iSherri

Dublin Day

Posted on December 31, 2015 by isherri

The drive to the Morrison involved driving right through the heart of Dublin and along the River Liffey. Since it was a Doubletree property, I’d gotten with a sweet rate with my Hilton points, but I wasn’t sure about the parking. I pulled into the alley behind the hotel and went in to find out where the car park was located.

The super nice guy who helped me told me he wasn’t sure if the car park was open because it was a bank holiday but he would check and in the meantime he offered to check me in. We chatted for a while and he tole me he was a Dubliner, but he’s never seen much of the rest of Ireland and he’d never been to the Connemara. Afterwards I parked and then popped back in to leave my luggage.

I’d picked up a map and it was only a five minute walk across the river to the castle.

Crossing the River Liffey

The views from the bridge were fantastic.

A gloomy day in Dublin

The castle was just two blocks from the river and very easy to find.

Dublin Castle and the Gates of Fortitude and Justice. And if you ask me, you don’t really have a gate unless its got a cool name like fortitude or justice.

The inside of the castle was fantastic. My favorite parts were the Waterford crystal chandeliers and the doorknobs.

I want to live somewhere that is only illuminated by Waterford crystal chandeliers.

I have new doorknob goals now.

They had mirrors between each window and it was glorious.

Dublin Castle among my favorites now!

Afterwards I walked to the Queen of Tarts (my very favorite tea shop) but it was closed because it was a bank holiday. So I wandered around the city looking for another.

Interesting windows in Dublin

The Ha’penny Bridge

Temple Bar

Walking through Dublin

I picked up a few souvenirs in Temple Bar and stopped in a whisky shop to ask about single pot whisky for Bob. I never found another tea shop so I strolled back to the hotel.

It was shift change, but the guy who had originally checked me in was still there. He introduced me to the new guy and told me he’d just been telling him I was a “great craic” (best hotel ever, their staff is obviously very observant!) I asked for my bags, they said they’d already taken them up to my room for me.

I love it when I get to a hotel room and the TV has a special “Welcome Sherri Wilson” message! Also, great wall quotes up in the Morrison.

I was still hoping for tea so I went down to the hotel restaurant.

I’m always down for afternoon tea!

Excellent choice! They had a fantastic afternoon tea!

Why did the colonies have to revolt? Why?!?

I had them wrap up the half of my tea I couldn’t finish and went back up to my room to work on my blog and try to cram my souvenirs into my bag.

Who would ever want to leave this?

Posted in Getting Around, Life Story | Tagged 2015, afternoon tea, Christmas, Doubletree, dublin, dublin castle, ha'penny bridge, holiday, Ireland, morrison, vacation | Leave a comment

Driving to Dublin

Posted on December 31, 2015 by isherri

Dublin is a quick drive from Cabra Castle but I decided to take the long way and swing through Swords so I could visit another castle. My route got even longer when I saw a sign in Slain that pointed to the Hill of Slain. I stopped for gas and quickly googled it and found out it was a “very important site”. Not sure what that meant so I decided to double back and check it out.

At the top of the hill in the middle of town, the Hill of Slain was totally deserted. Its a good thing too because I was so busy taking a picture of my car by the warning sign I might have forgotten to lock the door!

The weather seemed like more of a threat. It was very gloomy an there was nobody around!

I walked to the top of the hill to check it out.

Looked like castle ruins from a distance.

This is the site where St. Patrick lit a fire on Easter and convinced some guy to support the church. Or something.

St Patrick about to burn it down

I didn’t spend a lot of time reading the signs because the view was magnificent!

Part of the abbey ruins on the Hill of Slain

I walked around the cemetery and the views were stunning. Then I walked through the ruins in the middle of the graveyard.

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Creepy!

I walked back down the hill and got to the car just as the rain began again. On my way out of town I passed Slain Castle which was closed and crossed a bridge over a river that looked really high and angry, like it was going to be crossing its banks any second.

My next stop was Swords. I wanted to check out the castle. I found some street parking on the block outside the castle and when I got out to try to figure out where and how to pay for parking, an extremely nice Irish couple returned to their car, gave me their parking stub, and saved me the trouble. I walked to the castle and discovered it was closed. Also, it was raining and it was lunchtime. I walked back to the car and resumed my journey to Dublin. Along the way, I pulled into an Applegreen to pick up some lunch.

How am I going to live without the cheese and onion crisps when I get home? Why do I have to? Come on, American chip companies!

After my gas station picnic I pulled back out and drove into Dublin.

Driving in Dublin less fun than driving anywhere else in Ireland, but still pretty exciting!

Posted in Getting Around, Life Story | Tagged 2015, castle, dublin, Hill of Slain, holiday, Ireland, St Patrick, Swords, vacation | Leave a comment

A Short Trip to the Giants Causeway

Posted on December 28, 2015 by isherri

The Giants Causeway is on the northern coast of Northern Ireland and is a World Heritage site, like the Redwoods or Mount Everest. Formed by the gentle, cross dressing giant Finn McCool eons ago, visiting the site was one of the reasons I planned my holiday trip. I’d missed it on my first visit and I really, really wanted to check it out.

I got up early, had a hearty Irish breakfast and hit the road. I took the scenic route because driving in Ireland is fantastic and I wasn’t in a terrible hurry. I skirted Derry (not Londonderry, which I am very clear on now thanks to my Irish friends!) and headed north.

Notice the lack of MPH on my speedometer? Nothing to do now but wait until the tickets from the speed cameras arrive in the mail…

As I was rocking out to my holiday playlist (Christmas Queens, available on iTunes) I noticed a sign for a picnic area. Hoping it would have a nice view, I pulled off. Turns out that was an excellent decision! The road curved up to the top of the mountain so not only were the views stunning, the drive was fun!

I’m on top of the world!

Interesting quote.

Abandoned quarry on top of the mountain.

When I came back down I made great time and arrived in Bushmills right before lunch. I had planned to visit the Bushmills Distillery while I was there but I discovered it was closed so I continued on to the Giants Causeway. They have a very nice welcome center and I picked up my ticket and a headset for the audio tour and headed out. The views were magnificent and I followed the trail down the cliff to the bay.

The view from the Windy Gap

Shhhhhhhh!

I love signs in Europe.

I walk with Giants. Or at least where giants walked.

Fog rolls in.

Nature. Amazing.

Afterwards I took the bus back up to the top of the cliff. It was heated and it was a cliff. Totally worth the 1 Euro fare! Besides the bus driver was great fun.

Very close to the rock wall. Reminds me of that broken down school bus Jenni and I rode in while we were in Costa Rica.

I passed through the cafe and since it was way past lunch I picked up a cage free egg salad sandwich and a bag of onion and cheese crisps (an Irish national treasure if you ask me!) I wasn’t sure I’d mastered the Irish driving enough to risk eating and shifting and dodging parked cars so I enjoyed a fine parking lot picnic with an exceptional view.

A view of the sea while chomping on crisps and an egg salad sandwich.

My intended route involved skirting Belfast and then taking the M1 towards Dublin. It was still fairly early and at that point I was having a terrific time belting out Madonna tunes so when I saw the sign that said “Bronte Homeland” I decided to hop off the freeway and take a look. Who doesn’t love the Bronte sisters? So I drove around some absolutely exquisite countryside with hairpin curves, tall hedges, and occasional cars speeding by in the other direction. Eventually I passed the Bronte Steakhouse but I’m pretty sure that’s not what Charlotte, Emily or Anne grew up. I ended up running into the freeway again so I hopped back on.

Somewhere near the Bronte Homeland in Northern Ireland

The next item of interest I saw was a sign for a viewpoint. That had worked out really well for me earlier in the day so I decided to hop off and try again. That road also went up a mountain, but the road wasn’t very well maintained and there were broken down tractors and crumbling barns littering the sides of the road. I never actually saw a pull off to take a picture of the view, but there wasn’t any other traffic so I stopped on the road and took a few shots.

I think I’d crossed back over to Ireland at this point. No idea where I was, somewhere near Newry.

I got back on the freeway and continued to my hotel. Luckily, I’d programmed the long way into my gps and I wasn’t on the freeway long.
I’d booked a room at Cabra Castle. It’s a magnificent castle in the middle of nowhere about an hour north of Dublin.

Cabra Castle, Ireland

As I was checking in, I noticed several wedding parties were arriving as well. It was very festive and super crowded. The lady at reception told me I was in luck, my room was off the courtyard and I could drive around and park right in front of it. I had not idea what that meant until I drove out there. I was actually in the Milking Parlor.

I had no idea milk maids had such swanky digs!

So it was slightly less princessy than my first castle stay. Almost like I was living my fairy tale in reverse order. I unloaded my bags and then set out to explore the castle a bit.

Cabra Castle is charming. I loved my milkmaid room. Even if I had to carry my own bags up there!

I was going to go to the hotel restaurant for dinner, but the place was a maze, there were no seats at the bar, and there were bridesmaids everywhere! I ordered up some rooms service and spent the evening trying to understand how radiator heating worked.

Posted in Getting Around, Life Story | Tagged 2015, Bronte Homeland, Cabra Castle, driving tour, Giants Causeway, holiday, Ireland, Northern Ireland, vacation | Leave a comment

Every Day is a Lovely Day for a Drive in Ireland

Posted on December 28, 2015 by isherri

Drinking too much Irish coffee the night before had an adverse effect on my ability to sleep for long and finally I gave up laying around in my princessy bed and got an early start on my day.

Irish breakfast is my new favorite meal.

I pulled out of the hotel and headed north on the Wild Atlantic Way. It was still pretty dark and there were no other cars on the road.

The house on the other side of this loch can also probably view the sea #luckyones

There were some sheep.

Good thing I packed my sheep sweater. I was camouflaged.

And some fairy trees.

I would have added something to the tree, but I googled it and found out if you do that at the wrong time you are cursed. Thanks T Mobile!

The drive was stunning with occasional wild twisty roads and incredible views.

Snow capped peaks in Ireland!

And more sheep.

Sheep on the road. So Irish!

I took a random turn to drive closer to the beach and ended up at Dunmoran Strand. There were a few other people out walking on the beach but it was incredibly serene.

The Wild Atlantic Way. Amazing.

The beach

Art on the beach

As I approached Sligo, I turned off to get a better view of Knocknarea and ended up at the beach in Strandhill.

Yeats verse about Knocknarea

Make Christmas not war

Knocknarea

The only thing that would have improved this day would have been driving this and not that!

Parking on streets and sidewalks totally not an issue here. Irish people don’t give a shite about parking rules!

My final destination was a Radisson Blu hotel in Letterkenny.

Sure, it looks nice, but under the beautiful duvet cover was a slab of concrete or something. #notaprincessanymore

I checked in as my lack of sleep caught up to me. I ordered some room service and then collapsed on the slab of cement they called a bed!

Too tired to even venture out to the shops across the way…

I had every intention of going out to find the northern lights, but it was terribly overcast and I was still paying the price from all those Irish coffees the night before… Next year!

Posted in Getting Around, Life Story | Tagged 2015, Christmas, driving, holiday, Ireland, Knocknarea, Queen Maeve, sheep, Sligo, tour, vacation, Wild Atlantic Way | Leave a comment

How to Have a Happy Christmas

Posted on December 27, 2015 by isherri

As much as I enjoyed lying around on my princessy bed with a crackling fire, there was so much to see and do in the Connemara area, even on Christmas day! I got up early and went down to enjoy the fine breakfast laid out in the dining room. They seated me at a corner table, next to the fire and even turned it down so I wouldn’t cook! So thoughtful! They even popped another American flag on my table and said “God bless America”.

I enjoyed the view, a fresh pot of tea and some of the most delicious sausages I’ve ever had. Then I bundled up and headed out to the car park to begin my adventure. I had hoped to visit the castle or an abbey but I was having such a great time driving on the twisties, I shot right past the castle and the fork in the road that would have led to the abbey. I drove along the sky road and then veered off to the lower sky road to try to get closer to the beach. I never got close to the beach but I did get close to some sheep!

Baaaaa

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know how much I appreciate a fun drive on a twisty road. That’s one of my favorite things about Ireland!

Pro tip: an early morning drive on Christmas day means very little traffic on Irish country roads!

Eventually, I headed back to the hotel but when I pulled into the parking lot I ran into Blainey who was about to go for a walk on the beach. He asked if I’d want to ride along so I hopped into his HUGE car. It was some sort of really big Jag but it looked more like a land yacht! It was very impressive how he was able to navigate that beast along those tiny Irish roads.

Beautiful beach where you can stroll along and admire the adjacent cemetery and gale force winds.

We got out and walked along the beach. At first we walked with the wind, which was bitterly cold but sort of propelled us along.

Port Nafeadoige

Then we had to go back and walking into the wind was slightly less fun. Blainey drove the long way back so I got to see some more of the countryside and of course sheep. When we got back to the hotel they were serving lunch and we got a pint and some of the most delicious Beef Wellington ever.

OMG was this delicious…

We also put in our estimates for the Christmas Cake contest.

I guessed 13 lbs 3 oz. It was 16 lbs 7 oz. I’m going to spend the next year training by blindfolding myself and then guessing the weight of heavy things.

We parted ways and I headed back to my room to work on the blog.

Princess bed!

I went back to the bar for tea time and then chatted with a few other guests. Then I went for a walk about the hotel grounds to explore a bit.

One of two helipads I found on the hotel grounds, but why fly in when driving in Ireland is so exciting? Makes no sense!

I put on my party skirt and sparkly sweater and then went back to the bar for the champagne reception. It was lovely again! They also served some crackers with Irish brie and smoked salmon. I don’t even like salmon and that cracker was amazing! We went up to dinner and Blainey sat with me again.

Very festive place settings and everyone got a cracker! Though, turns out you aren’t supposed to open them on your own. Lesson learned.

Blainey and I shared a couple of bottles of really good wine. I had the seafood platter to start and then a pastry with avocado and cheese. I know it was the vegetarian option and I’m a devoted carnivore, but it sounded good after that cheese at the reception. I wasn’t disappointed though Blainey and the server both gave me odd looks!

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Santa came and brought every guest a present. I received a box of chocolates. Blainey told me they were the good ones!

During dinner they announced the winner of the Christmas Cake contest, who didn’t win the giant fruitcake, but got medals instead! I’m seriously going to practice guessing weights in the future… After dinner we all went back down to the bar and the music had already started. I chatted with a few other guests and tried the Irish Coffee. It was AMAZING. I might have had a few too many…

Another guy came up to the bar and was chatting me up and asked what I was drinking. When I told him, he ordered one for himself and another for me. He was wearing a shiny gold medal because he’d come in second in the Christmas Cake contest. His name was John and he explained how he was an engineer from London and had actually used math to calculate his estimate. He invited me out to meet his mother and sister who were on holiday with him. They were sitting by the fire in the lobby. His sister was a former policewoman and great fun. His mother lives in Cork and got really wound up in telling the story of her life. It was quite interesting, though I had a few more Irish coffees as she went along and I kinda lost track of who was who or what she was talking about. Blainey stopped by to tell me goodnight and eventually I realized everyone else had already gone to bed! John and I were the only ones left. At that point he was talking very quietly and since I am partially deaf I couldn’t hear a word he said. I made some excuses about my early morning drive to Derry and called it a night. By the time I got back to my room, it was after 3 and the Irish coffee had caught up! Not the caffeine part, the other part. I was happy to crawl into my princess bed and shut my eyes until it stopped spinning!

Posted in Getting Around, Life Story | Tagged 2015, Christmas, connemara, holiday, Ireland, Irish coffee, sheep, solo vacation, twisties, vacation | Leave a comment

Christmas Craic

Posted on December 26, 2015 by isherri

The Abbeyglen Castle Hotel is tucked into the side of a hill overlooking the charming town of Clifden.

The charming town of Clifden below the magnificent Abbeyglen Castle Hotel

From the moment I entered the hotel I felt right at home and they clearly spent a lot of time preparing for the holiday crowd! The lobby was beautiful and looked just like I imagine a castle lobby should. I checked in and got a copy of the Christmas program with my super cool key.

My room was exquisite with a beautiful four-poster princess bed, a lovely fireplace and a slipper tub. Because it was a corner room on the ground floor, I had an exceptional view of the waterfall that appeared to be flowing right to my window.

Tea service and a toasty fire. Why can’t my house look like this?

Princessy bed with a view of the beautiful waterfall.

The beautiful waterfall.

I unpacked a few things, freshened up and then headed to the bar for tea. Conveniently, the bar is located right next to the lobby.

Tea time is my favorite time. I”m not sure if I’ve mentioned that…

It was super festive, the scone was delicious and the tea was piping hot. When I finished I went back to my room to study the Christmas program and dress for dinner.

Super cool key I really struggled to open the door with. People who use these keys must have mad entry skills.

The first activity was a champagne reception. The room was already crowded when I arrived and the host handed me a glass of champagne and then introduced me to a lovely family from Michigan. One of their sons lives in DC so we chatted about the district and I told them about my adventures in Michigan last summer.

During the reception, our host told some interesting (and amusing) stories of the hotel and the town. I’d write some here, but champagne. Anyhow, you should join me next year and hear them yourselves! From there, we all went up to the dining room on the second floor.

They really liked the fact that I was from the US and took every chance to celebrate it. I really wish I was from Ireland. #friendliestpeopleever

The room was breathtaking with candles gleaming and festive decorations. They sat me at a corner table and I spent a few minutes chatting with the lovely Irish couple at the next table over. Then Blainey joined me. He was also traveling alone over the holiday from Dublin. He’s a repeat offender (having been here in the past) and a retired ad man with lots of amusing stories! I had a pint with dinner and Blainey had a bottle of wine. We both ordered the lamb, which was absolutely the most delicious lamb I’ve ever had. They brought out a dessert bar but we skipped it and went down to the actual bar instead.

At the bar, they were singing and we all joined in. I only knew a few of the Snow Patrol songs and that may or may not have been because of the serious number of pints Blainey and his friends kept setting in front of me! A good time was had by all, at least I think so. When I woke up in my princess bed at 9 am the next morning I was pretty sure that was the best Christmas Eve ever!

Happy Christmas, friends!

Posted in Getting Around, Life Story | Tagged 2015, castle, Christmas, Christmas eve, Clifden, guinness, happy christmas, holiday, Ireland, lamb, pints, princess bath, princess bed, solo vacation, vacation | Leave a comment

Celtic Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2015 by isherri

The journey to Ireland started with a very long layover at JFK. When we finally left, I settled into my comfy seat, popped a couple of sleeping pills and sipped my champagne. I was sad to miss out on the delicious dinner options, but the secret to avoiding jet lag is to sleep on the way over and party hard on the way back!

This is all I remember before l went lights out. Next thing I knew we were approaching Dublin!

While I waited for them to finish the boarding process I settled in. There was a problem loading the luggage (not mine of course, I carry on) so we got a late start. By the time we took off I was ready to sleep. As soon as we were airborne I reclined fully and I was out! Next thing I knew it was daylight and we were making our initial approach. I zipped through customs and out to the Hertz desk to pick up my car.

As soon as I exited customs, the doors slid open and there was a lovely band of elves singing some amazing carols. Very festive!

I was sad it they didn’t have a MINI but after driving the behemoth around Scotland during Thanksgiving, I was thrilled that they’d given me a tiny little Citroen. I remembered to walk around the outside of the car and look for damage, which is progress since I usually forget, loaded up my bags, made sure I could back up, and fired up my Google maps. I pulled out and made my way to the freeway before I realized that the low tire pressure light was on. I took the next exit and drove back to the airport and ended up at the Hertz return lot. I parked and an older gentleman came out to meet me. He asked me if I was returning my car and I told him I was just leaving when I noticed the low tire pressure light was on. He said, all the cars have low tire pressure lights on, they don’t often remember to reset them. He walked around the car and literally kicked every wheel. “Yep,” he said, “they are all right as rain! Nothing to worry about! Have a good time!” I climbed back in and took off.

Not a MINI but easy to navigate on the Irish twisties. I’ll take it!

My first stop was the Hill of Tara. I wanted to see the Stone of Destiny, but the ground was completely mushy, the gale force wind was icy cold, and I was a little tired from fighting it to get up the hill to the welcome center (which was closed!)

Stunning views of the countryside and random monuments at the Hill of Tara

The Royal Enclosure at the Hill of Tara

Visitor Center at the Hill of Tara

One of the burial mounds at the Hill of Tara

The mounds I did see were impressive, though I imagine an aerial shot would have done them more justice. It’s too bad I don’t have a drone! I got back in my tiny car and drove on and the narrow, little country roads I took to get there made that choice totally worth it!

Once I got on the freeway I stopped at a service area and got a bacon roll and a flat white. It was busy, so I got take away and hopped back in my cute little Citroen. I was making great time until traffic suddenly came to a slow crawl behind a police car that was driving down the middle of the road with his lights on. We drove that way for a couple of miles to the next exit where everyone was being forced off the road. My GPS was terribly confused when we got to the roundabout so naturally I followed the pepper white MINI in front of me. I wasn’t sure where he was going but he was in a MINI so it was bound to be fun right? That plan went off the rails when he whipped into a driveway to make a U turn and I couldn’t do it and had to continue on. I ended up on a little village road, and in little villages, people tend to park right on the road which means there’s only one lane in either direction. There were cars piling up behind me so I kept going until the road suddenly turned into a one way going the other way. I turned into a long narrow driveway and had to go to the end to try to make a U turn. Halfway through my eight-point turn (it’s a tiny car but there wasn’t a lot of space) the cars who had followed me into the driveway began to figure out there was nowhere to go and started backing up. That’s when the hailstorm started…

When my GPS finally caught up to me I was on my way through Galway. From there, there’s one road that winds around the mountains and out to the western coast. My castle was in Clifden and it was a spectacular drive to get there.

Road to Clifden

I pulled into Clifden and arrived at the Abbeyglen Castle Hotel just in time for tea.

Tea time is my favorite time.

Posted in Getting Around, Life Story | Tagged Abbeyglen Castle Hotel, Christmas, Clifden, driving, dublin, Hertz, holiday, vacation | 2 Comments

Running off to Gretna Green

Posted on December 2, 2015 by isherri

Our final day of the #bffUK2015 was a travel day. We had to make it from Edinburgh to London, which is quite a long way! We thought we would make it a leisurely drive since we’d started a new book the day before and it was 11 hours long (Faking it by Jennifer Crusie, my all time favorite!)

An early start on a blustery day.

We decided to stop along the way and check out Gretna Green. To get there, our route was along some windy country roads that passed over a few mountains. The winds were intense and the rain fell most of the way.

Just look at the twisties I had to wrestle that damn Mokka around. It breaks my heart they couldn’t find me a MINI.

We stopped a couple of times to take a few pictures because the views were incredible.

Amazing views on the road from Edinburgh to Gretna Green

Eventually, we reached the famous Blacksmith Shop in Gretna Green. In the 1800s couples in England who wanted to marry but didn’t have their parent’s permission or were under age, would elope to Scotland and Gretna Green was the closest town. The blacksmiths there began a brisk trade marrying couples who arrived at all hours of the day and night, often chased by angry relatives!

Got there right before the storm started but thankfully it blew over about the time we left.

The museum is adorable and has some wedding dresses from the ages…

Trying to talk Jenni into talking Patrick into renewing their vows here so the maid of honor (me) could wear a cool dress (this).

A lot of interesting stories about the history and actual couples who married there…

Blacksmiths would celebrate the wedding by striking the anvil and “sparking true love” heh heh!

and a really cool exhibit of blacksmith tools and carriages…

Such polite signs. I love the UK.

By the time we finished touring the museum, the rain was pouring down. We passed some time in the gift shop and when the rain let up I went out to the Love Maze and captured a few more shots.

Wore the cutest hat in the world and then almost lost it in the hurricane force winds.

We got back in the car to finish our drive (book) and the winds were even worse, gusting over 58 MPH. The car shuddered constantly and we passed three different semi trucks blown over sideways on the side of the road.

Winds blow…

As lunchtime approached, we decided to skip the service area meals and find a pub somewhere along the route. We turned off near Lancaster and turned down some random roads when we stumbled across a cute little pub with ample parking. They didn’t seem very friendly and I as surprised they weren’t more appreciative of our colorful outfits and witty banter. We ordered at the bar and a sullen waitress brought it over to us.

Cute little pub near Lancaster.

Afterwards we piled back in fired up the book and drove some more. As tea time approached, because we were on back roads and there weren’t any service areas we stopped at a local McDonalds.

Sunday roast with all the trimmings!

While Jenni frantically checked her email and updated her status, I had a cup of tea and a festive pie.

Thanks again T Mobile, I heart you!

We continued on and it got later and later. As we got closer and closer to London the traffic got heavier and heavier. At one point we were barely moving, but that wasn’t a problem because we were so close to the end of the book. We stopped to fill up the gas tank so we wouldn’t have to do it the next morning and to find our hotel on Google Maps since the GPS didn’t seem to think it existed. We didn’t realize it was actually trying to warn us away!

42 liters of gas! That is actually meaningless to me since I was never required to learn the metric system. Still, it seems like a lot.

We finished the book as we pulled into the hotel lot. Jenni recognized it as we pulled in and warned me we’d stayed there before and as soon as we entered I recognized it too. Our spirits sank as we realized our last night in the UK would be a lot less fun than we’d hoped…

Flashback pic! This was us at the Heathrow Doubletree in 2012. It still smells like crushing disappointment.

Posted in Getting Around, Life Story | Tagged #bffUK2015, 2015, Blacksmith, driving, England, Gretna Green, holiday, Mokka, road trip, Scotland, thanksgiving, UK, vacation | Leave a comment

A Day in Edinburgh

Posted on November 30, 2015 by isherri

We only had one day to spend in Edinburgh so we didn’t want to waste a minute! Our hotel was out at the airport, so we dumped our luggage and left the massive beast and boarded a bus to the city center.

Lucky for us, there was a bus stop just outside of the hotel property and busses run every 10 minutes until midnight.

We had planned on stopping at the castle first and then spending the afternoon shopping, but Jenni saw a couple of shops she wanted to visit on George Street so we got off a little early.

It was appealing because everything looked so warm and the weather outside was frightful.

We visited a couple of shops but we were both hungry and still wanted to make it to the castle. The only thing between us and the castle was massive hill and a Christmas market.

We decided to maximize our time by eating market food as we walked.

As we munched our delicious sausages and climbed the hill, we passed a march for climate change going in the opposite direction.

Very colorful! #powertothepeople

We made it to the top of the hill and entered the castle grounds.

The winds were picking up and the temperature was dropping.

It was raining again and the winds were really picking up.

We entered the castle and climbed to the top of the wall.

Stunning views, including the climate change marchers just below us.

We walked up to the top of the hill and took a tour of the Honors of Scotland. The exhibit was PACKED! Everyone was trying to escape the blustery winter weather. We shuffled through at an incredibly slow pace, but it was still fun to see the interesting exhibits.

The hardest part was getting in to see the crown jewels, the crowd was so big I didn’t even get close enough to get a photo.

We also toured the royal apartments where I got some inspiration for how to redo my ceilings and my fireplace. Then we left and headed down the Royal Mile for some souvenir shopping.

My hook kept blowing off and I was getting soaked. Time for a hat with a brim.

We decided to get some tea, and coincidently, it was tea time! We tried to get into the Elephant House because that’s where JK Rowling sat when she started writing Harry Potter and now that we work at Scholastic, we are all about celebrating our authors! Sadly, it was packed and after a few minutes we gave up and walked down to the Grassmarket. Along the way we found a lovely little hat shop and couldn’t resist buying a couple more…

Special thanks to Jenni for finding the beautiful blue wool hat with the Black Watch band. Since it didn’t fit her tiny little head but was perfect for me, I scooped it up! #score

We had a lovely tea at Zaza and waited for the rain to let up. Then we trudged back up the hill and did a bit more window shopping along the Royal Mile. We went to Deacon Brody’s for dinner.

Bangers and Mash

We still had some time to kill before our Ghost Bus tour, so we headed back down to the Christmas market. It was great fun strolling through, in spite of the dropping temperature and mulled wine!

Annual thanksgiving mulled wine photo!

Then we walked to the bridge to catch our bus.

Special thanks to Kyle and Amanda who took me on the Ghost Bus tour last year at Christmas. So. Much. Fun.

If you ever get a chance to visit Edinburgh, you really should ride on the Ghost Bus. It was just as fun this year as it was last year and this time the whole bus was decked out in festive holiday trim!

Creepy!

The creepy conductor and Angus the driver led us about Edinburgh and told us tales of grave robbers, plague victims, and the ghosts that reside in the most haunted city in Europe. We walked through a graveyard and then got back on the bus and toured more of the city. It was fantastic!

When we got back we walked over to the Christmas market one more time.

Edinburgh Christmas Market

When we got all the way to the other end, the rain began to pour down in earnest. By then most of our limbs were numb and we decided to head back to the hotel. We weren’t far from the bus stop and thankfully it didn’t take long to arrive. It was late and we were cold and tired so we didn’t even take advantage of our free drink coupons but headed straight up to our rooms. Only one day left on our epic vacation…

Posted in Getting Around | Tagged #bffUK2015, 2015, castle, Christmas, Christmas market, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Castle, Ghost Bus, hat store, hats, holiday, Scotland, thanksgiving, vacation, winter weather | Leave a comment

From Aberdeen to Edinburgh

Posted on November 30, 2015 by isherri

Jenni isn’t much for getting up early, but I usually do. As soon as I looked out of the window I realized I could see the beach and it was only a block away!

Just in time to watch the sun rise over the beach, right?

I dressed quickly and then packed up my stuff to drop off at the car on my way. There was nothing between the hotel and the boardwalk but a large field and a fairly busy intersection. The temperature was frigid and there were what seemed like gale force winds blowing but I was determined to be on the beach at sunrise.

The grass was frozen and crunched under my feet and when I got to the boardwalk, there were frozen puddles that made the walk treacherous.

Sunrise in Aberdeen isn’t until 8:18 and I really, really wanted to see it, but I began to worry about frostbite and after about 15 minutes I headed back to the hotel.

By the time I made it back to the hotel property, the sky was beginning to put on a real show!

I went in and got a table for breakfast while I waited for Jenni.

The tea really helped to warm me up.

In addition to the usual Scottish fare, I added a mound of haggis to my plate (#deliciousandidontcarewhatisinit). Jenni joined me a little later and had her usual (fruit, bread, peanut butter, and diet coke). We loaded up her bags and headed out.

Our first stop was Dunnotter Castle, a magnificent ruin on the edge of the North Sea. It’s about a two-hour walk to get to the castle so we knew we didn’t have time to go inside, but we’d heard it was imposing and worth a visit just to view it so we decided to stop and snap some photos.

The walk to the castle was chilling. Literally, it was really, really cold!

The wind was whipping along with gusts up to 45 mph.

I embrace the windswept look and it’s a good thing since there was no avoiding it on the walk to Dunnotter Castle.

Some guy walked past us holding up a device to measure the wind speed. It was windy.

#worthit

By the time we made it back to the car, we were nearly frozen solid and decided to skip Castle Campbell and head straight to Edinburgh to buy some warmer hats!

Posted in Getting Around, Life Story | Tagged #bffUK2015, Aberdeen, Dunnotter Castle, holiday, Mokka, Scotland, thanksgiving, UK, vacation | Leave a comment

iSherri

Dublin Day

Driving to Dublin

A Short Trip to the Giants Causeway

Every Day is a Lovely Day for a Drive in Ireland

How to Have a Happy Christmas

Christmas Craic

Celtic Christmas

Running off to Gretna Green

A Day in Edinburgh

From Aberdeen to Edinburgh

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