England has a four-day weekend in celebration of the Easter holiday - Good Friday through Easter Monday. So, in our usual fashion we decided to take a last-minute road trip to Scotland. We left on Thursday, since we weren't sleeping in our house after the boiler broke anyway. The first evening we stayed in Cambridge, England. We stopped in York for a quick walkabout and that evening we stayed in Berwick-upon-Tweed, just outside of Scotland. The final two evenings (Saturday & Sunday) we stayed in Edinburgh, Scotland at a wonderful bed & breakfast. While in Edinburgh we saw a number of the tourist attractions including Edinburgh Castle, Palace of Holyrood, and the Royal Yacht Britannia. There were still a number of things we didn't get to visit, like Edinburgh Zoo where they have the only koalas in the U.K. I told Matt he would have to take me back to see them! (Most of you know what a koala fanatic I am.)
We knew that London was pretty costly but had heard how cheap it was to travel around Europe. We haven't been to mainland Europe yet but plan to take many trips in the next two years. Unfortunately, it wasn't as "cheap" as we may have hoped to visit Scotland. We can get away with most of our weekend trips in the states rather inexpensively with little planning. Not so in the U.K. It didn't help that we traveled on Easter weekend, but holidays didn't deter us in the past. Anyway, everything was expensive - gas, meals, lodging, tourist attractions. Remember too, the british pound is basically twice the dollar. So, if a meal is $10 in the U.S. it would roughly be 10 GBP in the U.K. which is about $20 USD. There aren't a lot of chain hotels, so you have to search out vacancies in all of the old hotels and b&bs. While that isn't too bad, the cost can be more than expected, especially if breakfast isn't included. I love the history and character of the buildings, just wish it didn't take such a chunk out of our budget. I really enjoyed our stay at a B&B in Edinburgh, though.
Since I don't expect to work in England, we had always planned for me to be the travel planner. I love doing that kind of stuff and am definitely looking forward to it. However, the trip to Scotland was very last-minute and we thought we'd be okay. We learned our lesson. Initially I'll have lots to keep me busy with getting to know whats around our new town but also trying to visit as many new countries as we can. I might look for a volunteer opportunity or something for my downtime. Otherwise, I guess I'll just have to go shopping! (Just kidding, really!)
We are really looking forward to hosting visitors, so make sure your passport and funds are all in order. The guest room awaits you!
We knew that London was pretty costly but had heard how cheap it was to travel around Europe. We haven't been to mainland Europe yet but plan to take many trips in the next two years. Unfortunately, it wasn't as "cheap" as we may have hoped to visit Scotland. We can get away with most of our weekend trips in the states rather inexpensively with little planning. Not so in the U.K. It didn't help that we traveled on Easter weekend, but holidays didn't deter us in the past. Anyway, everything was expensive - gas, meals, lodging, tourist attractions. Remember too, the british pound is basically twice the dollar. So, if a meal is $10 in the U.S. it would roughly be 10 GBP in the U.K. which is about $20 USD. There aren't a lot of chain hotels, so you have to search out vacancies in all of the old hotels and b&bs. While that isn't too bad, the cost can be more than expected, especially if breakfast isn't included. I love the history and character of the buildings, just wish it didn't take such a chunk out of our budget. I really enjoyed our stay at a B&B in Edinburgh, though.
Since I don't expect to work in England, we had always planned for me to be the travel planner. I love doing that kind of stuff and am definitely looking forward to it. However, the trip to Scotland was very last-minute and we thought we'd be okay. We learned our lesson. Initially I'll have lots to keep me busy with getting to know whats around our new town but also trying to visit as many new countries as we can. I might look for a volunteer opportunity or something for my downtime. Otherwise, I guess I'll just have to go shopping! (Just kidding, really!)
We are really looking forward to hosting visitors, so make sure your passport and funds are all in order. The guest room awaits you!
1 comment:
Greetings Matt & Amber!
Cool Blog! and great pics!
I like your new digs! From
some of the 'ex-pat' housing I have seen in my day, you guys are living large! :-) I will definately have to plan a visit! Scotland looks cool! (having only been to Gretna Green, myself, not sure I can say I have really been there!) We miss you in Colorado!
Cheers,
Lyd
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