The North

We took a fantastic road trip with my brother Mike and his wife Melissa while they were here. It was so much fun! We began in York with the beautiful York Minster.

Then we headed north to visit Barter Books in Alnwick. It's apparently one of the 20 most beautiful bookstores in the world. It's in an old Victorian train station and very cute.

It also claims fame for the discovery of the now-ubiquitous KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON posters. The original hangs on the wall above the till, near the place where a train circles overhead above the shelves.

We caught glimpses of Alnwick Castle as we were leaving town to head further north to Edinburgh.

Art, history and more

This should probably be 3 different posts, but what can I say--we had a really busy week, and we did lots of fun (but unrelated) things. Here goes...

In Ipswich this week we came upon a few exhibits of the Ipswich Arts Festival, or Ip-art as they call it. For example, this chainsaw artist (below) makes his sculptures from trunks of actual trees. This sculpture was incredible; the links in the chain all move just like a real chain. And it was made from one piece of wood (a tree trunk) with a chainsaw! The same artist also did the sculpture Nick is admiring above.

In York we enjoyed the York Castle Museum. We're probably not related to this Joseph Terry (if we are, it's not a direct link), but he did something extremely important in York in the 1700s: he operated the candy shop! You might recognize the Terry name from Terry's chocolate oranges, which we still eat (and enjoy) today.

We also enjoyed the Sixties room in the Museum. Here's a photo of me in the 'mod pod' chair.

We went to London and visited the Tower of London. We enjoyed the over-the-top, amazing Crown Jewels. (Unfortunately, photography wasn't permitted, but you can click on the link.) We got to take a tour led by one of the famous Yeoman Warders (Beefeaters). And did you know that Beefeaters and their families, as well as a few others, live within the Tower of London walls? (I'd like to know where they park.) They even have a guard in front of their houses (I also captured one of the famous Tower of London ravens in this photo).

Also at the Tower of London was this set of armor. Apparently the wearer felt he needed extra protection...

We went to the Tate Modern museum in London where we saw works by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Claude Monet, Max Ernst and many more. Here's a colorful Matisse to whet your modern art appetite.

In love with Scotland!

We're extremely excited to have Jacob's brother Joel and his wife Emily here for a visit. Last Friday morning we drove to Scotland and had a wonderful weekend there. We can't wait to get back to that beautiful country, and we're already talking about what we want to do next time we're there! (We're pictured above with a beautiful Scottish Highland vista in the background.)

We started in Glasgow Friday night where we visited the Kelvingrove Museum (in the photo above). I had always wanted to see the Salvador Dali painting "Christ of St. John of the Cross," and it didn't disappoint. We were also amazed to see a Monet, several Renoirs, a Degas, and many other works by renowned artists. We then ate an incredible meal at a local pub.

Saturday we spent the day in Edinburgh, and I can definitely speak for all 4 of us that we absolutely loved Edinburgh! We visited The Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is the Queen's official residence in Scotland. We were impressed by its beauty and magnificence, and we also enjoyed the historical stories of past royal figures.

Another highlight of Edinburgh was a place called Chocolate Soup (recommended by Emily when she visited Edinburgh in high school). We ordered some shortbread and scones, which we dipped in our "chocolate shots." If only I could convey how delicious that chocolate was! I think this photo of Jacob licking every last drop from the cup reflects the sentiment. The scones and shortbread were tasty too, but we could have dipped anything in that chocolate and it would have been amazing.

Sunday we drove to Loch Ness. The drive was breathtaking! We enjoyed our visit to Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness. We've reviewed all the photos we took there, and we never spotted Nessie in the water. It's quite a large lake, so she was probably in other regions...

On our way home Monday we stopped in York. We visited the York Minster, which is both a minster and a cathedral. We also enjoyed walking along the city walls. York has more miles of intact city walls than anywhere else in England. Some sections of the wall are as old as Roman times. We also enjoyed a great pub meal in York, complete with Yorkshire pudding! We hope you enjoy the photos!

(in Edinburgh)

(The ruins of Holyrood Chapel, adjacent to the Palace of Holyrood House. The plan was to pose as if we were entombed there--with our eyes closed. That's why my eyes are closed. Ask Jacob why his are open!)

(Jacob drinking from Loch Ness. We had plenty of water; he just wanted to drink from Loch Ness.)

(Part of the massive York Minster)

(An adorable street in York.)

(A half-devoured giant Yorkshire Pudding. Yum!)

(Joel & Emily at Urquhart Castle)