Heading to Newcastle to see Hadrian's Wall

We woke up to a rainy, foggy day in Edinburgh.  Our plan was to walk to Calton Hill above Edinburgh to see the city from above.  Even with the rain and grey fog, we forged ahead.  We noticed that there were a lot of people out on the streets at 7:30am.  Today was a marathon in Edinburgh.  As we walked south on Princes Street, we could see that people were massing right in the path we wanted to take.  Time for Plan B.  No Calton Hill today, we bought train tickets for the ride to Newcastle and went to get breakfast.  Robert and I had scoped out a possible spot yesterday, asking what time they opened on Sunday.  We were told 8am.  Great!  When we arrived, the door was locked and no one was around.  Time for Plan C.  Breakfast in the pub.  We found Standing Orders just around the corner.  The building was fantastic.  This was an old bank building that had been restored.

We packed up and headed to the train station for the 11:05 train to Newcastle.  We were glad it had stopped raining.  One and a half hour train ride (with wi-fi) brought us to Newcastle.  The sun was shining as we took the metro to our hotel, the Oak Tree Lodge in Whitley Bay.  Dropped our bags and took the metro to Wallsend to visit Segedunum, a Roman fort.

Segedunum is the site of a Roman fort that has been archaeologically excavated.  There is a small museum and some pieces of the wall.  This was our first glimpse of the wall!  This is the start of our walk!  We spent about an hour there.  Originally, we were to begin at Segedunum tomorrow morning before beginning our day, but the museum opens at 10am.  We hope to get an earlier start tomorrow by seeing the museum today.

The metro station near the fort has signs in both English and Latin.

Our hostess at the Oak Tree Lodge had suggested that we explore Tynemouth on our way back to the hotel.  We got off the metro there and just missed a huge antiques show that had been held at the train station that day!  We walked to the sea, then walked along the sea back to our hotel (about 3 miles).  It was mostly sunny, but got cloudy.  We saw a rainbow and considered it a good omen for our trip!

Back to the hotel, then we walked around the corner to eat at Kismet.  Steve Saunders, our friend who first told us about taking this trip, bills this restaurant as "the best Indian food in the world."  We were all hungry (did you notice no lunch?).  We figured that the place must be pretty good because there are Indian restaurants EVERYWHERE you look here.  To stay in business with competition like this, the food must be outstanding.  In the block where the Kismet is located, there are four restaurants.  Three are Indian.

On Sunday, there is a special six course meal.  We all ordered and waited expectantly.  The food came quickly and was quite good.  As we sat there, the restaurant filled up with customers.  Literally, no open tables.  And the "take-away" orders kept coming in too.  The 4-5 people who worked there were swamped!  We finished our meal, but still had ice cream coming.  We waited and waited and waited--for an hour.  We enjoyed talking to each other, but were all getting sleepy!  Finally we asked for the ice cream (waited another 10 minutes) and it came.  We asked for the bill shortly afterward and left three hours after we arrived.

Robert and Dave walked to look at the sea (one block away) and we are all headed to bed.  Big day tomorrow!

Saturday in Edinburgh

Ahhhh.  A good night's sleep makes all the difference.

Weather--Chilly, grey, damp, but not raining.  We started the day at Robert's favorite bakery in Edinburgh, Peter's Yard, near the Meadows.  It was a 20 minute walk, but we were rewarded with tasty Scandinavian fare.  It did not disappoint.

After breakfast, we split up.  Robert and Sharon climbed Arthur's Seat, while Dave and Carol planned to visit Holyrood Palace and the National Gallery of Art.  Together we walked to the Royal Mile and toward Holyrood.  We will return to Dave and Carol's adventures.  Robert and I headed up the "back" of Salisbury Crags to reach the summit of Arthur's Seat, looking out over Edinburgh.  There was a 5K run that started just as we got underway and it was fun to watch the runners as we climbed.  And climb we did.  We hadn't taken this route before and it was quite steep.  We did reach the top and were rewarded with a lovely view of Edinburgh and environs, even if it was a bit windy.

The hill was covered with these lovely yellow bushes.  I wish we knew what they were!

Robert and I walked down through the town, passing many familiar sites.  We stopped at a coffee shop and split a sandwich.  Robert was looking for "Italian" hot chocolate (liquid chocolate pudding), but they didn't have that.  The hot chocolate was good however.

We went to the National Gallery to see if we could run into Dave and Carol.  We didn't see them, but had a lovely time seeing the Titian exhibit.  It was fun to read that more prominent works of Titian are in the Prado in Madrid.  Kira will be seeing them soon!  We got back to the apartment and learned that Holyrood Palace was closed today (bank holiday), so Carol and Dave had spent the day at the National Gallery.  They had a day filled with great art!

Dinner was a highlight!  We had dinner at a tiny little French bistro called Cafe Marlayne just around the corner on Thistle Street.  There were about 8 tables in the whole place.  The menu was handwritten (in English) and didn't skimp on the butter.  The meal was delicious.  We all used the baguette slices provided to clean every last drop from out plates!  When the bill arrived, it was also handwritten.

We ended the day with "saucy puds" (lava cakes) that we had gotten at Sainsbury's the day before. [Yes, had dessert at Cafe Marlayne too.]  All in all, a very successful day!

Arrival in Edinburgh

We made it!  The plane ride to Heathrow went smoothly and we spent three hours in the airport, waiting to connect to our flight to Edinburgh.  There was a delicious meal of ramen at Wagamama.  It was not as good as Hong Kong, but it hit the spot.

We finally arrived in Edinburgh, just after 5pm local time.  We took a taxi to 15 South Charlotte Street on Charlotte Square to meet Dave and Carol.  The apartment is very nice and will quite comfortable for our stay.  We headed out for an dinner pretty soon and just walked around the corned to Gusto.  We celebrated Carol's birthday with a lovely Italian-ish meal (with very loud music).

(picture taken by Liam Neeson look-alike)

Afterward, we took a short walk in the chilly, damp evening to find a Sainsbury's.  Robert snagged some of his favorite Quadruple Chocolate Cookies and Gu brand "saucy puds" (we know them as lava cakes).  Plus, he found Diet Coke!

We are all thinking an early bedtime and get on track for tomorrow.  We spend Saturday in Edinburgh, then head to Newcastle on Sunday.

Leaving Austin - Fat and Happy

Because our British Airways flight was delayed for 2.5 hours, we each got a $9 food voucher for the Austin airport. One order of BBQ sliders from the Salt Lick. (They were eaten before a picture was possible.). Next stop? Amy's of course.

Update--Amy's doesn't take the vouchers. Oh well....

Getting started slowly

Our flight from Austin to Heathrow was supposed to leave at 6:10pm. We are currently delayed until 8:40pm. We'll miss our original connection to Edinburgh, but have been switched to a later flight. Thank you, British Airways, for making the switch for us!

Carol and Dave are leaving from Washington, DC, at 5:30pm.  Their flights are leaving "as scheduled."

The adventure begins tomorrow.

After years of anticipation and months of planning, our trip to walk Hadrian's Wall in Northern England will begin tomorrow!  There is packing to do, but the plane doesn't leave until late afternoon, so there is plenty of time.