Letter from Burntisland, York and Stratford-Upon-Avon
Hello All:
So, here is our first 'on the road' update! We're going to do our best to get a minimum of three cities in each update......we shall see if that works out!
Our first stop was Burntisland. It was a great place to get to with travel on a ferry, then a bus, then a ferry, then a train, then another train, then another train!!!! But we arrived safe and sound at the train station in Burntisland, tired, but ready for our 20 minute walk to the hotel.....20 minutes, yeah right! We headed up the hill and after asking directions from a nice man in the park, made the 3 kilometre trek to the hotel. As we approached the hotel, it was exactly as Katie had remembered from pictures and video from when her Dad was here 14 years ago! Other than the fact that there had been several renovations since that time, the character of the building has remained the same. We checked in and headed up to our room (thankfully in the back of the hotel as we find the noise difficult after being in quiet Iona for so long). After showering and changing, we had dinner in the downstairs restaurant (we were the only ones there!) with a great view across the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh. It was beautiful with the Castle all lit up! After dinner, it was an early evening to bed as we were exhausted. Before going to bed however, Katie opened up the window to have some fresh air come into the room. Apparently, this was a bad idea as a HUGE spider decided to join us in our room. When she woke up around 3 am, Katie looked across the room and there he was on the wall. His fangs were so big, that she could see them from where she was in the bed!!!! Dan tried to dispose of the beast for her, but sadly the first attempt failed. Thankfully, however, he found him in the bathroom and got him outside, closing the window, as the spider's nest was right outside the window.
After the drama of the morning we headed out to see the wonders of Burntisland. We explored the cemetary where the Johnstones are buried. They were still there from last time :) Off to the village we went to visit the barber (brush cut for Dan), the bank (pay for the tour) and of course an ice cream. We also sent some stuff back to Dan's parents to lighten our load a bit. In the afternooon we asked Catherine and Rankin Bell (the owners) about Katie's family friends Norman and Daphne, who had given Katie's Dad, Pops and Aunt Grace a tour 14 years ago. To our surprise they are still around and still having a great time with life. We met up with them that evening and had a great time exchanging stories and laughs. They insisted on showing us the parish church the next morning, which is conveniently near the train station! Norman is the curator so is VERY knowledgable about the church and its history. We had our tour with a quick song on the organ, tales of the baker, the butcher, and the shoemakers, and the stolen bible. We also were given a copy of the hymn books that were donated to the church by Katie's Pops and Aunt Grace after their visit with the dedication written inside......very sweet of them.
We said goodbye to Daphne and Norman and boarded the train. We headed to Edinburgh to switch trains to York on a beautiful day! Upon arrival in York, we walked up to the Mickelgate Backpackers Hostel for our one night stay. After checking in, we decided to head to the Minster.....Dan was in awe!! It was amazing, beautiful and incredible:) We were in luck too because the organist and boys choir were warming up for the evensong while we were there, so we were treated to lovely music while we explored the church. Definately a highlight (which you can tell by the numerous pics that were taken here:) Afterwards, we headed to a 400-year-old pub, where we had authentic Yorkshire pudding (appropriate:) and Lasagna (not so appropriate:). The next morning, we got up nice and early and went for a walk on the York wall. Who knew that you could walk on the wall! For free!!! Scooter even made the trip (as you will see:). Then, we boarded the train for Stratford-Upon-Avon.
We had to switch train stations in Birmingham, which was interesting as our good luck with the weather was faltering slightly. We boarded a much older train and enjoyed the 45 minute ride to Stratford. Upon arrival, the train was bombarded with teenagers heading for Birmingham (which is the second largest English city and seems like a huge big box store mall.) They were slightly rude as we were trying to get off the train with our big bags, but oh well, life goes on!:) We walked into town to find out that our hostel was 5 kilometres outside of the city!!!!!!! As the weather was still crappy, we decided to wait for the bus. We paid £3.80 for the one-way ticket (which is almost $8 Cdn) and decided that after this, we walk into town! We arrived at the hostel, had a great pizza dinner in the hostel restaurant (very convienient and economical) and went to bed in our seperate rooms.
The next morning, we decided to sleep in a bit, have breakfast and then walk into town. It was a very nice day with sun and cloud and a nice wind to keep us cool. When we arrived in town, we saw the Shakespeare monument, visited his birthplace (pretty neat), and then bought tickets to see 'A Midsummer's Night Dream'. They were super cheap tickets, so we figured that our seats wouldn't be very good. After that, we walked to the church where Shakespeare is buried, walked around town, watched the swans and other birds on the Avon, and had dinner. Then we watched the swans some more and headed to the theatre. Katie's seat was in the centre of the very top row in the whole theatre! Dan's was off to the side a bit and behind a bar. The show started and it was awesome! During intermission, Dan was able to move beside Katie which gave him a much better view of the stage. It was an absolutely hilarious second half! Then, we walked back to the hostel and it was off to bed.
This morning, we got up, threw our backpacks together and headed back into town (remember 5 kilometres, with 30 lb backpacks on....took a little longer than the first day!). We found the free internet (hooray) at the library and here we sit until it's time for us to catch the train!
So, enjoy the attached pictures, there are many more (especially of any type of Stratford bird you could ever see!) and we'll be sure to keep sharing with you.
So, here is our first 'on the road' update! We're going to do our best to get a minimum of three cities in each update......we shall see if that works out!
Our first stop was Burntisland. It was a great place to get to with travel on a ferry, then a bus, then a ferry, then a train, then another train, then another train!!!! But we arrived safe and sound at the train station in Burntisland, tired, but ready for our 20 minute walk to the hotel.....20 minutes, yeah right! We headed up the hill and after asking directions from a nice man in the park, made the 3 kilometre trek to the hotel. As we approached the hotel, it was exactly as Katie had remembered from pictures and video from when her Dad was here 14 years ago! Other than the fact that there had been several renovations since that time, the character of the building has remained the same. We checked in and headed up to our room (thankfully in the back of the hotel as we find the noise difficult after being in quiet Iona for so long). After showering and changing, we had dinner in the downstairs restaurant (we were the only ones there!) with a great view across the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh. It was beautiful with the Castle all lit up! After dinner, it was an early evening to bed as we were exhausted. Before going to bed however, Katie opened up the window to have some fresh air come into the room. Apparently, this was a bad idea as a HUGE spider decided to join us in our room. When she woke up around 3 am, Katie looked across the room and there he was on the wall. His fangs were so big, that she could see them from where she was in the bed!!!! Dan tried to dispose of the beast for her, but sadly the first attempt failed. Thankfully, however, he found him in the bathroom and got him outside, closing the window, as the spider's nest was right outside the window.
After the drama of the morning we headed out to see the wonders of Burntisland. We explored the cemetary where the Johnstones are buried. They were still there from last time :) Off to the village we went to visit the barber (brush cut for Dan), the bank (pay for the tour) and of course an ice cream. We also sent some stuff back to Dan's parents to lighten our load a bit. In the afternooon we asked Catherine and Rankin Bell (the owners) about Katie's family friends Norman and Daphne, who had given Katie's Dad, Pops and Aunt Grace a tour 14 years ago. To our surprise they are still around and still having a great time with life. We met up with them that evening and had a great time exchanging stories and laughs. They insisted on showing us the parish church the next morning, which is conveniently near the train station! Norman is the curator so is VERY knowledgable about the church and its history. We had our tour with a quick song on the organ, tales of the baker, the butcher, and the shoemakers, and the stolen bible. We also were given a copy of the hymn books that were donated to the church by Katie's Pops and Aunt Grace after their visit with the dedication written inside......very sweet of them.
We said goodbye to Daphne and Norman and boarded the train. We headed to Edinburgh to switch trains to York on a beautiful day! Upon arrival in York, we walked up to the Mickelgate Backpackers Hostel for our one night stay. After checking in, we decided to head to the Minster.....Dan was in awe!! It was amazing, beautiful and incredible:) We were in luck too because the organist and boys choir were warming up for the evensong while we were there, so we were treated to lovely music while we explored the church. Definately a highlight (which you can tell by the numerous pics that were taken here:) Afterwards, we headed to a 400-year-old pub, where we had authentic Yorkshire pudding (appropriate:) and Lasagna (not so appropriate:). The next morning, we got up nice and early and went for a walk on the York wall. Who knew that you could walk on the wall! For free!!! Scooter even made the trip (as you will see:). Then, we boarded the train for Stratford-Upon-Avon.
We had to switch train stations in Birmingham, which was interesting as our good luck with the weather was faltering slightly. We boarded a much older train and enjoyed the 45 minute ride to Stratford. Upon arrival, the train was bombarded with teenagers heading for Birmingham (which is the second largest English city and seems like a huge big box store mall.) They were slightly rude as we were trying to get off the train with our big bags, but oh well, life goes on!:) We walked into town to find out that our hostel was 5 kilometres outside of the city!!!!!!! As the weather was still crappy, we decided to wait for the bus. We paid £3.80 for the one-way ticket (which is almost $8 Cdn) and decided that after this, we walk into town! We arrived at the hostel, had a great pizza dinner in the hostel restaurant (very convienient and economical) and went to bed in our seperate rooms.
The next morning, we decided to sleep in a bit, have breakfast and then walk into town. It was a very nice day with sun and cloud and a nice wind to keep us cool. When we arrived in town, we saw the Shakespeare monument, visited his birthplace (pretty neat), and then bought tickets to see 'A Midsummer's Night Dream'. They were super cheap tickets, so we figured that our seats wouldn't be very good. After that, we walked to the church where Shakespeare is buried, walked around town, watched the swans and other birds on the Avon, and had dinner. Then we watched the swans some more and headed to the theatre. Katie's seat was in the centre of the very top row in the whole theatre! Dan's was off to the side a bit and behind a bar. The show started and it was awesome! During intermission, Dan was able to move beside Katie which gave him a much better view of the stage. It was an absolutely hilarious second half! Then, we walked back to the hostel and it was off to bed.
This morning, we got up, threw our backpacks together and headed back into town (remember 5 kilometres, with 30 lb backpacks on....took a little longer than the first day!). We found the free internet (hooray) at the library and here we sit until it's time for us to catch the train!
So, enjoy the attached pictures, there are many more (especially of any type of Stratford bird you could ever see!) and we'll be sure to keep sharing with you.
posted by Daniel Pergau | 6:40 a.m.
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