Road Trip from Scotland to England

Although we could have taken a major motorway on our road trip home from Scotland, we decided it would be more fun to take the backroads and make some stops along the way (I think Brian also suggested this because he knows how much I hate road trips and thought this would help keep me distracted)! =)

As we drove, we saw some of the most 'scenic vistas' we've ever seen! The roads were quite small and windy at times, but that wasn't the worst part. We kept seeing signs for "blind summits," and it wasn't long until we discovered what those were! For those who don't know, it's basically when the road you're on changes elevation pretty quickly, to the point where the car in front of you suddenly disappears until you then make it over the crest of the hill. Our stomachs kept dropping out from us, but luckily neither of us got sick.

We looked for brown signs during the drive which point out historic and other interesting points along the way. We were able to see a really cool bridge, a castle, a house where Mary Queen of Scots lived, and some other really cute towns. Plus, we made a stop on the top of a hill-mountain (couldn't decide which it was) at the border between Scotland and England. It was fun to see the giant rock with one country on each side plus see the flags of both countries.

Here are our favorite pictures from the drive. =)

A Wee Bit o' Edinburgh, Scotland

Brian and I ventured north this past weekend to visit Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was about a 7 1/2 - 8 hour car ride, but the scenic vistas along the way made the drive seem a lot shorter. Seeing as how Brian and I both grew up and have always lived in a place with little to no elevation, we are always amazed to see mountains and giant hills!

We arrived in Scotland on Friday around lunchtime and headed straight to Edinburgh Castle, which seemed more like a giant fort complex. It's always amazing to us to see such history in these places - you can even see the room where Mary Queen of Scots delivered the baby who would become the first King to rule over Scotland and England. The day was really rainy and cold though so after venturing around the city for a little bit after the castle, we sought cover in a restaurant where Brian tried traditional Scottish haggis, which is basically the intestines of a sheep...

On Saturday, we got up early and headed back near the castle to explore the Royal Mile that runs through town. It's supposed to be a good part of town for Scottish culture and shopping, but overall we were pretty disappointed. There were just so many cheesy Scottish souvenir shops, and once you've seen one or two, you've seen them all! We skipped the shopping and focused more on the cultural side of Edinburgh, which included visits to the Musem of Childhood where you got to see toys dating back more than 100 years and a visit to the Holyrood Palace which is the official residence of Her Majesty the Queen when she visits Scotland each year.

Probably our favorite stop though was to the Scottish Whisky Experience. You actually got 'into' a whisky barrel and traveled through the journey of making whisky (very similar to Finding Nemo or other rides like that at Disney, except with alcohol)! We then did a whisky tasting where we decided neither of us is really fond of the substance. The tour ended up with a HUGE collection of rare whisky bottles. Definitely a must-see for anyone visiting Edinburgh!

On the way home, we stayed off the main highway and took the more scenic backroads through Scotland back to England. More on that adventure to come soon... In the meantime, click here to see pictures from our trip to the city of Edinburgh.

Swine Flu in the UK

As is the case around the world, swine flu is a very hot topic in the UK right now. England has developed a very interesting plan to deal with the increasing number of cases:

• First, you are supposed to have a "flu buddy." This is the person who can go pick up your medications, etc. if you do have swine flu so you aren't out and about and infecting other people. Brian and I are officially each other's "flu buddies" now. =)
• Second, the UK actually doesn't want you to go to your doctor if you think you have swine flu. Instead, you are supposed to go online or call the swine flu hotline and check off what symptoms you have. If you meet the criteria for swine flu, you are given a prescription for Tamiflu that your flu buddy can then take to the pharmacy. The news said it was the first time you were able to get something like Tamiflu without actually seeing a doctor!

This website/hotline idea is very interesting because they are using those numbers to estimate how many people have swine flu in the UK. And they are saying that they are hoping that people won't abuse the system. With how scared everyone is though, I'm sure there are a ton of people who are calling just to have the Tamiflu on-hand in case.

The news is also reporting that British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are now screening passengers to see if you have any hints of swine flu and will not let you fly if you have any symptoms whatsoever. Brian and I had both better be perfectly healthy on Sept. 4 because I want to come home!!! =)

In case you are interested, here is some official swine flu information from the NHS.

P.S.: There are actually notices at our gym that one of the daycare (or "creche") teachers has swine flu. Thank goodness we don't have kids yet!!!

Visiting Cambridge

Brian and I have been to Cambridge several times for furniture shopping, but we've always stayed on the outskirts of the town and not really seen the history and culture of it. So this weekend we decided to spend Saturday doing a tour and exploring Cambridge. We learned a lot about the history of the university and colleges there - our tour guide was a Cambridge grad and VERY proud of it! The sheer beauty of the chapels at the colleges we visited was amazing - a lot were constructed or finished during the time of Henry VIII in the 1500s.

We couldn't have asked for a prettier day to explore the town. While we enjoyed the sightseeing, the food we were able to eat was a very big highlight too. =) As I'm sure we've told you, we haven't been able to find really good Mexican food or any sushi in Bury St. Edmunds. Seeing as how Cambridge is a student town, we were finally able to find both! We enjoyed a beautiful picnic on one of the lawns featuring HUGE burritos that reminded us of Chipotle or Tijuana Flats. Then for dinner, we ate at a great sushi restaurant called Yaki-Teri (it's sister restaurant Teri-Ayki was right next-door). We were very happy (and full!) when we drove home.

One of the biggest touristy things to do while in Cambridge is to rent a punting boat to go down the River Cam. Smart as we are, we decided to watch along the river instead of actually trying it. That was definitely a good thing because people were getting stuck, getting wet, and just didn't seem to be enjoying it that much! It was so funny because we saw all these couples trying to make it like a romantic gandola trip in Venice, but it just wasn't working. Our recommendation for friends who visit and want to try this is to pay a little extra and leave the rowing part to the professionals... =)

View our photos from the day here.

Off to the Races!

On Friday night, Brian and I headed to a town called Newmarket for a Kentucky-Derby-type event: the Newmarket Horse Races! Having never been to a race before, we didn't know ANYTHING about wagering on horses so we just went with the names we liked (we bet on Magnificence, Black Sapphire, The Happy Hammer, and Aggravation among others). =) We did very small wagers so we weren't too upset when we didn't win anything by the end of the night.

The idea is to get dressed up, complete with hat and everything; however, almost everyone decided to forgo that on the night we went because there were terrential downpours at one point and then a steady rainfull most of the night... (what else do you expect in England, right?) We will have more glamorous pictures next year hopefully!

After the horse races, the Pussycat Dolls actually performed - we thought it was very random that they were in a small English town, but they gave a great concert!

We were outside in the cold rain for a long time, but we had a great time and definitely plan to go back next year. We will just need to study more and pick better horses... ;)

The Joys of Flat-Pack Furniture

We are currently in the process of furnishing our home, and with that comes A LOT of flat-pack furniture! Flat-pack furniture is huge here, mainly because most of the homes have these tiny little staircases. So in general, you just order the furniture in its flat-pack boxes, get those boxes up to the room where the piece will be located, and then assemble it. Our wardrobe (which took 7 hours to construct!) can't make it out of the room now without being disassembled. The quality has been good though, and we have gotten very good with putting things together now. We even bought an electric screwdriver this weekend to help speed up the process even more. =)

To complete the furniture purchasing for our new house, we traveled to London yesterday to visit the giant of flat-pack furniture - IKEA. We spent 3 1/2 hours through that giant store and are now waiting for the final pieces of the guest room wardrobe to be delivered so we can have it all set up for guests. =) (Quick note - I almost had a mental breakdown in the final pick-up areas of IKEA when we couldn't find the parts we needed for the wardrobe! That store is so overwhelming!)

Also as a note, as a result of all of this furniture, we have generated a lot of cardboard, styrofoam, etc. Our trash and recycle pick-up is quite interesting here - each one only gets picked up once a week. As a result, we have had to visit the local Recycling Center quite often lately! It's just this huge place where you can go to take extra household "rubbish" or recyclables that don't fit into your bins.

Final pictures of the house to come soon. We can't wait to be done with the purchasing and assembling of furniture!

4th of July in the UK

Yesterday marked the 4th of July -- it was definitely ironic for us to be celebrating America's independence from England while living in England! =) We had a great day though and tried to celebrate just like we would if we were home in Florida.

We started off by going to our semi-weekly market to pick up some fruits and vegetables for the week. For lunch, we stopped by one of the market stands and got a hamburger and hot dog in honor of the day.

After lunch, we headed down to one of the local pubs for a BBQ with Brian's colleagues (some American, some British). They had a real pig roast (which I just couldn't eat!), and other 4th of July favorites with a British spin. For example, we had a curry potato salad and we had English mustard instead. (British mustard is like our mustard at home except with a kicking dash of horseradish that can clear your sinuses!)

We also played our first game of Boules, actually a French game kind of like horseshoes. Amazingly, I ended up being really good at it - my team won the girl's game!

All in all, we had a great 4th! Next up: Labor Day, but this time, we will actually be in the States... =)