Twenty five days and counting!

We are getting close to taking off for our six week adventure to the United Kingdom and Paris and we are starting to get excited! 

Now that our February 28th departure date is right around the corner the reality of tying up all of loose ends and the innumerable little details is starting to become mission critical. Current passports, check. New VISA without foreign transaction fees, check. London "Oyster Card", check. VRBO and Airbnb reservations, check, etc. etc. The list goes on and on and although it's sometimes nice to just wing it, the reality of modern travel is that you'd best have all of your ducks in a row before you leave to try to minimize the amount of panic and angst you're sure to undergo once you reach your destination. 

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”Benjamin Franklin. I know Jerani would often rather have me go by the quote “Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans." Allen Saunders But I'm a realist and I know enough to understand my limitations and how to make the best use of my low level OCD. In any case, it surely doesn't hurt to know things like when your flight gets in, and how you'll get from point A to point B. All the other stuff in-between will be daunting enough to muddle through as it is; no use making it that much more difficult on yourself when so much can be easily researched from the comfort of your couch back home.

 So having done the lions share of our planning during the past four months from the safety of home, our itinerary is all set as well as all of our flights and we've also booked passage on one overnight ferry and one train trip from Amsterdam to Paris. We have also made reservations to stay at three Airbnb vacation rentals, one VRBO rental, one private party vacation rental, one Inn and one hotel.     We arrive in London on March 1st and spend twelve days in a brand new Airbnb apartment near the River Thames in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. We have never been to London, or the United Kingdom for that matter, and we are very excited to visit the myriad of museums and soak in the history and ambiance and to see all that there is to see. 

After leaving London we we take a train and head to the tiny village of Llanfaes on the Island of Anglesey in Northwest Wales. We have rented "The Smithy", a 16th Century actual smithy that has been converted into a beautiful vacation rental. 

After four days in Wales we take a train to York, England where we will spend the next four days exploring this enchanting walled city and the beautiful Yorkshire countryside beyond. York is a city rich in history. The first inhabitants were Mesolithic people from around 7000 BC, the Romans occupied the city in 41 AD, the Anglo-Saxons ruled in Northumbria from the 5th century, and the Vikings settled here in the 9th century, naming the town Jorvik.

The "Shambles" is a pedestrian only section of the old city of York and one of the best preserved medieval neighborhoods in Europe. We look forward to poking around the tight little warren and half timbered building. 

York still retains most of the original defensive wall that encircles the old town, along with an ancient Norman castle and a stunning Gothic Cathedral. We are going to be staying in a VRBO vacation rental just outside the old town on popular Bishy Road, the winner of the "Best British High Street" award in 2015. Bishy Road is known for it's great cafes and eclectic shops and we will be staying in a walk-up above a small flower shop. 

Our walk-up apartment on Bishy Street

Our next destination is the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh. We will take up residence for nine days in the luxurious confines of the "Wee Palace", a gorgeous Airbnb apartment located in the Grassmarket in the old town, with outstanding views of Edinburgh Castle. 

View out our window at the Wee Palace

The Wee Palace Apartment takes up the entire top floor of this historic building in the Medieval Grassmarket in Old Town Edinburgh. Scotland is someplace I have always yearned to visit. My middle name is "Craighead", my mothers maiden name, and my roots run deep in the area near Edinburgh and the Firth of Fouth. I have also learned recently after looking into my fathers family history that the name "Horne" goes back generations in the small coastal villages just south of St. Andrews, Scotland. On top of that we just uncovered the fact that Jerani's last name "Queen" is also a well known name in Scotland with strong ties to the Isle of Sky off the western coast. So what do you know, we are both of Scottish decent, and this is something of a homecoming for us.

Arthur's Seat looming high above the Edinburgh Skyline

After our time in Edinburgh we head over to Glasgow and board the famous "West Highland Line" and take what has been described as one of the most scenic train trips in the world. The route passes through some of the most remote parts of the Scottish Highlands and arrives five and a half hours later in the secluded fishing port of Mallaig.

The West Highland Line passes through dramatic mountainous landscape, along vertical-sided lochs and winds it's way past lonely heather covered moors. Along the way the train stops at some of the smallest and most remote stations in Scotland and all of the United Kingdom.

Once we arrive in Mallaig we will stay for two days in the one hundred year old Chlachain Inn. We are psyched to get the chance to dine on one of the areas seafood delicacies, Langoustines! Commonly refereed to as the Norwegian Lobster, these wonderful little crustaceans are plentiful and unbelievably economical in this coastal town. We look to unwind, catch our breath and take in the austere beauty of this far off outpost.

The Chlachain Inn 

Langoustines!