King Malcolm Dunfermline

We are visiting the UK and Norway at the end of May and first part of June in 2010. I have never been to Europe and am very excited about it.

Our daughter has been attending Kingston University this past year so we are going to see her, travel and pack her up to come home. We have family in Stavanger so we don't need hotels and ...

... but one side has nothing - it's just bare and exposing a monstrous building left from the time when the area mined coal from under the sea. I ask a guy sat next to me what the building is used for now and he tells me that it's going to be dismantled but requires a lot of money and asbestos specialists to take it down. The coastline will look ...

... is screaming for mercy. Found some very nice cookies though, yum!

Time for some wandering! We didn't hit the Royal Mile unfortunately, but we did get a good wander up and down Princes Street. Waiting around in Pizza Hut for some food, just having a general laugh.. who needs to be touristy when you get the full-on local effect?

And the best part was.. SNOW! Very random and very light, but it was there :)

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom kilgiraffe

... phones through to the AA and books a transporter to take me back to take me back to Nottingham (East Leake).

Tow truck 1, turns up at 11:50 to take me on the first leg of the journey home from Fort William to Stirling. This takes approx 3 hours and I get dropped at Stirling service station where I am supposed to be met by the next tow truck. It takes about an hour for the next truck to turn up. Which was arranged for 14:30

My African adventures have now come to an end. Arrived back in Bonnie Scotland last night and I still can't believe I'm really here. I have to admit it is comforting to have a hot shower, decent cups of tea, beer that doesn't taste of water and a comfy bed, not necessarily in that order!!! The last 3 months have gone amazingly quickly, it seems like only yesterday I was writing my first entry. I have made so many friends, seen so many wonderful sights and ...

... 10 minutes. Viv and I decided to call the walking quits around 7:00 and found a small Italian restaurant on the Mile to dine at. It was excellent (Italian, I have found to my liking, has a big presence in Scotland). Then it was back to the HI Express in Dunfermline via train to recharge for another fun-packed day. June 26 - Day 10 - Edinburgh, Part Deux Our plan on day two in Edinburgh, at least a few of us (me, Viv ...

... play golf again. It was incredible. The entire experience layed out perfectly and I couldn't have asked for a better one. Some of the other members of our group came to St. Andrews a bit later in the morning and played the Jubilee Course (St. Andrews now has seven tracks). In the afternoon, we all enjoyed walking around the community of St. Andrews which is, in itself, something to behold from a historical standpoint. I'm tired now. Let the pictures speak for themselves...

... oooh look at that - snap!) it seems like you step back in time. The stones are worn from years of footfalls along the main path, and it certainly makes you think about how many people have walked up this same corridor. In through the Porticullis Gate and the main castle spreads out before you - stairs, rocks, chapels, cannons, everything. There is Dog Cemetery, a small grassy area which holds the remains of the General's ...

... an end to this. The parade started at 11:15 and the Queen reappeared to take in the festivities. It was a rather strange mixture of traditional Scottish talent, and modern entertainment. The favorite seemed to be the "Red Hot Chili Pipers", a local Celtic music band. Then started a parade of politician, dignitaries, their friends, neighbors and pretty much anybody else. This went of for quite some time and was rather boring. The ...

... saw a fee Thai restaurants, but since the pound is so expensive for us, kept wandering. We eventually found a Thai restaurant, and got out of the snow. Probably the other coolest part of the weekend was being at the restaurant with Narissa, one of the girls with us, who's family is Thai, and she learned Thai from visiting her family over the holidays every year. She was speaking in Thai to the waitresses, and it was so amazing to see her in this aspect. We had our Thai ...