We started our travel day with a stop at an Irish Cistercian abbey that is just a couple of kilometers from our hotel (Mount Juliet near Thomastown which is, by the way, very nice).  Melrose Abbey in Melrose, Scotland which I wrote about earlier was also a Cistercian abbey.  Those boys buildings turned into very nice ruins that easily enable you to envision the magnificent medieval structures that sat on those sites and I have enjoyed practicing photography at both.  More abbey ruins pictures than anyone really desires to see but they are posted here anyway.

After that stop it was on to Wexford (yawn) where we expected to visit the Johnstown Castle which it turns out is closed to the public.  I got confused after looking at a number of potential stops.  So we took off for Waterford with expectations about what to do there.  Another yawner.  The city’s  13th century Reginald Tower is interesting and they give a very good historical presentation about the history of this Viking originated city.  Beyond that we did not have much luck in finding things available to view.  We planned to dine there but most of the restaurants we checked out were outrageously expensive with entrees alone running over $40 when converted to dollars.  We finally did find what turned out to be a nice and more reasonably priced Italian restaurant called Emilianos on High Street where we had a very nice meal.

Planning for a more productive day tomorrow.

On Monday we had one of our all-time miserable airline experiences with Aer Lingus.  For a 40 minute flight from Edinburgh to Dublin we were charged in excess of $600 to enable our four bags to make the journey (that does not include us) with over $360 of that being a surprise at check in.  We are facing the same fees to make the 50 minute flight to London next week.  Our total fare Edinburgh – Dublin – London will be more than round trip coach fare between Denver and London.

But now we are here after that contribution to the struggling Irish economy and had a pleasant day on Tuesday (this post is late because we had no internet service when we returned on Tuesday evening) with all of the day away from the beautiful Mount Juliet Hotel in Thomastown, Kilkenny County, Ireland being spent in the city of Kilkenny.

Kilkenny is a very active community of about 26,000 with many shops.  The highlights of our day were the Kilkenny Castle which was originally constructed in the late twelfth century and was occupied until 1935, mostly by the Butler family who lived in it for nearly 600 years.

At the opposite end of town we visited St. Canice’s Cathedral including a challenging climb to the top of its adjoining 100 foot round tower which was constructed in 849 as a place to escape the attacking Vikings.  The Cathedral was built in the 13th century and is surprisingly beautiful inside including extensive stained glass windows.  I attempted to capture some of the interesting interior in a couple of the pictures.

We had a great dinner in Kilkenny at Royal Spice Indian Restaurant.  Irish food is very unappealing and I am doing my best to avoid it’s incredibly high animal fat content.

On Saturday we took our fuel payload and headed to the Borders district in Southern Scotland where the landscape is gorgeous and populated with castles and abbeys.  All of the abbeys are in a state of ruin due to damage and destruction that occurred during either the multi-century wars with England or from the wrath of Henry VIII in the mid-16th century.

We headed first to Melrose Abbey with the objective of seeing the four Border Abbeys during the day.  Melrose Abbey is located in the lovely village of Melrose which is where Sir Walter Scott made his home for the final twenty years of his life.  The stone used in the construction of the abbey was beautiful and the stonework nothing short of amazing.  And even though the structure is in a ruined state, it is easy to envision what was going on there at that time and how majestic the full structures were, especially with the pinkish stone.  Construction of Melrose began in 1136 for Cistercian monks, was repeatedly ransacked by the English and then met its demise in 1545 when Henry VIII destroyed the abbeys because the Scots failed to ratify a marriage treaty between his son and the infant Mary, Queen of Scots.  Tough politics have been around a long time.

After a lovely lunch at the intimate ten table dining room of the Townhouse Hotel in Melrose, we drove to take a glimpse of Abbotsford, Sir Walter Scott's home which was unfortunately closed, and then on to Dryburgh Abbey.  Dryburgh, though considerably smaller than Melrose, is equally beautiful with its pinkish stone and intricate stonework but much more isolated with no nearby town.

Since it was suddenly after 4 pm, our goal of seeing the four abbeys in this area would obviously not be achieved.  So we headed back towards Edinburgh in hopes of getting a glimpse of Rosslyn Chapel before it closed.  We successfully beat the last admission cutoff by eight minutes and were rewarded for the effort.  This stonework in this 15th century chapel makes the abbey masons look like slackers.  Unfortunately no pictures allowed inside.  Go to www.rosslynchapel.org.uk/.

A planned lazy day in Edinburgh Sunday including dinner with some Maya Research Program colleagues and off to Ireland on Monday.  Oh yes, regarding that tank of fuel that demanded a $310 deposit.  We used a quarter tank which took only $60 worth of fuel to replace what we used.

We’ve rented a car for Friday and Saturday so we can get out to the countryside to see more castles and ruins.  First about the car rental.  Like everything here, they are expensive.  But if you saw one of my pictures on yesterday’s post you noted that fuel is a little over $8 a gallon.  To make sure that you bring the car back with a full tank they charge a deposit for the fuel.  In this case it was the equivalent of about $310.  That ought to cover it I hope.

So it was off to Stirling with our gasoline payload to see the castle there.  It was the worst weather of our approximately 40 days in the United Kingdom over the past twelve and a half months with rain, cold and fog which limited photo opportunities.  This castle apparently dominated Scottish history for centuries as its origins date to 1124 with construction of the current structure beginning in the 15th century.

On the way back to Edinburgh we swung past the Forth Bridges.  These two bridges span one mile over the River Forth.  The rail bridge was the first major steel-built bridge in the world when it opened in 1890.  The auto suspension bridge was the largest suspension bridge outside of the United States (ah, those were the days) when it opened in 1964.

Heading south on Saturday.

Konnie loves to garden which is a challenge in the semi-arid desert conditions of Colorado. So we enjoy our visits to the gardens in England and now Scotland where they seem to be able to grow anything. At the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, which has been at its current location since 1820, they do rhododendron (virtually impossible to grow in Colorado) research and have some 700 varieties. That most likely dictates a return trip here in the spring of some year to witness what must be a spectacular floral display.

So a simple Thursday here and just a few shots for a general idea of our day. Believe me, I could bore you to tears by sharing the scores of flower photos taken.

We will be checking out the countryside on Friday.

Wednesday’s principal destination was Edinburgh Castle which stands upon the core of an extinct 350 million year old volcano placing it some 250 feet above the city. This is easily a full day experience with much about the mind dizzying royal history that becomes even less comprehensible with the Scottish connections included. The castle area has many highlights such as St. Margaret’s Chapel (the oldest building in Edinburgh), the Great Hall with its early sixteenth century hammer beam roof, the Stone of Destiny (used to inaugurate monarchs of Scotland and England for over 1,000 years) and the military museums. But it is the views that try to steal the show.

Along the way we visited the Sir Walter Scott Monument, Princes Street Gardens, the Royal Mile, St. Giles Cathedral and the exhibit around the city called Jungle City. I would love to purchase one of the animals.

Edinburgh is even lovelier with less wind, very walkable and friendly. We lunched at a Kurdish restaurant near the castle and then it was tapas for dinner at Cafe Andaluz on George St. Another recommended dining stop if you get here.

A late start and early finish to our first full day in Edinburgh. A late start because that is what seems to happen when we are settled in somewhere for at least a week. An early finish because the very high winds from the leftovers of Hurricane Katia that are pummeling this area made the afternoon conditions too unpleasant to remain outdoors walking around the city.

We managed lunch at a little Turkish dive on the Royal Mile called Cafe Truva (our lunches were very good) before heading to the east end of what they call the Royal Mile to visit The Palace of Holyroodhouse. Today the Palace is known as the official Scottish residence of Queen Elizabeth II. Built on the grounds of an abbey in the late 15th century, it, along with everything else involving the British royals, has a long and storied history of who lived here and who was killed here for the past five hundred years. Worth the visit for not only for the history, architecture and stunning abbey ruins but also for the gorgeous gardens.

For those reading this who might come to Scotland and be looking for restaurants, in addition to a good lunch at Cafe Truva, we have had very good dinners the first two nights at The Magnum on Albany Street and Amarone on St. Andrews Square.

We are on the train from London to Edinburgh, Scotland. It will be our first time to Scotland. It is a four and a half hour trip that left one minute early, no security check, coffee and tea served three minutes into the journey, internet service, OUR BAGS ARE WITH US and the scenery is lovely. Hot meal coming later. Who needs air travel?

More from Scotland.

As has been said too many times, we like London a lot. While this was
a very short visit, it was good to see some British friends, attend a
wedding and to visit three restaurants in particular that are among
our favorites anywhere. They are Patara on Beauchamp
(www.pataralondon.com), Zayna (www.zaynarestaurant.co.uk/) and La
Roche (http://www.la-roche-london.co.uk/). We highly recommend all
three of these spots for anyone visiting London. In addition to the
food and people being outstanding, these three places treat us better
with our showing up every six months for the past year than our most
frequented spot in Denver (most frequented because it is closest to
our house) where we show up at least weekly. They are always giving
us some culinary extra to enhance our restaurant experiences in
London.

So on to Edinburgh where we have not been before. We will be there
for a week before heading to Ireland. For now, a few parting random
shots from this visit to London.

On Saturday we had the good fortune of attending our first British
wedding as we observed the marriage ceremony of Gail Hammond and Robin
Edwards. I have known Gail since 2008 where we met working for the
Maya Research Program in northwestern Belize. This past summer I
worked for Gail on her project as she is a member of the summer staff
at MRP as she works on her PhD here in London.

Now in Britain not only must the person performing the marriage
ceremony be licensed, so must the location be licensed as a place to
hold weddings. Even if you want to have the ceremony in your home, it
must be licensed. Gail and Robin chose the Camden Town Hall where we
were seated in the Council Chamber seats while the ceremony was
conducted by the town’s marriage officials who only asked three times
if anyone was aware of any legal reason that the couple should not be
wed under the marriage laws of Britain. It was lovely and charming in
not in any way sterile given the governmental surroundings. The
surroundings actually made the wedding feel like it had historical
significance.

As the next wedding party arrived for their ceremony in Council
Chambers, it was off to the Queen’s Head and Artichoke pub (the Brits
do know how to name things) for the wedding party for the rest of the
afternoon and evening. It was a lovely day for a lovely couple.