse of the three bridges that cross the Firth. One of the bridges, ‘The Forth Bridge’, is renowned for its design and strength and is a UNESCO World Heritage structure. Referred to as the train bridge, it’s a heavy steel girder bridge that was built after a rail accident in the 1800’s.

Our next stop was the fishing village of Anstruther. We made a short stop here to get the feel of a real Scottish fishing village. It was a cute and quaint little village, that is still in use, though not like in the olden days.

We continued our drive through some lovely land, green rolling hills with lots of sheep and cattle. Very idyllic and peaceful.

We arrived at St Andrews and it is a beautiful little town. Besides the golf course, it is also an University town. In fact, it’s where Kate Middleton and Prince William met while attending school together.

We walked through the town a bit and stopped at a pub for a bite to eat and a bit of refreshment. So our first pub meal was fish and chips with mushy peas. Mine washed down with a blonde ale and Sue’s with a large pinot grigio.

After our meal, we made our way through town and over to the old course at St Andrews, where we got to watch grown men act like children as they fulfilled a golf fantasy. Maybe someday I’ll get my chance, but for now we just watched. It was a cool, windy day, so they got the true Scottish golf experience. Our driver Nik, took the road which cuts across the golf course so we could tell our friends that we drove the first and eighteenth at St Andrews – albeit in a mini bus.

Old Course at St Andrew’s
The Clubhouse
Golf shack

On the way home, our final stop was at the town of Falkland. Not well known except for one thing…. The filming of Outlander. We got to see the inn where Jamie and Claire spent their wedding night. Oooohhh…. It was fun as their were a couple of younger women on the bus that were Outlander devotees and were so excited to see the town.  After our stop, it was back to Edinburgh.

 

Once back in town, we stopped by the train station to pick up our tickets for Glasgow and then headed back to the hotel to rest until dinner.

Since we had enjoyed our meal the night before, we returned to Angels with Bagpipes, this time ordering from the ala carte menu. Not surprising, the meal was equally as delicious as last night. Such a great place to have right next door.

Tottered back to the apartment to relax and get aggravated by the camera issues. All in all it was a delightful day. A bit chilly, but we were prepared.

Tomorrow we’re off to Rosslyn Chapel and the Scottish borders.

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Checking out the Edinburgh Castle

Posted on May 17, 2017 by herktrav

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Another good night’s sleep and we’re ready to go. Today’s schedule includes a tour of the Edinburgh Castle and whatever else we stumble upon.

Walked the 100 meters to the tour starting point and met our guide for the afternoon – David. He is just as knowledgeable as yesterday’s guide, but even a little more out there. The good news is he’s right in our humor roundhouse so this should be entertaining.

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Our guide – David

After introductions, we’re off to the castle. It’s about a five minute walk to get there – straight up the royal mile. The royal mile got its name as it’s roughly the distance from the palace of Holyrood to the castle. The distance the royals would scurry if someone was coming to attack – and apparently they ran fast!

The castle has been rebuilt many times throughout the centuries. Only the St Margaret’s Chapel is original to the 1100’s. The rebuilds were the result of attacks and sieges, mostly fights with the English through the years. The castle is much more than a battered shell or ruins. In fact, a portion is still used to house Scottish military personnel.

You start by going through the main gate with memorials to Robert the Bruce and William Wallace ‘Braveheart’ on either side. It’s a more modern gate, as the real gate is four gates deep – three locked doors and an iron drop gate. Our guide David described it as knock knock squish!

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Main Gate

Inside are many interesting exhibits and buildings that house museums. The views are also incredible. You can see for miles in every direction. If you remember yesterday’s lesson, the castle is built high up on a rocky cliff, which helped in its defense and our views.

Many interesting stories and displays including artifacts going back hundreds of years. Sue was excited to see some history from the Scottish Dragoons participation in the Napoleonic Wars, including the gold plated eagle captured from the French troops by the Dragoons.

After the official tour ended, we were able to wander around the castle until closing time. If you happen to be in Edinburgh, it is definitely worth a visit.

The oldest building within the Castle is St Margaret’s Chapel.  It days back to the 11th Century.

While walking home, we checked out the meeting point for tomorrow’s tour. It’s pretty close to our hotel, but there is a set of stairs that we will need to take. A quick count says there are ninety steps. I’ll let you know what we think about them when we return and have to go up!

Dinner tonight is at a restaurant named “Angels with Bagpipes”. It is literally right next to our apartment. Even after some wine, we should be able to manage the walk home. Despite being located in a touristy area of town, the restaurant comes highly rated.

We decided to try the Chef’s tasting menu. It’s four courses with wine pairings and everything looked delicious. The courses were goat cheese and beet salad, seared salmon, saddle of lamb and we chose a cheese plate for desert. All were absolutely delicious. In fact, we liked it so much, we made a reservation to return tomorrow evening so we could try items from the full menu. So much for grabbing something quick after our tour.

Feeling sated, we headed home to relax and get a good night’s rest for tomorrow’s adventure.

 

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We have arrived in Scotland

Posted on May 16, 2017 by herktrav

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

We have arrived in Edinburgh. I think I’m already developing a brogue after just a few hours. The flights over were both good, though both were delayed a bit. The flight from Newark to Edinburgh was in United’s new Polaris business class, which was very comfortable and provided a flat bed for a little shut eye on the way over.

So once out of the airport, the taxi ride over to the Old Town in Edinburgh was a delight. The town is as quaint and cute as you might expect. Cobble-stoned streets, old stone buildings, a huge castle perched high on a bluff – you know, just everyday sights. We are staying in an apartment located right on the Royal Mile in the heart of the Old Town. The street is teaming with tourists, buskers and a few Scots.

When we arrive, you walk down a small alleyway or ‘Close’, which is a cut through to another street. However, along the way are shops, pubs, restaurants and residences. Our apartment is in a building called the “Old Town Chambers”. Check-in was as easy as can be. We said hello, gave them our paperwork and up to the apartment we were led. It’s taken longer to just say hello in other places.

The apartment is perfect. Two bedrooms, a kitchen and dining table, a lounge area, nice bathroom and a small balcony over-looking a small square in the close. The first order was a short little nap before we join up with a walking tour of town at 2:00.

This was just a get acquainted tour of the town, but we covered a little distance in the 2 hours we walked. Our tour guide James was a hoot. He made the tour interesting with a combination of knowledge and humor. Some in the group looked a little put off by some of the stories, but we weren’t and that’s what’s important. Lots of interesting history surrounds the country and city – much of it dark as the country and town fought for its independence and became more civilized. Castles, kirks, graveyards, you name it, we saw it – including the graveyard at Greyfriar’s Kirk where J. K. Rowling got many character names for the Harry Potter books.

By the time the tour ended, we were both pretty hungry and thirsty.  We decided to try a highly recommended pub called ‘The Devil’s Advocate’. It is located in a close one down from ours and it was terrific. Everyone was friendly, and it looked like the bar crowd was enjoying their pints and whisky’s. The food was delicious and the prices were reasonable.

Walked back to the apartment to rest our weary bones for the evening. The apartment has a Bose system that connected to my phone via bluetooth, so we listened to some music before dosing off. All in all it was a good first day in Edinburgh.

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Let the games begin…

Posted on May 15, 2017 by herktrav

Williamsville, NY

Hard to believe but it’s just about time to go. All the planning, reading and listening to bagpipers on You Tube will hopefully make for a great trip.

We’re heading to Scotland for a couple of weeks, basing ourselves in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Lots of little day jaunts are planned with an edge towards history and mystery. Castles and fortifications, along with chapels, villages and even a boat or two. Places that are said to be haunted should be good for a goose bump or two.

We’re packed, so tomorrow we’re off!

Feel free to comment along the way. I have lots of picture requests noted (i.e. – Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Nessie, Jamie and Claire)

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Italy 2016 – Italy review – Questions and answers…

Posted on June 24, 2016 by herktrav

Buffalo, NY

So we’re back home and just getting our body clocks back in sync.

Thanks to everyone who read along. It makes it much more fun to share the journey with others. Wish it could have been a group trip!

So while the laundry pile is being worked on, I thought I would just share the answers to some of the questions that were asked.

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Would we change anything?

Nope. Everything was wonderful – from the amount of time we were in each place to the places themselves. I have to add that we loved all the hotels we stayed in too.  Oh wait, maybe the colds, we could have done without them.

Any problems with the language?

Not really. You all know me and my cheesy attempts to speak foreign languages. In most places there was someone who spoke some English and when there wasn’t, we were able to use enough Italian to communicate. I think that the fact that we were trying made the people want to make it work and it did.

Were all the attractions crowded?

There were some crowds, but overall it wasn’t bad at all. We were there at the beginning of the high season, I guess I wouldn’t want to be there when the weather gets hotter and the crowds get larger. The major places like the Vatican, St Mark’s Square, or the Colosseum probably are busy all the time.

Was everything expensive?

Surprisingly, no! We went with the expectation of spending much more than we actually did, especially on meals. As you can tell from the various posts, we ate very well and the prices were very reasonable.

We did not go to gourmet restaurants. We went to places that were recommended as places the locals eat. The food was homemade, the portions were large, the wine was cheap, the ambience was awesome and it was a great experience.

We’re not shoppers, so I can’t comment on the prices, but I can say that it proves you can control your costs. Without the shopping, we were able to stay well within our budget.

What were our favorite things about the trip?

That is such a tough one because we enjoyed so many different things. In consult with my travel partner, here are a few things:

– the people
– the mosaics in Ravenna
– the Castle in Petroia
– the town of Assisi
– the chairlift ride on Capri
– the boat ride around Capri
– the Borghese Gallery
– the Vatican and Sistine Chapel
– the truffles in the meals
– the drive along the Amalfi Coast (glad we weren’t driving)
– the beautiful blue water in Positano

The list could go on and on, we loved it all.

How much time did I spend planning everything out?

We have speculated that I spent around 1,000 hours in total, BUT, that includes reading articles, blogs and websites to learn about the areas. The actual time to make the reservations and buy the tickets was less than 40 hours in total.

Besides, I love reading about locations to travel to, so I don’t consider it a burden at all. It’s a hobby.

Would we go back?

Laundry should be done by Monday, we can be packed by Tuesday!  Yes!

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Italy 2016 – From Rome to Home

Posted on June 21, 2016 by herktrav

Day 34 – Buffalo, NY

Early morning alarms woke us up at 4:45 am. We need to take showers, pack and check out by 7:00 am when our car arrives to take us to the airport. Everything went smoothly despite our eyes being only half open.

We checked out with one of our favorites – Mauro. While we thanked him for everything, he thanked us back for staying there and being such good guests. We really enjoyed the moments and conversations we had with him as we were coming and going.

Our car was right on time and whisked us to the airport. It was like a thrill ride cutting down side streets and zooming along. I know we hit 140 kph at one point, so I stopped looking. When we arrived, the Delta counter was empty. We were able to walk right up to the counter, check in, go through security, catch the shuttle bus and get to our gate in less than an hour. So much for having to worry.

As it turned out, our plane was delayed by almost an hour so in reality we had a lot of time to kill waiting.

Once we did board, the flight went smoothly. The meal they served was tasty and they routinely walked around with water to keep you hydrated. The flight time was just short of 10 hours, but went by pretty fast, even without snoozing.

We flew into Detroit Airport and couldn’t have been happier about the choice. We used the re-entry kiosks for customs, went through passport control, got our bags and re-checked them, went through security all in about an hour. We’d probably still be standing in line today if we went through JFK.

Unfortunately, we do have a five hour layover, but that means plenty of time for a decent bite to eat. I had a craving, after all the great Italian meals, for a good, old-fashioned hamburger. Found a place and topped it off with a bottle of root beer.

After eating, we walked down to the gate area, found a spot by a charging station and waited. By the time we were ready to board, we were both pretty tired. Just another hour we kept telling each other. The flight to Buffalo was only thirty nine minutes, but my eyes only lasted about five.

Once on the ground, we grabbed our bags, grabbed a taxi and were on our way home. It felt strange driving along – all the lights and all the English, nobody tail-gating, no scooters diving in and out of traffic. Even stranger was pulling up to the house.

We’re home again, though we never felt like we weren’t home throughout our travels. A final victory kiss to celebrate an awesome vacation!

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