Glasgow

We took the taxi to the train and had to get on fast because it was leaving soon.We got there in time and sat down and I played my iPad and visited with uncle and auntie.When we got to Glasgow we got settled at the holiday inn and went for a tour of Celtic park and went in their changing room and saw the huge field.

When we were shopping at the Celtic store I bought a Celtic jersey with my last name on it and my favourite number 27.

Then we went on a taxi to catch a tour bus.

The double decker tour bus was awesome but windy that made it cold a little but it was worth it.

 

Then we went to a Hard Rock Cafe that was so loud it hurt my ears.I had a hamburger and fries it was really good.we had a server which I couldn't even understand because of his accent 

Then we went back to the hotel and relaxed an fall asleep from the adventure in Glasgow 

A full day in Edinburgh

First we went to Edinburgh castle and looked at the view and saw mons Meg canon the biggest canon in Scotland.We went in to the kings chapel.Then we saw on a wall all the different kings from different ages.We saw how to make the crown step by step.Then we saw Mary Queen of Scott's when she was a kid.Next I got to touch the fake kings sword and crown and also he's septre.Next we saw the real kings sword and his crown and septre (Scotlands most prized possessions).Next we ate cake in the castle (just like kings🤗😄)

 

Then we went shopping at the royal mile and bought kid bagpipes and almost bought a kilt 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔

Then we took a picture with a bagpiper 😃

Then we went to go find a geocache and we did in a rock.

After.. we went to calton hill we had lunch and looked at the view and went on top of a huge tower to see the city.

Then we saw Robert Burns monument.

The queens palace hollyrood.and saw 55 rooms and that was only one wall!!!!

I met a robot dog in a science lab for kids.Then I saw a game where you have to pick up a astronaut in space.So I tried and it was hard at the beginning but got easier.P.S.Dad could I have this as a pet???!!!😉

We got on to the double decker bus to go home. But instead we went shopping and went to an Jamie Oliver Italian restaurant I had steak and french fries.for starters I had noodles with truffle mushrooms.It was really good. 

We bought another suitcase to put all our souvenirs in.

Then we went home.

P.S. PLEASE DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????????????????????????

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hawick and Edinburgh

Wednesday, July 20th

We had a sleep in day and woke up at the farm house at 10:00. We only had one more hour to get out. We managed to get out at 11:12.

Then we went to Turn bulls coffee shop.I had toast with jam and butter.

Then we went to get a comb because I some how lost it don't know how.

We got to Edinburgh at around......3:30pm.we went on a double decker bus tour and saw Edinburgh castle in the middle of the city on a huge hill

After the tour we went on a Ferris wheel. I think I liked it don't you???!!!

Right after that we went to a kilt shop to try on some kilts.I might buy one even though my mom told me not to 😊

After that we went to a burrito restaurant.I just had a normal burrito.

When we got to the hotel we all had showers and we to sleep Zzzzzzzzzzzz
 
 

Ayr, Alloway and Hawick

 ** Note from Auntie Tara: This post is a day late because the sheep farm we stayed at was so "off the map" that even our GPS couldn't locate it!  Thank goodness for UPS (Uncle Postioning Systems ;-)

 

Tuesday, July 19th:

We woke up at a bed and breakfast house. For breakfast I had bacon and pancakes with syrup made in Canada. Finale something good!!!!!!!!!😛😘🤗

Then we went to Robert burns museum and birthplace. The statue of him looked really creepy.

We went to the Fatlips castle (auntie Tara's castle)and we went up the stairs to the view point. I could see everything! 

Then we went on the road to Hawick. 

We stayed at sheep farm close to the town. When we got there we went straight to town to get super.  Then we went back to our farmhouse and went outside to eat the pizza at a picnic table. I feed a sheep grass and called it Steve. Then I had to dry out my boots from yesterday with a hairdryer.

 

 

Oban, Stalker Castle, Glen Coe, Luss and Ayr

First I got ready to start the day off.

I forgot to buy rubber boots back at Winnipeg so I bought some in Scotland. They're kind of big so I need to hold my foot up when I walk so that I don't lose it and get my foot all wet from all the puddles from the rain. Oh did I forget to mention it rained...... A LOT....... 

Then we went to the chocolate house in Oban. We didn't buy any chocolate but it was around breakfast time so we ate there. I ate waffles with hot chocolate I think they put a little too much chocolate in it.

Then we went to McCraig tower.It  was kind of weird because it wasn't really a tower it looked like a Roman arena.

 
 

 

Then we went to stalker castle that was on an island so we couldn't go in it. At the coffee shop I bought a McLachlan handbook.

 

After that, we went to Glen Coe nature park.

I climbed a huge hill to reach a stream.I put my hand in it

It was ssssssuuuuuuuupppppppeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrr cold.

 
 

We went to Luss and walked around the water and found a Scottish penny (for Marco)🤑

Then we got to Ayr walked around the beach and had a Italian feast and walked across the shore line and went to bed Zzzzzzzzzzz 

 

 

Nathan Blogs Scotland

Hey everyone! For this trip I'm turning the blogging duties over to our 11 year old nephew Nathan! See our trip to Scotland from his perspective.

 Saturday, July 16

Went to Burger King to have an egg mcmuffin and hash browns and get supplies.

Next we met at the green hotel to go to loch leven the last place were Mary queen of Scott went before she was beheaded in London .

Next after the tour we went for lunch in a sea restaurant and I had nachos they were kind of hard.

And then.......my favourite part so far a soccer game with my cousins and uncles they were losing 7 to 5 and then they all took off their shirts and did a clap and then they scored two in a row and we scored two in a row to 9 to 7 and then we scored again and they gave up so the shirts won.

Then we went for supper and the family reunion after a while I went home and went to sleep
Zzzzzzzzzz

Sunday, July 17

Then we went to breakfast and said goodbye to every one.

After.... we went to Wallace monument and claimed up the 246 stairs it fly like it was the highest thing ever.

Then we went to McLachlan castle and uncle marked that he was there if you know what I mean😔😅and found the McLachlan geocache and planted my travel bug.

Then I had a nap Zzzzzzzzzzz

Then we went to are new hotel and got settled and went for supper at a pizza place.

Travel "Hump Day"

Today we hit a travel wall. As with most "hump days" things just didn't go the way they were planned. First,we planned on visiting a few local malls to partake in the a favorite past time of Hk'ers, shopping. Unfortunately, it was Sunday morning. And while the mall common space was open, none of the stores were. The one bonus in the situation was that one of the closed malls had a Batman exhibition on, and we got to see both the modern and retro Batmobiles up close. We snapped some pics and moved onto the next item on our list, the mid-level escalators. 

Built by the British to improve the traffic flow of workers, down the hill from the residential to commercial areas the escalators span almost a kilometre. At 800 metres long, the building of the escalators ran 300% over budget. It also failed to improve traffic flow, as people still preferred to drive their car to work, as a illustration of their status and success. The escalators run downhill in the morning, and uphill in the afternoon and evenings. We arrived at the escalators in the morning- which meant we had to climb the steps up, to take the escalators down. And it was +30. And it was raining. And it was like 100% humidity. Blergh.

After this early morning sweat session, we decided to head to the nearest air conditioned Starbucks to regroup and replan the rest of the day. As we made our way to the Starbucks we noticed quite a lot of women randomly sitting in the streets, overpasses, and common spaces. They were sitting on cardboard, and had spread cardboard out to "mark more territory". We knew that the many Phillipino and Indonesian maids of HK had Sunday as their day off- so we put two and two together. It turns out that HK is home to over 300 000 foreign housekeepers. Many of the maids are not allowed to stay in their employers house during their day off, so they take to the streets for the day, where they give each other pedicures, gossip, play games, and call home to their families. Sitting on the streets means they are exposed to the heat, so some of the large skyscrapers open their lobbies (and air conditioning) to the maids. We unintentionally stumbled into one of these lobbies just before it opened, and it was CHAOS!! Hundreds of women, all lugging flats of cardboard, and over sized duffel bags. It had the feeling of Boxing Day chaos, and look of evacuating refugees! We dashed down a nearby subway entrance, and saw waves of women pouring off the subways, up to the streets. 

Our next plan was to take the subway, and head out to the Big Buddha. When we arrived, we realized we had to walk through an outlet mall to get to the cable car base that would take is up to the Big Buddha. I wandered into a few stores like Coach, Kate Spade. But found the sale items quiet picked over, so we continued on to the cable car. 

Here's were we learned a bit more about working life in HK. Many HK'ers work half days on Saturday, so Sunday is the only full day off with their families. And it's the only  day they have to travel, to places like the Big Buddha. This meant that the line to get into buy tickets was about 35 minutes long, and line to get onto the cable car was about the same. The 5.7 km journey up to the Buddha by Cable car was well worth it though. Once we arrived at the top we saw two things that beckoned us: the Buddha and a Subway. We ducked into the Subway for a little taste of home. We viewed the Buddha, and strolled into some souvenir shops. It might've been the Big Buddha, or the little Buddhas and Zen music in the gift shops, or even the familiar taste of home from Subway, but it didn't take long for our stress to melt away. The crowds and heat disappeared for a few moments and we stopped to marvel, and be thankful for where we were. A few drops of rain started to fall, so we headed towards the cable car down, which had virtually no line. I guess when you are peaceful, you attract peaceful. 

We returned to the hotel to shower, nap, and eventually head out to the waterfront to watch the Symphony of Lights. 

 

I would argue that the light show in my kitchen at home is more impressive, but I did get the chance to see an authentic Junk boat up close, and the view of the HK skyline is always impressive, light show or not. 

Tomorrow is our last day in HK- and forebetter or worse, we're headed into Disney.