Day 5: Edinburgh

Our day long adventure in Edinburgh began with a double decker bus ride and an extremely steep trek up to Edinburgh Castle. The castle itself was gorgeous but the views were also to die for.

There was also something quite special kept in the castle that we had the priviledge of seeing (but no pictures): the Scotish Crown Jewels!

Once out of the castle, we made our way down The Royal Mile enjoying the shops and the amazing architecture all along the street. We walked all the way down this street to see Hollyrood Palace, which is where the Queen stays when she visits Scotland. After finishing The Royal Mile, we went to explore the nice shops on Princes Street. This was also where they had the Ferris wheel for the festivals going on and a building/monument affectionately known as the Scottish Rocket.

We then wandered up the hill to the National Museum of Scotland. It was quite a large and amazing museum. Too much to do and see in one trip, so we cherry picked the exhibits we wanted to see the most. So we went through the natural world area and then the interactive science area, which is where we found Dolly the sheep! We then adventured through their Scottish exhibits while on our way up to their rooftop terrace where there were some beautiful views of the city surrounding the building. 

After visiting the museum, we went looking for the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book. Then we went on a hunt for a few grave stones in the graveyard behind the cafe, where she got a few names for characters in the series! I really enjoyed wandering through the old headstones. It may seem odd but I'm one of those people that sees the beauty in places like this and I really love spending time meandering through the stones.

This graveyard was also the home to the grave of the Greyfriars Bobby. The story is that this little dog was so fiercely loyal to his owner that even when the man died, the dog stayed by his grave until he too died years later. He now has a statue, where his nose has been rubbed to a shiny gold color, due to it being good luck to rub his nose.

After this busy day full of hills, sore calves, and lots of fun, it was nice to have a quiet evening in the hotel with a bottle of wine, some British television, and our spectacular view of the city.

Day 4: Carlisle -> Edinburgh

" We're going to the chapel and we're gonna get married!"

The morning started with our group running across the border into Scotland to witness two of our own tie the knot against their parents' (and the law's) wishes. Of course that day's ceremony wasn't legitimate, but it was how we got into character for our visit to Gretna Green. It's a tiny town just across the English border in Scotland where couples who wished to marry, but were deemed too young by the law, would run to and be married in the blacksmith's shop.

While there, we also took a group photo with the happy couple! (Mom and Dad if you are reading this, it should be coming in the mail any day now. That is, if it's not already there!) 

From there, we traveled to a place wherea Roman emperor, named Hadrian, built a wall and fort to keep the "hairy northerners" (Scottish) out of England. It was quite the hike up a giant hill to get to this site, but the views from the top were spectacular!

Then it was time to officially cross into Scotland and head off to Edinburgh!

We had a free night in town to grab dinner wherever we wanted and then walk around as we pleased. Jordan, Acacia, and I got pizza and then we only strolled a little before catching a cab back to the hotel, because we wanted to save our energy for our full day in the city the next day. The cab ride was actually pretty exciting because it was all of our first times in a taxi abroad, and it was also Jordan's first time in a cab ever!

Exciting times here in Scotland!

Day 3: York -> Carlisle via Lakes District

Then it was time to travel through what I consider the most picturesque part of England; the Lake District. It was probably the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The entire landscape looks like a postcard!

Throughout this area, there are numerous lakes (hence the name). We visited one very famous lake and it's little town. Lake Windemere. Well known for it's beautiful views, but probably better known for one of its residents: Beatrix Potter. 

Once we got there, Jordan and I headed straight for the World of Beatrix Potter attraction so we could meet all of her little animal friends! Now it was geared a bit more towards children, but we thouroughly enjoyed ourselves. 

After our little adventures with Peter Rabbit, we relaxed by the lake with some lunch and ice cream. It was beautiful. And we made quite a few feathered friends!

We then hoped back on the coach and traveled to an activities center out in the midst of the rolling green hills. Here we were able to choose an activity to do for a few hours. Jordan did the ropes course (duh!) and I did archery! It was a blast!

Then we continued on to Carlisle. A small  city where our hotel was located. Once we had all checked in to the hotel and gotten dinner, we went to an Australian bar called the Walkabout to have drinks and watch the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina. (Wohoo Germany won!)  After the game, we moved our group to a great karaoke bar, run by a transvestite, called Outrageous! It was a gloriously good time and the perfect end to a long day!

Day 2: Liverpool -> York

This day we had a later start, so before heading off, a large number of us went to visit Liverpool's cathedral. It was beautiful inside and out! 

We then hopped on the coach and headed for York, where we had our free time to explore. I really loved York, it was full of beautiful buildings, great shops, a yummy milkshake bar, and streets that looked like they came out of Harry Potter. 

After wandering for the day, we all had dinner in a pub, where I got to try Yorkshire pudding! It's basically a pastry bowl (sort of) with gravy. It was pretty good!

After that we did a bit more wandering and then jumped on the coach to drive to our hotel in Leeds. At the hotel there was an overbooking of rooms with two beds, so 6 of us had to be in rooms where we shared a bed (which I suppose would be awkward for people rooming with someone they don't really know, but all the people that it happened to had come together so we didn't care). Of course to make up for this "inconvenience" they gave us each a complimentary bottle of wine! A great day can always be made better with alcohol!

Day 1: London -> Liverpool

The first day of our tour began with an early meet up at 6:30am. Normally waking up early wouldn't be too much of a problem, but we now have jet lag as our traveling companion, so it was quite hard to drag ourselves out of bed. 

After loading everyone and their luggage onto the coach, we were off! 

We had a grand tour of London (in the rain) from our coach. No stops. Jordan and I will be exploring London after the tour. 

After this whirlwind tour, we made our way to Liverpool, where we basically had free time to explore until our Beatles tour. 

Our Beatles tour was pretty amazing. We got to see all the places that they lived and worked, places that they wrote songs about (like the famous Penny Lane!!), and got to hear a heap of Beatles history. 

That night, after dinner, we went out to The Cavern Club. It's where the Beatles got their start! It was very exciting, very loud, and very hot, but loads of fun. 

Overall, an amazing first day of our tour!

The rest of our travel day

Well we had a pretty uneventful 4 hour layover in Chicago, so I won't waste time talking about it. 

Our 7 hour British Airways flight to London was amazing!! They had little entertainment systems at each seat with great movies and music. The food was also really good. For dinner we had chicken curry with a roll, a salad, and a lemon cake for desert. Then we were also given crossiants for breakfast! Over all it was great flying experience!

Then we finally landed in London! It took a while to get our bags (when does it not?) but our waiting paid off because as we were walking out of baggage claim, Ed Sheeran walked right passed us!! Talk about a great welcome to London!

Then it was time to figure out the tube and get ourselves to our hotel (all of which turned out to be really easy!). 

View from our hotel room!

After settling into our room we went exploring for a few hours and then went back to crash for a couple hours before our meeting with our tour group. 

After this exhaustingly long day, we went to bed! It was glorious how we both fell asleep the moment we hit the bed!

Today is the day!

Today we start our trek to London! 

Right now Jordan and I are sitting in the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport waiting for our flight to Chicago. We have been here since about 7:15 am and our flight doesn't leave till 11:10 am. Needless to say we are very bored and very ready to get on this plane. 

Well I better go, they are finally starting to board our plane! See ya in Chicago!