Goodbye UK, hello Belgium

Reflections on the United Kingdom:

• I love it there, it makes my heart sing
• If I lived there, I would have to be a much better driver - good at reverse parking and maneuvering in narrow spaces.
• London is incredibly busy, but the Tube is brilliant. I don't know how people afford to live there.
• It's amazing how much the scenery and accents change after a relatively short drive.
• I always scoff when, in a book set in the UK, they talk about the heat. I never thought they could really be hot, but the late twenties there, are much hotter in reality, than the same temperatures at home.
• I was very, very sorry to leave.

It was Bethany's birthday yesterday; she is now 14. I didn't really think about that when planning the trip, I don't think an international flight is really the best thing to do on one's birthday, but at least we had until 2pm in Edinburgh.

We hadn't walked over the North Bridge, so we did that, going past the hotel where Tim used to work.

We explored the older part of town, until lunchtime - birthday girl's choice of Mexican.

The Edinburgh Airport experience wasn't as smooth as the Sydney one, and it seems odd to spend much longer at the airport, queuing to check luggage in, and get on the plane, than actually in the air! Not that I am complaining about a short flight, though a free cup of tea would have been nice.

We lost an hour when we arrived in Belgium, and were very pleased to join the shortest queue at customs, for the non-Europeans. It was after nine by the time we got to our hotel, just an airport one, so we just went to bed.

We saw nothing of Brussels, except from the motorway as we drove past in our HUGE Mercedes van! I chose the one vehicle I could find that would take five suitcases, and it also takes nine people.... The kids are enjoying the space.

We arrived at Ypres around midday, and quickly found our apartment. I wish we were staying longer than one night, as it is very nice indeed.

The town is lovely, too, bigger than I expected.

The Menin Gate

Our street is decorated with red, yellow and black bras, for the World Cup!?!

After a walk to explore, I talked Toby into going to the In Flanders Fields Museum with me. It was a bonus for him, as we got to climb the belfry; he does love to climb.

 The views were pretty spectacular.

We had dinner in the square, complete with Belgian beer, chips (did you know hot chips are a special Belgian thing?), and the best steak Andrew has had in many years.

It's a bookshop

We wandered a bit before taking our place, along with hundreds of others, at the Menin Gate, to remember British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed at Ypres in WWI, and don't have graves. It was very moving. The lady in white found herself moved right out onto the road, with no consideration for those of us behind her!

Belgian chocolates for good measure

The Menin Gate is, essentially, what we came for, and today was our only full day in Belgium. Tomorrow, we have a longish drive to Honfleur. We'll be in the same country as le Tour! Come on Richie Porte!

Edinburgh

I do so love Edinburgh. It is still all glorious sunshine, which makes sight-seeing so easy, but the atmosphere cannot be damaged by the weather!

Today was our only full day here, and left to my own devices, I'd have gone everywhere and done everything, but one thing I have learned about travelling as a family, is that it is best to make moderate targets, and that time to rest is necessary. So, we set out to walk the Royal Mile, from the bottom to the top.

The queen is at home at Holyroodhouse, so it isn't open to the public. The kids were far more excited about the fact that they were close to her, when standing at the gates, than they would have been on a  tour of the palace, so that worked out well. Andrew and I have already seen it, anyway. 

We wandered in and out of shops, marvelling at the ancient buildings, as well as the modern (Scottish Parliament) and when we found a sweet cafe in a tiny lane, we popped in for our first cream tea. I am not about to start eating sweet things regularly, I am perfectly happy and healthy without sugar, but there are two sweet experiences that I want to have while away - a cream tea in the UK, and gelato in Florence. One down, one to go...

We made it up to the top, where the stands are set up in preparation for the Edinburgh Tattoo. Andrew and I have been into the castle before, and the kids weren't that excited at the prospect, so we just admired the outside.

While everyone was watching a kilted duo playing Scottish tunes on violins, something caught my eye across the road. It was a really old building, that seemed to be a museum. When I got there, I found a lady from the National Trust, holding a huge owl. A real owl. It was the most beautiful thing; I was transfixed. Everyone else joined me, and the lady put the big owl away, and got out a fluffy, baby owl (still huge!). Today was this baby's first day in the public, and Bethany was the very first person to hold him. His fluffy feathers will be all gone in around four weeks, and he is just eight weeks old now.

Joss took this photo

 This was a major highlight of our trip. These birds are extraordinary. The European Eagle Owl in the wild can catch and eat foxes and deer!

Bethany also got to hold the dancing barn owl.

After lunch and a little birthday shopping (Beth turns fourteen tomorrow), some of us returned to the hotel to rest/prepare for a big night out, and one of us backtracked to find a missing backpack.

Joss and Andrew are now in Glasgow seeing Justin Timberlake. Joss bought the tickets for the 5th of July, when we were staying nearer Glasgow and had a car, but JT put his tour back a couple of days, so they have ended up with a long train trip at either end of the concert. At least he didn't postpone it for more than two days, because we leave the country tomorrow!

Toby and I were hoping to climb Arthur's Seat this afternoon, but having lost some time to backpack retrieval and World Cup watching, we settled for climbing the Scott Monument. Great views, and the Fitbit floor count is very healthy for today (54).

On her birthday Bethany gets to wake up in one country, and go to sleep in another. We fly to Brussels tomorrow afternoon, though quite late, so we'll have more time in Edinburgh first. I will be sorry to leave the U.K. and am not looking forward to feeling stressed about my lack of French! Still, adventure beckons.....

Serenity

There is definitely something peaceful about having no service on one's phone!

Our cabin for the last four nights was right on Loch Lomond, around seven kilometers up the road from the sweet village of Luss. As soon as we arrived, Toby spotted the looming peak across the loch and set his heart on climbing it. Investigations suggested that it was a job for full hiking gear, boots at the very least, and would take four or five hours. I suggested we climb Ben A'an, something Andrew and I did last time. It was steep enough for me to worry about losing my breakfast; surely that would do!

It wouldn't do, and given that Toby has followed along with all we have done, when he hasn't really been interested, we needed to make it happen.

First, though, we drove over to St Andrew's to catch up with the Hollands, who used to go to our church. Jonathon was at work, but we had such a lovely time with Catherine and the girls. We got to see their new house, one of a row of four cottages in the middle of fields, next to a wood, and the kids played with the girls. They lost two balls over the fence and had fun rescuing one of them from amongst the nettles.

After lunch we followed their car into St Andrew's driving past the famous golf course. They play golf there, apparently. Andrew was impressed. I was impressed by the university buildings, and the ruins of the castle and cathedral.

It's a beautiful town, and the scenery on the way there and back, as well as being able to see and hear about the Hollands' life in Scotland, made it all well worth the drive.

The next day we went into Glasgow, especially for Andrew and Toby's tour of Celtic Park.

The huge building across the road is a velodrome, which Joss was very keen to take a look at. We interacted with three people in order to make this happen, and I had to say "sorry" or "pardon" around six times. How crazy that they were speaking English, but my brain just couldn't decipher it!

While the boys were at Celtic Park, and after we had checked out the velodrome, Joss, Beth and I walked to a local shopping centre. Celtic Park is not in the nicest part of Glasgow, and though we drove into the centre of town afterwards, I still didn't see anything very nice. We missed the lovely parts of Glasgow, and really needed a guide, or to have done more research.

What we did get, however, was a pair of hiking boots each for Andrew and Toby. The following morning, which is yesterday now, they donned their new boots packed water, food, and jackets, and drove off early to conquer the mountain. You'll have to see Andrew's photos to get a fraction of an idea of how beautiful the scenery was from the top of Ben Lomond. Toby pretty much floated up and down again, absolutely loving it. Andrew made it up alright, but did some pretty significant damage on the way down, and is suffering a bit today!

The girls had a quiet day; I did some washing and then walked the seven kilometers or so into Luss. I wandered around the village, full of sweet cottages,

 ... a very pretty church,

... a clan shop with Campbell merchandise,

...and kayaks. This is Toby and Joss. Andrew and Beth were in another one.

We left Loch Lomond this morning and drove to Edinburgh airport to drop off our car. It has been a  good friend for two weeks. Now, we are in Edinburgh, and how I love it here.

Joss' new Docs.

We have wandered, shopped, been to the National Gallery, and out for dinner. Now, the football.

Grandeur

One of the extraordinary things about England, is that it changes so much when you travel even a relatively short distance. The countryside changes dramatically, as do the accents of the people. Every time you turned around in London, you saw a Pret a Manger, and we haven't seen one since.

We left our Matlock accommodation yesterday morning and drove to Chatsworth. This was a great highlight of our last trip, and Andrew especially was looking forward to taking the kids to see it. Seeing such places prompts lots of discussions about how the world has changed, and what these places need to do, these days, in order to keep going. Chatsworth, of course, does it all particularly well.

There was a golden statue, in this chapel, of Bartholomew, holding a huge pair of scissors, and his skin! Most unpleasant. Bethany, who didn't really notice the skinlessness, took a photo and then edited it to make it PG.

I so love the chinoiserie wallpaper!

After the house, we fortified ourselves with icecream or coffee, chatted to a fat pug called Rupert (everyone brings their dogs to the gardens, and pugs are very popular), then set off to explore the gardens.

We spent 3 1/2 hours there, seeing the bare minimum, before we started driving north to Yorkshire. The countryside is so different; wild, windy, and divided up by drystone walls. It's Brontë country alright.

Today, we drove a short distance on the narrowest roads to Haworth and the Brontë Parsonage museum.

This is the original painting by Branwell Brontë, of his sisters, having removed himself. It is currently on loan to the museum.

All the family, except Anne, are buried under the church

I may have cried a little bit on visiting Charlotte's house. The museum was fascinating, and the town itself, is hilly, with cobbled streets in the centre. There are many references to the Brontë family. Joss ate an eclair from the Vilette bakery.

Toby, Andrew and I went for a walk to the Brontë waterfalls, across fields, up and down steep hills.

Tomorrow, it's up to Scotland.