Parental Visitation

At the beginning of April, my mom and dad visited us here in Scotland. They arrived on Easter Sunday and what a lovely moment it was to see them in the flesh at the airport! It’s about an hour from the airport to our flat via bus and taxi so when I was finally able to open the door and show off our home, it was so proud. I treated them to my new speciality - homemade creamy potato and leek soup while we caught up. I made a big Easter ham dinner and they got their first taste of sticky toffee pudding this side of the Atlantic. They were troopers and made it until Brandon got home from work and then collapsed into bed.

We spent the following week and a half touring around the city and area. I was lucky enough to have all of the first week off work so I played tour guide and made sure they saw all the things that have become important to us. We went to Rosslyn Chapel, South Queensferry, toured the South Bridge vaults and Mary King’s Close, Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh Castle, St. Giles Cathedral, Gladstone’s Land, Craigmillar Castle, and all of our local haunts as well. We spent lots of time up on the Royal Mile exploring closes and tiny shops and put a lot of miles by foot. They went on their own to the Botanic Gardens and on a Hairy Coo Adventures mini bus tour on the days that we both had to work and on one spectacular afternoon I got to try on wedding dresses! I won’t spill the beans about how my favourites looked, or about which one of the three of us (Mom, Dad and I) cried when I put on dress number three!

One highlight was the day all four of us went to North Berwick and Tantallon Castle. We took the train to North Berwick and wandered around a bit to find out way to where we thought we could catch a bus to the castle. Along the way, we stopped in at a little church and like tends to happen to Brandon and I, we ended up chatting with two little old ladies who insisted on giving us a tour of the whole place. They were very sweet and told us everything about the recent renovation of the church - including the tiny little toilet in the children’s room! We eventually found our way to where we would get the bus but found out it only runs once every couple of hours. The lady at the tourism centre said we could walk out there, but it was a few miles and it was starting to rain. So Brandon saved the day and found us a taxi and we were soon zooming out of town towards the coastline and Tantallon Castle.

Tantallon Castle view as you come up the path. This was at the end of our day - when we got there it was pouring rain.

This is a view of the castle around the side. Also a nice  view of the raindrops on my lens!

This was by far the most impressive castle ruin Brandon and I have seen yet, and my parents were awe struck too. A stronghold situated on a cliff overlooking the rough and forbidding coastline of the Firth of Forth, Tantallon was the seat of the Earls of Douglas, one of Scotland’s most powerful families dating from the 14^th century. We ate our picnic lunch rather fittingly in the remains of what was once the kitchen with waves crashing into the rocks far below us.

In the distance is Bass Rock. The white you see it covered with is actually all birds.

And, well, bird poop. 15,000 birds worth of poop.

View of the coastline from inside the castle walls.

On the right, just under the first of the three points, is where we ate lunch in the former kitchen.

What's left of the centre, main entrance tower.

We spent a lot of time here exploring all the passages and climbing the spiral stairs of the towers. Up at the very top you can see for miles - both out to sea and also inland over farms in the other direction. When we got back into town we wandered up the high street for a while and then spent some time on the beach. It was hilarious to watch my mom and Brandon running away from the waves as they made their way over the rocks!

Where we played on the beach.

Mom and Brandon, just before they had to turn and run away from a wave!

This is a statue of a golfer, but as we came upon it from the back side, we

thought it appropriate to make fun of what it looked like he was really doing!

That night we made a version of my family’s favourite enchiladas in honour of Brandon’s birthday and we had birthday cake too with candles for both him and me.

A few days later, all four of us headed out on the train again, this time for York. We shared the family room at a little guest house close to the river and had a fabulous time. It rained and rained and rained the whole time, but we tried to make the best of it and saw as much as we could. After we got settled into our room, we headed out to find the Minster and found ourselves walking through the Museum Gardens. It’s a lovely park with ruins of a former church within it as well.

A former Abbey in the Museum Gardens.

A rather magical little spot.

A rainy York street.

Gorgeous architecture.

Where we ate lunch...fresh carved pork and turkey for sandwiches. Yum!

We wandered through streets full of little shops and found the Shambles street and came across the Minster where we spent the next few hours. I’d been there before, years ago when Colin and I took our bus tour of Scotland and England. But I enjoyed it just as much if not more this time. It’s bright and wide open and the carved decoration on every surface is stunning. One wall is covered in carvings of angels playing all sorts of instruments and encircling the Chapter House there are faces looking down from above all the seats.

This ceiling has been featured in many movies. It's often passed off as Westminster Abbey.

Brandon and I climbed to the top of this tower.

Funny little green man carving.

The round window at the top is very famous and very important. It commemorates the end of the War of the Roses - a union of the houses of Lancaster and York. The union of the families produced the Tudor line who ruled England for more than 100 years. 

Stone carved angel musicians.

A few of the faces in the Chapter House.

Brandon and I paid a little extra and climbed the 275 steps to the top of the tower. We were a little worried about how all the signs said we had to be fit enough to do it within 10 minutes, but we did it anyway and hurried a little bit. The do it that way so that there is only traffic moving one direction on the stairs. They’re too narrow, and in some places too steep for two people to pass each other. It was pretty cool up there. On a clear day I’m sure you could see the whole of York. We didn’t stay up for very long though because it was freezing and raining and the wind was blowing pretty hard.

Half way up!

View from the top.

Back at the bottom we found my parents again and when we left we split up for a bit. They went back to the guesthouse to warm up and dry out and Brandon and I went to the Railway Museum. It was a great place! There are loads of engines to see and though we couldn’t go through all of them, we could see in the windows of all sorts of fancy people moving cars. There was a super high speed engine from Japan and one of the historic Flying Scotsman engines as well. Sheldon from Big Bang Theory would’ve been in heaven!

The Flying Scotsman - the name given to the trains that ran the historic route between Edinburgh and London since 1862.

A massive model train set.

The Hogwarts Express!

We had a really nice dinner at a pub and then took a ride on the Eye of York - an oversized Ferris wheel that took us around three times and told us all about the city. We wandered around town for a bit and then made our way back to the guesthouse for an early bed time for all.

The Shambles street at night.

One of the crooked buildings in the Shambles. 

Breakfast the next day was amazing with fruit and yogurt to start and then a full English with toast, eggs, sausage, beans, grilled tomatoes, and bacon. And naturally lots of tea and coffee. We started our day with a tour of Mansion House, the home of the Lord Mayor of York. It’s been used for more than a hundred years as the place for meetings, important city business and for entertaining dignitaries. It’s still decorated in a Georgian style and the rooms that are open for visitors have been lovingly restored to reflect that time. It was a really good tour and the guide was passionate about the house which made it all the better.

Half of the formal dining room.

An upstairs reception room.

Beautiful staircase.

The hall where all sorts of important business and parties takes place.

Apparently the Queen was here two weeks before us.

We toured another old house next, the Treasurer’s House. Former owner Frank Green bought and renovated the building to be his home and his personal museum for showing off all his treasures. Each room is splendidly decorated and as you tour yourself through the house you can’t help but feel like Mr. Green really did like to show off. We paid a little extra and took a guided tour into the basement of the house to hear the famous ghost story of the house. Turns out the house is built on top of an old Roman road and for a century or so there have been sightings of Roman soldiers marching on that road through the basement. It wasn’t really worth paying the extra to go down there, but it was a neat story.

We ate our lunch in the Treasurer’s House gardens - really good pasties from a Cornish bakery that was recommended to me - and then warmed up with tea and coffee at Costa while we decided what to do next. Brandon and I went out to try to get on a river cruise and Mom and Dad went to walk along the old city wall. Turns out the boats were all pulled in for the day because the river was swelling so badly and flooding the docks so we weren’t able to go cruising. We just wandered instead. We ended up visiting Clifford’s Tower, the remains of a castle that once sat inside the city and then headed back to the guesthouse to warm up and dry off. Mom and Dad were already there and once we were all put back together we headed out to dinner. We’d made a reservation at an Italian place and once again had a really nice dinner.

Fun in the rain.

Clifford's Tower

Finally a good shot of spiral stairs.

We took our time at the restaurant and then met up with our guide for a ghost tour that evening. What a blast that was! By far the best tour Brandon and I have been on so far. The guide was such a performer - doing voices and actions and really bringing his stories to life. And oh they were gruesome! He told us tales of witches and the torture they endured and some of the local folklore. Turns out the Viking ghosts didn’t really like Starbuck’s moving in across the street and the spirit of a small girl who died in a vat of syrup likes to add sugar to the drinks of unsuspecting patrons at another coffee shop. We also heard the story of one ghost who’s headless body wanders up and down one street looking for his head that was buried in a different cemetery. None of us wanted the evening to end.

Wednesday morning was started with another fabulous breakfast and then we all grudgingly packed up and headed for the train station. It was really tough for me, and probably worse for my parents, to say goodbye there. We had an hour to wait for the inevitable moment and then when it was all of a sudden there, we weren’t ready for it. It was so unbelievable to have them here in with us and then even more unbelievable that they had to leave. There were tears of course, but they were lessened just a bit by the sight of Brandon running along with the train as it left the station. He kept up with Mom and Dad’s window until there was no more platform left. They sped off to London to tour around there for two days and we headed back north to Edinburgh to a very empty flat.

It meant so much to me to have them here. And to Brandon too, but maybe for different reasons. For me, though we see each other weekly over Skype and we email daily, I needed to see them here in my home. To feel them, to have the comfort of all that extra unconditional love surrounding me. For Brandon, I think he needed them to see how well we’re doing and how he’s taking care of me. Sort of a see-your-daughter-is-good-with-me kind of thing. But we agreed that having them here and being able to share all of the most important things of our current life with them was an amazing experience. I can’t believe how fast two weeks went by. I only hope that they saw and experienced everything that they hoped they would. A little sunshine would’ve been nice since they pretty much froze every day they were here but I guess that’s not something I could’ve really changed.

Anyway, sorry it’s taken so long to get this written. There’s not much new going on for us lately. Brandon’s been going up to the High Street to play his pipes for the tourists and bringing home shocking amounts of change from everyone taking his picture. I continue to look for extra hours and apply for a few new jobs every week. We’re both practicing for upcoming band championships, my first is next Saturday and I’m a little terrified and a lot excited. No big trips planned, but we do have lots of company coming so I think we’ll stick close to home for a while! We did venture to a really cool place and true hidden gem within the city earlier this week though so I'll tell you all about that shortly. Thanks for staying tuned in!