End of Summer

So, any of you who have been following my blog may have noticed my absence over the summer.  It all started when I arrived in the UK at the beginning of summer and my netbook decided to transpose all its keys so I couldn't type anything.  Things progressed downhill when the monitor began doing a nifty little version of the samba.  The people at the repair shop just looked very sad when I explained my problems so I waited for the back-school-sales to replace it with a new laptop...I've decided that netbooks are fun but not very practical for real life.  I'm going to get a tablet for traveling and hopefully this new laptop will stay healthy and happy not being dragged around in a backpack.  I was computerless for the entire summer but have to admit that it was a nice break and I barely looked at email/facebook at all.

I did have a great summer although it went too fast as usual.  I started out in London where they were gearing up for the Olympics.  I took this picture while on a Thames ferry.  The rings lift up when the draw-bridge goes up.

I quickly went onto Edinburgh by train.  It was a great train ride and I would recommend it to anyone.  Booking the train months early saved me more than half the price at 34 Pounds.   Edinburgh was everything I thought it was going to be. 

 
I took the 'Free Walking Tour' and it was fantastic.  We were led through town by a great guide who had written a book about all the nasty elements of the city's history so we got all the juicy details.  He was very dramatic, especially when he got passionate about Scotland. 

After a couple of days in the city, I headed down south for four days of walking and visiting the Abbeys of the Scottish Borders. 

The walking was good the first day and I followed these little signs.

There was a lot of different terrain.

There was also lots of flora and fauna to see.

There were also weird man-made things along the way.  Temples, arches and odd places like this one which marks the spot where Thomas the Rhymer met the Farie Queen in the 13th century.  I definately got the Scottish experience.

The next three days were a bit muddy but I did love all the Abbeys.  I spent several hours in each of them and had picnics.  I also visited the place where Robert the Bruce's heart is buried at the Melrose Abbey for just that little bit of extra goolish history.

After the walking, I went back to Edinburgh for a week to see the sights.  I really enjoyed the Queen's Gallery at Holyrood Palace as it had a Jubilee collection of art from all the royal palaces and I loved the tour of the Royal Britanica and seeing the Queen's stateroom and bedroom.

Back to London where I did all the tourist stuff including a very impressive visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum and a night at the theater to see Wicked, which I recommend to anyone of any age.

Then on to Canada for a whirlwind few weeks with the family.

 

 

Now I'm back in the UAE and getting ready for another year.  I bought a jeep so I'll have a little more independence and be able to explore more...I'll be posting here whenever something interesting happens.