Scotland: the Epilogue

Our trip to Scotland was more wonderful than we could have imagined it would be, even with the cold and rainy weather. Madison danced great at Worlds, and Stephanie recalled and received an Irish dance world ranking in her age group. We visited the Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh Caslte, the Palace of the Holyroodhouse, Stirling Castle, St. Andrew's-- the Old Course, St. Andrew's Castle, William Wallace Monument, Glen Coe, Loch Ness, Loch Lomond, Glasgow Cathedral, Kelvingrove Art Museum, Willow Tea Room, Glasgow City Chambers, and hiked Arthur's Seat. We ate fish & chips, haggis (well, Brian did), shortbread, fried Mars bars, fozen dairy cream with chocolate flake, fish casserole, Cullen Skink, neeps & taties, rarebit, Costa coffee, and had authentic afternoon tea.

Once we got home however....

we had lots of unpacking and laundry. A small price to pay for such a memorable two weeks!

This is the 14th post about our Scotland trip. If you are interested in seeing all the posts, you'll need to go back a few pages.

Day 13 in Scotland, April 6

Tuesday was our last day in Scotland. We started the day with a tour in the double-decker red tour bus.

We went to the Kelvingrove Art Museum.

After the art museum, we ate lunch at the Willow Tea Room. The Willow Tea Room was opened in 1904. It was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, an architect and designer whose style was a cross between Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau. His simple style was very different from the Victorian fashion of his day. The girls and Melanie had "Afternoon Tea" and Brian had rarebit.

Tea was followed by a shopping spree, which Brian opted out of--not sure why. Grandparents and friends gave the girls spending money for our trip, and they were NOT going to come home with any money left over. We found a great clothing store called Primark and an accessory store Bethany Herman recommended called Accessorize.

After a full day of appreciating art, partaking of afternoon tea, and shopping, we  went out to dinner and packed for the trip home.

We are thankful for our wonderful trip and the memories we made as a family!

Day 12 in Scotland, April 5

We went to St.Andrew's on Monday. We had to take two trains and a taxi to get there, but it was worth it!

The picture below is dedicated to Eric Hughes. Thanks for the great sermon illustrations! As soon as the girls saw the "Keep off the grass" sign they thought of you and your preaching. You're the best!

Below are the ruins of the St. Andrew's Castle:

• We took a bus back to the train station from St. Andrews.

The Palace of the Holyroodhouse is where the Queen lives when in Edinburgh. We took the tour and got to see the rooms where Mary Queen of Scots lived.

The remains of the Abbey of the palace:

The girls found the information on the recorded tour very interesting!

We heard that we needed to try a "fried Mars Bar" and found a place that makes them in Edinbugh. Basically, they take a Mars candy bar, dip it in batter,and then deep fry it. The chocolate melts, and it is delicious!

Our last train ride: