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Since then, we’ve had a couple weekends in Aviemore, where we checked out all the wildlife at the Highland Wildlife Park (especially the gorgeous tiger cubs and red pandas) and hung out in the cake shop (eating cake, drinking tea and watching loads of birds and red squirrels help themselves to birdfood; what’s not to like?).

Iff ran/walked a 10K in Aberdeen:


And I abseiled off the Forth rail bridge to raise some money for Edinburgh Zoo but also to get to abseil off the Forth rail bridge! It was genius:

UK again March 2010

Next up: March 2010. The weekend after Iff’s birthday, we went back down to England. On our way we had a night in Edinburgh, including lovely food at our favourite veggie restaurants. Then we got the train to London for a visit with Nick, Sarah and Wills. Wills is not so wee anymore! And he’s walking!!! We loved seeing all of them. We then spent a night in Cambridge, where we got to see Lib and James. We managed a wee trip to a local RSPB area, where we saw some birds (sorry, James, can’t remember which ones!) and deer. Then it was back to London, where we didn’t manage to meet up with Mary but did manage to catch a bus to Cardiff. Never again! It was a lot cheaper than the train to Cardiff, but the bus broke down when we were so close to Cardiff we could smell the daffs. A strip of metal was hanging off the bus, and the driver couldn’t do anything with it. We had to wait for about an hour on the side of the highway for a mechanic to come and saw the strip off. We were awfully relieved when we finally arrived in Cardiff.

Cardiff was lovely; we really enjoyed it. The hostel wasn’t the greatest experience, but we spent as little time in it as possible. We explored the whole city, taking in the castle and even a bus tour. (They have the second largest John Lewis in the UK, second only to London! And don’t you forget it!) We ate more than once at an amazing vegetarian restaurant with the most extensive menu I’ve ever seen. And we caught up on movies, taking advantage of the huge cinemas there. Loved it.

We took a day trip to Lydney Park, an estate not far away from Cardiff. It boasts some Roman ruins of a temple dedicated to the god Nodens. Chris (being a Noden) and I (having married a Noden) had been curious about this place for quite some time, and it was great to go there at last. It’s a large estate full of beautiful gardens and the ruins themselves. We went straight to the ruins and checked out the remains of the temple, bath house and guest house. The ruins aren’t built up at all, but there are signs to tell a bit about them. The thinking is that Nodens was revered as a god of healing in this place, and it’s believed that many visitors made pilgrimage to the temple for that reason.

We then wandered through the gardens, having been told that most of the flowers weren’t yet in bloom but we could see “the rhododendron”. (Only one?) We were pleasantly surprised to find more than just one rhododendron in bloom. There were various flowers in bloom and lots of bright colours to enjoy. We soaked it all up. We then explored the wee museum full of interesting bits and pieces from the ruins and elsewhere, and we had some tea and cake in the estate’s tearoom. We also had a nice walk to and from the estate and the train station in Lydney. All in all, it was an excellent day.

The next day we went from Cardiff to Bath, one of our favourite spots. We had lunch at Demuths, one of our favourite vegetarian restaurants, and wandered around absorbing the wonderful Bath atmosphere. Iff drank the nasty Bath water, as he always does. We then headed back to London. We only had the one night left there, but we managed to fit in a play, the very entertaining “The Little Dog Laughed”. As we left the theatre, someone famous was getting photographed as she got into a fancy car, but we still don’t know who it was!

The next day we got a train back to Aberdeen. We got back in time for Easter weekend, which we spent at the Hill. Lovely!

Orkney in December/January

In December 2009, we had a lovely Christmas at the Hill with the whole Noden clan. Then we spent a week in lovely, snow-topped Orkney. The ferry to Orkney was a hoot. I felt a bit queasy getting onto the thing but didn’t think much of it. When I got sick (very, very sick) repeatedly on the ferry, I figured it was travel sickness. The travel sickness pills wouldn’t stay down, which didn’t help. I’ve never been so happy to see solid ground than when we arrived in Kirkwall. We were only on that ferry for six hours, but they were hellish hours.

It turned out that I had some kind of stomach bug (not just travel sickness after all), and it lasted for most of our time on the island. We didn’t do all the hiking we’d anticipated, but we still managed to see the sights. Kirkwall itself was lovely with an amazing hostel. We walked all over the town and visited the gorgeous Italian chapel nearby. We then spent a few days in Stromness. On our way there, we stopped in at Maeshowe, a wonderfully ancient tomb which features Roman graffiti and from which various standing stones can be seen. After our visit, it turned out it would be quite a while before the next bus would pass by, and we were so grateful when the shop attendant offered us a lift the rest of the way to Stromness. Talk about island hospitality! He even gave us the local history and gossip along the way. I was utterly charmed.

We got out at Stromness, thanked our driver profusely and at length managed to find the cottage we’d rented. It was amazing, so luxurious and even featuring a real fireplace. I should mention it was absolutely baltic up there. In a way I was glad for the excuse not to hike! We were mostly lazy in Stromness, just enjoying the cosy cottage. It was in Stromness that we rang in the new year. It’s only a small town, but seemingly most of its inhabitants were out for Hogmanay. There was a band of pipers which marched up the main street and fireworks once the clock struck midnight. It was low-key, and we loved it. Chris even managed to share his whisky flask with another out-of-towner.

On New Year’s day, we ventured back to Kirkwall (spying some inquisitive seals on our way) for the ba’. It’s a crazy game of street rugby in which the local men and boys take part each Christmas and New Year’s day. Pretty much every shop and residence in the town has strong boards across the windows on the street for when the ba’ players (uppies and doonies) crash into them. We’re talking about massive teams vying against each other for the ba’, which they have to take all the way across town in order to win the game. It’s hotly contested each time, and they get into it seriously enough for people to get hurt (including bystanders who get in the way). There are two games, one each for the men and boys. The boys started in the morning and hadn’t even quite finished when the men began in the afternoon. There were dozens of men/boys on each team but hundreds of us spectators. There would be periods of inactivity when the teams (and the ba’) were at an impasse, during which times we spectators would amuse ourselves and then have to run out of the way when the ba’ suddenly was on the move yet again. We loved it all; it was such a fab thing to experience. The uppies and doonies really get into it (players and spectators), but we just cheered for everyone.

We then had a couple more days in Stromness before we got the ferry from there to Scrabster on mainland Scotland. From there we caught a local bus to Thurso, from where we’d booked a train back to Aberdeen. It turned out that the trains were cancelled, though, due to the heavy snow. And we just missed a van that the train company chartered to take some people (like us) who’d booked the train. It was so cold, and we (along with dozens of other people who eventually showed up too) just had to wait outside the train station for a few hours until more vans arrived. We elbowed our way onto one of them (how quickly the orderly queue disappeared once the vans arrived!) and made our slow way nearly to Aberdeen. We wound up getting out at a train station where we were able to get onto a train which was running. It took us to Inverness, where we had an hour or so to kill before we got another train to Aberdeen. We wound up getting out at Dyce and having a lovely visit at the Hill before heading home. What an amazing week!

USA in November 2009

In November 2009, we had a couple weeks in the US. We caved in and booked flights for it, although we only flew to and from London and got trains between here and there. There were two reasons we went at that time: my dad’s 70th birthday and our niece’s 2nd birthday (on the same day). We flew to Seattle, where we met up with the rest of the Thompson clan for a few days of hanging out. I was thrilled to meet wee Ian, our nephew, and attend his christening. He’s gorgeous! We celebrated my dad’s and Kirsten’s birthdays a bit early and headed to Houston the day before Thanksgiving.

We spent a few days in Houston, celebrating Thanksgiving with my aunt, visiting Nadine and family, celebrating my dad’s actual birthday and generally making pigs of ourselves (compulsory in the US). Then we hitched a ride to San Antonio with Ross and were completely lazy in his flat for a few days. It was awesome. We watched movies, played Tetris and were complete layabouts. Loved it! I didn’t want to leave, but eventually we got a bus back to Houston. We flew back to London from there and caught a train back home to Aberdeen. Vacations fly by far too quickly!

UK in July/August 2009

Right, catching up on the blog, starting with July 2009 (feels like yesterday!)…

For our 11th anniversary, we decided to visit some Nodens in England and also check out the recently released beavers in Scotland. We got the overnight train to London then headed over to Cambridge. We stayed there a couple nights and had a lovely time with the Leebster and Jim. Then it was back to London to hang with Nick, Sarah and wee Wills. Wills is absolutely gorgeous, and it was hard to leave again!

But we wanted to make a side trip to Canterbury, where Chris hadn’t been before. We just had one night there, but it was fab. We visited the cathedral (for free during a church service!) as well as the much smaller but very lovely church Sarah’s parents got married in, and we explored the remnants of the city walls and castle. It’s a great place to roam around and soak in the history. It also has some lovely veggie cafes, and the hostel there is ace. We were sorry to leave so soon, but we consoled ourselves by seeing the hilarious "39 Steps" in London.

It was then time for the Scottish part of our trip. We wound up in Glasgow, where we rented a car. We headed over to Kilmartin for a few days in beaver country. In nearby Knapdale Forest, some beavers have been reintroduced to Scotland as part of a trial. We were delighted to spot one swimming around and grabbing at some branches hanging over the water. We were also delighted with our B&B, which has some wild pine martens who visit for food. We got to roll grapes to them, but I did cringe when the gorgeous homemade cootie dumpling got offered to them as well! The food at this B&B rocked, as did the food at the local pub and in a posher place in the village. We also enjoyed walking around the area. There were even some standing stones in a field near the B&B. Very cool.

We headed back to Aberdeen all too soon and normal life resumed. Fast forward to October 2009, when we nipped back down for a long weekend in Cambridge and some quality time with the Leebster and Jim. We just can’t seem to stay away from that part of the UK.