Monday, May 29, 2006
Not a travel agent, eh? - Sunday, May 28
Note: Donna wrote this one too
In the first few days I found that I have not been called to be a tour guide. Just shortly after 3:30 am this morning I realized, I should add travel agent to the list of things that I am not suited for. I planned our lovely excursion to Edinburgh, Scotland with the intent to have as much time as we needed to see the city. I did not account for the fact that we would need sleep or the fact that we would be worn out from three days of touring London. Oh well, right?
We had to wake up by 3:30 to catch a 4:30 train to Gatwick. A clue that under no circumstance should any person be awake at 4:30 am, was that the tube didn’t start operating until 6 am. We caught a cab to Victoria Station and made it with plenty of time for the 4:30 am train. Our flight was at 6:30 am and I fell asleep as soon as we sat down. Andrew, who seemed more exhausted than I did, only managed to get a 20 minute nap in…his body apparently has a 20-minute limit for airplane naps. I got off the plane feeling refreshed and Andrew got off the plane and wanted to crawl into bed.
With absolutely no clue of what we should do in Scotland, we decided we should start with the obvious…breakfast. We found a hidden little hole in the wall where I got uncooked bacon and egg and Andrew got last night’s trash. Amazingly, he didn’t quite finish his meal.
We followed Frommer’s guide on Edinburgh for most of the day. Edinburgh, much like London is currently under construction. We started out at the Edinburgh Castle, where we were appalled at the admissions’ price; that is until we realized that you could spend about a half-day just walking around and seeing all of the museums. I was amazed by how many tourist shops they had 1000 years ago. You’d think that sort of thing would have been weird in a castle, but no, just about every 50 feet they had one, just in case. As amazing as the castle and museums inside were, the most enjoyable part of our visit inside the castle was the 10 minute movie on Scotland’s tradition of war. The first time it was interesting, the second time it gave us both a chance for a much needed power nap.
Next we walked down the Royal mile and saw all of the well known sites. I’d tell you what they were, but we didn’t have the book out and I haven’t read it to find out what we took a picture of. Here are two of the better shots:
We next attempted a nice walk up a hill that Andrew thought would take at least an hour to complete, but I didn’t think so. Half-way there in under 5 minutes, we confirmed what I have always known, I was right.
We spent some time hunting for some strange monument. Once there we sat around and rested on the hill. Andrew informed me that the monuments are incomplete and are considered “Edinburgh’s Disgrace.” I thought they were neat.
We found some food then walked around a bit. I introduced Andrew to one of Britain’s finer sides, the soft-serve ice cream, with flake. Realizing that my schedule had allowed just too much time, we headed for the airport where Andrew finally got that much needed rest. The flight left at 9 pm and we got to the airport at 5. I think he got at least 2-3 hours in and I was the hero for suggesting it.
We finally got home and went to bed shortly after midnight. Now I know for future planning that a 21 hour day is not a good idea.
In the first few days I found that I have not been called to be a tour guide. Just shortly after 3:30 am this morning I realized, I should add travel agent to the list of things that I am not suited for. I planned our lovely excursion to Edinburgh, Scotland with the intent to have as much time as we needed to see the city. I did not account for the fact that we would need sleep or the fact that we would be worn out from three days of touring London. Oh well, right?
We had to wake up by 3:30 to catch a 4:30 train to Gatwick. A clue that under no circumstance should any person be awake at 4:30 am, was that the tube didn’t start operating until 6 am. We caught a cab to Victoria Station and made it with plenty of time for the 4:30 am train. Our flight was at 6:30 am and I fell asleep as soon as we sat down. Andrew, who seemed more exhausted than I did, only managed to get a 20 minute nap in…his body apparently has a 20-minute limit for airplane naps. I got off the plane feeling refreshed and Andrew got off the plane and wanted to crawl into bed.
With absolutely no clue of what we should do in Scotland, we decided we should start with the obvious…breakfast. We found a hidden little hole in the wall where I got uncooked bacon and egg and Andrew got last night’s trash. Amazingly, he didn’t quite finish his meal.
We followed Frommer’s guide on Edinburgh for most of the day. Edinburgh, much like London is currently under construction. We started out at the Edinburgh Castle, where we were appalled at the admissions’ price; that is until we realized that you could spend about a half-day just walking around and seeing all of the museums. I was amazed by how many tourist shops they had 1000 years ago. You’d think that sort of thing would have been weird in a castle, but no, just about every 50 feet they had one, just in case. As amazing as the castle and museums inside were, the most enjoyable part of our visit inside the castle was the 10 minute movie on Scotland’s tradition of war. The first time it was interesting, the second time it gave us both a chance for a much needed power nap.
Next we walked down the Royal mile and saw all of the well known sites. I’d tell you what they were, but we didn’t have the book out and I haven’t read it to find out what we took a picture of. Here are two of the better shots:
We next attempted a nice walk up a hill that Andrew thought would take at least an hour to complete, but I didn’t think so. Half-way there in under 5 minutes, we confirmed what I have always known, I was right.
We spent some time hunting for some strange monument. Once there we sat around and rested on the hill. Andrew informed me that the monuments are incomplete and are considered “Edinburgh’s Disgrace.” I thought they were neat.
We found some food then walked around a bit. I introduced Andrew to one of Britain’s finer sides, the soft-serve ice cream, with flake. Realizing that my schedule had allowed just too much time, we headed for the airport where Andrew finally got that much needed rest. The flight left at 9 pm and we got to the airport at 5. I think he got at least 2-3 hours in and I was the hero for suggesting it.
We finally got home and went to bed shortly after midnight. Now I know for future planning that a 21 hour day is not a good idea.
Andrew 7:52 PM