Happy birthday to me!!!

We arrived in London safely yesterday after a great night in Grantham, England, at Allington Manor.  After turning the rental car in, we hopped on the train to London and were able to get a good walk in before dinner and before we turned in for the night.

This morning we slept in and got up around 10.  We got coffee and a pastry near our room in the Lambeth area of London and then headed across the Thames toward Buckingham Palace.  The crowds were already building and at times you could barely navigate.  Some of the famous scenes that you see on TV and postcards are kind of marred by the massive amount of television equipment, cameras, trucks and people that have surrounded the Palace.  Just amazing!  I managed to capture a few pics today as we made our way from Buckingham Palace to The National Gallery and then on to the Tate Museum.

Beautiful tulips in St. James's Park

Policemen on horseback

This flag means the Queen is in the house!!!!

Buckingham Palace

The green structures are television grandstands across from Palace

Ian trying to get my attention in front of the Palace

Changing Guards!

Gates with the Royal Crest

Press boxes in front of the Palace!

This the Mall with Buckingham Palace in the distance.
Royal procession will head directly down this path.

Now that's a ship in a bottle!

The National Gallery

The Wellington is where we ate lunch.

All in all we had a great day and the weather couldn't have been more beautiful.  We are going to get up really early in the morning and try and get a good viewing spot.  Hope to post the best pics of all tomorrow night.  

Cheers!

A traveling we will go!

What a whirlwind two days we have had!  We spent our last night in East Kilbride going to dinner with Ian's family and on Sunday we set out on our journey north to the Isle of Skye.  Just northwest of Glasgow is Loch Lomond, a huge, beautiful lake that is very popular, but this time of year, on Easter Sunday, it was quite desserted.  The first village we came upon was Luss, a quaint Scottish lake village complete with locals, sweet pups, sheep, and swans. (On the way back today, we pulled over in the same village and it was like an ant hill...tourists everywhere!)

Great cottage in Luss village at Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond

We made our way up the west side of the country and the scenery was stunning.  I had to stop the car at least a dozen times for Ian to take pictures, but I hardly minded as the vistas were worth every stop and start.  I will also say that at times, these roads were not for the faint of heart.  Especially when you met an oncoming lorrie, or as we know it, a semi truck!  It would make your hiney grab the seat, for sure.  It was on this leg of the trip that we saw our first castle ruin.  Eilean Donan is a magnificent castle that dates back 300 years or more.  http://www.eileandonancastle.com/

Eilean Donan Castle

Just as you passed this castle, you crossed the bridge to the Isle of Skye.  We checked into what we thought was an ok hotel and then made our way up to the Old Man of Storr.  I had no idea what was in 'storr' for me.  You park at the foot of the mountain and begin a very steep hike through some of the densest forest you have ever seen.  If you were in the middle of the forest, it would be almost as dark as night. 

Forest path to Old Man of Storr

Once you are through the forest, you finally see the Old Man of Storr, and what a grand site it is.  The main rock bears a resemblance to an old man's face, but I like to think he is there guarding the sound below.  It was a great hike until Ian tried to make me go up the lose rocks, where rock slides had obviously occured.  Once I cleared that hurdle, I was moved by the views.  I thought of all those gone before me, all of those in my life now, and all the memories yet to come.  It was worth every step and mile traveled to get here.

Emerging from the forest toward the Old Man of Storr

Old Man of Storr

View from just under the Old Man of Storr

This morning we woke up to a stupendous sunrise from our hotel in Potree.  The room was just ok, but the view was amazing.  We had our breakfast and headed back down the west coast toward England.

View from Royal Hotel, Portree Scotland

We mostly backtracked the route from yesterday back down to Glasgow.  We took a few new turns and enjoyed every mile traveled.  Our trip ended today, 10 hours later, in Keswick (Kessick), England in the Lake District.  We arrived just before dark and checked in to our bed and breakfast, a cute stone house with an awesome room.  

Stonegarth Guest House, Keswick England

"She said to her man, get off that divan..."

Finally, I will say that I already have many many great memories of the United Kingdom and a few Happy Secrets!!!  Cheers to everyone and thanks for checking in!

The Belles of Scotland! (Pun intended!)

Ian and I arrived in Glasgow on Thursday where we were picked up by his Aunt Irene and Jackie.  What wonderful hostesses they have been!  I have really enjoyed our time with them.  I am quite sad that we will have to leave tomorrow as we head North to the Isle of Skye.

Friday, Ian and I went into Edinburgh on the train and had a great time.  We got kind of a late start because we slept in due to our previous night of travel.  When we arrived, the weather was what I had imagined.  A heavy mist enveloped Edinburgh Castle and though not great for photography, it was wonderful to experience.

Edinburgh Castle

To the right of the Castle is a walkway down a very steep hillside.  The hillside was covered in flowers and I only got a few pictures but Ian took several.  On the other side of the valley is a wonderful shopping district called Prince's Street.  There were many American shops with the local shops.  I was able to find a cupcake shop of course.  Ian has that photo that I will post as soon as he gives them up.

 

Since this is a 'business trip', we have been checking out the different flower shops in each city.  None, so far, are up to par with Jackson|Durham.  We did see these rather scary looking hedge heads in a department store window.  They remind me of the Jack in the Box mascot.

 
Late in the day we took the train to North Queensferry to catch a glimpse of the Firth of Forth bridge, which is a world famous bridge, even older than the Golden Gate.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth_Bridge  It was the first such structure made entirely of steel in Britain, built around 1890.  Due to the shroud of mist, we were unable to see much of it.  However, I did capture this misty picture of the tunnel entrance at North Queensferry train station.

 

Finally, we picked up our rental car today and I managed to make it back to East Kilbride from Glasgow without incident.  It's hard to explain how utterly nerve racking it is to drive the opposite of everything I was taught.  At least I requested an automatic, which resulted in a free upgrade to an Audi wagon...not as good as Ling Ling though.

We leave at first light in the morning, heading to the Isle of Skye in North West Scotland.  I can't wait.
More pics to come!

Happy Easter Everyone!!!!!

The Wedding of Weddings!

At Jackson|Durham we try and make each of our Weddings, The Wedding!  However, on Wednesday, Ian and I leave for the UK for what will most assuredly be, THE WEDDING of the year.  Prince William and Kate have no idea we are coming, nor does the Queen, but we will be among the tens of thousands of people lining the parade route to catch a glimpse of the most closely held wedding dress of the decade! 

As 9 year old boy growing up in Mississippi, I remember in vivid detail the puppy dog eyes of Princess Diana as she waved to the masses from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.  So timid, so shy, but so beautiful.  Her bouquet was huge, to match the grandness of her dress.  And the dress, oh the dress.  Silk organza that billowed into that magnificent train that went on forever.  Shivers!  I don't want to compare Kate to the beautiful image I still have of Princess Di, but it's inevitable.  It's 30 years later, I sincerely hope that Kate's bouquet won't be quite so large! 

Ian and I leave for Scotland this Wednesday night.  We will be staying two nights with his Aunt Irene in East Kilbride and then we have rented a car to motor around the British countryside for three days.  We have no idea where we will stay Sunday night through Tuesday night.  On Wednesday, April 27th, we will turn our car in at London City Airport, take the train to Waterloo and find our room that we booked on www.airbnb.com.  We are told the B&B is a 5 minute walk to Westminster Abbey.  I am so excited.  My birthday is the 28th, 39 and holding, and we plan to spend most of the day scoping out the best venue to view the Royal procession.  Not a bad way to spend a birthday if you ask me.  On the 29th, we will wake early early and head out to our pre-chosen spot.  Of course, we really have no idea what to expect in terms of number of people, I expect it to be shoulder to shoulder spectators.  I just can't believe we are going to be a part of it all.  We head back to the states on the 30th and I know we will be tired, but we will have experienced The Wedding of the year, if not decade! 

While we are on the plane back to the States, Heath and Team J|D will be in Dallas for the Russo wedding and rehearsal dinner.  It sounds like it's going to be a blast.  I wish we could be there to help, but I know the team will handle it and the results will be gorgeous!  

More posts to come, you know there will be!  Can't wait to share pics and stories of the British countryside, London, and of course Princes and Princesses. 

Cheerio!