Luke and Chris then went for a walk down to the Tintagel castle where Luke paid and went onto the site to look about and Chris went into Merlins Cave, a part we didn’t get to last time but had wanted too. While the boys did this I casually cruised the streets looking at all the little stores and picking up some water for us as it was a very warm day. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon and relax.

As we drove around we also came across another little castle that sat on a hill. It was a sweet little castle with a lovely country view, and it was lovely to spend some time looking about the grounds before getting back into the car and on the road.

Getting back to Bristol was a little tiring as there was quite a road block and traffic jam with tourists trying to leave Newquay at the same time. The road was so busy and we crawled along slowly. We kept pace with the car beside us (it was a 3 lane highway) and to our immature entertainment, the two young teenage boys next to us kept holding up immature signs like “Honk if you’re horny” and “smile if you’re gay” We did both these which seemed to amuse them to no end, from what we could see they were doubling over laughing. Glad that we could help someone pass the time in such a traffic mess, they gave us a wave as they moved off, nice to know we made ‘friends’ if only for half an hour or more.

It was nice to get back to Bristol where dinner was waiting and Ann and Bryan were keen to hear of our news. As a treat to ourselves and to see the new renovations to the pub down the road we went for a pub meal, where they were serving BBQ meat and salad for dinner. It was lovely to sit in the sun, have a nice meal and a drink in a really relaxed atmosphere; we sat there for a few hours before heading back up the road to have a few more bevies there before declaring it a night and hitting the hay.

written by  Chris and Emily on August 8, 2009 from Bristol, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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We then decided that it would be of a benefit to us all to have some “alone time” So, as the boys went there separate ways looking at various shops and picking themselves up some goodies I took myself off for a pedicure, which I have been craving for about 3 months now. My feet have been a mess since walking all over Europe, in thongs. It felt soooo good to finally get them done, I felt really spoilt. I then went for a quick shop to look for a birthday pressie for Jen and then off to meet the boys once more.

We made it back to Bristol in time for the Sunday roast that was taking place. Yum! It was lovely to be sitting about the table with our English family (minus Martin who was at a wedding) and having a meal on our last night. It was a fun, happy meal, followed by a sad goodbye to Jen. It’s crazy to think that we’re now saying goodbye to people when it seems only a few weeks ago we were saying hello to them, the time has just flown by so fast. It was sad to say goodbye and to give Jen a final hug, but we know that we’ll see her again sooner rather than later and we’ll always be in touch, she’s the best female 3rd cousin we could have!

After this we thought that we’d really better start packing. Chris and I had left quite a bit of stuff at Ann and Bryans when we first arrived, so we had to sort through all that and pack what was wanted and needed. It wasn’t a hard job to do but it took forever as we just didn’t have any motivation! Luke was already packed up, lucky him, so he relaxed watching telly and playing on the net as Chris and I mulled over finding the motivation to pack, but we did it in the end and then, exhausted, fell into bed.

written by  Chris and Emily on August 9, 2009 from Bath, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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We then had to return the hire car, which, upon doing so, they discovered a TEENY TINY scratch on the bumper, made from a little rock flinging up, and decided to charge us an exuberant amount to fix this, despite the rest of the car being full of scratches… go figure… they don’t fix this car at all, they just ‘claim’ things and make you pay them and then they leave the car untouched! Anyhow, we argued with them in many ways and have refused to pay them just yet and told them that we would look into all this, thank you very much. Hmph. Plus, to make it even more annoying, they put an X on the car diagram when it was picked up to state that there was indeed a scratch there previously, but when we stated this to them they said “oh, no, that’s for another scratch” but buggered if we could see another scratch… it’s all very very dodgy and made for a bad start to an already busy, sad day.

After lunch Bryan bundled our stuff into the car and prepared to take us to the train station. We had to say goodbye to Ann who was staying behind and as I’ve already stated, it was sad. She and Bryan have been so good to us over the past months, taking us in, housing us, feeding us, showing us about etc etc, they’re just lovely lovely people and we’re proud to be part of the family and to have spent so much time with them. It was only a quick trip to the train station where we then said goodbye to Bryan, which was just as equally sad and hard!

The train eventually came along and we jumped on and made our way to London, off that one and onto another to take us to Stevenage where Sue met us. It was great to see her again too and then see Patrick once we got home. We caught up on all the goss over the past week and then head off for a nice early nights sleep!

written by  Chris and Emily on August 10, 2009 from Buntingford, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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Chris and I on the other hand pottered about the house, taking our time to get ready etc, just generally relaxing and taking it easy, which was really really nice. Plus Luke is really cool and handsome. What a guy. We spent our day watching telly and having warm showers before heading off on our walk to Buntingford to collect dinner for tonight and then getting it all prepared for when Sue and Patrick got home. It’s nice to have a ‘home’ at the moment where we’re able to be free in the kitchen and ‘take over’ per say, it’s nice to feel domesticated again after travelling for so long and eating out or cheap meals on the go.

Again it was just a chilled out evening of chatting and catching up and… packing. We’re off to Scotland tomorrow!

It was a really nice camp spot actually, right under an old train bridge that is no longer used, so if it was to rain, we’d have some extra cover. All the really good spots on the level ground were taken (it was late by now, we did expect that) so we ended up with the very last spot on a more unlevel part and where the ground was like cement. Oh well, these things happen huh? It didn’t take long to set up the tent and to be settled in, so we caught the next bus into the city centre where we arranged to meet our good friend Dell.

Luke and I haven’t seen Dell for almost 5 years, which is far too long to go without seeing a good friend, and Chris though hearing so much of Dell (and vice versa) has never actually met him, so it was really great to be meeting up where the boys could finally meet and we could see one another again!

While we waited for Dell to finish work and meet us we took a stroll around Edinburgh and we have to say, it is a gorgeous city! It’s just really beautiful with all it’s different levels and old buildings and castle. We felt so comfortable. We made our way very very slowly through the streets, see, the Edinburgh Festival is on at the moment and the city is PACKED with tourists and acts all over the place! It’s great to see! We were wandering the streets mixed in with the crowd that were off to see the Edinburgh Tattoo, there were thousands of people all walking up to this castle. It was a little hard for Chris to watch I know. Before we even came to the UK we had tried to get tickets to this event but it was all sold out, so it was hard to be here in the city and have to walk past it.

We ended up meeting Dell where we had jumped off the bus and it was SOOO lovely to see him again after all this time, we all had a big hug before moving on to dinner in a little pub 5 minutes away (where Chris order Haggas!). It was so great to just chat and catch up and hear how things were going, and, to make plans for upcoming time away together. It was late before Dell dropped us off at our campsite and we climbed into our sleeping bags lazily and in a tired state!

Luke, being an early riser, took an earlier bus in than Chris and I and we arranged to meet later in our new ‘meeting spot’ We lazily got ready and pulled on jumpers and warm gear for our day out. We met Luke at the designated spot and then Dell for a cuppa before he had to start work, we arranged to meet later that night for a drink and meal.

Luke, Chris and I spent the day walking about in the constant rain, getting wet and having to dodge umbrellas, Chris at one stage was poked in the head quite hard by an umbrella spoke, and cried out “OW” to which the girls giggled and said “sorry” as if it was a great game they were playing, that really got me, and at one stage I moved just in time before being struck in the eye, when I called out “Watch the eyes!!” the old woman just gave me a filthy look. This is not the Edinburgh we fell in love with yesterday let me tell you!

We thought long and hard of sight seeing but decided in the end to leave it for today. A) It was raining to hard B) you couldn’t see anything with the cloud and mist and C) there were people EVERYwhere doing the same thing, so we gave it a miss and went shopping for a few items that were needed and then onto a comedy club for lunch, where for a really good price you could get 2 meals (that were really yummy) a cheap ticket to see a performance and a beer, and on top of all that, it was a really nice pub with a nice atmosphere, so, we settled in here and waited for the next comedy act to start. We didn’t mind waiting, it was out of the rain and in a nice place.

The show began and sadly, I don’t remember his name, but the comedian was a very entertaining singer/song writer. He played for an hour or so and sang songs that had people laughing and looking at one another in an amused way. He stayed on stage for an hour or so and was cheered loudly at the end!

After this we made our way in search for the next venue that was selling tickets to a show Chris and I wanted to see called “One man Lord of the Rings” It sounds bizarre and odd I know, but it was actually really really good and quite funny. It was, just as the title suggests, a one man performance of LOTR. The actor was brilliant doing all the impersonations and dialogue, he did all the parts that we know and love and covered what would normally take to watch in 9-12 hours in 90 minutes. He was very good.

After this we went and caught up with Luke and Dell who had decided not to come along to this event and instead have a few drinks at the pub. As it was getting late now we head to Dells car and back to the camp site, arranging to meet tomorrow morning to head off on our Scottish highland road trip!

written by  Chris and Emily on August 14, 2009 from Edinburgh, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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Our first port of call for our Highland Trip was the William Wallace Monument, which is a tower full of information and facts on William Wallace… and, it is home to his sword, which I have to admit was impressive looking! The views from the top of this monument I have to say were breath taking… in many ways. Not only could you get a 360 degree view for miles, the wind up there was Unbelievable! It really, literally, took your breath away… and as Chris found out, your sunglasses. The wind ripped them off his face and down a level, to where Luke was actually standing and who picked them up. I can’t imagine where the wind would have whisked them off too had Luke not found them. We had a few very quick photos up at the top before declaring “too bloody windy” and took off back down the stairs.

We then hopped into the car and made our way through Glencoe, which was really stunning and continued on our way into the Highlands. You were able to tell when you had entered the highlands, the scenery had changed and the atmosphere just felt so much calmer. It was lovely!

We eventually arrived in Fort William which is a little port town and full of B&Bs, which you would think make it easy for us to find accommodation, but every sign we passed bore the words “NO VACANCY” ooohhhh. Hmph. We asked at the Backpackers, but no, we asked at a B&B that did have vacancy, but the owner wasn’t keen on offering the room to 4 people, and although he didn’t say it in so many words, declined to give us a room. His loss we figured. We kept moving until we found one last B&B and went on in, and Frank, the owner, was lovely and said “ahhh, yeah, no problems” So, we happily dumped our stuff and hurried off for a meal as it was getting late but more so because we were hungry! We had a nice meal at a little resturant, big meals for the price but still, it was all so good you just wanted to try their desserts! After all this we wandered back to the B&B for a good nights rest.

written by  Chris and Emily on August 15, 2009 from Fort William, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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We made a few stops on the way up, one of which is really close to Dells heart, that being the Commando Monument, a statue dedicated to the soldiers and those who have lost their life while serving in the forces. It was a lovely monument, up on a little hill with an amazing outlook over the valleys and mountains, an amazing calm spot to be. From here you can also see Ben Nevis, the largest mountain in the United Kingdom.

After this we kept driving until we got to… LOCH NESS!

One can not come to the Scottish Highlands and NOT make the effort to stop and attempt to spot Nessie. There was one stage where we thought we may have observed the mythical beast, but it turned out to be nothing but a blade of bent grass, none the less, it was a Kodak moment and a picture was snapped accordingly. Loch Ness is really rather large, it took a good time to drive around it, and it was made a slower trip thanks to the million of other tourists, all of which seemed to love to pull caravans behind there little cars, particularly annoying when your driving up hill I’m sure you’ll agree!

After these two sites down and ticked off the list we kept on driving, though it seems we never got too far before having to stop again as the scenery here is just so amazingly, breath taking, stunningly gorgeous. We could never tire of looking at such amazing natural beauty and all you could here in the car was a “WOW!” or “CHECK THAT OUT!” every few minutes as we all sat in awe of the beauty around us.

We made a quick stop at a little waterfall that we came across, and like everything else in the Scottish Highlands, was beautiful.

It took awhile to get to Ullapool and night fall was slowly creeping up as we arrived. We tried for a B&B or two, but again the entire town seemed to be taken and full, no real surprise, it’s a gorgeous little town. Dell suggested we first go and have a feed then tackle the job of accommodation on a full tummy and clear head, this did sound like a fine idea, so off we went to a seafood restaurant that he had frequented last time he was up this way.

The restaurant was nice, but it was the staff who so lovely that everything seemed to be that touch nicer with them there with their welcoming and warm service. They were very friendly and even remembered Dell from his last visit AND, they were so lovely that despite the fact that they only had a 3 bed room left, they gave it to us saying that it was no problem that a mattress be made up for a 4th. No other hotel or B&B we came across was willing to do that for us on this trip, so we were very thankful and very impressed.

You could not fault the food, the service or the hospitality that this lovely little family run restaurant/motel supplied, they really made us feel at home and we were so thankful!

After dinner and a few drinks Luke and I went back to the hotel room to shower and chill out for a bit while Chris and Dell head off to discover the area around us, coming across a little fishing port and a pub where they stopped for a pint before returning home for a good nights sleep!

written by  Chris and Emily on August 16, 2009 from Ullapool, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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We head off from Ullapool and hit the road Edinburgh bound. We took a more scenic route where we stopped once or twice for photos and also to check the oil of the car, which is showing signs of leaks. It was nice to hop out here and there and stretch the legs.

It took a good few hours but we eventually made it back to Edinburgh where we picked up some Chinese for dinner and dropped Dell home before heading back for another night at the camp site we had originally stayed at. It didn’t take long thankfully to set the tent up and we again had a great little spot under the bridge that helped protect us from the rain and wind a little.

It was a great day, very scenic and filled with great friends and a lot of fun, but not that much happened to report of!

written by  Chris and Emily on August 17, 2009 from Edinburgh, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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