Front Yard Makeover

We have been unhappy with the way our front yard looks pretty much since the day we moved into our house a year ago (yikes! has it really been a year already?).  The two big trees in the front shade the yard and make it impossible for the grass to grow.  The result...

So, we decided to take advantage of an incentive offered by our water company called the "Water Saver Landscape Coupon".  The basic idea is that for every 200 square feet of lawn you remove, the water company will give you a $100 certificate good toward the purchase of select water-friendly plants.  We applied for two coupons and went to work.

First, we added terracing to help break up the future mulch-expanse and to help tame the steep slopes.  Then, we added metal edging to help contain the mulch.

Next, we applied Round-Up to everything inside the edging and went on vacation to Boston while we waited for everything to die.  When we returned, we went plant shopping.

After much deliberation on the final layout (Roxie is always so helpful), we planted like crazy.  Then, we mulched, mulched, and mulched some more.

All-in-all, we are very happy with the results.  So much better than the ugly, dead grass!  Even if the plants are tiny for now.

England / Wales - Bristol

We left Edinburgh very early the next morning for a flight to Dublin.  From there, we had several days of fun-filled Irish adventure in Dingle and Dublin (I actually wrote about those stops in a timely manner).

This is the part of the vacation I am most excited to share.  Not because of some amazing, once-in-a-lifetime event, but because we got to spend these next three days with our good friends, Sian and Ben.  There is nothing like seeing a city or a country through the eyes of those who know it best.  We are so lucky to have made friends with them while were taking surfing lessons in Peniche, Portugal.  

Further proof of my theory that the farther you travel from home, the smaller the world becomes.

We arrived at the Bristol airport at 6:30am.  EARLY!!  Sian picked us up and took us back to the house for breakfast.  Ben had prepared a full English breakfast, including hot cross buns.  Chris and I couldn't hold back our laughter when he asked us, with a straight face in his awesome British accent (or really non-accent since we were in England), if we would like a hot cross bun.  Sorry Ben!!  We'll call it lack of sleep from the incredibly early flight time.  After we finished our delicious meal, and caught up with our friends, we headed for the train station.

The four of us took the train to Bath to enjoy, well, the Roman Baths.

The baths were constructed over a thermal spring by the Romans in about 60 AD when they occupied England (and much of the rest of Europe).  The town because such a bathing hot-spot that it eventually took on the name Bath.  During the height of their use, the complex included the Great Bath,

steam rooms,

and other assorted pools.  The bath also served as a temple.  Quite the multi-purpose facility.

The audio-guides provided with our entrance ticket gave us WAY more information than we could ever absorb, but we did our best.  On the way out, we had the chance to sample the supposedly curative water from the spring.  It tasted like sucking on a penny.  Yuck!

Our next stop was the adjacent Bath Abbey.

A church of some sort has stood in this spot since the mid 900s.  However, the Abbey as it stands today was constructed some time in the 1500s.  Like the other churches built around the same time in England, the Bath Abbey has a stunning fan-vaulted ceiling and loads of stained glass.  So beautiful.

At this point, our trip took a slight detour.  Chris's camera stopped working.  A major deal for anyone that knows us!  Yet another reason that we were thankful to be visiting friends.  When we got back to their house, Sian loaned us an old camera.  We've held it hostage so that they will come see us!

Continuing our journey through Bath's history, we walked across town to the Royal Crescent.  This series of town homes was built in the 1770s in the Georgian style.

We finished our time in bath with a stop at a local pub.  Drinks and friends after a long day.  Doesn't get much better than that.

Until those friends introduce you to the world of take-away fish and chips.  Enter Crispies and my very happy tummy!

Ben was in charge of Sunday's activities, and his tour-guide skills did not disappoint.  He took us on a tour of Bristol, his home for many years.  We started in a part of town known for it's street art.

The art on display throughout the neighborhood was outstanding, a little strange in places, and often a bit humorous.  We were told to be on the lookout for work done by a famous street artists named Banksey.  We eventually found one of this pieces on the wall of a health clinic near the Bristol City Council (the blue paint splashes aren't his).

Just around the corner from the City Council was the Bristol Cathedral.  The Cathedral was surprisingly quiet for a Sunday afternoon, so we took advantage of the opportunity to have a nearly-private look around.

The next stop on our tour was a meet-up with several of Sian and Ben's friends at a waterfront pub on a boat. Sian introduced me to her favorite, and now my favorite, brand of pear cider.  Too bad I can't find it here.  Yet another reason to make a return trip.  After about half-an-hour on the boat, it started to rain.  No worries... we are always prepared for rain.

We wrapped up our fun-filled day in Bristol with a few rounds of darts with more of Sian and Ben's friends.  Sian tells me that darts is a very British past-time.  I was terrible, but it was a lot of fun!

Monday, the entirety of Great Britain had the day off in celebration of the Queen's Jubilee celebration (more on that later).  We had our own celebration by going on a hiking adventure in Wales.  Sian is originally from Wales and wanted to make sure that we got to experience a little bit of her heritage for ourselves.  So, we loaded up in the car and headed for Brecon Beacons National Park.  More specifically, we were headed for Pont Ar Daf, the highest point in Wales.  I'm fairly certain we started the climb at sea level or below, so the 2,700 foot climb was a good workout.

We all made it to the top without too much trouble.  The views from the top of the hill were beautiful.  Sian said on a clear day, you can see all the way to the coast.  Pretty amazing.

After a leisurely climb back down the hill, we stopped for a break and some ice cream before continuing on our way.

One the way back to Bristol, we took a slight detour toward a castle we saw off in the distance.  I will never get used to the idea of casually passing a castle as you drive along.

Castell Coch turned out to be way to expensive to be worth a trip inside, so we walked around the perimeter before loading back into the car and head for home.  It's Sian and Ben's garden wonderful?  The perfect place to sit on a sunny day.

That evening, we watched the Queen's Jubilee festivities on TV.  I think we were far more excited about everything that was going on than either Sian or Ben were, but they humored us as we peppered them with questions.

The next morning, we packed our bags and loaded into the car again.  This time, we were headed for Stonehenge!!  Our lovely tour hosts hadn't been in years, so they offered to make the drive with us.  Driving up to Stonehenge was weird to say the least.  We were driving through rural England, and then all of a sudden there it was.  In the middle of a field - surrounded by sheep.

Construction on this mysterious arrangement of massive stones is believed to have begun as early as 3000 BC, making this the oldest site we visited on our travels. The audio-guide provided with our entrance ticket explained every detail of Stonehenge from the astronomic alignment to the hundreds of burial mounds concentrated in the fields surrounding the site.  We spent several hours walking slowly in a circle around the stones, staring in wonder.  Then, we had a little fun!

Before we knew it, it was time to head for the nearby train station to catch our train to London.  Many, many, many thanks to our wonderful hosts.  We truly had an amazing time!  You are always welcome, wherever we may be.

Scotland - Edinburgh

We wrapped up our tour (of the York Minster), packed up the car, and headed north again.  Next stop... Hadrian's Wall and Scotland! 

The drive from York to Edinburgh, our stop for the night included about four hours of driving time through the back roads of northern England and southern Scotland.  About half way to Edinburgh, we turned off the back road onto a little country road that runs parallel to Hadrian's Wall.  The wall was constructed in about 122 AD for a still unknown purpose and stretches about 80 miles from coast to coast across northern England.  

We followed the Wall for several miles before arriving at a visitors center nestled in between two hills in the absolute middle of nowhere.  We talked with the nice lady in the gift shop for a few minutes; then, we drove up to the trail head for a nice hour-long hike along the wall.

The walk was a little more of a hike than we had anticipated.  Turns out this part of England has plenty of steep hills.  Grateful for a seat, we jumped back in the car and headed north just a short way to the border between England and Scotland.  Who could pass up the chance to stop with a sign like this located next to a convenient parking lot?

About two hours later, we rolled down another sleepy little street to find our B&B for the next two nights.  We were greeted by a sweet couple who showered us with restaurant and sightseeing recommendations in heavy Scottish accents.  We ended up at a restaurant just down the street for dinner.  It was here that we discovered our new favorite beer and choked down enjoyed more mushy peas.

The next morning, at the recommendation of our hosts, we took a scenic nature walk from our B&B into downtown Edinburgh.  The walk afforded us a great view of the city and was the perfect way to start the day.

We started our tour of the city at the bottom of the Royal Mile near the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the home of the Royal family when they are in town, and the Scottish Parliament building.

These buildings are situated directly across the street from one another.  Nothing like a little architectural discord.  We slowly made our way up the Royal Mile stopping in shops and detouring down side streets.

Just over half way up the hill, we came to St. Giles' Cathedral.  The towering cathedral spire is one of the most recognizable fixtures of the Edinburgh skyline (scroll back up a few pictures to see what I'm talking about).  

The cathedral itself is hodgepodge of construction ranging in age from four interior columns from the early 1100s to a facade constructed in the 1800s.  The interior of the cathedral is decorated with beautiful stained-glass windows and really impressive organ.

Making our way up the hill, we took a few block detour to check out the National Museum of Scotland.  This place was massive.  We did our best to make it through the highlights but after several hours we had hardly made a dent in the impressive exhibits spanning the entire history of Scotland from prehistoric times through modern space travel and everything, every-thing, in between.  We even had a little fun playing dress-up in the kids section.  Isn't he handsome?

On our way back to the Royal Mile, we made a stop at a statue dedicated to Greyfriars Bobby, a terrier who watched over his master's grave for 14 years after he died.

Our last official stop of the day was Edinburgh Castle, located at the very top of the Royal Mile.  The original fortified castle was built on the top of a high rock some time in the 11th century and has served as a castle, fort, and military garrison ever since.  

The highlights of our tour were the Scottish National War Memorial, a solemn reminder that the British sent Scottish soldiers to all corners of the earth to protect the Empire, 

and the dog cemetery for the solders's dogs.  Talk about a room with a view.

Chris also thought the cannons were pretty cool.

We made our way back down the hill just in time for it to start drizzling - the first less-that-perfect weather we'd experienced so far.  We dug our trusty rain coats out of the backpack and trudged back down the hill to our bus stop.  Back at our B&B we asked for another dinner recommendation.  This time, we wanted some place we could try hagus because my brother had requested a picture of my trying it as his souvenir for this trip.  Who am I do say no to that?

I actually turned out to be really good... kind of like breakfast sausage.  Breakfast sausage and beer;  sounds all right to me.

Same drill as last time for the rest of our pictures from Scotland.  Pictures or Travel.