Mommy and Me: England/Scotland 2019

I've been debating for some time now whether to blog about this trip.  I guess part of it was that the novelty of having a blog wore off a while ago.  Part of it is that writing takes a lot of time and effort.  Mostly, it's because this trip happened right after my boyfriend and I broke up and that event put a bit of a damper on my mood throughout the trip.  But by chance I was talking with a friend today who is currently driving by Route 66.  I wanted to refresh my memory about that section of the road so I went back to my blog from 2015! It was so cool to re-read what I wrote while I was living those adventures!  (It's so hard to believe that was almost 5 years ago now!!!)

That's when it hit me.  I'm not writing this for other people.  I'm writing this for me.  I'm writing so that when my memory fails me, as it so often does, I can go back and re-live my own adventures all over again! Someday I won't recall so clearly where I was and how I felt then.  But hearing my own voice calling from the past conjures up all those old emotions and memories that have long since otherwise grown distant.

It's incredible just how quickly one's best laid plans can unravel.  My Mom and I discovered this on Day 1 of our trip when we were sitting on the plane.  After sitting there for a while, the pilot announced that they could not get the engine to start and were also unable to fix the mechanical issue so they had decided to cancel the flight altogether!  This announcement launched us, as well as the hundred other folks sitting on the plane with us, into a frenzy of trying to salvage out plans and figure out what to do next.  Fortunately we ended up with a free night at a hotel by the airport and a new flight scheduled to leave the next evening.  Although we were frustrated by the turn of events and extremely tired, we were relieved that the crew discovered the issue BEFORE we got into the air.

We arrived in London, England a full day after we had planned to and immediately hit the ground running, ignoring our jet lag as best as we could.  Our first adventure proved to be navigating the double decker bus system!  It was more difficult than you might imagine, especially with almost no sleep!  After getting off the bus at the London Bridge and almost not being able to get back on another one, we decided to just take the ride and view the sights from on board.  Luckily, I still got some great pictures and we managed to land ourselves on a bus with a LIVE narrator!  This redeemed the experience to a large extent!

Fortunately, we were able to finish off the first day with a BIG plate of the traditional British meal: fish and chips (pictured above)!  I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was!  I spied on the locals sitting next to us to watch how they went about eating theirs.  Turns out they had a few good ideas.  The key to enhancing the dish is apparently to add malt vinegar, salt, and mayo to both the fish AND the chips.  It was SO good!!!

The next several days we packed in a LOT of touring!  We hit big sights such as Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace, as well as St. Paul's Cathedral.  We also went on a walking tour of Oxford and a walking tour around part of London with the Christian Heritage Group.  Some of my favorite experiences included seeing the pub where C.S. Lewis met with his friends from The Inklings literary group to write, collaborate, and discuss ideas for upcoming novels. The exterior of The Eagle and Child is shown below in a photograph.  I also enjoyed soaking in the English atmosphere via charming towns, friendly people, and delicious scones. 

   

Potentially the coolest part of the Oxford walking tour, however, was when our tour guide took us to the place where C.S. Lewis presumably found the inspiration for his book "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe".  We stopped in an unassuming alleyway between two buildings.

On the left was the door pictured here, framed by two golden fawns.  On the right was an old church. 

  

Straight ahead was a tall, black lamp post.  The story goes that Lewis had just finished giving one of his wartime radio talks inside the church.  As he walked out the side door of the church and into the falling snow, he looked up and saw the door and the fawns.  Then, as he turned to walk away, he saw the lamp post covered in snow.  As we all know very well, that's the scene around which the rest of Narnia takes shape.


Overall, I enjoyed my time in England.  I admit, though, that London was a bit too busy and crowded for my taste.  I would liken it to the British version of New York City.  I suppose the Park Ranger in me was ready to break away from that scene and head into more wide open spaces.  Luckily, I got my fill of that environment in Scotland where we spent the last four days of our trip.

 The first and last nights of our jaunt in Scotland were spent in Edinburgh.  Despite still being a city, it was much smaller than London and felt more like home.  I especially loved the colorful buildings on this one street (above) and all the stonework everywhere else.  The stone architecture gives the city a bit of a medieval vibe and when it rains, which is most of the time, the rain clings to the stone making it darker and richer somehow, lending to an air of mystery.

Two restaurants are worth mentioning here because they both, in their own special way, made a positive and memorable impact on our short time in Edinburgh. The first restaurant was called Howie's.  We happened upon it because the folks at the front desk of our hotel recommended it.  Once we got there, we got lucky and nabbed the last non-reservation table for the night!  While we were waiting to sit down we started talking to a couple who also happened to be American.  Then by chance, our tables ended up being side by side in the restaurant so we were able to continue our conversation! It turns out that they are Christians too.  That made them the second Christian couple we randomly met on the trip!  (We met the first couple at the airport in Philadelphia.  They were missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators.)

But the real reason I liked Howie's so much was the adorable Scottish waiter.  I might get myself in trouble with my future husband someday if he ever reads this, but that waiter was the most gorgeous human being I have ever laid eyes on.  That, paired with the accent..... Wow!  We shared a special moment when I asked him for directions to the castle.  I was kicking myself for the rest of the trip for not giving him my number.

The second restaurant we both loved was The Conan Doyle right down the street from the Hotel Indigo.  Again, we didn't have a reservation, but after a short wait we got a table.  I think the best part of the meal was how cozy the atmosphere was.  Our table was in the front room in front of one of the windows overlooking the main street.  My seat was more of a window seat, carved out of the wall and tucked back from most of the restaurant.  My Mom's seat was also not just the standard chair.  It was more of an upholstered, soft, reading chair from what I remember.  In addition to the cozy seating, the meal was amazing!  My favorite part was probably dessert (big surprise there!) as it was a classic Scottish dish called Cranachan.  Basically, it was a bowl of sweet whipped cream and fresh raspberries doused in honey.

The absolute best part of our Scotland adventure was travelling to the Isle of Skye!  Skye is the most beautiful, enchanting part of Scotland, in my opinion.  Despite the weather, which was mostly inhospitable to humans, we ventured out and about the island to explore as much as possible.  Thanks to being part of a tour group with an awesome guide, we learned a ton of history and made sure to stop at the most important sights.  After about the 5th castle those got old, but the lush green scenery never did.  You couldn't go very far without seeing another waterfall.  It seemed there was always at least one in view and the numerous lakes were beautiful too.  The restaurants in Portree were impressive despite its remote location and we got lucky again both nights to be able to eat despite not making any reservations.  I have no idea where so many people came from but it was a cut throat experience to be able to score a table anywhere for dinner at a reasonable hour!

Four days in Scotland was honestly just not enough.  Some day I will have to go back and see the things I didn't get to see on the first go 'round.  Maybe I'll be lucky enough to go with my own daughter... Wouldn't that be something?  This trip was one that my Mom and I will treasure forever.  I loved having the opportunity to make memories with her that will last a lifetime.