Author Archives: JB

New York, New York Here it is: the cost of 25 nights (26 days) of our trip in the U.K. Our nearly one-month trip to the UK – from London to Edinburgh – was a particularly good trip. The weather was great and we got to revisit some places we hadn’t been in fifty yearsContinue reading “Don tells all”

Edinburgh, Scotland Yes, our trip had a few glitches, as they all do. But overall, it was a relaxed and rewarding trip through a very special part of the world for us.

Edinburgh, Scotland Nearby our hotel is the beautiful National Portrait Gallery, always worthy of a visit.

Edinburgh, Scotland Today we explored more of the National Museum of Scotland, to see what could top Dolly. We were most interested in our friends the Vikings, but ended up starting a little earlier in history — with prehistory.

Edinburgh, Scotland We ended our day at the National Museum of Scotland, greeting the world’s most famous sheep. Dolly was the world’s first cloned mammal, born in Edinburgh and proudly preserved here.

Edinburgh, Scotland We started out with great ambitions today, booked on a tour that would take us to the Holy Island, Lindisfarne. The priory on this island was a prime target of the Viking raiders, who thought those monks had a great gift shop. It was going to be a long day, but we wereContinue reading “A rather unholy day”

Edinburgh, Scotland Today we walked the Royal Mile, the ridge where people have lived before recorded history. At its top was the perfect place to place a castle, and to start our walk. We have toured the castle previously, and have also been here on the esplanade when the Military Tattoo was gloriously paraded.

Edinburgh, Scotland We took the train north to Edinburgh today, and it felt nice to be back in a place with so many memories.

Beamish, outside of Newcastle, England If you ever wondered what life was like in 19th and early 20th century northeast England, Beamish is the place to visit. This 300-acre open air museum is rated England’s best.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England We took a small jaunt today to visit one site of Hadrian’s Wall. This defensive fortification, begun in about 122AD, stretched 73 miles across the narrowest part of northern England, and the northernmost part of the Roman Empire.