Wednesday I fell on the stairs as I was heading down. It was in the morning, so no, I hadn't had too much! I bruised my left ankle and foot and hurt my left knee (kind of bent back behind me at a funny angle). I scratched and bruised my right arm, too. It could have been a lot worse...
Andy and Kristina and Frankie and Aiden and Darce and I all jumped into two cars (Andy kept the "car for hire," a nice little Volkswagen Polo another day) and drove to Glasgow.
We really enjoy the scenery here. All the highways are paved, but there are no wide ditches like we have in the States, and in fact, no shoulders, so the roads are very narrow, with rock walls or bushes or houses or fences and five to twenty cattle or sheep right up next to the highway. We drove through rolling pretty hills again with lots of sheep and cows, though we got on a busier wider highway once we got closer to Glasgow.
We went to a big museum called the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. I was pretty sore, but hobbled along and took elevators rather than stairs. We really enjoyed it, it had such a variety of objects to view. It wasn't your standard "art" museum or "history" museum, but had a bit of everything - dinosaurs, paintings, sculpture, ancient scottish animals...The first floor was like a natural history museum and/or science museum, with lots of big stuffed animals and many "hands on" displays. Other exhibits included "people and society" displays, such as historical violence against women, Glasgow cowboys and line dancing clubs, an Egyptian display with stella and real mummies, etc. There was a huge pipe organ in the main hall, and a concert at 1:00. Frankie danced to the tunes. We recognized many of the songs and they kept going through our heads the rest of the afternoon.
We ate a nice lunch in the museum restaurant. Kristina and I had fish and chips, (we both thought it was kind of flavorless) Andy had the chicken of the day dish, and Darcy had Scottish rump steak with a haggis stuffed portabella mushroom (and "chips" of course -- almost every meal here has french fries, even with spaghetti and Chinese!). It was all good.
The upper 2 floors were more traditional art, paintings and sculptures (with Medieval armor and other odd items mixed in). We really liked some of the paintings. The Glasgow Boys gallery (painters from Scotland) was especially good; we'd happily hang any one of those paintings in our house. Darcy liked the French Impressionist gallery, too but I didn't go up there.
It rained hard on the way to the cars, but later cleared up and was prettier than ever. K took the kids home, but Andy took us to the Glasgow Harley Davidson store. Darcy bought a T-shirt, but I didn't find one I liked. Oh well. (I tend not to like most of the women's Harley stuff.) Then he drove us on to another nice department store and entertainment area on Loch Lomond, at Balloch. The lake and the surrounding Trossachs National Park forest and mountains in the distance were beautiful. We bought more over-priced souvenirs of course, but that's okay.
We ate carry-out Chinese supper (with chips!) then just hung out. The best thing of all the walking we've done, we've had to tighten our belt a couple notches. Hope we can keep it up!.
I couldn't straighten my left knee Thursday morning and was in lots of pain, so Darcy watched the kids while Andy took the rental car back and Kristina took me to the doctor (then to pick up Andy).
I ended up on crutches. The diagnosis is possible ligament and cartilage damage to my left knee, but it's too swollen to be able to do a catscan or MRI, I told them to patch me up enough to get home. :-) I have quite a bruise on my ankle but it's not broken. So, I hung out at the house to keep Kristina and kids out of trouble.
Going to Oban, Andy and Darcy saw beautiful scenery up and back. They stopped briefly at Kilmartin to see ancient standing stones. Oban was beautiful by the water (as were multiple sights on the drive, too many to mention).
The Oban scotch whisky distillery tour was EXCELLENT; they really enjoyed it a lot. Scotch is kind of a hobby for Darce, and Oban is one of his favs, so it's neat he could go there.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Scotland /Ireland part 2
It rained all day Friday in Ireland, but the weather after that was great. After the stop at the Ballyhaunis library, we drove to Knock. We couldn't find the B&B, so finally had to stop at a store and ask. The lady knew my third cousin (one removed) so called her, and she drove up to lead us. It was a really nice, new house with B&B rooms upstairs, modern with private bathrooms, very nice. My cousin, Kathleen, made us tea and biscuits. She's a nice woman in her fifties, very friendly as if we had known her for years. It's interesting - she's only 5 years older than me, but a generation ahead. I suppose the Minnesota Hoban's had to find some way to occupy themselves...After settling in, we had a light sandwich and a beer at a local pub.
Saturday morning started with a full traditional Irish breakfast (cereal and tea, then eggs, link sausages," bacon" more like thin ham, broiled tomatoes, "black pudding" sausage with blood/liver/oats (white pudding has no blood but more livery spicy flavor), breads and toast and jams).
Kathleen led us back to Ballyhaunis to see the church where my great grandmother was baptized, (beautiful stained glass windows) then out to their original farm in the countryside, and met her brother, John. We browsed some shops afterwards then drove west towards the coast to Castlebar, where we looked through the Irish National Museum of Country Life. We loved it, really well done and very interesting. We headed back to the B&B for lasagna and salad, then watched the British version of American Idol in her nice sitting room. Darcy also went for a long after-dark walk around Knock (famous for its Catholic basilica pilgrimages because of an appearance there by the Virgin Mary in the late 1800's -- there are many shops selling Catholic statues and rosaries, etc.; the Pope even visited in the 1980's). He must have looked like he knew where he was going because a couple of people asked him for directions. :-)
Sunday morning started with the same big breakfast, then the three of us drove back to Ballyhaunis for Mass. (We aren't Catholic but the cousins there are) Several more cousins met us after the service. We eventually drove on to Strokestown to see another third cousin. Jim is a retired astrophysicist professor, was born in the US but has dual citizenship so lives half a year in California and the other in Ireland. He and his wife Grace rent a nice apartment in a beautiful park that used to be an English estate.(They're the ones I first wrote to when I was trying to figure out where Ggrandma was born.)
We strolled through the beautiful formal gardens (with a cute kitten chasing after us the whole way. You KNOW I was trying to figure out how to get that kitten back to the States!) Organic vegetables are grown there now for an on-grounds restaurant; the flowers and bushes were beautiful. They were also super-friendly as if we had known them for years. Nice! We drove on to Dublin to our next B&B, recommended by Jim and Grace. In fact, Grace programmed the coordinates in the GPS for us, or we might not have found it! After checking in with tea and cakes, we ate at a nearby pub (Irish corned beef and a burger and Bulmer's hard cider). We later shared a bottle of wine with the lady Patricia, who ran the B&B before hitting the sack.
Monday started again with the identical full Irish breakfast, then we caught a double-decker bus downtown. We strolled thtough Trinity College and toured the Book of Kells exhibit( famous ancient illuminated Latin bible) and the Long Room library (VERY old books on display, the oldest Irish harp, busts of famous Irish). Really good. We toured the Irish National Library and a Yeats exhibit. We strolled through a pretty park, then had cider in a pub, then caught the bus back to our rental car ("car for hire" as they call it) to run to the airport. We got back to Glasgow late, but Andy was there to pick us up.
Tuesday, Andy rented a car so we'd have room in their car for Kristina, me and the kids and in the rental car for Darce, Andy and his parents. We went to Luss (without his parents) to stroll by Loch Lomond and to buy some souvenirs in a nice shop, then picked up his parents to first shop in a big outlet-type mall, followed by High Tea at Cameron House. Very nice. Tonight, we're hanging out -- did some laundry, watched some TV.
Saturday morning started with a full traditional Irish breakfast (cereal and tea, then eggs, link sausages," bacon" more like thin ham, broiled tomatoes, "black pudding" sausage with blood/liver/oats (white pudding has no blood but more livery spicy flavor), breads and toast and jams).
Kathleen led us back to Ballyhaunis to see the church where my great grandmother was baptized, (beautiful stained glass windows) then out to their original farm in the countryside, and met her brother, John. We browsed some shops afterwards then drove west towards the coast to Castlebar, where we looked through the Irish National Museum of Country Life. We loved it, really well done and very interesting. We headed back to the B&B for lasagna and salad, then watched the British version of American Idol in her nice sitting room. Darcy also went for a long after-dark walk around Knock (famous for its Catholic basilica pilgrimages because of an appearance there by the Virgin Mary in the late 1800's -- there are many shops selling Catholic statues and rosaries, etc.; the Pope even visited in the 1980's). He must have looked like he knew where he was going because a couple of people asked him for directions. :-)
Sunday morning started with the same big breakfast, then the three of us drove back to Ballyhaunis for Mass. (We aren't Catholic but the cousins there are) Several more cousins met us after the service. We eventually drove on to Strokestown to see another third cousin. Jim is a retired astrophysicist professor, was born in the US but has dual citizenship so lives half a year in California and the other in Ireland. He and his wife Grace rent a nice apartment in a beautiful park that used to be an English estate.(They're the ones I first wrote to when I was trying to figure out where Ggrandma was born.)
We strolled through the beautiful formal gardens (with a cute kitten chasing after us the whole way. You KNOW I was trying to figure out how to get that kitten back to the States!) Organic vegetables are grown there now for an on-grounds restaurant; the flowers and bushes were beautiful. They were also super-friendly as if we had known them for years. Nice! We drove on to Dublin to our next B&B, recommended by Jim and Grace. In fact, Grace programmed the coordinates in the GPS for us, or we might not have found it! After checking in with tea and cakes, we ate at a nearby pub (Irish corned beef and a burger and Bulmer's hard cider). We later shared a bottle of wine with the lady Patricia, who ran the B&B before hitting the sack.
Monday started again with the identical full Irish breakfast, then we caught a double-decker bus downtown. We strolled thtough Trinity College and toured the Book of Kells exhibit( famous ancient illuminated Latin bible) and the Long Room library (VERY old books on display, the oldest Irish harp, busts of famous Irish). Really good. We toured the Irish National Library and a Yeats exhibit. We strolled through a pretty park, then had cider in a pub, then caught the bus back to our rental car ("car for hire" as they call it) to run to the airport. We got back to Glasgow late, but Andy was there to pick us up.
Tuesday, Andy rented a car so we'd have room in their car for Kristina, me and the kids and in the rental car for Darce, Andy and his parents. We went to Luss (without his parents) to stroll by Loch Lomond and to buy some souvenirs in a nice shop, then picked up his parents to first shop in a big outlet-type mall, followed by High Tea at Cameron House. Very nice. Tonight, we're hanging out -- did some laundry, watched some TV.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Back from Scotland part one
I'm on crutches, though. I had a run-in with my niece's stairs and lost. Fortunately for me, it was toward the end of our trip, and not before! On the bright side, it did get us to the head of the lines at the airports...
Our flight over was good, up front (not first class but that's okay), 2 seats by ourselves. It's handy that Darce is an elite member - he could pick our seats. It was an 8 1/2 hour flight to Amsterdam, (Breakfast was served at 10 om Minnesota time!) We watched a movie (Get Smart- we both liked it more than we thought we would ), listened to music, read.. Breakfast was served at 10 pm Minnesota time!
Our flight from Amsterdam to Glasgow was about an hour and a half - more munchies served on that one. The Amsterdam terminal is huge, and we had to go through security again, then take a bus to our plane, then taxi forever to get to our takeoff point. Our nephew Andy was waiting for us at the airport in Glasgow and managed to get our luggage into the car. :-) I, of course, tried to get in on the driver's side - Scotland drives on the other side!
Our niece Kristina and Andy have two kids. Frankie is 3 1/2 and is fun to watch as she gets excited about little things. Aiden (6 mo) is a barrel full of SMILES, good kid. Kristina has cooked good food.
After we got there, Monday was spent walking around downtown Helensburgh with lunch out and pushing the stroller. Helensburgh is about a half hour or so from Glasgow, and is on the river Clyde. We walk down about a half hour walk, to the shops and restaurants in town along the water. We had to come back and take naps after lunch, since Scotland is 6 hours ahead.
Tuesday Darce and I walked around Helensburgh again. Wednesday, Andy drove us past his work area then on to Stirling. We walked about 10 miles straight up a hill to get to the William Wallace memorial, and then Darce walked the scary spiral staircase to the top of the Wallace monument. We then had excellent fish and chips and haggis, (well, Darcy had haggis...) then we toured Stirling castle. Some parts of it were built in the 1300s!
Thursday was a train ride, just Darce and I, to Edinburgh, again lots of walking but enjoyable. I think Andy was very sneaky - after the hill to the Wallace monument, we laughed at other hills we encountered! After getting off the train right downtown, we sat in a shopping mall to read the tour books, then of all things, ate at McDonald's! It was different though - Darce had a burger called the M and I had a chicken sandwich we don't have in the States. We went to the National Gallery of Scotland and took our time walking through a great temporary exhibit of Impressionism in Scotland. Lots of great paintings well worth the time.
We walked on to the National Library of Scotland and walked through an excellent 500 Years of Print exhibit. We WALKED a lot, taking pictures of the outside of the castle and other buildings, then ate a fantastic meal on Rose Street at the Mussel Inn. The mussels and scallops in cheese appetizer, Darcy enjoyed his huge seafood in white sauce dish and my scallops on risotto were soooooooo good!
We didn't tour Edinburgh castle, but it's pretty hard to miss! It was pretty neat to be standing outside a department store and look up to see a castle looming.
We got back LATE that night, repacked a smaller bag, got only a couple hours sleep, then got up very early to fly from Prestwick to Dublin.
We rented a nice Toyota Avensis (?) and Darcy had the thrill of sitting behind the steering wheel on the right side, driving in the left lane. Fortunately we rented a GPS - otherwise we'd still be trying to find our way out of the Dublin airport! We drove on many narrow country roads, exciting...The roads there are narrow, with little or no shoulder, and the trees, fences, stone walls are right up against the road. Lots of pastures with cows and sheep, close enough to almost touch them. (Scotland is like that too.)
We stopped at the Ballyhaunis Library (of course, since I had to go to the library). We then drove on to Knock, to find my third cousin once removed's B and B. It's about five years old, and it's really nice.
More later!
Our flight over was good, up front (not first class but that's okay), 2 seats by ourselves. It's handy that Darce is an elite member - he could pick our seats. It was an 8 1/2 hour flight to Amsterdam, (Breakfast was served at 10 om Minnesota time!) We watched a movie (Get Smart- we both liked it more than we thought we would ), listened to music, read.. Breakfast was served at 10 pm Minnesota time!
Our flight from Amsterdam to Glasgow was about an hour and a half - more munchies served on that one. The Amsterdam terminal is huge, and we had to go through security again, then take a bus to our plane, then taxi forever to get to our takeoff point. Our nephew Andy was waiting for us at the airport in Glasgow and managed to get our luggage into the car. :-) I, of course, tried to get in on the driver's side - Scotland drives on the other side!
Our niece Kristina and Andy have two kids. Frankie is 3 1/2 and is fun to watch as she gets excited about little things. Aiden (6 mo) is a barrel full of SMILES, good kid. Kristina has cooked good food.
After we got there, Monday was spent walking around downtown Helensburgh with lunch out and pushing the stroller. Helensburgh is about a half hour or so from Glasgow, and is on the river Clyde. We walk down about a half hour walk, to the shops and restaurants in town along the water. We had to come back and take naps after lunch, since Scotland is 6 hours ahead.
Tuesday Darce and I walked around Helensburgh again. Wednesday, Andy drove us past his work area then on to Stirling. We walked about 10 miles straight up a hill to get to the William Wallace memorial, and then Darce walked the scary spiral staircase to the top of the Wallace monument. We then had excellent fish and chips and haggis, (well, Darcy had haggis...) then we toured Stirling castle. Some parts of it were built in the 1300s!
Thursday was a train ride, just Darce and I, to Edinburgh, again lots of walking but enjoyable. I think Andy was very sneaky - after the hill to the Wallace monument, we laughed at other hills we encountered! After getting off the train right downtown, we sat in a shopping mall to read the tour books, then of all things, ate at McDonald's! It was different though - Darce had a burger called the M and I had a chicken sandwich we don't have in the States. We went to the National Gallery of Scotland and took our time walking through a great temporary exhibit of Impressionism in Scotland. Lots of great paintings well worth the time.
We walked on to the National Library of Scotland and walked through an excellent 500 Years of Print exhibit. We WALKED a lot, taking pictures of the outside of the castle and other buildings, then ate a fantastic meal on Rose Street at the Mussel Inn. The mussels and scallops in cheese appetizer, Darcy enjoyed his huge seafood in white sauce dish and my scallops on risotto were soooooooo good!
We didn't tour Edinburgh castle, but it's pretty hard to miss! It was pretty neat to be standing outside a department store and look up to see a castle looming.
We got back LATE that night, repacked a smaller bag, got only a couple hours sleep, then got up very early to fly from Prestwick to Dublin.
We rented a nice Toyota Avensis (?) and Darcy had the thrill of sitting behind the steering wheel on the right side, driving in the left lane. Fortunately we rented a GPS - otherwise we'd still be trying to find our way out of the Dublin airport! We drove on many narrow country roads, exciting...The roads there are narrow, with little or no shoulder, and the trees, fences, stone walls are right up against the road. Lots of pastures with cows and sheep, close enough to almost touch them. (Scotland is like that too.)
We stopped at the Ballyhaunis Library (of course, since I had to go to the library). We then drove on to Knock, to find my third cousin once removed's B and B. It's about five years old, and it's really nice.
More later!
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