Some More From our UK Trip

I can't really explain why the sky looks like it does in this photo of the Edinburgh Castle from our hotel window except there was mist and fog. In any case,  it was lovely to see in person. Then too, imagine how many, many nights this same view has been experienced from that room in a building from the middle 1800's. Solid as a rock, or so the saying goes, and I think the same can be said for the Castle built on the rocky hill.

The weather seems to be the theme in many of my photographs from Edinburgh...wonder what these ladies were chatting about? From the looks of their gear, I'd say they must be locals.

Most of the buildings in Edinburgh are stone with very little color, except the side of this building which kind of took me by surprise. It was across the square from The Writer's Museum ,which I very much enjoyed visiting. Seeing some of RLS's handwritten pages from "Treasure Island" was quite the treat.

Then there are the red doors of churches which must have some kind of significance that I'm unaware of.

The Scots seem to make up for the lack of outdoor color with intense indoor color. I suspect most of you have heard of "The Fringe Festival" begun in Edinburgh in 1947. The headquarters are housed behind that red door, and take a look at the color inside!

Stunning, right? The photographs on the wall were taken during the 2013 rehearsals showcasing the myriad of talent you can see at the festival.

When we'd had all the soaking we could take, we visited The National Gallery, a must see if you are visiting there. The red walls took my breath away...

as did the variety of art. Massive painting are the best! Then again, smallish ones are great as well.

The blue wall was good, but oh my--that red was really something. I took the following photo because it depicts twins, a subject not often seen in paintings.

They look like little nun babies don't they?

We went into a lovely department store, John Lewis, mostly to use the restroom, and were struck by how attractive the window displays were, even for something as mundane as cleaning supplies.

In Edinburgh I was so delighted upon seeing the sink in our hotel room. I know that sounds crazy, but if you'd seen the one in our little London flat, you would know why I was pleased.

I was trying to think of something to compare the little sink with, coming up short. Bruce just gave me the perfect comparison--a small shoebox! That said, if you look at the above sink you will see one of the quandaries facing you--how to get warm water? Not hot, not cold, but warm. We are so accustomed to mixing valves in our faucets, I hardly knew what to do! A minor problem for sure, but as an adult I figure I should know how to do these kinds of things, including how to flush the toilet--another challenge.

I'm pretty sure I've already explained how very old York is--take a look at the inscription on this monument in front of the York Minster.

I love everything about the photo above and I'm pretty hard to please. The green grass, the oxidizing statue, the black wrought iron, stacked stones, arches, and a tiny interior light. I wish they all would turn out as well.

In the York Museum Grounds, we came across these crumbling Abbey walls. We were goofing around--when Bruce started to photograph me, I did the same!

During our walking tour on top of the city walls, we followed the path behind the York Minster which sounds very exciting right? Just messing with you....

Anyway, Fred, our spry octogenarian guide, explained that the building you see below with the pointed roof was called the "Chapter House," and I'm sure you're just dying to know why. Here's why--the priests would use that space to read a chapter of the Bible every day. Or so he said...

and we had no reason not to believe him!

In Windsor there were a lot of swans doing their thing in the River Thames which divides Windsor from Eaton, home to the famous Easton College. While looking through my trip photos, wondering what to share, this one begged to be shown, if only because I was imaging how very many cygnets they spawn in the Spring!

Thursday I met Bonnie and Bev for lunch in Winter Garden (more on this in another post), and our conversation turned to what Bev should do during her upcoming five day stay in London. Well, there's just so much to see and do, it makes for some hard decisions. I mentioned that having a local to guide us, sometimes we see things differently than a typical tourist. Maybe, maybe not. In any case, we all agreed that it would be a fine thing to do to take in the Royal Parks, and Buckingham Palace, which sits adjacent to these gates.

Covered in gold leaf they are hard to take your eyes off of! Just the other day I got a call from Sun Dance asking if I had any photos of the World Trade Center. Why, yes I do, but only taken from the air, years, and years ago. On Sept. 11th, I took that photo out of the shoebox, and put it on my fridge bulletin board where it stayed for years and years. I mention that because most Americans remember the day as if it were yesterday. In London, there are many monuments to the Great Wars, and I suspect that there are folks that remember those horrible times as if they were yesterday, and if they don't the inscriptions and sculptures are there to keep the memories alive.

London is such a big, vibrant city that you never can be totally sure what you will see next...

Don't know why there was a fractured green egg on the sidewalk but it was cool, as was this street art taken from the window during a bus ride.

If you visit the Spitafields Market, you might see this fun display outside one of the shops...

and if you are walking down to the docks, you might see this:

Brick Lane and Shoreditch are a treasure trove of street art, and I do mean street art. This guy has multiple ones throughout the area. Not charming like Stik mind you, but on the other end of the spectrum, more like a colorful Banksy disciple.

Lots of folks in London are in a hurry, and in this instance, Jane was as well! I love this photo of her purposeful walk.

We also discussed the merits of riding the London Eye, something we did years ago, and I highly recommend. Bonnie was not sold.

I am a huge fan of the SouthBank area, doing my best to make a case! We should have taken Matt up on his suggestion to ride it at night during this visit. Alas, I imagine we will be back one day, and that will be a "must do."

So many to share, so little time to do so. And there is you, my dear readers who will give up on me if I don't quit already! Hope you've enjoyed a different look than you might see in the guidebooks....