absolut ice bar - london

On Wednesday night, after all our sight seeing  {previous post} we needed to have a little fun. One of the only things Brett wanted to do was visit the Absolut Ice Bar. We weren't sure if we were going to actually go in or not but we thought we would take a look and see what it's all about. When we got there it wasn't crowded at all and we could just walk right in as one of the 45 minute session had just started. We figured we were already there and there was no wait so we ventured on in. Since this was not only my journey, but Brett's as well, I am going to let him guest blog about London and the one thing he was looking forward to the most; the Ice Bar!

Brett: Hello avid readers of this blog, this is my debut blog entry. As Susie previously stated, after doing everything there is to do in Scotland, Susie and I hopped on a plane and set off to London. I had never been to the UK before, so it was an amazing experience that I will never forget. From the moment I found out we were going on the trip, I asked if the Ice-bar in London would be near we are staying, and if not, could we get a hotel near the Ice-bar. I am a fan of winter and the cold and I had seen a documentary on the ice hotel that I one day hope to visit. Going to an Ice-bar was definitely on my list of things to do before I die. Susie and I had just seen all the sights the Big Bus Tour had to offer, so we decided to use the underground to walk around to see what the nightlife had to offer. We decided to check out the Ice-bar and try to make reservations for the following day; but to our surprise, there was no line and we got to walk right in. It was everything I had imagined it to be. I liked how the LED lights would change with the music and light up the natural cracks in the ice. There were ice sculptures and functional ice furniture. My favorite part was the glasses they served drinks in were made of ice.  The temperature was perfect and the parkas made it very comfortable. This experience definitely made my euro-trip. I recommend making a stop at London’s Ice-bar to anyone who is going to London. 

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london in 10 hours

After spending an amazing twleve days in Scotland, we flew down to London about lunchtime on the Tuesday. By the time we got through security, got our bags, took the underground across town and to our hotel it was already afternoon. We found a place to eat between our hotel and Paddington station. It began to pour while we were eating, so we decided to order another round of drinks and try to stay dry. :] We then just had some time to ourselves to get cleaned up and unpack a little before heading out for the night to wander and explore.

Since we only had two full days in London, we got up early on Wednesday and decided the best way to see everything as quickly as possible was to do a bus tour. Just around the corner we found a bus stop with an extremely helpful employee for "The Big Bus Tour."  We bought our tickets and waited for the next bus to come. We spent all day just hopping on and off these buses, take the time to see what we wanted. We got off at the Tower of London and decided to spend some time exploring the tower. Then from there we hopped on to a "river boat cruise" {which was included in our Big Bus Tour ticket!} and came back down the river and it dropped us off where Big Ben and Parliament is. We then walked around and took some more pictures, did a little shopping over by Westminster Abbey and then caught the bus again and finished up the tour and back to our hotel.

It was a very long and exhausting day of sight seeing, but extremely worth it. I would recommend anyone to take these tours if they are new to London or maybe just want to get a little more history about the area. There are both recorded and live tours, the live ones are much better, so if you are able to make sure to get on a bus with a live tour guide.

Enjoy my collection of photos from our jam packed day full of sight-seeing in London! Unfortunately, the weather was pretty miserable; it was raining on and off throughout the day and it was quite a bit colder than I had imagined, but it was still a great day!

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where to stay in edinburgh

I am so pleased to tell you about how much we loved Martin's Guesthouse. We stayed there for 5 days out of our trip. The staff was extremely friendly and welcoming upon arrival. There was a fully cooked breakfast to choose from as well as teas, coffee, cereal and toast to have at your leisure. Our room was located on the second floor just above the dining room. It was much bigger than we had anticipated and gave us lots of room to spread out and settle in. The room had a large king bed on one side and two twin beds on the other. As well as a nice TV on top of a dresser and a little table with a kettle and cups to make your own tea or coffee in the room.

The location was also perfectly situated just south of Haymarket and walking distance to the Meadows, which is a large park where people to come to read, play sports, walk through or have a picnic. Also only about a ten minute bus ride into town!

I would recommend this place to anyone and definitely will keep it in mind for future reference.

If anyone would like to visit their website to check our prices/availability, please click here !

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and then, the sun came out!

 I wanted to make sure to publish these pictures, because although we did have an amazing time, the weather was less than amazing. Except of course, for the last two days that we were there. After we had already accomplished all that we wanted to and were left with final goodbyes and packing, the sun made it's debut with a clear blue sky. Typical. Not to worry though because the weather didn't really prevent us from doing anything we wanted to.

I just wanted to make sure that I had some proof that we did see sunshine and for those interested in visiting Scotland, I swear the sun does shine and when it does there is nothing more beautiful. :]

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a special anniversary present

This year my parents and Brett and I were lucky enough to all be in Scotland on their wedding anniversary. In the morning my parents went to visit the church they were married in and Brett and I were off doing our own thing. Later in the afternoon though they picked us up and we took a drive down to one of my favorite outskirts, {also not far from where my mom grew up} a little town called Queensferry. It is only a few miles west of Edinburgh and is a town situated on the shore of the Firth of Fourth river that comes in from the North Sea.

The first bridge that you can see that has a red-ish tint to it, is the railway bridge that was built about 100 years ago. Before the rail bridge there were ferries that would take people across the river. Then about 40 or 50 years ago, they built another bridge {which is also pictured below} that was built for cars to take across. It resembles the bridges that you see in the San Fransico Bay today. That bridge however is not weathering as well as the rail bridge and I believe there are new plans to take it down and build another bridge. Today, people have more options than in the past as they can still take the ferry across, take the train, or use their own car to cross on the other bridge.

Anyway, back to their anniversary. We drove down in the afternoon and spent a little time looking at the bridges and trying to decide where to have our dinner. We settled on a place called The Hawes Inn. It is literally right underneath the rail bridge and you can hear and feel the rumble as the trains cross over. That night was also special because it was about a week after the festival ended and every year there is a huge firework show that is set off from the castle. It is accompanied by a live Orchestra set up in the gardens that plays music that correlates to the fireworks. We went down to Princes' street to get the best view and be able to hear the music. It was packed with people but well worth it! 

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climbing up arthur's seat

Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the hills surrounding Holyrood Palace, which is where the Queen stays when she comes to visit Scotland. The highest peak of these hills is over 800 feet and also provides you with beautiful panoramic views of Edinburgh and it's outskirts. It is not all uphill and rocky or grassy however. There are some flat bits around the hills in which many people will walk or run along. There are also two little loch's {lakes} where you can bring a picnic or a book and just enjoy some peace and quiet. The day that we went up it was already pretty windy and when we finally reached the top I seriously thought I was going to blow away. Brett and my cousin were laughing and said they should tie me to a string in case I flew away!

If you are looking for a little peace and quiet outside of Edinburgh, but don't want to travel too far this is a great place to come.It's only about a couple miles away from the castle but you really feel a sense of the outdoors and connect with nature. It is also just a little walk along to see Holyrood Palace and across is the new Scottish Parliament building. Daily visitors are welcome to pay a fee and get a small tour of the Palace, if the Queen is residing there. Every summer she comes up from England to spend some time in Scotland and usually throws a Royal Garden Party, by invitation only of course.

Unfortunately the day that we decided to hike up, it was windy and a bit rainy but it did not stop us! I have included some of my favorites from the hike for you to enjoy.

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edinburgh castle

Welcome to the world famous Edinburgh Castle, I am going to give you a quick little tour because I probably took about 30 pictures just inside and around the castle. Hopefully I can give you just enough information and pictures to get you interested enough to hop on a plane and go yourself someday :]

The castle is built on top of a very old inactive volcano/mountain known as "castle rock." The castle was occupied by royals from after it was first built. {circa the 12th century, yes it's that old} In 1603 however is when the decline of residency happened and it became a military base with a large garrison. It is an important part and holds much significant history for Scotland and today is open to the public for visitation.

Mainly there are tributes to war and historical artifacts. Also some of the Crown Jewels are kept here in a tightly guarded room with quite possibly one of the largest volt systems you have ever seen. I wish I could have taken a picture, but sadly no pictures were allowed anywhere near the room or the jewels. But they are quite something to see. Later on when we got to London, we checked out more Crown Jewels in the Tower of London. That post will come soon. :] Anyway, back to Edinburgh castle. They have sectioned off quite a bit of the castle as there is still a small military presence that currently lives in the castle, around the clock.

One of the main attractions for actually going into the castle and visiting is whats called the one o'clock gun. It is a gun {or more of a canon, see picture below} that is shot off at precisely 13:00 {1.00pm} everyday, accept Sunday. It was established in 1861 for the ships out on the river to know the time. There is also a ball that is dropped from one of the monuments atop a hill. This was also for the people on the river to see, but completely useless if the weather was foggy.

I know this was a long post, but with so much history it is hard to cut short! I have included some pictures to show off some of the castle's features, as well as some amazing views of the city that you can see. If you look close enough, you might even see the Scot Monument :] {previous post} Let me know if you spot it!

 

the one o'clock gun

 

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the best ice cream in scotland

 

One night after dinner, the sky cleared up and it turned into a nice pleasant evening. My cousin and I decided to take Brett down to Musselburgh for the most amazing ice cream you have ever tasted. It is called S. Luca and it has been around for about 100 years. Musselburgh is right on the outskirts of Edinburgh and perfectly located right next to the water.
So we jumped in the car and took a drive down to get this deliciously amazing ice cream. Not only do they have the best ice cream they have all kinds of homemade chocolates and sweets. Once we settled on our ice cream choices we headed down to the beach area, which is known as Portobello and just went for a walk. It stayed light until around 9 o'clock and then we headed back home.

If you want to check out their website, click here. Otherwise, I have posted some pictures from our evening's adventure.

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