Passport 2 Travel

We said goodbye to Aileen at our B&B and got the train to York. We came into town on a very busy weekend with no reservation, and were lucky enough to secure a room through the Tourist Information Center. We got some dinner and a pint at another Wetherspoons location, and walked through the medieval walled city of York to the massive cathedral called "The Minster."

On our second day in York we went back to "The Minster" and visited the inside after the church service was over. Then we joined a great two and a half hour tour of York led by a local volunteer. It was a very enlightening and informative tour which included stops at the Monastery ruins, the Roman and medieval walls and bars, Roman sarcophagi, the Minster, and the Shambles, which is the most visited street in all of Europe.

Had a delicious dinner and boarded the train next day for London Heathrow. After checking in our room at the Premier Inn near Heathrow Airport, we decided to take the train back into central London for one last look, coming full circle back to where we started four weeks earlier. We walked the streets, had dinner, said our goodbyes to Big Ben, and took the train back to our hotel for our last night of a great vacation!

We got a bus to the Ocean Terminal and toured the ship the Britannia, which took the Royal Family all over the world for forty years until it was decommissioned. The ship was somewhat dated and modest by today's standards, but still very impressive. Queen Elizabeth entertained Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, President Eisenhower, and Boris Yeltsin on board to name a few.

Back in the city center, we walked the Royal Mile, and through the New Town, occasionally hearing the sound of a bagpipe played by a street performer in full dress.

After dinner, we went on a ghost tour at 10:00 pm called the "City of the Dead" which took us to the underground vaults of the city of Edinburgh where the poorest of the poor lived in squalor. Then it was a visit to the reputedly haunted Greyfriar's Cemetery, and the locked and gated section called "Covenanters' Prison" which consists of enclosed vaults. Greyfriars also has two low ironwork cages, called mortsafes. These were installed to protect the buried bodies from resurrection men who supplied Edinburgh Medical College with corpses for dissection.

According to local legend, one such restless spirit is George Mackenzie, buried there in 1691. The "Mackenzie Poltergeist" is said to cause bruising, bites, and cuts on those who come into contact with it, and many visitors have reported feeling strange sensations. It was certainly creepy, and when I attempted to take a flash photo, Jason said he saw a ghost and we bolted out of there!

We got some breakfast and checked out of our hotel and walked a few blacks to the B&B I had reserved ahead

for two nights. Aileen, the owner of Victorian Townhouse was so welcoming and such a terrific lady. The room,

decorated in an African-inspired decor, was fantastic. It was the best of our trip. We went out and

walked up the very long hill to Edinburgh Castle, and toured the castle, which included the crown jewels of

Scotland...not as spectacular as England's crown jewels.

The One O'Clock Gun is fired every day at precisely 13:00.

Then we walked along the Royal Mile, stopping in St. Giles Church.

We made our way along Princes St. stopping in some stores, and up to the New Town where

we found a great restaurant called Wetherspoons.

It was another beautiful warm sunny day in St. Andrews. We had the B&B's award-winning porridge for breakfast and checked out. We walked the Scores Road along the water, stopping to see the remains of the Cathedral and monastery, and the St. Andrews University quad.

We got to the St. Andrews golf course and decided to walk the pathway along the course toward the water. After walking about seven holes and not spotting any celebrities, we decided to head back. As we were walking along we came upon a group of golfers that were teeing off within feet of where we were. It was Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, and Huey Lewis! We couldn't believe we just happened to come upon them just as we were almost back to the beginning of the course. I snapped a few photos, and took some video of them. It made our day to see Michael Douglas, one of my favorite movie stars!

We got back to the car and headed to Edinburgh. We returned our rental car and got the bus into the city center, and walked a sort distance to our hotel. Later, we got some dinner at a pub in the Grassmarket area of Edinbugh.

Checked out of our B&B and drove about four hours, most of which was in the rain, and arrived at beautiful St. Andrews, and warm sunny weather. Stopped at the Tourist Information office, and was informed that the town was almost fully booked because of the Alfred Dunhill Championship Golf Tournament. Fortunately, they told me of a room that had just come available due to a recent cancellation. Lucky for us we found the B&B right away and were able to secure a very nice room. We took advantage of the great weather and took a walk around town and along the waterfront and saw the remains of the Cathedral and Castle, and a coffee shop where Catherine met Prince William for coffee.

When we got to the golf course we noticed caught a a bit of activity, and some autograph seekers. We heard that there were some celebrities, including Michael Douglas, in town for the tournament. We decided we would come back the next day and see if we could scope out any stars. We walked back into town and got some pizza at the Glass House Restaurant.