Since Diana's birthday and our anniversary both fall in August, we've always just taken a weekend away to celebrate both events. After much research, we decided to ride the train to Newcastle and take the ferry cruise to Bergen, Norway.
James and I had a great time on this trip. It was our first cruise together I hope not the last. The ship was a ferry which transported people and cars/ motorcycle's and supplies to and from England to Norway.
The cabin was small but comfortable with two twin beds and en suite bathroom some rooms had bunk beds which thank goodness we did not get.
The weather out to Norway we had lots of sun and warm breeze,we stayed on the deck most of the day soaking up the warm sun shine.
We visited all the bars on the ship. This vacation was so relaxing. We both had books to read.
The food on the ship/ferry was wonderful we opted for the 2 course meals.
The landscape of Norway was breathtaking with the small cove villages on the coast and the many sail boats. The ship made a total of 2 stops one in and the other in Bergen.
The over night crossing got a little rough we really could feel the ferry going thru the waves
When we got to Bergen we found out that the Tall Ships Competition was taking place and they were resting in Bergen that same week-end. The town port was full of beautiful yachts and old ships and many sailors (oh my goodness they looked smart).Here's a link with some of the ships in the race
http://www.tallshipsracesbergen.no/eng/pages/The_Tallships/
Finding a place to eat was a challenge but James found a Irish pub that served a German schnitzel. We have a standing joke that I look for only German food on our holidays. Regardless if we're in Spain or Norway or Scotland. Most of the time I do find one. In our wanderings in town I found a karaoke bar it was great fun and we met the most charming couple and their friends. Most of the songs were country and western songs is was a blast to hear them sing them most were very good and the dancing was good the floor did not move.
On the ship, James took me dancing every night It was a challenge to dance with the movement of the ship. We did not stop swaying for days maybe a week after we got off the ship.
Slideshow is below
Friday, August 15, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
July Update
We try to do something, see something, or go somewhere every weekend. I mean, that's much of why we're here, and we have nothing else to do. I usually work 12-15 hours a day Monday -Thursday, but try to stop by 5 or so on Friday and take the weekend off.
In July, we went to some local town festivals around the area. These ranged from a town fair (where we got our pictures in the paper)
to a local Blues festival
to Dragon Boat races on the Thames River.
We also take the opportunity when the weather is nice to have a picnic. There's pictures here of 2, the second one in the Richmond Park, about 15 minutes walk from home.
It had been really hot here (about 80F) and you couldn't sleep at night, so we had to buy a fan. It worked, the weather turned colder :)
One weekend we went into London to the Borough Food Market where Diana found a German deli and loaded up on German meats.
Finally, the weather had been so nice we decided to go to the beach. We took the train to Bournemouth on the south coast for a weekend at the beach. The doggies loved playing ball in the sand and we had a really good time. One thing to note for this set of pictures is that all of them were taken in the same day.
In July, we went to some local town festivals around the area. These ranged from a town fair (where we got our pictures in the paper)
to a local Blues festival
to Dragon Boat races on the Thames River.
We also take the opportunity when the weather is nice to have a picnic. There's pictures here of 2, the second one in the Richmond Park, about 15 minutes walk from home.
It had been really hot here (about 80F) and you couldn't sleep at night, so we had to buy a fan. It worked, the weather turned colder :)
One weekend we went into London to the Borough Food Market where Diana found a German deli and loaded up on German meats.
Finally, the weather had been so nice we decided to go to the beach. We took the train to Bournemouth on the south coast for a weekend at the beach. The doggies loved playing ball in the sand and we had a really good time. One thing to note for this set of pictures is that all of them were taken in the same day.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Edinburgh the last leg of our Scotland tour
hoOn the way out we stopped at a working cooperage and the Glenfiddich Distillery.
We got to Edinburgh via train from Aberdeen. I found a Guest house walking distance from city center and on the bus line. The house was called The San Marco Guest house
http://www.edinburgh-guesthouse.net
It was wonderfully decorated and Avril the hostess was great and met all our needs. When we got to Edinburgh late afternoon she recommended a restaurant near that had a 2 for 1 dinner special that night. Dinner was great and the wine hit the spot. The next morning breakfast was a cooked breakfast eggs, ham, and toast beans. I choose a small breakfast cereal and fruit and one of James’s eggs. The boys got a taste of ham from breakfast that they enjoyed. (THANKS DAD).
The room was absolutely beautifully decorated 2 double beds and single bed in blue and white color scheme. The only down side to the guest house was that it did not have a green area close to walk the boys they did not like doing things on the side walk and concrete. Especially Elijah he likes grass or mulch under his feet.
Edinburgh is a medieval city it has an old town and new town we mostly walked the old town. In the old town you can walk from the castle to the palace called the royal mile. Edinburgh is a hilly city with lots of alley ways called (closes) with many steps.
We found out that the large cities in Scotland are not dog friendly. Only one pub called the Jolly Judge that we could go in with the dogs. This came in handy the last day in Scotland. We had a shock when we tried to take the boys in the Bobby pub for pint and meal. They did not allow dogs in or outside the pub because they serve food is what we were told it was against the rules. Luckily I ordered a couple pints a dram of whiskey for James before they told us that we could not have the dogs in the outside seating area. Here is a link to the history of the area and the pub and why we where disappointed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars_Bobby
In our wanderings around Edinburgh James found shop that sold old and used CD’s. He was in heaven for about an hour. We had to buy a small suitcase to bring back the whiskey and the CD’s and sweaters. I could not visit Scotland and not get a wool Scottish sweater. May be 2.
I got James and the boys trekking up a volcano rock call Arthur’s Seat in a park in Edinburgh. The view from the top was disappointing. I though that we would see the coast line. James and I did a tour called the Real Mary King’s close http://www.realmarykingsclose.com/
A tour about life was like in the old days of tenement life. The tour takes you under the modern city streets. City under the city.
Our only mistake we made in our trip of Scotland was the last day our train did not leave until after midnight. So we had all day to wait luckily we could put our luggage in storage. It was a long long day. The weather was damp and chilly so the Jolly Judge pub came in handy. We sent several hours there. We all were ready to come back home. It was an amazing holiday it was relaxing, adventurous and sometimes stretched our endurance levels (out of shape 40 something’s). We met friendly people and tasted delicious food and tasty Scottish whiskies and saw absolutely amazing scenery. Well this is the last entry about our Scotland trip. More adventures to come.
We got to Edinburgh via train from Aberdeen. I found a Guest house walking distance from city center and on the bus line. The house was called The San Marco Guest house
http://www.edinburgh-guesthouse.net
It was wonderfully decorated and Avril the hostess was great and met all our needs. When we got to Edinburgh late afternoon she recommended a restaurant near that had a 2 for 1 dinner special that night. Dinner was great and the wine hit the spot. The next morning breakfast was a cooked breakfast eggs, ham, and toast beans. I choose a small breakfast cereal and fruit and one of James’s eggs. The boys got a taste of ham from breakfast that they enjoyed. (THANKS DAD).
The room was absolutely beautifully decorated 2 double beds and single bed in blue and white color scheme. The only down side to the guest house was that it did not have a green area close to walk the boys they did not like doing things on the side walk and concrete. Especially Elijah he likes grass or mulch under his feet.
Edinburgh is a medieval city it has an old town and new town we mostly walked the old town. In the old town you can walk from the castle to the palace called the royal mile. Edinburgh is a hilly city with lots of alley ways called (closes) with many steps.
We found out that the large cities in Scotland are not dog friendly. Only one pub called the Jolly Judge that we could go in with the dogs. This came in handy the last day in Scotland. We had a shock when we tried to take the boys in the Bobby pub for pint and meal. They did not allow dogs in or outside the pub because they serve food is what we were told it was against the rules. Luckily I ordered a couple pints a dram of whiskey for James before they told us that we could not have the dogs in the outside seating area. Here is a link to the history of the area and the pub and why we where disappointed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars_Bobby
In our wanderings around Edinburgh James found shop that sold old and used CD’s. He was in heaven for about an hour. We had to buy a small suitcase to bring back the whiskey and the CD’s and sweaters. I could not visit Scotland and not get a wool Scottish sweater. May be 2.
I got James and the boys trekking up a volcano rock call Arthur’s Seat in a park in Edinburgh. The view from the top was disappointing. I though that we would see the coast line. James and I did a tour called the Real Mary King’s close http://www.realmarykingsclose.com/
A tour about life was like in the old days of tenement life. The tour takes you under the modern city streets. City under the city.
Our only mistake we made in our trip of Scotland was the last day our train did not leave until after midnight. So we had all day to wait luckily we could put our luggage in storage. It was a long long day. The weather was damp and chilly so the Jolly Judge pub came in handy. We sent several hours there. We all were ready to come back home. It was an amazing holiday it was relaxing, adventurous and sometimes stretched our endurance levels (out of shape 40 something’s). We met friendly people and tasted delicious food and tasty Scottish whiskies and saw absolutely amazing scenery. Well this is the last entry about our Scotland trip. More adventures to come.
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