At the London Ritz

(Cliffs at Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh)

(Calton Hill, Edinburgh)

OK, so we're not at the Ritz, but it might as well be! The photo of Erich over Edinburgh is from the cliffs at Arthur's Seat, where we hiked on Saturday. Our last day in Scotland was spent walking the New Town, hiked up Calton Hill which is full of monuments and an unfinished Pantheon (above), and had a nice supper which we bought from a grocery store (DEFINITELY the way to eat - so much cheaper!). We caught some live folk music at a tiny little pub called Sandy Bells full of locals (needless to say, we stuck out like sore thumbs).

(Cheers! A night at the races)

(View from the Owner's stands)

Our flight to London's Gatwick was relatively painless - EasyJet was comfortable but the baggage pickup at Gatwick was the worst I've ever seen. We had a driver pick us up (holding a sign saying "Emma Halsall") and whisked us off to my second cousins' house, David and Yvonne, in Kingswood. We were pleasantly surprised with travel cards which allowed us unlimited travel into the city (about a 40min ride) and on the underground and buses in London. They took us to Windsor Raceway, where one of David's horses was having her first run. She (and I) lost, but Erich won £4.60. We enjoyed privilages of post race champagne with some of D&Y's friends and access to "owner's only" area including standing in the middle of the parade circle where the horses are walked around before the race to help people determine which horse they will bet on. We were then taken out for dinner at a great Indian restaurant before crashing in style. Our bedroom has an ensuite and little sitting area. The house is fantastic - words can't even describe so I have photos:

The last 2 days have been spent in London. As you can see in the photos, the sun does shine here! It has been warmish and clear blue skies since we arrived - we are in the UK, I swear! On Tuesday, we got our Chunnel passes and did riverboat and hop-on-hop-off bus tours. We did a lot of walking around the main roads and back roads, ate lunch in the garden of St. Paul's Cathedral (photo), strolled through Green Park where we found a Canada Memorial, and visited Buckingham Palace from the outside (photo). Today was spent at the Natural History Museum and checking out the famous department store, Harrod's. The museum included exhibits on human evolution, earth processes, ecology, resource consumption, and dinosaurs (Erich's favourite). Harrod's is a massive store, with a huge food market featuring bakeries, butchers, fresh ice cream, sushi, etc. etc. all very fancily presented. We came back to the house to get some laundry done and hopefully find a hostel in Paris. It's a bank holiday which is making finding accomodations a nightmare! (Lunch outside St. Paul's)(Buckingham)

We feel we are public transportation masters now, and hope we get along as well where they don't speak our language. Still have to figure out what we're doing tomorrow - thinking of Stone Henge or Oxford or more London touring. Will keep you posted as we continue our adventure!