William Wallace, York and Shakespeare country

We have been on the move quite a bit over the past week and we haven't found much *cheap* access to the internet. I'll try to recap the major events. On our last day in Chester, I got some bad news from home- my 91 year old Grandmother had passed away. This follows literally one week behind the news that Andy's Grandfather had died. So we have been pretty sad over the news and the fact that we couldn't be home to attend either funeral.

We arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland in the early afternoon and we were in awe the whole time we were there. The city is absolutely magnificent. The castle is impressive, the streets are narrow and cobblestoned, there are lots of ghostly/haunted stories and dungeons to add to the mystique. We wish we had more time to spend there, it was probably our favorite city yet. We also got to take a day trip to Stirling, which is the famous Braveheart site of a battle between the national hero- William Wallace- and Edward I of England. There was a really big castle and a nice (extremely tall with 246 steps) monument to Scotland's favorite underdog.

On the way to York, Andy and I made a side trip to see the famous Roman feat of engineering- Hadrian's Wall. It was really awesome to see that a big wall has lasted almost 2000 years (minus the rocks stolen by locals to build their farm houses). I am continually impressed that the Romans were so advanced with their inventions of plumbing, central heating and masonry, but amazed that all that knowledge was never passed on to the Medival ages.

York was also the site of a famous Roman fort and still has evidence of Roman monuments and architecture all around the city. The main attractions in York is the York Minster, the huge cathedral and several museums dedicated to the area of York throughout the ages. It was a city that is worth at least three days, but we only had two to spend.

Today we are staying with some distant cousins named Cherylin and Steve Amborski. They live near Leiscter, England. They are an American couple that has been sent here by their company to work for a few years. They have been really wonderful to us, it is nice to see family while on the road. It is really a comfortable and lovely place to stay for a few days after all the hectic travelling we have been doing. They are taking us to see Stratford Upon Avon today (Shakespeare's home town) and perhaps Warwick Castle.

We head to London on Monday! We will have lots more to add then, I am sure!

Thanks for checking in!