Saturday Shoes - London

I don't know whether this should be under Shoes or Words???

Taken outside a a shoe shop called Author on Charing Cross Road in London. See the blue bootie on the far left? There is a good picture of it on their web site.

Weekend Signs - London

I'm assuming it's a blond beer?

Day 18 - Manchester to Birmingham

A relatively quiet day was planned for us. John’s blackberry has decided to no longer communicate with us.
Long story - solved when we got home. Thanks Bell for not using messaging or email to advise us of the problem. Very proactive, though sending a snail mail letter to our house to find when we finally get home 6 days later.

Woke to pouring rain and a blocked toilet, talk about a crappy day!!. Reported it to the desk and headed out for breakfast. The place we had scooped out last night wasn’t open so we found a pub which served breakfast.

Got back to the hotel and toilet hadn’t been attended to. I headed to the desk and played the card that they advertised 15 minutes to fix a problem or your room is free. So I got our room free.

Got the car loaded up and headed for Birmingham. It rained all the way and we ran into traffic outside of Birmingham.

Love this picture I captured from car!

 But we finally dropped the car off and dragged our suitcases over to the terminal as Birmingham airport does not have any shuttles from the car rentals. Grabbed a cab and were back at the Ibis around 1:30.

Still raining with a colourless sky above us so we went up to the Yard of Ale behind the Bull Ring for a quick burger. As we came out the sun was breaking through so we started walking around and then saw the signposts for the Mailbox as being only 260 yards away. Since I had only ever gotten there by cab I was stunned that it was so close.

By now the sun is shining in a bright blue sky with white fluffy clouds so we were able to stroll along the canal and take photos. We walked further than I had even been.

We stopped for a pint at The Malt House.

Then we strolled back to the hotel debating where we would have dinner if we didn’t hear from Tanya.

We decided on trying the Chinese across the street after we had relaxed and read our books for a while.

But once we were in our rooms, and I checked that we had hot water, we had a message from Tanya which we returned. She said they were at the Arcadian. So we went over to meet them and have a drink.

Picture taken as we snuck up on them!

Then we grabbed a cab (no idea why as it is an easy walk) and went to Wagamama’s as Tanya loves this place. We all had chicken curry and it was delicious.

http://birmingham.myvillage.com/place/wagamama-digbeth-birmingham


Once satiated we went back to the Arcadian in the pouring rain for a nightcap.

Yes, a very quiet day for us relatively speaking.

Day 19 - Birmingham

Quietest day of vacation! No real plans.


Woke to no hot water in the shower. Called the desk to complain. On our way out to breakfast I mentioned it to the desk clerk who said that other guests had the same problem and they were having he boiler looked at.

Went looking for somewhere for breakfast rather than walking over to the market or Bull Ring. We ended up at the Dragon Inn, part of the Wetherspoon pub chain. They open at 7am and serve a decent breakfast.

Andrew picked us up and took us to their place. The guys were going golfing and Tanya and I were going to hang out together.

Finally I had my hands on a computer so I emptied my camera and put my pictures onto a USB key.

Then we took the bus into Wasall and moseyed around in the stores. More fabulous hats in the stores.

Then for a lunch – fish and chips for Tanya and loaded potato skins for me.

We all decided to go for Chinese food across from the hotel as Andrew swears it is the best ever.

It was all very good except for my choice of chicken curry.

Day 16 - Edinburgh to Carlisle

Time to say goodbye to our lovely house and to Karen and Blair. They do look suspiciously happy leaving us, don’t they??

Back on the road we (I) decided to continue with my Da Vinci Code quest. Rosslyn Chapel is only 7 miles from Edinburgh so that was our destination. We arrived at 10:30 (did I mention it was Sunday??) and were told that services were taking place and we could either attend the service or return after. I asked when the service would be over and he stated noon. I didn’t have any intention on sitting through a service for an hour and a half so back to the car we go.

Decision made to head somewhere else, grab lunch and maybe come back later in the day. Since the tour companies offer a day trip to the Scottish Borders, Rosslyn chapel and Melrose we decided to head to Melrose.


As we entered Melrose there was a buzz of activity taking place in the city centre. There were various races for the children and the bagpipe band were practicing.

Some of the pies are wild boar and venison game, beef steak ale and stilton.


We went to the King's Arms and both had a big breakfast with haggis and black pudding.

I had never heard of Melrose but I am certainly happy that we chose it. It is a magnificent ruin of an abbey with very lavish decorations.

No, I didn't climb the stairs to get these pictures, John did.

There has been a monastery at Melrose, or Mailros, since about 650AD. The first monastery was founded here by St Aidan of Lindisfarne and monks came from St Columba's monastery on Iona. This monastery was located in a loop in the River Tweed two miles to the east of today's Melrose, now known as Old Melrose.

I remember being on a tour of a graveyard in boston and having the skull and bones explained to me but don't remember the answer. Googled it and got various answers - Templars, stonemasons, and in the end you end up being skull and bones!

In 1322 Melrose Abbey and the town that had grown up around it were attacked by the English army of Edward II. Much of the abbey was destroyed and many monks were killed. The subsequent rebuilding was helped greatly by the generosity of Robert the Bruce. This link was later formally recognized when Robert's embalmed heart, encased in lead, was buried at Melrose Abbey.

In 1385 the Scots invaded northern England (see our Historical Timeline). This was not a wise move. Richard II of England defeated David II of Scotland and pushed the Scots back as far as Edinburgh, burning down Melrose Abbey as his army passed by.

I am now on a mission to read more about King Richard.

One of the oddest grotesques that I have ever seen is the pig playing the bagpipes. We searched and searched for this in vain until a French couple, obviously on the same mission, went to the gift shop and got detailed directions on its location. With the help of his finger pointing we located it and got our photos. In reading other travel blogs we were not alone in our hunt to track down this pig. I haven’t been able to track down the purpose or history of this pig so far.

It is now time to get back into the car for our drive to Carlise, our destination for tonight.

We arrived at the Ibis in Carlisle around 5 pm and headed out to wander. Again the location is excellent and we easily walked up to the main shopping area which was getting ready to close down for the day.

Popped into The Griffin pub which used to be a bank – a historic ornate sandstone building.

I was feeling tired (damned cold has been hanging on) so we went back to the hotel and I had a nap. For dinner we got Indian takeout and ate in our room.

Day 10 - Edinburgh - Dinner at the Deacon's

Deacon Brodie's Tavern occupies a prime location on Lawnmarket, part of the Royal Mile, and Bank Street, one of the main thoroughfares up from Princes Street. It is named after Deacon William Brodie, the man who inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

I decided I had to have haggis, neeps and taties.

Still not sure what it is? Swedes are turnips.

It was delicious and everyone tried it and agreed. However, the haggis is very rich!

Day 20 - Birmingham to London

Still no hot water in shower this morning, I am not a happy camper. Called the desk and placed a complaint stating I would be checking out shortly and expected compensation for the lack of hot water.

Grabbed a quick breakfast at the Dragon’s Inn again. Then checked out after asking for and receiving a discount of 58% for the room.

We took a cab to the New Street train station which is really within walking distance but too much of a hassle to drag suitcases up and down the streets. We didn’t have a conductor to assist with the luggage this time so the clubs ended up occupying a seat and me praying that no one had reserved that seat. Note to John – find a lighter, easier way to travel with golf clubs!

Arrived in Euston and then checked in once again at the Royal National.

We were anxious just to get out and wander the streets. We stopped at the Porcupine pub 48 Charing Cross Rd near Leinster Square for lunch, another prawn sandwich for me.

Then we headed to a “half price” ticket stall to see what was available. We bought 5th row seats for Billy Eliot tonight and 1st row seats for Priscilla Queen of the Desert for Friday night for 190 pounds, all together a very good deal in my mind.

More strolling around Piccadilly, down to the Strand, around Pall Mall.

Time for theatre! Take a cab as it is located behind Buckingham Palace. Here is a clip from Billy Elliot. This is a different cast.
This is the trailer for the performance we saw.

And just for the record it takes an hour and a half to walk back to the hotel. And I must say that Buckingham Palace is a disappointment at night.