Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh castle is more than just a castle, it's a fortress as well, that sits atop the volcanic Castle Rock. There has been a Royal Castle here since the 12th Century and was a residence until the Scottish and English crowns united when King James I (James VI, King of Scots) seceded to the thrown after his cousin Queen Elizabeth I died and left no heirs.

It's the second most popular visitor attraction in Scotland and we arrived early on our first full day. You can tour the castle grounds with an audio-guide, see the Scottish Crown Jewels.

This is Portcullis Gate, the entrance to the Middle Ward.

Notice the rock on the right side of the photo, it's a formidable force, try climbimg that to conquer the castle!There is also a large prison on site and where several prisoners of the American War of Independence.

This amazing building is the Scottish National War Memorial and was amazing inside, unfortunately no photography was allowed.

Below is the Pet Cemetary, the soliders pets get a place of honor!
And the One o'Clock Gun, which is fired like the name says at One o'Clock everyday except Sunday. They joke it's at one not any other time, to save artillery and money!

Looking back through my pictures to share with you, there was a lot more to see that for some reason I didn't have photos of, whether they weren't allowed or I was avoiding the rain, wind, or mobs of people! But there is the royal palace,National War Museum of Scotland, St. Margaret's Chapel, Mons Meg, the Great Hall, and more! If you're there in August you can purchase tickets for the famous Royal Military Tattoo, which takes place just out front.

Edinburgh, Scotland

On one of the holiday weekends we've had we made our way up to Edinburgh, Scotland for a three day holiday. I'm going to do Scotland in a few different posts because we did and saw a lot of things I want to share with you.

First post is going to be some of the scenic pictures from around the town. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and is on the coast and the Firth of Forth. It still has a lot of their original medieval and Georgian architecture, which makes for one of the most picturesque towns I've seen in Europe.

Edinburgh CastleThe view down the royal mile.

Old town on the right.

New Town, which is still 18th century.

View from Edinburgh Castle over New Town.

Flowers, Flowers, and more Flowers

When my mother was here visiting, one of the top things on her list was something she read about in the 1,000 Places to See Before You Die book she had.

The RHS Chelsea Flower show, it's a show that's held for 5 days in May ever year and has been taking place in some form since 1862. It attracts 157,000 visitors every year, including the Queen.

The main focus is the show gardens which are usually designed by leading garden names. This is all a little over my head, but I know that what I saw was very pretty and I wouldn't mind having a garden that looks like some of these.

Here are a few of my favorites.
Yes this is a full size lock in a garden!

This one has to be my favorite.

Bling, Bling!!

They also sell bulbs and other gardening things in the center tent, here was a tulip display.

Can you spot my mom and myself in the reflection in this garden?

I'll take the pool in this garden, notice the grill on the right, the seats inside the pool and the champagne cooler at the foot of the stairs!

I was amazed I got as many pictures as I did without the swarms of crowds in the pictures and we got there right when the gates opened! It's a very popular event, so if your willing to drop the money on an expensive ticket, book yours for next year now!

Castle Combe

Castle Combe is one of my favorite towns I've ever been to and it has a certain look that has stayed with me since the first time I saw it when I was no more than 8 or 9. Thankfully I've been back three times; once in high school, and now twice since we've been here.

There aren't museums, castles, or even tons of restaurants to visit, but it's one of the oldest and most well preserved villages in England and was one time voted the prettiest. There is a small church and can be overrun with busloads of tourists if that lets you know anything about how pretty it is?

I'll let the pictures do the talking now.

Wimbledon 2010

Getting the chance to be in London during not only the World Cup when the Brutish band together to cheer on their team (until they stop winning) has been a great experience, and the only thing that could maybe top that is getting to watch a British original the Wimbledon Championships.

Just a 40 minute tube ride and a 5 minute bus ride or 10 minute walk to the All England Club gets you to the site of the Wimbledon Championships.

From there as a 'non-ticket holder' you have to Queue for the right to purchase a ground pass.

Camron, his coworker Kim and myself went in the evening on Day 10 just after they left work. Ticket holders mind you receive their tickets the summer before after entering a lottery system. In the Queue you get a Queue Card and continue on to the ticket office. At a more popular time on a more popular day, you are likely to wait in this line for hours but we were lucky and

On to the gate entrance and to purchase our Grounds Only pass.

We explored the grounds, saw the beautiful flowers, the grass courts that are open seating and have smaller games going on. The hill where us groundlings can camp out and watch what's going on in the three main courts, Cantre, No1 and No2.

But we decided to try our luck at the ticket re-sell box and see if there were open seats to be had. When ticket holders leave for the day they'll turn their tickets in and the Wimbledon staff then re-sell them for 5 pounds and the money goes to charity. We got lucky with again no wait and tickets to Centre Court. We were in the second row with great view of the action!

And we got to watch the men's pairs quarter finals, the winners of this match actually went on to play for the men's pairs final, but sadly didn't win.

After the match was finished we learned we'd be lucky enough to see a second match, but first we had to take part in Wimbledon traditions from the food and drink stalls.
We skipped the champagne to save some money, but were happy to partake in another traditional drink Pimm's and Lemonade. And of course strawberries and creme!Back inside Centre court to see a Women's invitational game featuring Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis.

These ladies were a joy to watch as you could tell they were having lots of fun. Over all a great experience and I'm glad we went!

The Queen's House (one of them at least...)

copyright: DAVID ILIFF , wikipedia

Windsor Castle is one of many principle residents of the Queen of England, but it's probably the one most frequently stayed in by her Majesty. It's just a short hour train ride outside of London and a great side trip if you have the time.

It's also the largest castle that's lived in today and the oldest part dates back to William the Conqueror.

The majority of the area you get to tour is the grounds and the State Apartments. Which are the entertaining areas of the castle when she has state dignitaries or balls she's hosting. Those areas are in the buildings in this picture. Unfortunately I couldn't take pictures inside for you!The round tower in the middle of the picture is the original part built of the castle and is on an artificial mound. By looking at the top of that tower you can see a flag.

And that flag will help you figure out if the Queen is home that day. This flag which is her standard indicates that she was there on our visit that day. If not the Union Jack will be flying.

I don't know why but I love all their lights with their fancy colors and decorations...I wonder if these would look good in front of our condo?Some of the beautiful gardens that are at the base of the round tower. The British certainly know how to garden!St. George's Chapel is also on the premises and is the main place of worship at the Castle. It's also home to the Order of the Garter which is the principle order of Knights for which people like Prince William, Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill have been or are members.

This is also the burial place for many royals, such as the current Queen's parents King George and the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother; King Henry VIII and one of his wives Jane Seymour among others.