Groeten van de moederland

Groeten voor allemaal van de land van kaas en klompen, van windmolen en kanaals, van speculaas en all sorts of other yummy goodies...
We are now safely in the bosom of our family in the Netherlands after traipsing all over England and visiting the City of Lights. We muchly enjoyed our time in the British Isles having seen so much and having no idea that it was such a fascinating country with so much diversity and variety. I truly loved the countryside and the people and the history... oooh the history. I love knowing about the past and where we have come from as people and maybe giving us clues as to where we're going and what we would be like when history repeats itself as it does inevitably. Oh, boy, i'm now rambling which isn't so great cause i'm not sure where these thoughts will go. I'll stick a few pics in here from random things that we saw or did, in no particular order or style.

Lauren enjoying bangers and mash

Mr. Darcy (no further explanation required)

La Tour Eiffel said with a most appropriate french accent!

Okay, i'll stop with the pictures now... you'll most likely see some when we arrive home in just under a week... time has flown by but has also been good. I haven't missed home uproariously since i've had "home"with me for the last three weeks in the personage of my sister. It's been great to travel with her and share so many things with her and see her enjoying the whole travel experience. We've gotten along well (for the most part, she does like to hog the bed at night, a propensity i knew about from Quebec City last year!) and i've enjoyed having her unique perspectives on things and we've shared a lot of stupid little jokes between us... she being the Alpha Pigeon and the subject of a random spontaneous rap song, me being able to speak "sheep" and other such inanities. It truly has been fun. So now we just slow down a little, turn the intensity gauge down to a lower gear and enjoy family time - it's so nice to know we have aunts and uncles and cousins here, and to renew their acquaintances. I'm always envious of those with large families around them. So for now, tot ziens, fijne daag en ook Hartelijk Gefeliciteerd to my parents who are celebrating their anniversary on this fine day. Greetings to you all.

Enjoying the sun in Lyme Regis

I,m gonna be an aunt!!!!!

Hello all:::typing on a french keyboard is definitely an adventure::: keys are all mixed up and i;m totally mixed up in my letters so please forgive any mistakes::: Anyways, now that my dear sistern and brother in law have at last broken their news and their silence; i am priveledged and excited to announce that i am going to be an AUNT!!!! Am i excited or what!!!! More details to follow once i reach the home shores!!! hope you are all well; we,re off to Holland tomorrow arvo!

In a big English townie...

Greetings all from the huge and bustling city of London... yep, it's true, we've made it all the way from Edinburgh, Scotland to the great town of London. We haven't managed to run anyone over... we haven't managed to break any rules or get any speeding tickets or to transgress any other laws or statutes (as far as we know!)
I apologize greatly for the lack of updates on this site... internet access has been scarce, one hostel says the computers are broken, then we have no time to use it, then someone else is using the computer and so forth... but such is life and here i am at long last... for all my faithful blog readers.
I'm gonna make this short and sweet since time is a ticking away and time costs pounds and pounds (whilst i would like dearly to shed some -a near impossibility on a steady english diet of bacon and pastries!) are expensive.
I think i'll just summarize the last few days.... they've been busy, but thoroughly enjoying for most parts....
hmmm... i forget when i last updates... possibly sometime last week... maybe friday....
- saturday we hiked from Bakewell to Chatsworth House - where the latest movie of Pride and Prejudice was filmed... quite a hike in the rain and muck... but well worth it...
- Sunday we went to church at a local Brethren of Christ church... the people were super welcoming and we enjoyed the service very much... we then drove to Stow on the Wold in the Cotswolds.... stopping here and there along he way for sites... and breaks...
- Monday we were also in Stow on the Wold... but we drove to Stratford and spent the mornign and early afternoon there... we took in the sites of the town... including Shakespeare's burial spot and then drove aroudn the Cotswolds int he afternoon... returning to Stratford at night for a play - King Lear with Sir Ian Mackellan in the lead role (aka Gandalf from LOTR!!!!) That was amazing and we were so glad we did that.
- Tuesday we left the Cotswolds behind us and headed for hhmmm... i seem to be having memory blanks... hmmm... maybe yes, i think so, we went to Bath for the day and looked aroudn there heading to AVebury at night spending the night in a B+B and wandering aroudn the ancient standing stones at night... kinda creepy but cool!!!
- Wednesday hmmm.... we headed for Glastonbury and saw the abbey there in ruins and spent the night in a bit of a dodgy hostel... with a streethlight outside our window, moldy showers, creaky bed and lots of hippies...
- thursday we headed for the coast and an area called Lyme REgis - i'd highly recommend that. It was amazing, check it out on the web somewhere... amazing coastlines, fossils, cute houses, narrow roads and a most wonderful B+B
- Friday we collected fossils int he morning and headed for Oxford in the afternoon - quite a long drive but we made it... but we stayed int he worst hostel ever... self proclaimed as funky, it was a disaster... two little girls staying in a dorm with six sloppy boys... crazy!!!
- saturday we shifted house to a better hostel and spent a much nicer night... we wandered all over the town seeing colleges and graduates in long robes and having a grand old time in the old town, particularly amusing to watch all the kids going out to party at night in their skimpy clothes and crazy shoes and we were safely ensconsed in a restaurant with a glass of apple juice, ever the party chicks.
- sunday, today, we worshippped in the Baptist Church in Oxford with a very welcoming crowd... then wandered through town to watch the rowing and then headed on the bus to London...
So a very full week... lots done and seen but enjoyed immensely...
we miss you all and hope you are all well
Until we meet again....
(all typed in a snooty english accent of course!!!)

In a wee English townie

In a wee English townie, there were two wee lassies... well, maybe not so wee, but truly bonnie... And these two lassies were on a grand adventure, traipsing around england in a little conveyance benamed a Kia Carena which was a very valiant steed. It brought our lassies near and far, up hill and dale and across moorland and fells. They thoroughly enjoyed Edinburgh town mingling with the local Scots and struggling to roll their r's and eat haggis and fend off the highland cows who tried to lick their faces. They went up to Loch Ness where sadly they did not spot the elusive Nessie... but did have fun in the rain. Rain, yes, rain, seemingly an ever-present phenomenon in the UK. But thankfully there have been no steady days of rain, mostly periods where it's sunny, then windy, then rainy, then sunny... so the lasses are prepared for all types of weather.
They are currently residing in the small town of Bakewell in Derbyshire in a little youth hostel. They are also super hungry as they haven't eaten for several hours.. and will shortly be going in search of sustenance for their weary bodies having traipsed over moorlands and seen amazing vistas and narrowly missed many other travellers on the narrow roads.
Where have they all been and done???
- passed over the English/Scottish borderlands.. amazing sweeping views and a yummy chicken burger.
- walked alongside Hadrian's Wall and stayed in a very cozy bed and breakfast near the Roman fort of Housesteads...they ran around the grounds quoting things to each other in Latin - veni, vidi, vici... and morituri te salutimi.... and such... perhaps the ghosts of the Roman soldiers were listening.
- spending the night in the Lake District at a place called Grasmere.. the most amazing youth hostel they had ever seen! Looked like a castle... trekked up in the hills, saw a waterfall and spoke some 'sheep'.
- drove over the Yorkshire Dales and James Herriot country... who knew England was ever so big!!
- spend two nights with friends of friends in Yeadon... they were so welcoming and friendly... the lasses thoroughly enjoyed their time there
- climbing something each day... hills, steps, church towers.
- going into a cave with Blue John mining and experiencing total darkness!!!!
- exploring the medieval town of York and attending Evensong in the York Minster
and so much more... hard to remember it all... it's been a dazzling near week and the lasses are indeed tired but very happy.... they send their love to everyone at home!!!

Och... we're in Edinburgh

Greetings from dearest old Edinburgh... Och, it's beautiful here. The weather was on and off cloudy today and sunny at times and we are both thoroughly exhausted. We enjoyed a wonderful luxury flight from Hamilton to Edinburgh via Globespan and were by some little fluke, bumped up to business class. Well, i could sure get used to that idea... we enjoyed real cutlery, ceramic dishes, gourmet food and our own blankets and pillows along with lots more seating room than normal... nothing to sneeze at. We were soon whisked off to Edinburgh and landed at 830 am and were immediately helped out by some friendly Scots who guided our poor lost travellers to their hostel via the bus. Yep, a double decker bus!!! We sat in the front and had near heart attacks at the tenacity and fierceness of our driver. We were sure we would run over some poor soul but somehow we managed to arrive safely. We checked our bags at the hostel and then spent the entire day walking!!!! We saw Edinburgh Castle, toured it and heard the gun being shot off and saw the prisons and such. We walked the Royal Mile, saw the church where jOHN knox preached and then promptly proceeded to climb a mountain, literally. Yep our two unfit ladies climbed the rock known as Arthur's seat. The views were simply amazing. And if that weren't enough, we climbed another mountain/mound thing in the centre of the town and then finally our energy flagged. We bought some groceries and partook of a delectable and welcome supper of buns, chicken, fresh juice and pineapple... all costing an arm and a leg to be sure. We are now just doing a little update before heading off for a very welcome shower and sleep... on to the Highlands tomorrow!