Monday, April 12, 2010
- Flew from Denver to Philadelphia and Philadelphia to Manchester, England
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
- Arrived in Manchester about 8:30 am GMT
- When we went to get the rental car, we discovered that Dad's driver license expired that day and he was unable to be put as a driver on the car. So Mom had to drive, which was not a good thing. She hadn't planned on it, was sick, and you know...the whole driving on the other side of the road thingy. How we EVER made it to the Accommodation Centre at the Preston Temple without dying is a miracle.
- We did venture into Chorley to get some plug adapters and find some food. Didn't die that time either, but there was lots of weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
- We went to the 7:00 pm session at the Temple.
- 9:00 am session at temple and lunch in the cafeteria
- Naps in the afternoon! We were still getting used to the time change at that point
- Drove to Altrincham, where the mission home is, a bit early so that we could figure out where it was.
- Parked by a park nearby and walked to get food, which we ate at the park
- Went back to the mission home at our allotted time and ended up having to wait outside for awhile because they were running long with their final meeting. We talked to the APs, as well as the other parents that came to pick up their missionaries.
- Reunited with Elder Johnson!
- We stayed there at the mission home for awhile, had dessert, and then went on our way.
- Neal drove back to the Accommodation Centre, much to our (especially Mom's) relief!
- 8:00 am temple session
- Visited the LDS Bookstore in Chorley
- Went to Preston and got Neal legal to drive the car (which almost didn't happen, because you have to have driven on a UK license for 2 years in order to rent a car if you are under 25. Thankfully, they accepted his US driver's license.)
- Drove around Preston and went to Avenham Park, the River Ribble, & Preston Town Centre.
- Drove to Blackburn to meet up with Godfrey, Dot, & Tom.
- Went to Downham
- Went to Accrington to get Doner Kebabs at a place called Eastern Promises.
- 8:00 am temple session
- Drove through Chorley, visited a few people
- Got lunch at Morrison's (supermarket) and ate in the car on the way to Knutsford.
- Visited the Mission Office (Neal had never been there!)
- Drove to Chester, which is an AWESOME town! There's cool stuff like an old Roman wall surrounding part of the city. And their town centre is totally gorgeous! Saw a cathedral that is about 1000 years old.
- Drove into Wales, but didn't stop anywhere. We drove into Wrexham, but just turned around and came back out. Nothing against the town or anything, but it was getting late.
- Drove to Shrewsbury. Not only did Neal serve there, but we have ancestors that lived there!
- Drove around a bit, parked and walked around.
- Visited St. Mary's church where some of our ancestors are buried. Couldn't find their graves, and the grave stones are VERY old!
- Walked along the River Severn and visited a park that used to be a quarry! Everything here is so pretty!!
- 8:00 temple session
- Went to Liverpool! Very cool town! We went to the Albert Docks, and there was a Royal Navy Minesweeper docked and giving free tours! Of course we went on! It was way cool!
- Walked around to the shops along the docks. It's still an active port (obviously), but it's also VERY touristy!
- Walked around by a HUGE cathedral that they call "The Great Space". Totally not kidding. I thought it was just the missionaries that called it that as a joke, but Neal says that everyone calls it that! It is the very definition of "Ginormous".
- Drove to Blackpool. Hmm....how to describe Blackpool... Vegas meets Atlantic City meets Coney Island. It's right on the Irish Sea. We drove up and down the Promenade. Lots of casinos, amusement park stuff, lights, crazy things hanging from the street lights. Must be seen to be believed!
- Attended a baptism at the Blackpool chapel.
- Ate proper fish and chips for dinner. Sooooo greasy!!
- Attended the Preston Ward for Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School. (Neal taught Gospel Principles with Elder Griffith).
- Drove to Wigan and attended Sacrament Meeting at the Wigan Ward.
- Drove into Manchester and walked around Piccadilly. The Piccadilly Gardens are very pretty!
- Drove past Old Trafford, where Manchester United plays.
- Drove into Stretford, where Neal served for awhile.
- Drove to Leigh and had dinner at the home of Dave & Allison. We had "Lobby", which is like a really thick stew. It's called Lobby, because they used to just lob in whatever they had leftover. Now they make it whenever they want. It was really good!
- Drove back to Chorley and visited Clifford and Mavis, Neal's "England Grandparents". I learned how to tell if the Union Jack is flying upside down. Good thing to know!!
- Checked out of Accomodation Centre and drove to Manchester to return the rental car
- Took the train to Edinburgh (changed trains in York)
- Arrived in Edinburgh and figured out how to get to our Bed & Breakfast
- Walked around the touristy stuff close to the Princes Street and the Royal Mile
- Ate dinner at "Mexican" food restaurant. Umm...they really don't know Mexican food in Scotland. Good effort, though! The food was good!
- I tried Haggis at breakfast. It's not so bad if you don't think about what it is. Kind of tastes like a meaty oatmeal with lots of pepper.
- Took the train to Inverness (Note: The Highlands look very similar to home.)
- Checked into our hotel in Inverness and walked around a couple of shops before catching the bus for our Loch Ness Tour
- 2 1/2 hour Loch Ness Tour, which included the history of Inverness and the Jacobites, a boat ride on Loch Ness, and a tour of Urquhart Castle. Did not see Nessie. I think she's shy.
- Back in Inverness, we walked around some more, including a beautiful river walk along the River Ness (and Ness Islands)
- It was soooooo cold, but Mom still wanted ice cream. Crazy talk!!
- At breakfast, I discover that porridge is AMAZING!!!! Love it!
- Train to Aberdeen and then to Edinburgh
- More shopping/sightseeing
- Dad and I went to Les Miserables at the Edinburgh Playhouse (A-MAY-ZING!!!!!) and Mom and Neal walked around some more
- Dad & Neal hiked Arthur's Seat really early (saw the sunrise up there!)
- Tour of Edinburgh Castle
- Shopping on the Royal Mile (including at a visit to a mill, where we actually got to watch them weave tartan!!)
- Took the train back to England
- Stopped in Preston and had dinner with Godfrey and Dot and got our luggage back.
- Train to Manchester (Had to stand up most of the way!!)
- Stayed at an actual hotel that night, but we had to have two rooms.
- Rearranged all of the luggage to that we could fit everything and keep Neal's suitcases under 50 pounds.
- Flew from Manchester to Philadelphia and then Philadelphia to Denver (11 ish hours in the air...such a long time!!!)
You're probably wondering where the pictures are. Well, they will be coming in a separate blog! One thing at a time! And the entire trip journal will be typed up eventually. I don't know that I'll publish it all like I did the NYC journal. But you never know!
2 comments:
What a cool trip! It sounds like an amazing time.
Thanks for sharing, Angela. I'm proud of Judy for driving. Barbara had to ride with me once when I drove over there. We drove around in circles for half an hour before we finally figured out how to get the gas pump on the correct side to pump some gas. Then, when I got back I had panic attacks trying to figure out which side of the road to drive on.
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