Tatiana

Wednesday, October 22, 2008.

We flew out of Edinburgh and landed in London at 12:05. We took a taxi to my cousin Tatiana's flat. Tatiana and her family were gracious enough to put us up for 3 nights while we toured London. Her husband, Carlos, was in Amsterdam at the time and was due to come back on Friday, the 24th. She is staying with her two beautiful children, Carlitos and Rai. Also, her mother-in-law, Pilar, was there. When we arrived, Tatiana was on her way to take Carlitos to preschool. Pilar let us in and showed us around. They live in a beautiful flat on the fifth floor over looking the River Thames in Richmond. What a view! Just beautiful.

Richmond is London’s most attractive borough, which for hundreds of years has been a favorite retreat of Royalty, the rich and the famous. The River Thames runs through the heart of the borough for 21 miles linking Hampton Court Palace, Richmond town centre and Kew Gardens with central London. With beautiful Royal parks and historic houses, theaters, museums and galleries rich with exhibits and town centers bursting with shops and restaurants, Richmond upon Thames rivals anywhere in London.

Tatiana came back from taking Carlitos to preschool and we decided to go shopping and she wanted to show us the train station which was a fifteen minute walk. After she showed us where the train station was, she went back home and Mike and I went shopping. Then we decided to walk along the River Thames back to the flat. What a charming place. Tatiana, you have done well!

Once back at the flat, Pilar had made a quiche and we sat down and had tea and quiche. Then Mike went to bed and Tatiana and I had a bottle of wine and chatted for a couple of hours. It was nice to catch up. We had not seen each other in more then 6 years and was good to see her and finally meet her boys. Carlitos is about 3 months older then Nate and is just as sweet. Rai is about a year and a half and likes to get into everything. Thank goodness Tatiana has Pilar there with them. With Carlos traveling 8 months out of the year, it is very difficult for her. Being with her children made me miss Nate terribly. I hope the next time we meet, our children will be together. Then it was off to bed. Our next two days is going to be busy. How much on London can one see in two days?


Rai


Carlitos


Carlitos with Pilar in the background feeding Rai


Carlitos showing Mike a puzzle he is working on



Me and Tatiana on our way to train station


Mike and Tatiana


Bridge on the River Thames

DaVinci Code

This world wind tour of Scotland was exhausting. In the end I realized I had no time to blog. After the day was over, we would come back to our room and as soon as we hit the pillow we we were out. So blogging, at least for me, had to wait till I got home. So here goes:

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

The men went to play golf at Muirfield, -A gentleman's club were women are not allowed. Apparently the men had a great time and good thing that Lilia and I did not want to golf as I find that Scottish golf is quite sexist. Which the thought of that ruffles our feathers a bit. So we decided to go see Rosslyn Chapel. I read The DaVinci Code, so this place was a big interest for me. And no, I was not looking for the Holy Grail!

Lilia and I took a bus to Roslin, which dropped us off just about 200 yards away from the Chapel. For some odd reason, I manage to forget my camera! ARRGGHHH! Very frustrating for me. Luckily Lilia brought 2 camera's but she still has all the photos that we took. Also, we were not allowed to photograph the Chapel on the inside, so I decided to buy a CD with beautiful photos of the Chapel.

Rosslyn Chapel, properly named the Collegiate Church of St Matthew, was founded on a small hill , above Roslin Glen as a Roman Catholic collegiate church in the mid-15th century. After the Scottish Reformation (1560) Roman Catholic worship in the Chapel was brought to an end. From that time the Chapel was closed to public worship until 1861 when it was opened again as a place of worship according to the rites of the Scottish Episcopal Church. The Chapel is a major feature in the last part of Dan Brown's 2003 novel The DaVinci Code.

The Chapel had an aluminum tent over it with scaffolding all over it. Apparently it had alot of green moss growing all over it and the best way to clear it was to place the tent over it to naturally dry it and it seems to be working. You spend the whole time looking up looking at all details. It was impressive! Below are some of the photos I purchased.


Rosslyn Chapel


Inside the Chapel


One of the sections of the ceiling.


Some of the details.


One of the Green Men which are carvings of human faces with greenery all around them, often growing out of their mouths.

After the visiting the Chapel, we went to the pub at the hotel and had lunch while waiting for our bus. I asked the bartender how many people have come through looking for the Holy Grail. He said in the thousands! Wow! I thought the DaVinci Code was a great book but people forget it's fiction.

We took the bus back to our hotel's and I rested a bit until Mike came back from golfing. Later that night we all went to "The Witchery" for dinner. Located in an historic sixteenth-century building at the gates of Edinburgh Castle. In the most historic part of the building the Witchery is rich, warm and atmospheric, its oak-paneled walls hung with tapestries, mirrors and carvings. Spectacular painted and gilded ceilings similar to those at the Palace of Holyrood House celebrate the links with France in the Auld Alliance, whilst much of the paneling was rescued from St Giles Cathedral and a Burgundian Chateau. Gilded antique leather screens, polished church candlesticks and opulent red leather seating completes the setting of this magical dining location. We met up with Mike MacGreen's coworker, Marian Edwards and her husband Barry. It was Marian that recommended this restaurant. Thank you Marian!!! The six of us had an amazing dinner.


Barry and Marian Edwards

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Group shot with my eyes closed and then the camera battery died.

This was our last night with the MacCottles. The next day we went to London and the MacCottles are off to Turnberry. Thank you Mike and Lilia! We had an amazing time. Till we meet again.

Exhausted

Finished our touring late last night. We did another all day tour of London, but this one involved a lot of walking. We started at Westminster, where we saw the Abbey and Big Ben. Then we saw everything from the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral and the London eye. Many more items to talk about, but we came back to the flat for an amazing dinner and wine with Carlos and Taty. We're in the process of packing up to head home. Have an all day flight travel planned, but we're exhausted, so hopefully we'll get some sleep on the plane.

At the royal guard horses station.

In front of Buckingham palace, waiting for the guard change.


Did you spot Maria? She's in front of Big Ben.


At the tower bridge.

For Robert, here's your cousin and our excellent host.

Here's the London eye in the back ground, with a portion of Big Ben in the foreground.

See you soon,

Michael

1.5 days left

Took the all day tour today to Windsor castle, Stonehenge and Bath.  we left Taty's house at 7am, to catch the train to Victoria station, where we boarded the bus at 8:45am, and got back at 8pm.  We went to dinner and took the train back to the flat and are about to do it all again tomorrow for our last full day of touring.  

Here I am in front of the Windsor castle.  So much to see and so little time.

Changing of the guards at Windsor Castle.

We did a number of amazing things today, but the most amazing was seeing Stonehenge.  What a magnificent experience.  The weather was mostly cooperative with very little rain.

Next Stop London

We left Edinburgh this morning, we hated to go, but excited about seeing our family in the London suburb of Richmond.  We arrived to a wonderful home with very warm welcome.  We had a little lunch before heading out to scout out the train station we'll use tomorrow and then on to a little shopping.  We discussed heading in to London to see a show, but we were just too tired to do that in advance of the next 2 days where we have all day tours scheduled to see the bulk of London in a whirlwind tour.

Sitting on a bench down the hill from the Tatiana's flat.

Standing on the river Thames as the sun is going down.

Spending some precious time with the family, making us really miss being at home with Nate.

Up and Down

Busy day. Had an amazing experience at Muirfield. What a tough course. Very similar in style to Gullane. Big deep bunkers that are brutal and the rough, f you hit in there, you may as well declare your ball lost.
Mike and I both reached the bunker on this hole, but had to pitch the ball pack as there wasn't a chance we were getting out and moving the ball forward.

A wonderful look at one of the bunkers by a par 3.


The club at Gullane was very much a private gentleman's club. Jacket and tie required, women are not allowed. Overall a very small club, can't see ow they could ever hold an open there.

Didn't shoot very well, only two pars today, easily the highest scoring day of the week.

My iphone took a dump, so now I'll join the rest of our group without a phone, no more road posts. Not sure what happened, battery died and after recharging, it tells me I have no phone and need to activate and it reboots every 2-3 minutes.

Had a wonderful dinner with the MacCottles and Marian and her husband at the Witchery. Had some traditional scottish soup, Cullen Skank. I'm so happy they drove out to join us. Had a 10 year McCallum scotch that was really good.

Tomorrow we're up early and on our way to London.

Cheers,

Michael

Braveheart

Today was Braveheart Day. We took a tour that took us first to Glasgow. We only drove through it and very different from Edinburgh. More modern. We liked Edinburgh better. Then we went to Loch Lomond. It is the largest lake in Great Britain, by surface area, and contains many islands. We decided not to take the boat ride and walk around town for a bit and then had lunch. Then we went to Aberfoyle and did some shopping there. Then finally it was off to Stirling Castle. one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. There is a a statue of Robert the Bruce as we walked in and from a distance you can see the Wallace Monument. It was beautiful. I wish we had more time there but that's one of the cons of being on a bus tour. After the tour. We decided to go to The Wiski Bar on the Royal Mile. We needed to try scotch! Wow, what an education. We did a flight and it's just like wine tasting. You look for aroma, mouthfeel, and finish. We started with a flight based on region. Mike MacGreen and Lilia liked the one from the Highlands. and Mike Mac Cottle and I like the one from Speyside. It was a 12 year old scotch. So I moved on to try the 15 year old and then to the 21 year old. It just got better and better. Wish I could bring a bottle home but a bit difficult with the laws. I was told, I should just buy a bottle and enjoy it during my stay.


Mike and Lilia at Stirling Castle


Mike at Stirling Castle and Wallace Monument behind him


Cannons


The spectacular view from the castle


Glenfiddich 21 year old scotch that we loved!!!


At the Wiski Bar

Cross one off...

Mike and I completed something that's on every golfer's bucket list. We played a round at St. Andrews. It was everything we could have expected it to be. The first 12 holes had, for Scotland, wonderful weather. Not too breezy, no rain and even some sunshine. The last 6 holes or so were an absolute torture with the elements. 40-50 MPH winds, either blowing at us or across the course. Beautifully hit shots went way into the weeds. Solidly hit drives went no more than 150 yards. I still managed to finish with a respectable score for me, so I'm happy. After the round of golf we we went to see the museum of golf, something I could have spent a lot more time doing, but the day was getting late.

We also took a few photos as we strolled out onto the old course across the bridge.

It was really interesting to see the difference in course styles at Gullane and St. Andrews. The bunkers were bigger and more strategically placed at St. Andrews, but you had a bit more room to miss. Or should I say when you missed, it wasn't as punishing as it was at Gullane.
Tomorrow we're leaving at 7:30am to go play Muirfield. Need to bring a coat, shirt and tie, or they won't let us eat there. We were told we have to complete our rond in 3.5 hours or they'd kick us off. Should be a fun time.

New course

From the first tee at St. Andrews as we got ready to tee off.

Loch Lomond

Take 2. It's cold today.

Today we went to St. Andrews. Home of golf. Mike and Mike were in hog heaven. The played a round of golf on the new course. I guess that's one they both are able to check off their bucket list. While the guys went golfing. Lilia and I went sightseeing. We saw the ruins of the Cathedral and the castle at St. Andrews. We spent way more time there then we expected. We even climbed up the tower at the Cathedral ruins called The Rule. 158 steps we counted all on a round staircase that was extremely tight. But once on top, wow! What a view. We must have spent more then 3 hours just walking around the ruins. We then went to have lunch at a pub called "The Rule". Then it was back to the golf course. There we were able to sit at the restaurant and watch the guys come up to the 18th hole. We were very excited for the guys. Once they were done, we went shopping, golf museum and then to take the photo on the bridge on the old course. What a fun day! We came back to the hotel and rested a bit and then off to dinner to a traditional Scottish restaurant called "Browns".


Cathdral Ruins


The Rule


View from on top of the Rule


Lilia and I in front of the Castle


Mike and Mike on the 18th hole on the New Course


On the Bridge at St. Andrews Old Course