Spring Break--Week 1

Week one of Easter Break found us starting our last big UK trip in the Lake District in NW England 4 1/2 hours from where we are. With Emily in the midst of studying Beatrix Potter we thought it a perfect beginning to our trip to go to the World of Beatrix Potter Attraction. It was well done. It was fun that Emily could be our tour guide.

Then we drove 2 1/2 more hours to Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. It was a good city for a "good" night's rest, but not much else. (Lizzie woke up 12 times during the night.)

We looked and looked for Nessie in Loch Ness but only found this one at one of the Loch Ness Museums. The lake is long and skinny and we drove around it to get to our next destination--a water resort! It was a very welcome break to a trip full of lots of driving and scenery. It was perfect timing--a snowstorm came through that night. It was lovely to look at...from a nice warm pool!

We enjoyed driving around Scotland, but our favorite rest stop (just a place to pull over, no bathrooms, of course!) had beatiful views of snow-capped mountains and free-roaming stags that did a great job at posing. The rest stop also had a visiting Scotsman who played his bagpipe.

Edinburgh

We spent the last few days of our trip enjoying this great city--lots to see.

We took a hop on hop off bus tour of the city. Jon and I always enjoy these, but this time we enjoyed it even more because Jon brought the iPod so the girls could watch 'Arthur'! Entertained kids are happy kids.

Edinburgh has a very cool-looking castle that sits on top of an extinct volcano. We played at this fun park that had a great view of the castle. The next day we toured the castle. It had a great view of the city, but it was SOOOOO cold that we sought shelter in the castle's very small chapel.

We warmed up a bit, quickly toured the rest of the castle (which included this room with swords everywhere) then looked for warmth elsewhere.

I'm wearing down! This trip was a beautiful one, but lots of walking, sleepless nights (thanks Lizzie), and VERY cold weather wore me down. So, we cut York out of our itinerary and just did a quick stop of Durham Cathedral and Castle on our way home (a 7 hour drive). I'm glad we did. The city has been preserved well--small village, small narrow roads, small shops. We walked up to the cathedral--which is well hidden at the top of the village. The cathedral was voted UK's favority building. The castle has been a university since 1840. Both were built in the 11th century.