Snow and Kilts

We just returned from Inverness, Scotland for a wedding.  I know the pictures of Heath in a kilt have been highly anticipated!  We took the train up on Friday and stopped for the afternoon in Edinburgh.  The castle was amazing.  It's where Mary Queen of Scots was born.  We really only had enough time for lunch and a tour of the castle before catching our train up to Inverness.  The wedding was in a little spa town called Strathpeffer.  Durning the winter there's not much there besides an art show and a chocolate shop.  Needless to say we went for hot chocolate because it was freezing!  Heath wore the tartan for that region of Scotland which was a lovely green and purple.  The English are all allowed to wear the Stuart tartan because that's the tartan of the last Scottish king, James I, who became King of England after Elizabeth I.  As we're not English, Heath wore the regional tartan.  There's a lot more to kilts than meets the eye and we struggled to get Heath in his.  First you put on the shirt and bow tie.  Then you put on your knee high socks and shoes with the tartan garters around your calf.  Don't forget the knife that goes into your right sock!  Next you can put on the kilt it's self that weighs tons!  Then you have to figure out the belt and sporran!  The sporran is the purse like thing that goes around the waist.  Traditionally it's made out of seal fur and they can get quite pricey.  It was nice because I didn't have to carry a purse for a change.  Lastly you don the vest and jacket! Quite an ordeal to get dressed!  The legend is true as well- You don't wear underwear under your kilt.  One just hopes they dry clean those rentals!

The wedding was so much fun!  The band played a mix of southern and ceilidh music because the bride and groom were from Georgia and Scotland.  Ceilidh dancing is the traditional dancing of Scotland.  It's like square dancing but it's actually lots of fun.  The band played until late and we danced the whole time.  We felt like old people when we retired after one.  The scotsmen were just dipping into the whiskey when we went to bed.  All and all if you ever get invited to a Scottish wedding I highly recommend you attend!  Make sure you wear a kilt though!

Paris, Je t'aime!

While Jenny was visiting last week we took the train over to Paris for a night.  We had to get up at 3:30 in the morning to catch the first train out to Paris.  We tried to hit up everything that we could.  We went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe (300 steps), Champs-Elysees, and the Eiffel Tower.  The Eiffel Tower is like Disneyland.  Lots of hype and really long lines, but the view is unbeatable.  We also made it to Notre Dame where we saw people get attacked by pigeons and harassed by gypsies.  Unfortunately we didn't read the fine print that told us the Louvre was closed on Tuesdays.  Other than that we spent the time eating crepes and walking around Montmartre.

View of the Arc de Triomphe from the Eiffel Tower

All 300 stairs

On top of the Eiffel Tower

Notre Dame

You'd hate to be that guy!  It's good to know the US isn't special and there are meter maids everywhere!

Here's Jenny checking out the dead animals at Borough Market in London

The Beautiful Adriatic

One of the best things about the international schools is break schedule.  Heath and I just returned from a week in Croatia for the midterm break.  Croatia is amazing!  It has a really interesting blend of cultures due to being constantly conquered by the surrounding countries.  We started our trip in Rovinj in the north near the border with Italy.  Rovinj is a pretty seaside town on a small peninsula dominated by a 19th century church.  It was first settled in the Roman times and the stone in the streets dates to 700AD.  Really treacherous with stilettos!  The cappuccinos and gelato were amazing.  We enjoyed sitting outside in the warm sun after chilly England.  The old streets all wind up to the church and there's lots of hidden architectural treasures to be found.  One of my favorite was a tiny church perched right on the cliff.  

This was an abandoned hotel on a little island near Rovinj.

Yes the water is that clear!

From Rovinj we traveled onto the island of Rab.  Rab was absolutely beautiful with four towers in the old town and multiple churches.  It was also empty being the off season.  At one point we were the only people walking around town.  The second day, although warm, a wind picked up that made beach activities out of the question.  We decided to head inland to Zagreb instead.

Looks like Santa Barbara!

We had also been offered a job at the school in Zagreb so it was exciting to get to go check it out.  Zagreb is a really accessible city that gets overlooked sometimes.  The school was in a really nice area.  It is much smaller and not nearly as fancy as Cobham, but it has a very relaxed feeling.  I think we spent most of our time eating because the food was really good and really cheap!  Zagreb has more of an Eastern European feel to it but the cafe culture is universal in Croatia.  Everywhere we went people spent hours sitting out at cafes.  Zagreb felt like a very livable city.

The cemetery in Zagreb decorated for All Souls Night

Our last day was spent in Pula which has one of the largest and best preserved Roman Amphitheaters.  Heath was thrilled!  We also checked out an old Greek theater and a Temple to Augustus.

Heath just isn't sure what he thinks about this shrimp salad!

Cork

I know I'm really behind posting these pictures!

We went to Cork, Ireland for a weekend in September for my birthday.  We saw the Jameson Distillery and got to sample lots of Whiskey.  It was about 10:30 in the morning and we weren't quite ready for it but what can you do if you only have two days.  We also went to see Blarney Castle which is famous for having the Blarney Stone.  Legend has it that if you lean backwards over the edge and kiss the stone you will be gifted with the gift of gab.  Apparently Churchill did it, as have we.  I can't say that my persuasive writing has improved though.

These Barrels show the different stages the whiskey goes through when it ages.

This reminded me of the painting by Millais of Ophelia

York

York is the second most important city in England. There has been a town there since Roman times. In fact in many places you can see where they built on top of the previous walls. The city has a very cute little downtown with lots of shopping and restaurants. Heath and I took the free tour of the city to learn some of it's history and walked the walls that still surround the city. We also visited the York Minster which is the second largest Medieval church (second only to the one in Seville). First of all it is beautiful! The stained glass is absolutely exquisite. We climbed the very steep 200 step staircase. The view is incredible! We also explored the crypt which had a really fascinating display on the various layers of the Minster. To be a called a minster the church has to have a Saxon background. There was a Roman building on this site and then a Saxon church and finally a Norman Minster. When they were doing repairs they found the remains of the previous structures and created an exhibit. You can actually see parts of each of the buildings. We also went to the York Dungeon which was recommended to us. It's like a really well done haunted house. The actors there were really fun. Lastly we had dinner at Cafe Concerto maybe the best meal we've had our whole trip! I have to add that in case anyone gets to York. You have to eat there! It was so good we ate there twice!

York Minster










Scary Staircase! They actually didn't' allow some people
up! They definitely wouldn't have let you go up in the US!


York Skyline