Backtracking...

Here are some pictures I took of my nieces with the camera I'm using here in Europe- the Mamiya 645. I love shooting with this guy, but it's film, so let's hope my pictures here turn out!

London

Well, I actually didn't take many pictures while in London, but Todd and I were able to see a lot of really amazing things. First we visited the Victoria & Albert Museum, along with Parliament, Westminster Abby (which generally they charge £15 to go inside, but we waited and went to a choral service they hold everyday and got to see the inside for free, along with experiencing an incredible service with the choir), London Tower, the Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Notting Hill, and many other things we can't remember right now.

On our last night there we were able to go see Les Miserables with my sister Megan who is doing a study abroad program in London. The show was amazing, and it was really great to spend part of our day with Megan. I was a little stressed during the show, however, because we had to catch a train to the airport immediately after the show, so needless to say we cut it pretty close, and were running through the streets afterward to get our luggage and everything onto the train, but at least we got to see the end of the show- barely! After that we spent a long night on the airport floor while waiting for our 6 am flight to Prague. We have been resting a lot since we made it to Prague, but are having a wonderful time here as well. It's a beautiful and unique city, and pictures of our time here will get posted soon! Enjoy the London pics!

Our day in York

The great thing about Europe is that everything and everywhere is relatively easy to get to. While we were in Hett, we hadn't really decided where we would be going for our next night. We pulled out a map, looked up some train times, and decided to spend a day/night in York. It was a great decision, because York is amazing! The town was beautiful, and the people there were incredibly friendly and nice. We stayed in a great B&B called the Holmlea Guesthouse, and mostly spent our time there walking around the city.

We visited York Minster, a beautiful cathedral originally built in 627. We also came across the ruins of St. Mary's Abby. Last but not least, we went to the Jorvik Museum, which is completely dedicated to education about the vikings that settled much of York. The employees that worked there even dressed up like real vikings! It was actually quite interesting, and I'm glad we were able to learn so much on our quick visit to the city.

Quick Update

Well, we haven't had the best internet access for the past few days, and now I'm pretty behind with the posts. I'll do some more detailed ones with pictures in a bit, but in a nutshell...

After leaving Hett, Todd and I decided that we'd like to go visit York. We spent a night there in an adorable B&B, and loved the city! It was so adorable, and exactly what you would picture an old English town being like. After York we were off to London for about 4 days. While there we walked A LOT and saw a lot of really great things- more details about this to come.

Yesterday was our last day in London, and I was so happy to be able to spend some of it with my sister who is doing a study abroad in London for the summer. We went to see Les Miserables, and I would have to say that it is probably the best show I've seen in my life- that includes Wicked. It was so amazing! After the show we had to rush to the train station to catch the last train to the airport to catch our 6 am flight. We spent an uncomfortable night on the airport floor, but are now safe and sound in Prague.

That's about it for the quickie update. I'll post pics and stuff of these places over the next few days. Until then, keep reading and leaving comments, we love to hear from you!

Hett

Here are some photos from our time in Hett. I'll be posting a  few more once we get them from the other camera :-) Most of them were taken while driving in the car, so that is why they may look a bit blurry.

This is one of the homes in Hett, which also serves as the town church. I found it quite sad with the crooked cross.

This building is located in Teesdale, England, and is called the Bowes Museum. It was started by a wealthy couple who wanted to share the modern art and artifacts of the 1860's on with the public. They spent the last years of their lives collecting work for the museum, but passed on before its completion. It is a wonderful place, and you can definitely feel the love the Bowes had for art and the desire they had to share it with everyone.

Hawick

Here are some photos from our time in Hawick (pronounced Hoyk). We stayed at an adorable B&B while we were there, and the owners were great! We had our first full english breakfast, and I'm pretty sure that was the first time we've actually eaten real bacon!

The Turnbull Monument. What a day.

View from the back of the monument. There's a poem that is carved around the bottom:

His arms robust, the hearty hunter flung
around his bending horns and upward rung

With writhing force his neck retorted round
and rolled the panting monster on the ground

Crushed with enormous strength his bony skull
and courtiers hailed the man who turned the bull

That's pretty impressive stuff! That's my my heritage!

This is at the textile museum we went to. The piece of fabric I'm touching is the most rare and valuable fabric ever made. A suit in this fabric would cost £35,000!

This is Todd outside our B&B with his new favorite drink...Irn-Bru

One of many Turnbull establishments in the town

The town of Hawick. This is where the bus dropped us off, and we had no idea where to go from there. We didn't even have room reservations anywhere, so we wandered until we found somewhere to stay, which was fun.

They have their own currency, or are trying to at least...

Busy Days

Here is an update on what Todd and I have been up to the past few days. We left Edinburgh early yesterday morning and made our way to a town called Hawick in Scotland. This is where some of my family (the Turnbulls) came from, and they recently made a large monument honoring them. It was pretty fun to see, and we found a place called Hizzy's guest house to stay in. The couple that runs it were awesome and so generous! It was definitely the 'Bed & Breakfast experience' you picture when going to a remote European town. The breakfast was delicious, and Todd even tried haggis. I joke with him that he's probably eaten the meat of about 7 animals in the past 24 hours, which is a pretty scary thought. We also ate at at the most adorable cafe I have ever seen in my life, the Damascus Drum. It doubled as a used bookstore, and I ended up buying a copy of essays written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and published in 1904. We also visited a textile and knitwear factory/museum which was actually very interesting! Although we didn't buy any Scottish wool in the form of scarves, socks, or gloves, I'm glad we were able to learn how they were made at least!

Today we left Hawick and made our way to a tiny one street town called Hett. There are 300 people in the town, and we have been lucky enough to stay with a great couple from home while they are here on an extended vacation. To get here we had to ride a 2 hour bus to Carlisle, catch a train to Newcastle, change trains and head for Durham, and then finally Hett. We ate dinner at the Coach and Horses pub and it was delicious! Dumpling stew, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, bread, the works. I am so full, but still want some sweets- something I have been putting off until we get to Italy where I can go crazy!

That's what we've been up to as of late, and I'll try to post more pictures as soon as we have a better connection. Until then, have a great day!