Day 18 - Friday

A leisurely stroll through a park, 3 hours of first class luxury on a train and we are in the London tube. Yikes! There were a few moments of confusion but we soon figured the map out and made our way to the correct stop with no errors. We crossed the Thames on the Jubilee Bridge, which had a great view of Big Ben and The Eye, and then started looking for our hotel. We knew that it was in County Hall right behind the eye but the hotel was on the back side and not very well marked. lt seems very strange being in a modern hotel after staying in peoples' homes for almost three weeks. It feels very institutional.






We decided to spend the afternoon riding the eye. It is huge and very very tall. I got vertigo looking up at it from the ground. The views are incredible.- Debbie saw them from a bench in the centre of the gondola but I did manage to get her standing for a photo of the two of us. I, on the other hand loved it. Looking straight down was a bit sketchy though.





After the ride we wandered up to Trafalger Square and on to Leicester Square where we bought tickets to see Billy Elliot tomorrow night. Back down to the very cool Sherlock Holmes Tavern for so-so fish and chips and a very good ale for supper.
Most people in pubs here stand and if there isn't room inside people just take their drinks out into the street so all the best pubs have crowds milling around outside with drinks. No lineups waiting to get in.








By the time we finished eating it was dark so we headed to Piccadilly Circus. It certainly is a circus. It is very crowded and very bright. Very high energy. Very young.






We dragged our very tired bodies back to our room and crashed.

Tomorrow we check out some history.


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Location:London

Day 21

I missed three days because London was crazy, fun and exhausting. I am still not typing much but I want to assure everyone that we are alive and well and at Gatwick airport waiting to board our flight in a couple of hours.


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Location:Gatwick

Day 17 - Thursday - I love York

Today was a busy but fun day. We started the day with a two hour walking tour of York. York has a number of volunteer guides who lead free tours. The guide was very informative as we wandered up and down the walls and streets of the city. York has a medieval wall built on top of a Roman fortress. In some cases it uses the Roman walls as a foundation. There are still signs of the old Roman roads.





















We also wandered through The Shambles, a very narrow medieval street. I could imagine it back when it was lined with butcher shops with meat hanging from the eaves and displayed on counters, many of which are still there.












After the tour of the town we went back to Betty's for cream teas. Once we had our clotted cream fix for the day we headed to the tower for a tour of the Minster. As I said earlier it is a very impressive building. The guide told us the history of the Minster and how it was built around a Roman minster which was built on top of an old Roman fort.

When the tour was finished Debbie relaxed while I climbed the 275 stairs to the top of the tower. The circular stone stairs are so narrow that passing would be impossible so they send people up in groups. They count the number going up and nobody goes down until everyone is at the top. I was the front of the line so I motored up with a young couple behind me. I was a tad out of breath when I reached the top but it was very worth it. The view was magnificent!









Exhausted we headed back to our Inn for cocktails and supper. The waitress recommended steak and ale pie and we are very glad that we tried it. It was the best pie ever.

Tomorrow we head to London.

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Location:York

Day 16 - What a great day

We had breakfast, said our goodbyes and hopped a bus to Leuchers where we caught a first class first class train to York.

Our hotel is an easy 10 minute walk from the train station. This may be my favourite B&B/hotel ever. It is on one side of a very narrow road and the other side is the old medieval wall. There is a gap in the wall with a gate and the view from our room is through the gap which frames York Minster Cathedral(The Minster). The ceiling is maybe seven feet high with the original 300 year old beams. The bed is old and high. If there was a ceiling fan we would not be able to sit up in bed.






We dropped our bags and headed out to check out the city. The first stop was Betty's. This is the absolute ultimate place for Cream Tea. My arteries may explode but it would be so worth it. It is very posh but if you are going to do a cream tea you must do it propper.






We wandered about a bit and ended up at the Minster. Tickets for admission are good for a year so we headed in for a quick peak. This is without a doubt the most impressive building that I have ever been in.












We headed back to our hotel to get ready for supper. I stopped in the bar to try out the local ale (my mission). Debbie joined me and we headed in for supper. I was craving beef so I had a good steak but Debbie had the roast pork and said that it was the best that she had ever had.






We were exhausted and crashed shortly after supper. I did take another picture of The Minster all lit up from our window.


What an amazing city.

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Location:York

Day 15 - Tuesday - In search of Alexander Christie

Today we went searching for my ancestors. It wasn't easy by bus and in hindsight we should have rented a car.

Our first stop was Crail. It was on Locton Farm just outside Crail that my grandfather Alexander Christie met my grandmother Eliza Ann Arnot. Apparently the farm still exists but we had no way to get to it. Crail is a small town with a pretty little harbour and a small privately owned castle.




































Next stop was Anstruther. No genealogical significance here but a very nice Scottish Marine museum and perportedly the best fish and chips in the UK. They weren't.











From Anstruther we headed to Leven (Scoonie) which was the birthplace of my grandmother and where my grandparents were married. We saw a church where they were likely married but it was locked up tight so I could only get photos of the outside. I should have done more research ahead of time and arranged to visit the church. I photographed two churches but I am pretty sure that they were married in the one with the red doors.































By the time we finished wandering we were exhausted and it was a bit late to head to Auchtermuchty (short distances but long bus routes) so we headed home. I wanted to get some images of the countryside because the Christies were all farmers but I couldn't get very good ones from the bus. It isn't a bid deal though because we realized that the farmland in Fife is very much the same as in Ontario.

















Back in our room I started researching Scoonie Parish Church and I came across a genealogical thread with my great great great grandparents referenced. It was a 2003 posting regarding a gravestone that someone had asked about. It said that photographs were available and it gave an email address. I figured that it would be a dead end because it was so old but I had nothing to lose so I sent off an email. I received a reply within an hour with two images attached. One side of the monument has the parents birth and death dates and the other lists all the children and their birth dates. The parents were my great great great grandparents.












Tomorrow we leave Scotland and head to York. It will be a sad goodbye to Scotland. What a beautiful country!

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Location:The Kingdom of Fife