Edinburgh: Day 3 Britannia

On our next day in Edinburgh (which was last Monday), we went to see the Royal Yacht Britannia.
Basically, HMY (Her Majesty's Yacht) Britannia was Queen Elizabeth's mini-cruise ship. It was originally built in early 1950's for Queen Elizabeth's father, King George VI. But, he died four months before it was completed. So, when Elizabeth succeeded him to the throne, her and her husband, Prince Philip, took over with completing the design and choosing the decor for the ship.

Since the time of its commission in the 1950s, Britannia has traveled around the world several times. It has hosted many world leaders, including several US presidents, and was even equipped to host up to 250 people for royal banquets. It also served as a Honeymoon vessel for 3 of the Queen's children, including Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981.

In the late 1990s, it was decided that the cost of maintaining the Britannia was too excessive, so the government decided that it should be retired. It is said that the Queen wept openly when she disembarked Britannia for the last time. Apparently, she treasured this ship as a place where she could truly relax. It isn't easy being queen....
Anyway, the tour was very nice. Our admission included an audio tour, and we were able to walk about at our own pace. This is a picture of the queen's bedroom. Prince Philip had his own room that connected to hers.
This is a picture of the State Dining Room. The audio tour said that it would take over 2 hours for this table to be set, as all of the pieces of silverware, etc. were measured with a ruler!

After a meal, the guests would then move into the drawing room, below.We also were able to see the crew's quarters, and the officers lounges. It was fun hearing of the quirky games that they had made up. For example, in one room, there was a stuffed animal on the overhead fan that served as some kind of fun, and there was also a stuffed monkey that was hidden each day in a new place. (If you look really closely, you can see it hiding in the glass cabinet, just to the left of the gold ship).
The queen even had a garage for her Rolls Royce on board.
There were a lot of personal photographs on board. Ethan and I liked this one of the Royal Family the best (sorry, my flash blocked out Princess Anne's face).
It was a neat tour, and we learned a lot about the royal family.

After we left the Britannia, we headed to the Royal Botanic Gardens. When we got there around 3:30pm, all the kids were napping in the car. So we let them sleep for a few minutes more before we headed into the gardens. Just as we walked in, we heard the guide at the gate saying how the gardens was closing at 4pm (in 5 minutes). So, we ran around one loop, and took a picture to prove that we had gone there. We obviously didn't get to see very much. So, we finished our day back at the hotel, eating dinner there, and of course, swimming in the pool.

Edinburgh: Day 2

On our first full day in Edinburgh, we decided to go into the city center, called Old Town. Fortunately, our hotel was a two minute walk to a train station, and just two stops away from the city's main train station.

Our first impression of Edinburgh was that it was HILLY! When you are pushing a stroller, you notice that right away!

Our second impression was that the city is so unique in its geography. As we continued walking uphill, we were able to see Edinburgh Castle. This castle was built on the top of an extinct volcano, and was just stunning! We decided to go there first. As we approached the castle and looked around, we were able to see a large mountain off to the east. This mountain, as well as much of the Scottish countryside, is a glacial formation, and the very top of it is called "Arthur's Seat." You can hike up there, but we decided to save that for our next visit! Also from the castle, you can see a body of water to the north of the city called the Firth of Forth. The Firth of Forth is a fjord (glacially formed) and flows into the North Sea.Here are a few shots of the front of Edinburgh Castle.
A castle was first built here on Castle Rock back in the 1100s, by King David I. The only part of that castle that remains today is the chapel that he built for his mother, called St. Margaret's Chapel (below).Since then, the castle has changed hands between the English and the Scots a number of times. Parts of the castle have been destroyed and rebuilt over time. What you see in our photos was rebuilt and renovated in the 15-1600s.On our tour, we were able to admire the views of the city,see the Honours of Scotland (which included the crown jewels, sword, scepter, and "stone of destiny"),and see the Great Hall. While in the great hall, we watched a demonstration by a tour guide on how to fold a kilt. I learned that traditionally, a kilt was actually a rectangular piece of cloth that was used as a sleeping bag by night, and clothing by day. The guide demonstrated different ways of tying the kilt so that they could wear part of it over their heads to keep warm or use it to carry things on their side. I never knew kilts could be so purposeful!

When we left Edinburgh Castle, we headed down the "Royal Mile" which is the main street of Edinburgh. The street is cobble-stoned, and lined with souvenir shops. The shops had a lot of wool products and whiskey. The kids each got a t-shirt, and Tim got a Scottish rugby ball.

Our next stop was the Museum of Childhood. We chose this because... well, it was full of toys, and admission was free! This museum had a wonderful collection of toys, mostly from the early to mid 1900s. Maddie fell in love with a horse while we were there, and I actually found a doll that I had when I was a kid! I recognized it as soon as I saw it. It was a little red riding hood doll, that when you flipped the skirt over, the other side was her granny. I had mixed feelings about seeing it, to be quite honest. I was thrilled to see a toy that took me on a trip down memory lane, but not so thrilled that something I played with is in a museum. What does that really say about how old I am??

Anyway, after our time in the Museum of Childhood, we looked for a place to eat. Finding a place that serves beer and welcomes children isn't always easy to find. But, we found a restaurant called Decon Brodies that had a family friendly restaurant upstairs above the bar. The atmosphere was very pub-like, and I could even hear a person playing bagpipes from out of the open window! For dinner, Ethan ordered the "Haggis, Neep, and Tatties," the kids shared a bangers (sausage) and mash, and I got a Scottish steak pie.

So... Haggis. I remember a friend telling me once what haggis was, and I remembered that it was something really gross, but I couldn't remember exactly what it was. So, I told myself that I would try it first, and then look up what it was later. This is what Wikipedia says about haggis:
"Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish. There are many recipes, most of which have in common the following ingredients: sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours."
Yeah... I knew it was something gross. To be honest though, it didn't taste too bad. It was kind of like meat loaf. By the way, the "neeps" were mashed turnips, and the "tatties" were mashed potatoes.

Dessert, thankfully, was not as questionably made. We ordered something called "Chocolate Bumpy Lumpy." It was made with chocolate sponge (cake), topped with chocolate mousse, topped with cheesecake, topped with chocolate sauce. It was good. Tim even said it was his 3rd favorite food ever (#1 is NY pizza, and #2 is Reece's PB cups)! I thought that was cute!

So, that was our second day in Edinburgh. It was full, as you can tell. Next time, I will blog about our third day and our tour of the Royal Yacht Brittania.

Road Trip to Edinburgh: Day 1

Well, we are back on the road again! And this time, with a baby. I had forgotten how much extra work it is to travel with a baby! So much extra stuff to pack!

Anyway, Tim and Maddie had this week off from school, and Ethan had Monday off for Presidents' Day, so we thought it would be a good time for a road trip. And what better place, than our northern neighbor of Scotland.

The capitol city of Edinburgh (pronounced "ed-in-burra;" not "burg" like "Pittsburgh") is about a 4 hour drive from our house. We had heard that it was a great city to visit, so we planned our trip. We left last Saturday (Valentines' Day), and returned on Tuesday.

Since we were traveling with a baby, we looked for ways to break up our trip. On the way there, we stopped at a town called Carlisle, which is located on the western coast of England, very close to the Scottish border. While we were there, we stopped and did a quick tour of Carlisle Castle. This castle was originally built in 1093 (although what you see here in the pictures was rebuilt in the 19th century), and its purpose was to keep the northern border of England secured against the threat of invasion from Scotland. It has been the site of many significant battles, and has changed hands along the way. Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned here for a short time after her flight from Scotland, as well.
Although brief, our tour of the castle was very interesting. This part of the castle was called "the Keep," I suppose because it is where they kept supplies, weapons, and prisoners. As a part of our tour, we were able to see the dungeons where prisoners were kept. In the photo above, can you see the smooth stones in the center? Those are called the "Licking Stones" because the prisoners would lick them to get the condensation off of them. Gross, huh?All in all, it was a worthwhile stop, as it allowed the kids time to run around for a while, and I could feed Collin.

After our time at the castle, we got back in the car and finished our trip. Except for some fog and some trouble actually finding our hotel (we saw the hotel, but could not get to it as it was on the other side of a railroad track... very frustrating!!), everything went fine.

Our hotel was very nice. The hotel chain is called Novotel, which I had never heard of before. It was very modern, and even had a pool. The kids loved that, of course. In fact, if you ask them what their favorite part about our trip to Edinburgh was, they would say the pool.

Well, there was a lot more to our trip than the pool. I will blog about our day in the city of Edinburgh next time, which included a visit of Edinburgh Castle. Two castles in two days? That the UK for you!

A Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Day! (Well, except for the tantrum)

Yesterday, I took Tim and Maddie to Manchester to see the theater production of Mary Poppins (or as my dad would call it, "Mary Poopins"). Now you may not know this about me, but I love Mary Poppins! I have watched the movie many, many times. When I found out that they were making it into a musical, I knew I had to see it.

I found out a few months ago that there was a touring company production of the show coming to Manchester, which is a little less than 2 hours away. The base offered a day trip to go, but the price was outrageous! So, I looked into it myself, and was so pleased when I was able to buy all three tickets and train tickets for half of the price they quoted on base.

I told Tim and Maddie about a month ago that I had a special surprise for them. Tim was very excited, but Maddie said, "I don't want to go. I want to stay home." Now, if you know Maddie, you know that she has this keen ability to anticipate what emotional response someone expects from her, and then produce the exact opposite emotional response. So, I didn't let it bother me.

For the past few weeks, I've been trying to get Maddie excited about the show, and help her know what to expect. She seemed to warm up to the idea, so I didn't worry... too much.

So yesterday, Ethan stayed home from work to watch Collin, and the rest of us got on the train at Harrogate, and took it to Manchester (with a couple of transfers along the way... I was most nervous about doing that on my own). But, we made it just fine. We got there very early, and found a nice Italian restaurant to have lunch at. The kids were very happy to get pizza, and I was delighted to teach my kids what profiteroles were!

After lunch, we headed out the door to walk across the street to the theater. That's when the tantrum started. Maddie put on the brakes, and wouldn't walk an inch. She got this terrified look on her face, and she started to say, "I want to go home!"

So, not knowing what to do, I carried her across the street, trying to ask her what was wrong. When we got in line to go in the theater, she pulled out all the stops. She was now kicking, crying, and screaming, "I WANT TO GO HOME!!!" I have to say, the people around me were very understanding. I had three older women come up to me to try and help console her, and they showed great compassion to both of us. How grateful I was for that instead of condemming looks.

Anyway, when inside the theater, I found a little nook for me to set her down, and try to calm her down. Again, I tried asking her what she was feeling, and how I could help her. That didn't work, so then we called Daddy. That helped somewhat, and enabled us to sit down.

When the lights dimmed, Maddie started up again. But then Bert came out on the stage singing, and that was the end of the tantrum. Thank you Lord.

The show was just wonderful. It was quite different than the movie, actually, with the songs rearranged, and the plot and characters more developed. There were fun tricks like Bert walking up a wall, and Mary Poppins flying around over the audience. It was so much fun, and I was so delighted to share it with my kids. I loved looking over at Tim, who was wide-eyed throughout the play. His mind was very busy trying to figure out how they made the lights look like rain and the kites fly. After the show, we lingered behind, and I took the kids up to the front to see the orchestra pit. Tim loved that too!

We then headed out to the lobby and bought two outrageously overpriced souvenirs, and then we headed back to the train. It had been a very long day. But, except for the tantrum, it was "practically perfect in every way!"

And the other way....

Collin surprised us once again when he rolled over the other way (from back to front) today. I missed the first time he did it, but found him on his stomach after I had left him playing on his back. This is his second roll.


By the way, he seems to have forgotten how to roll from front to back. The day I posted the blog was the only time he was able to do it.

In other news, we tried feeding Collin
cereal for the first time this week. He seemed pretty confused by the whole process, and doesn't appear to have that tongue reflex that moves his food to the back of his mouth. We'll try again in a few days.

Maddie's British Accent

My friend Krista recommended that I record Maddie speaking in her British accent. So, the other day, I caught Maddie and Tim playing on video. Often, when Maddie is playing or reading, she will speak in a British accent. When she speaks with children, she almost always defaults to British, as well.



But, as evidenced by this footage, you can see that she can turn it on and off like a switch (especially when it comes to yelling at her brother).



This is a short video of Collin's favorite, new thing to do in his bouncy seat. I guess this is why they call it a bouncy seat!! (That's Maddie laughing in the background.)