17 07, 2017

Travel Missteps: The Determined Thief of Edinburgh

By |July 17th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Source I've written before before how my family used the "Hop on / Hop Off" busses in England to get around the cities a lot. But one of our last times on those sightseeing busses turned out to be the most eventful. As per usual, we got to the designated starting point early and claimed seats at the top. We had a wide choice of seats, the only other person on the top deck was two older women sitting together. I decided to sit halfway back, mainly because at this point in a 2 week trip I

5 06, 2017

Travel Missteps: Jorvik – “It’s just like Disneyland!”

By |June 5th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

"It's just like Disneyland!" my Mother said. "There are rides! And a museum!" That is how my mother (or her guidebook she was reading from) described York's Jorvik Viking Center. We were trying to find an activity that would fill up one of our days in York, and a theme park seemed like something great for my middle-school-aged sister and with me since I was still in high school. Plus, I did like museums, so that seemed like a win-win. A little background: Jorvik is the name given to the 9th and 10th century York when it was ruled by

21 11, 2016

Travel Missteps: Border Clans of Scotland

By |November 21st, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Our motto: "I remained Unvanquished". It is a rare privilege to be able to visit the homeland of your ancestors. I've been able to visit England, Ireland, and Scotland to see the countrysides of where they lived. I thought I new a lot about my Armstrong ancestors from going to the Scottish Military Tattoo Festival every year in Estes Park, CO. I knew our motto, what our crest and tartan looked like. I had learned the old story of how a warrior rescued his clan's King when he fell in battle, picking him up and getting him

24 10, 2016

Travel Missteps: The Dueling Grounds of Bath, England

By |October 24th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |1 Comment

Source I always was a strange kid. I loved reading about magic and ghosts, so when my family was in England I begged to do a ghost tour. My parents figured the poltergeist tours of London and Edinburg might be a little too intense for my sister and I, so instead my mother found a walking ghost tour of Bath. It was a fairly tame tour, starting out right before dusk and telling us the history of the town, from Roman times up to Victorian times. He told us about druids and ley lines, and how the

12 09, 2016

Travel Missteps: The Pickpocket

By |September 12th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments

The Paris Metro - efficient and beautifully decorated in Art Nouveau style and my first experience with Metros/Subways. It was also how I figured out I had an excellent sense of direction. I became the navigator for my family, directing us to the right Metro stops and platforms. But on our way to the department store, La Samaritaine, something strange happened. A woman and a young boy were standing close to us on the Metro. I didn't pay them much mind, until I notice the boy was coughing a lot. I actually moved a bit away from them. The woman then said in

9 05, 2016

Travel Missteps: Not the Hogwarts Express

By |May 9th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

England had some pretty disappointing train trips. I traveled there in the summer of 2002. I remember being a Senior in high school, and dashing through Kings Cross station late at night, to try to catch a glimpse of the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Why? Because I wanted to act out and take a photo pretending to gain access to Platform 9 3/4! Imagine my surprise and disappointment to find that platform 9 and 10 are in separate areas! (Now they actually have a photo op elsewhere in the station, but it was dark times for early fans.) So,

11 04, 2016

Travel Missteps: Part of the Family

By |April 11th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |1 Comment

As I mentioned perviously, my first trip abroad we didn’t have a watch, and so our eating schedules were off. We’d eat breakfast at noon, and then get hungry for dinner around midnight. On our second trip abroad, this time to England & Scotland we made sure to plan mealtimes better. After spending the day wandering York and taking in sights, like The Shambles and York Minster, we were hungry. So we happened upon a small homey restaurant near dinnertime we stepped in and took a seat. The owners, a cute old couple, were regaling friends with stories and laughter.

20 02, 2016

Souvenir Saturday: Scottie Dog Plush

By |February 20th, 2016|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

This little scottie dog is directly from Edinburgh, Scotland and plays "Scotland the Brave". I've had it for so long I don't even remember where I bought it. Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.

13 06, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: Eiffel Tower

By |June 13th, 2015|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments

A trip to Paris isn't complete without a visit to the Eiffel Tower. I remember taking an elevator up to the main section. Back then it had a little shop and post office. I bought postcards there, and took photos on old film cameras, and climbed a bit higher. The Eiffel Tower is also an amazing sight from the ground. I remember walking around the wide boulevards and taking a cruise down the river Seine while looking up at it. One thing I didn't do right away was buy a kitchy Eiffel Tower. They were sold everywhere but seemed a bit

4 04, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: Bagpipe Practice Chanter

By |April 4th, 2015|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

I grew up learning to play many instruments from piano, drums, guitar, and the clarinet.  Which is probably why this Practice Chanter to help learn how to play Bagpipes caught my eye in Scotland. Scottish Bagpipe Practice Chanter I bought it right after seeing Edinburgh Military Tattoo right outside Edinburgh Castle. It is a double reed instrument that feels like a cross between a clarinet and a recorder. But the sound is much closer to a Bagpipe/recorder hybrid. This particular Chanter...is very cheap. It is hard to play the notes, and the reed isn't the best quality. But