Josh and Laura toured Edinburgh Castle on Sunday the 22nd of September. Laura shared her photos with me.
From this view of Edinburgh that Laura captured at the top of the castle walls you can see the Church I was visiting while they were in the castle, The Parish church of St. Cuthbert. Further in the distance the three spires you see are from St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral that we visited later in the afternoon.
The castle is a worthwhile place to visit for any first timers to Edinburgh. You can read about the history of the castle here.
My next few posts will be from our last full day in Edinburgh. We had a private tour in the morning and continued to walk our legs off in the afternoon!
Back to the present: Today is the last day of January and in our little corner of the world we are getting some light snowfall. Hope all is well in your corner!
On September 21st which was a Saturday and our journey from St. Andrews to Edinburgh we stopped to visit the Dunfermline Abbey and Palace. Although I’ve posted the exterior and interior of the Abbey already we toured the palace grounds first on this day. The kiosk to pay for our visit was located in the palace ruins area. This part of our visit involved going up and down different elevations within and along the ruins of palace.
In the cellars with some great acoustics we had an impromptu moment of worship as Laura began to sing ‘Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow’. We all joined in and it was a sweet time together.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below, praise Him above ye heavenly hosts, praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost, Amen.
The Abbey was obliged to offer hospitality to pilgrims and to other travelers whether rich or poor. The guest house was built here in the 1200’s and later became part of the royal palace.
Not all overnight visitors would stay in this guest house; those of lower social rank would be given beds in nearby hostels. Because Queen Margaret founded the monastery and later monarchs chose to stay here, what you see is frequent alterations and additions to provide comfortable royal apartments.
After the union of the crowns of Scotland and England in 1603, these buildings were abandoned and robbed of stone leaving the spectacular south wall with its windows overlooking the glen.
St. Benedict required the abbot dine with all visitors to the abbey. ‘Let the abbots table always be with guests and travellers’, he directed. However, when nobles knocked on the door, the abbot probably arranged for poorer pilgrims to eat elsewhere, while he enjoyed lavish feasts with his high-ranking guests.
This was such a worthwhile stop on our way back to Stirling to drop off our rental car and take a train to Edinburgh for the last few days of our Scotland Trip. Our sunshiny days were behind us.
Back to the present:
Today, January 20, 2025, in the United States is the inauguration of our 47th President, Donald J. Trump. We will be watching the ceremony. We hope for the best for our country and it’s people and our world. For us as believers, the very best is yet to come and it’s not happening here. In the meantime, we pray, we hope for the best, and we remain good citizens of our country doing our part as citizens. We acknowledge that we are not in control of the world and what is happening around the world but we know the One who is in control and who holds our world together.
As the song resounds, ‘This World is not my home I’m just a passing through, my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue, the angels beckon me from heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.’
1. It’s been said January is ‘the month of opportunity, inspiration, and change.” Which of the three do you need most right now? Elaborate.
I’ll go with inspiration. A good dose of inspiration is always good. Inspiration to keep reading and learning. Inspiration to keep moving and giving my heart a good workout. Inspiration to encourage others. Inspiration to clean and organize the spaces in our home.
2. Do you consider opportunity as something that comes to you or something you create for yourself?
I think it comes both ways. I’ve had many opportunities come my way in the course of doing what I enjoy. There’s a verse that comes to mind.
“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the LORD is.” Ephesians 5:15-17
Some examples:
Through blogging (something I enjoy), God brought the Mennonite Girls Can Cook into my life with all the amazing experiences and friendships to enjoy.
Through singing in groups honoring Christ, God brought Greg and me together.
Through following Christ and staying involved in a church body, my life has had many opportunities to serve and enjoy many good gifts from God.
3. The British Museum opened on this date (January 15th) back” in 1759. Do you like visiting museums? Do you have a favorite?
I have a couple favorites in Southern California that I hope will still be standing after the fires in the L.A. area are finally under control!
The Getty Museum and the Getty Villa. These photos are from the Villa in Pacific Palisades from a visit enjoyed with my bloggy friends, Willow (Willow’s Cottage) and Sara (Come Away With Me) way back in 2008!
We’ve also had the opportunity to visit the Art Museums in New York, Chicago and London. They were all amazing. Unlike my husband and daughter, though, I tire easier than them and I am more casual about viewing everything.
4. It’s National Oatmeal Month (yes, apparently it gets a whole month as opposed to a single day). Do you like oatmeal? How often do you eat a bowl of oatmeal? How do you like yours? What about an oatmeal cookie? Is that a sweet treat you enjoy?
I do enjoy all things oatmeal. I love a nice hot bowl of oatmeal with a little milk, brown sugar, raisins and walnuts. A good oatmeal cookie is always a treat I enjoy.
5.What’s something useful you learned in high school?
I’m going to go with Junior High because that is where I learned to type and that is a skill that has been so very useful throughout my life!
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Our two sons, Dan and Josh with our little granddaughter photo bomber.
We are celebrating these three this week in January! Jamie’s birthday is today, Dan’s tomorrow and Joshie’s is on Sunday. We’ll have a birthday dinner here on Saturday for our Colville kids and we’ll have to celebrate Josh over the miles with birthday greetings. God bless you and keep you and protect you! We love you, we love you, we love you!
On Friday the 20th of September 2024 after our time at St. Andrews castle we got some back lane directions to get to North Street.
Butts Wynd Lane
The lane took us by some of the University of St. Andrews buildings with this beautiful St. Salvatores quad.
We were hoping to be able to get inside Saint Salvatore’s Chapel but were disappointed to find a private event going on with no entry for us.
We walked by along North Street and could tell this was a beautiful chapel. I found this youtube and the gal who took the video does show the interior of the chapel with added information and history. She shows the spot where Patrick Hamilton a Presbyterian Reformer was martyred in the video, also.
Our next stop was the Northpoint Cafe made famous by Prince William and Kate. We made it in time to have some refreshments before it closed.
Back on the streets we wound our way to the ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral and St. Rules Tower
Our feet and our backs were complaining at the end of this afternoon. The grounds were in the process of closing just as we arrived so before they locked the gate, Laura and I went in. I kept the gatekeeper occupied with questions and conversation while Laura walked about the ruins taking photos.
St Andrews Cathedral was Scotland’s largest cathedral. It took nearly 150 years to build and was consecrated in 1318 by Robert the Bruce. An ill-fated building, it suffered damage from fires and storms, but the Religious Reformation of 1559 was the most damaging event of all. Following an anti-Papal sermon by John Knox, his congregation went to the Cathedral and destroyed its symbols of Roman Catholicism. Further attacks led to the Cathedral being closed and the friars expelled.
On the site of St Andrews Cathedral, there was originally St Rule’s Church, which belonged to a community of Augustinian Canons who had the adjoining building as their living quarters. Nowadays, only the Tower remains, and at 30 meters high, it provides the best panoramic views across St Andrews.
The tower is generally accessible to climb and see great views but we arrived too late in the day for that.
There is also a museum on this site but, you guessed it, the museum was closed by the time we reached this site.
When we couldn’t hold the gatekeeper off any longer we left the grounds and let him lock the gate. We walked back to where our vehicle was parked along the University lanes with one more stop in mind before we left St. Andrews.
Well of course we needed a photo of our Gregory right at this spot!
Before we left to Scotland we watched Chariots of Fire knowing we would be close to the beach where the famous opening to the movie was filmed. We wanted to re-enact that opening.
Eric Liddell: I believe God made me for a purpose – but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.
“I have no formula for winning the race. Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within. Jesus said, ‘Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. If with all your hearts, you truly seek me, you shall ever surely find me.’ If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race.” ~ Eric Liddell
We were pleased with the results. We have videos but unfortunately I can’t find a way to post that on my blog. We were cracking ourselves up and amazed our feet allowed this last event of the day. When we got back to our car, it was decided we needed to find some takeaway or purchase something we could pop in the oven for dinner. Take away did not materialize so we stopped at M&S and found some savoury pies and some desserts, too.
Laura’s watch clocked us at 21,797 steps with 29 stairway climbs, too. Yikes.
Food heated and feet up for the rest of the evening!! Cheers!
After breakfast on Saturday we would start our journey back to Stirling to drop off our rental car and take a train to Edinburgh for the last leg of our trip.
History and art is something I enjoy together. I took this photo at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. spring of 2011. George Washington in our National cathedral with the stained glass window and sunlight adding some highlights!
1. What’s something you think is under appreciated. Explain.
The work that policemen have to do dealing with people who are mentally ill, drug addicts, and other people who have no respect for their authority is under appreciated. Policemen are important in restraining evil, for the health of our country and the safety of our citizens. I appreciate our Border Patrol Agents in the same way.
2. As winter approaches how do you stay productive?
It helps me to stay on top of things if I have company coming. Winter does make things harder when the snow and ice appear. Keeping my lists and ticking off the items is a good motivation for me.
3. What’s a popular food you don’t like?
Sushi
4. What do you think is more interesting-art or history? Elaborate.
Seeing works of art in an amazing historical cathedral is very satisfying to all my senses.
I find history in art very interesting. It’s enjoyable to connect some historical facts to the places we travel to. Art is more interesting when I know something about the artist. Modern art has no appeal to me.
Children’s story illustrations/artwork are a favorite of mine, too.
5. What advice would you give to someone half your age?
Don’t put off traveling. Plan the trip and go!
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Speaking of being productive in the winter, this two have a way of getting me moving…
We had our first sign of some snow in these parts. Addy also lost another tooth!
Thanks for popping by and leaving a comment. You are appreciated!
All the way from Seattle, Washington to Glasgow, Scotland on the first leg of our journey!
We got to Sea-Tac and breezed through security with plenty of time to spare for our Aer Lingus flight to Edinburgh with a stop in Dublin, Ireland. Our flight left Seattle at 6:45 PM on Thursday the 12th of September.
Laura got a shot of me enjoying an online puzzle that was offered in the game app on the plane.
We made it to Dublin (because of the time zone difference of 8 hours) at 11:30 AM on Friday the 13th. Our connection in Dublin onto a much smaller plane was touch and go for a while as there were some technical issues but we finally boarded and made it to Edinburgh airport at 3:30 PM on Friday.
Our luggage arrived quickly and we made it to a queue for an airport bus to take us to Glasgow.
That trip is normally 1 hour long but there was a lot of Friday afternoon traffic and we didn’t make it to Glasgow until after 6PM.
It was a short walk from the bus station to our hotel and it felt good to settle in our rooms and then make it out for a nice sit down meal. After trying a couple of Pubs that were packed to the gills we settled in at All-Bar-One where we enjoyed our time.
So thankful for all the travelling mercies we enjoyed on this day.
It’s our first time in Glasgow, an old city with amazing architecture to enjoy. So thankful for Laura’s eye for the details in taking photos and sharing them with me.
Hoping to share more postcards along the way. We have been up for well over 24 hours and hope to sleep well, Goodnight!
Retention! I wish my brain retained things I read and hear more easily. Is that a talent?
2. In one word, what’s your state of mind right now?
Recuperation.
3. What’s the next major purchase you need to make? Will it happen this month? This year?
Getting our septic system pumped. It will happen this year.
4. Tuesday (April 2nd) was National PB and J Day…did you celebrate? Is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich something you eat weekly or more? What’s your favorite kind of jelly?
No PBJ celebrations here. I do not eat it weekly. I eat it when I crave it. Lately I like PB on a toasted muffin with honey. Raspberry jam and strawberry jam are my favorites.
5. Are you easily intimidated? Who or what intimidates you?
Generally no, I’m not easily intimidated. The thing that does intimidate me is having to speak in front of a crowd larger than 10 people.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
We had to leave early on Monday of this week for a follow-up appointment for Greg in Spokane. It was a beautiful day. After the appointment we parked close to this amazing building thinking about having lunch at a nearby restaurant. We were frustrated since all the parking meters now want you to scan something to pay using your phone/app. Oye…I’m old. We just decided to drive away and go somewhere with a parking lot.
Here’s a little info on Spokane’s Castle Courthouse.
“You might not expect to come upon a castle while visiting Spokane, but that is exactly what you will do if you visit the Spokane County courthouse. Most of us associate such architecture with romantic old castles in Europe, or perhaps something out of the world of Walt Disney or fairy tales. To find such a building in the center of a modern, growing regional hub city such as Spokane is a bit startling. How did this come about? You’d expect such a building must have a colorful past, and our courthouse does not disappoint!”
Next time we are close to this building I want to walk around it and also go inside of it.
Day eleven of our trip to Ireland and England was Monday September 25th. We walked across the road to the John Lennon Airport from our hotel early for our 9:20 AM flight back to Dublin. We didn’t realize how important adding the extras on our reservation were for this flight. We purchased priority boarding and it was money well spent as they divided everyone up into the ‘goats’ and ‘sheep’ at the gate. Our seats were guaranteed while others had to wait and see if there would be room for them. YIKES. Thankful again for the providence of the Lord we encountered all through our trip.
Another taxi ride from the Dublin airport to our last hotel on this trip, The Ashling. Andrew and Katie were already at this hotel and we were excited to meet up with them for our last day in Dublin. True to form the day was packed full with adventures.
After checking into the hotel and dropping our bags Josh ordered another Uber to take us across the river to our lunch destination, The Stag’s Head.
Our hunger satisfied we checked our GPS and walked to Trinity College.
No tours were available for us so we booked entry into the Book of Kells and strolled around the campus waiting for our entry time. The campus was packed solid with students and parents.
It was finally time for our tour and we lined up in the queue.
Welcome to the Old Library and the Book of Kells – a “must see” on the itinerary of all visitors to Dublin. Located in the heart of Dublin City, a walk through the cobbled stones of Trinity College Dublin will bring visitors back to the 18th century, when the magnificent Old Library building was constructed. Inside is housed the Book of Kells – a 9th-century gospel manuscript famous throughout the world.
The Book of Kells “Turning Darkness into Light” exhibition has displays of large screens showing copies of the pages from the Book of Kells. The actual volume of the Book of Kells is housed in the Treasury inside a glass case opened to a page that is turned every so often. No photographs permitted.
When we were on the Isle of Iona back in 2006 we were able to read about and see a copy of a page of the book of Kells which is most likely the location where the Book of Kells was created. Here’s a link with some good information.
These next four photos are needlepoint kneelers from St. Mary Magdalene church in Woodstock that we visited in 2022.
From the Book of Kells exhibit you proceed upstairs to the magnificent Long Room which usually houses 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books in its oak bookcases.
We were disappointed that all but 10% of the books were removed for cleaning and restoration from this magnificent library during our time in Dublin.
The Trinity College Harp (also known as ‘The Brian Boru Harp‘), dating from around 1400 AD, is an extraordinary instrument. Anywhere you look in Ireland, you cannot avoid the Trinity College Harp. It is used as the official emblem of Ireland.
From our time here we did some walking and shopping before we ordered another Uber to take us to Jameson Distillery where we had reserved a tour. The rest of day eleven will have to wait for another day.
Back to the Present: Our company over the last several days left on Monday morning. These last few days of November and into the beginning of December are very busy days for us. We have several events this week that require planning and thinking and organizing. We are starting our Christmas decorating slowly. I’ll have to wait for the majority of that decorating until next week. Choosing joy in the midst of busy! Hope all is well in your corner.
Continuing Day Nine of our travels, after the ruins of the Abbey we kept walking a circular path that would take us back to the main entrance going past the water garden.
We went through this dark tunnel upward to view the octagon tower.
We crossed the lake and continued to St. Mary’s church instead of going on to the deer park.
We were disappointed to see the church would not open until 1pm.
We made it back to the main gate and enjoyed lunch before heading back to York to drop off our car and take a train to Liverpool. At the Enterprise car rental station we had another good experience and we got a special ride back to the railway station. Once at the station we had time before our train would depart so we found a table at a pub at the station and played Phase 10 to pass the time. Soon it was time to head to platform 5 for our 2 hour train ride to Liverpool.
Thankfully our train ride had no delays and no cancellations. We enjoyed meeting a gal, sitting in front of us, who had just gotten back to England from our neck of the woods. We were surprised to hear her talking about being in Bellingham and she was shocked to hear that Laura went to university in Bellingham. We arrived at the Lime Street station in Liverpool with a short walk to our hotel.
We got our luggage into our rooms and then ventured out for a place to enjoy dinner. We headed to the Denbigh Castle and realized right away there was not even an inch of space with the crowd enjoying an Everton game. It was so great to be there on the outside looking in when Everton scored and the whole pub erupted with cheers.
We moved on from The Denbigh and found the Hawksmoor and there was a table in the bar for us even though we did not have reservations.
We placed our orders and it took quite a long long time before any food appeared at our table. They finally came to our table apologetically and told us that my hamburger was dropped on the way to our table and they had to go out and buy some buns because they had run out of buns. LOL!
The food was good and we were okay with the wait. Greg had a vegetable wellington that looked cool and tasted good. Josh called an Uber for us when we finished dinner instead of walking back to the hotel.
This was the end of day nine and time for a good sleep after a very long day of travel and walking. Two more full days of travel before it was time to fly home.
On Saturday September 23rd, day nine of our travels, we had our buffet breakfast at the Knaresborough Inn, checked out and journeyed to nearby Fountains Abbey which is one of The National Trust properties in England at the Studley Royal Park. It was a rainy morning and we were wondering if the clouds would clear for our time at this property. Yes and hallelujah the rain moved on and the skies were glorious for our time at this magnificent property.
We paid our admission fee and walked down the pathway to the ruins. What a treat it was to be here and to see the wonder of it all. This was way up there in the Wow Factor.
Be forewarned that this post has a lot of photos.
The timing for our visit couldn’t have been better. As you can see, we are enjoying the grounds without other people around. A few more people arrived as time went on but we never had to dodge anyone.
I’m sure Laura was saying WOW! here.
This was a wonderful setting to remember all our Savior completed for us on the cross 2000 years ago.
I’m ending this post here. We walked on to more of the Studley Royal Park grounds and enjoyed some other sights before we walked back to the main entrance and had some lunch at the visitor center restaurant.
If you’ve made it all the way through this post you deserve applause! Thank you for coming along on my travel journal of our time in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Just a few more posts to go.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 