Going to Glasgow

Hi Everyone,

Well, we had an uneventful flight to Glasgow on Iceland Air. The flight from here takes about 8 1/2 to 9 hours and during the flight the sun never really set completely and it was twilight when we landed in Reykjavik for a brief stopover.

The airport there is smallish and is under construction. Most of the seating had been removed so people were sitting on the floor, stairs, every place they could sit down. There also isn't much to eat there but I did discover Skyr a type of Icelandic yogurt which is tangy. I liked that and I hope I can find it here.

After Reykjavik we flew to Glasgow and that only took around 2 hours and we quickly cleared customs and found my good friend Alison McAdam and native Glaswegian and we went to her place to begin the trip.

Breakfast and Walking About

We had flown 9 hours and hadn't really eaten anything so the first thing we did was have some breakfast. Alison took us to a favorite cafe of her's called the Rio and we had a full on Scottish
breakfast:

In the photo there are scrambled eggs, toast, potato scones, a hash brown patty, bacon, sausages and pork and beans, which taste different from our pork and beans. Underneath the toast was blood pudding which I tasted and really liked. I wolfed down the whole thing with a glass of milk and began to feel alive once again.

The weather that day, and everyday that we were there, was sunny and warm so there were hoards of people walking about and enjoying their afternoon. In the photo below was a large crowd listening to a band playing outside of a pub:

After we listened to the band for a moment, we began to walk around to see the city on foot. The streets are narrow and they drive on the opposite side of the street than we do. The cars are also smaller but most are much newer than here in the US. Alison told me that the average person keeps a car about 3 years and then turns it in for a new on. Not bad!

This was an alley way with small shops and it was paved with cobble stones. We stopped and had a coffee and rested up a bit:

One thing that did strike me was how many people were out walking about in the city on a weekend, so much so that the sidewalks were really crowded. And everyone was in summer garb owing to the warm weather. I think everyone that I saw had a sunburn!


Ahh, British money. They use more coins that we do and they have a one and two pound coins. The pound coins are really handy-they turned out to be my favorite coins and I kept some to take home:

Ok, my next blog post involves going to the supermarket for stuff and I'll post that shortly.

VW

The Trip That Almost Wasn't

Hi Everyone,

Well it's been a wild week and a half since my last posting. My husband became quite ill with an infection and we almost had to cancel the trip. Fortunately he's much better and he got the go ahead to travel from one of his doctors. So we're back on schedule but our trip will be much, much shorter than originally planned.

We are still going to Glasgow to visit a friend there and to see the city and the countryside and then it's on back home. We'll complete the trip next spring with a visit to the Netherlands.

Stay tuned, we're still going.

VW

Ahhh chooo!

I'm getting a cold.

:(

Domestic Adventures...

Hi Everyone,

Well, we've had a change in plans-my husband became ill earlier this week and while it seems we'll be able to go on the trip we won't be able to ride the bikes and camp.

Stay tuned,

V.

Introduction-We're Finally Going

Hello World!

This is the introductory blog post for a bicycle trip that my husband and I are planning on taking next month in Scotland, England, and the Netherlands. This trip has been stuck in the planning stages for a long time so some explanation of that and the trip details is in order.

First, we have long wanted to do a backpacking trip in Europe and shortly after we were married we began planning such a trip. But like many journeys this was delayed by working, going to college, a mortgage, children, moving, etc. Fast forward to 34 years later and we've picked up the bicycle habit so the trip changed from backpacking to bicycling. Add in the invention of the Internet, which has made planning much easier, the addition of several friends in Scotland and one in the Netherlands, and voila! We now have a planned out and supported trip to countries we've never visited and are eager to see.

Here's some trip notes:

The trip will take nearly a month, from June 3-June 27.

We will visit Glasgow to see a buddy of mine who lives there, ride from Glasgow to Carlisle in England, and then ride across England via the Hadrian's Wall Bicycle Route. When we get to the east coast we plan to explore that part of the country along with the city of York, and then take a ferry across the English Channel to Rotterdam. From there we will be traveling to Sittard in the Netherlands for a visit with an artist friend. After thak it's back to Amsterdam for several days and then back home.

We have bicycles and all the equipment (I'll be posting photos and an equipment list) and we'll be carrying everything we need along with us. We plan to do a lot of camping and meandering around. And I imagine we'll get lost from time to time.

We will be flying over and back on Icelandic Air who are very good about transporting bicycles on their airliners.

So join us on the journey. I'll supply the photographs and details-all you have to do is supply a comfy place to read and a hot drink.

Here's to having a good trip!!

Stay tuned,
VW