Dave and I returned to Cali last night after being gone for 18 days! It was nice to be back in our own bed again. I was unable to update the blog after Edinburgh so I’m including a recap on the rest of the trip.
Edinburgh, ScotlandWe really loved it here. The city is so amazingly old with wonderful charm. Once we arrived I immediately noticed a sweet smell in the air. I
couldn't quite place it but later found out it was the smell of beer being brewed. It was quite strong at times. If you’
ve never been to Edinburgh I do suggest it. The city is quite neat and the locals are very friendly. Our first day was spent touring Edinburgh Castle and walking the Royal Mile.
Holyrod Palace was closed to visitors so we could only see it from the outside. We also hiked up a hill to the ruins of an old church that overlooked the city. We wanted to go to the top of Arthur’s Seat but it was very windy and it looked like rain so we decided to not venture up to the top. Instead we headed down to seek out some local pubs.
Our Second day was spetd seeing Stirling Castle and Loch
Lomond. We had beautiful weather for this journey and had a magnificent time seeing yet another castle. It was amazing to see all the lakes in Scotland. They were so plentiful. It seemed like there was a lake around every bend in the road. Plus I got to compare it to the Ireland Country side since I‘
ve already been there before.
The third day we made a last minute decision to go to St Andrews (the home of golf). This is a coastal town where golf was born. So we got to see the Old Golf Course and Dave just watched in awe. While in St Andrews we visited the ruins of a seaside castle and church. Dave shopped for golf souvenirs before we had to be on our way. We also visited a small town called Falkland and some coastal fishing villages. It was really neat to see this other side of Scotland. In the evening we headed by train to Glasgow.
Edinburgh overview: I loved it!!! I loved the pubs, I loved the castles, and I loved the bagpipes! We had an awesome time here. The city was great and so were the people. We had two great
experiences immediately upon arrival. First some random Scottish man helped me carry my bag up the stairs at
the train station and two another random guy stopped to ask us if we needed directions when he saw us looking at a map. Everyone was so nice! Our hotel was nice too. I came complete with a rubber ducky!!! (I'm serious about the rubber ducky).
Glasgow
If there was one part of the trip we would have done differently it would have been to skip Glasgow altogether. It turned out to be a more relaxing day but not very exciting. Glasgow
doesn’t really have anything the pooped out as a must see. So we took a short train ride to a country park to see the
Burrell Collection. On the way out I noticed a sign for Highland cattle. We had seen these hairy cows (coos) along the road but one of my galas was to see them in person and get photos. So off we went in search of the Hairy Coo. We found them! Actually a couple of them came right up to the fence to see us and we got to to pet their noses. They are so incredibly cute! The rest of the day was spent meandering around Glasgow as it proved to be
a rainy and gray day. About 4 pm the sun finally came out. That night we at at
DiMaggio's and had a fabulous dinner complete with a shortbread caramel sundae.
Glasgow Overview: Not overly exciting. They basically have a bunch of museums. It was worth it to see the Hairy Coos! But don't
stay at the quality Hotel at the Train Station. This was the only hotel I had complaints about
the entire trip.
Onward to IrelandSince we only had one day in Glasgow we were quite content with that. The next day we headed by train and ferry to Ireland. The ferry was so neat! It was huge. The seats were so comfy and it
didn’t seem like a ferry at all. They even had movies on the ship, restaurants, and cafes. When we arrived in Belfast we decided to not
sightsee there and just to head straight to Dublin. This part of the trip was more for Dave. It was his birthday trip and he wanted to see
horse racing and drink a
Guinness in an Irish Pub. So we made the trek to
Dublin. Since I had already been to Dublin I was pretty much Dave’s
tour guide. It’s amazing that even after 5 years how much you remember of a city. I barley needed a map to navigate the streets. After we checked in to the hotel we headed over to Jameson for a tour and tasting. Then it was off for a pub dinner and some pub hopping for Guinness and
Bulmer’s Cider.
The following day Dave an I did some shopping and also toured
Newgrange. This was quite a site. No one truly knows why
it's there, but basically it is a catacomb. The doorway allows light inside but only around the 21 of Dec every year. Otherwise it is
completley dark inside. I did enjoy taking photos here. We also toured the ruins of an old monastery then it was back to the city center. After finding some dinner we were off to the Musical Pub Crawl. We met more people from Cali here. This time they were from Thousand Oaks. I really love Irish music so even though I had already been on the Pub Crawl before it was still lots of fun.
Our last day in Europe was spent touring the rest of Dublin including Guinness. Then it was off to top the trip off with a horse race at
Leopardstown. It was night racing sponsored by Miller!!! (why not Guinness, I have no idea). We both had a lot of fun at the races. Dave enjoyed trying to figure out how to bet in Europe while I took lots of photos
of the horses.
Ireland Overview: What more can I say. I mean its Ireland! Maybe it's the red head in me but I love this country. Even though I had already been to Dublin it was still fun to be there with Dave and showing him the town. Plus I got to do some things I couldn't before. The hotel here was great too.
Terrific location at the end of Temple Bar, good size room, and a hot breakfast was included every morning.
Thursday morning it was time to head back to the states to attend Brenda’s wedding. We left Dublin at 11am and arrive in Pittsburgh at about 5pm EST.
Trip Overview: The whole trip was a lot of fun and I alway love Europe. I couldn't have thought of a better way to celebrate Dave's 30th Bithday with him! We both had a ton of fun and wish it wasn't over. But now its back to reality. My Favorite part was definalty Paris. Dave, he loved each city for its own reason. But I think his favorite was Edinburgh,
Ashton wanted to see the "San Andreas" fault and this was the best example I could think of. He loved climbing around on all the rocks. Later that day we met Trina's friend and headed to the Tidepools. They were neat but nearly as many things to see as when I went to San Pedro. Then we headed to the beach and Ashton got to learn to surf. 
On Saturday we got up early to go to Wild Animal Park. 
I got lots of great photos there. Then we drove up the PCH and stopped for dinner in Huntington Beach. Dave showed up after his golf tournament later that night. On Sunday we slept in and then headed down to Temecula to do some wine tasting. 
While in Temecula we bought a bottle of wine some bread, cheese, meats, and crackers and sat outside enjoying the afternoon. It was a lot of fun and great atmosphere. When the wineries were coming to a close we went our separate ways.. Dave and I found one last place that was open late and we were hoping there was live music. It turned out there was no music, so we tasted a few more wines and enjoyed the scenery before heading back to the AV. It was great to see Trina and Ashton and spend some time with them.
