Here is a list of where we’ll be when in the UK, for anyone who wants to pop by or meet up or look after our kids so Dawn and I can go to a pub. If you’ve been to any of these spots and want to offer tips or suggestions, please do! (And yes, we’ve brought wool.)
Pinklightsabre UK Winter Tour
27-30 October — Arbroath, SCT
30-6 November — Inverness, SCT
6-9 November — Orkney Islands, SCT
9-10 November — Inverness, SCT
10-16 November — Oban, SCT
16-25 November — Edinburgh, SCT
25-28 November — Stranraer, SCT
28-4 December — Belfast, NIR
4-11 December — Dublin, IRL
11-23 December — Galway, IRL
23-27 December — Cork, IRL
30-1 January — Chester, ENG
1-13 January — Stratford-upon-Avon, ENG
13-22 January — London, ENG
22-31 January — Bath, ENG
“Lightning strikes maybe once, maybe twice”
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Categories: travel
Bill Pearse 
Dublin ? I’m thinking of a lot of pubs, Guinness Storehouse and the natural history museum. There are still horse carriages there.
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Yes, it’s true it really does taste better there, the Guinness. Had that same experience with the Pilsner Urquell in Prague. Can’t wait to see the horse carriages, I didn’t know that! Looking forward to a long weekend in Amsterdam this week too, haven’t been there since 1997.
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The horse carriages go around the historic center of the city. You’ll also find the passageways quite surprising !
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Thank you for the recommendations, I appreciate it! We’ll have lots of time for museums, and it should be good museum weather, in December. Best, – Bill
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Enjoy! We just spent a week in the London area. Bletchley Park is not far from the city and was fascinating. As was the Harry Potter Experience if your kids are big HP fans…:-).
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Thank you Dina. Yes, Lily is over the moon for HP so we will be soaking up the sites and attractions there, and sorely paying for it, but I’m sure it will be well worth it (right?!). Gosh, just pulled into Amsterdam and it is freaking cray-cray, driving around with a manual in this old part of town, on the inner rings, after eight hours from France that should have been like five. There you go. Grab a cup and settle down.
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I’m glad you’ll be seeing the Scottish west coast! I only saw a little bit of it. But I’ve been told a handful of times, by Scots, it’s the prettiest part. 🙂
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We’ll see what we can see through the membranous fog and rain to be sure! But I am excited for it. We loved the west coast of Ireland too when we were there last and I’m looking forward to going back, just enjoying what we can while we sort of ‘squat’ outside the Schengen for 90 days. Terribly strange, all this.
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Ooh, you’re seeing some cracking places – an interesting and unusual selection, may I say :).I know the English places best.
Chester is lovely with some beautiful old buildings, a medieval wall to walk and some medieval, two level shops you can wander round – all wonky wooden walkways and beams.
There are too many places to recommend in London, though the Natural History Museum is a lovely, purpose built museum – the animal carvings in the walls are as amazing as some of the exhibits. If you like architecture, John Soane’s house is 18th century, filled with Roman and Greek fragments – fascinating. http://www.soane.org/
The Roman baths in Bath are a must see as far as I’m concerned – ancient visitors dropped body part shaped offerings inscribed with prayers into the spring in hope of a cure and many are exhibited in the museum. They’re a real solid connection to the past.
You may mot have time to squeeze in my favourite place in the UK – York in Yorkshire. Medieval streets and city wall, Viking, Roman, Saxon, English Civil War history. It’s fantastic.
I’ll shut up now.
Enjoy the tour 🙂
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Thank you so much Lynn! My wife got to your comment before I did and we had a hell tour up through Belgium to Amsterdam today, but here we are — and I’m so grateful for the time you took to share these recommendations, we’ll certainly look into them. Already regretting not making time for York, but perhaps we can fit it in. I mean, 90 days right? It’s nuts. I can’t wait. I have a friend who lives in Chester with his 3 year-old son, knew him in Seattle many years ago and just reconnected, which is great. I appreciate your list and offerings, thank you kindly! – Bill
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I’ve only been to Amsterdam once, many years ago and that was a whistle stop floristry centric tour, so we saw the flower auctions but missed all the fantastic museums and galleries – we saw the red light district though, which was an education. 🙂
It’s a pleasure to be able to recommend things – I enjoyed revisiting some of those spots in my head. Lovely places all. Have a great time.
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Thank you Lynn! It’s remarkable. My wife hasn’t been out of the apartment yet but I think has already decided she wants to move here, take on a contract job or something. Craziness, really cool.
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I’ve known a few Dutch people through floristry (sometimes it seems half the population are somehow involved in growing flowers!) and generally they come across as pretty cool, open minded, chilled bunch. Maybe it’s the flat landscape and living under permanent threat of your land being reclaimed by water. You have to be chilled out, or you’d go crazy. Of course, it might also be the dope they smoke 🙂
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There’s more to it than we knew, I think. It’s good to learn about other cultures and see how different people can be and at the same time, so similar. I like both. In a very ‘let’s hug’ way that some probably don’t like. But too bad, I’m a hugger.
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Yes! Odd that we view things so differently and behave so differently when we’re so geographically close. Enjoy the difference 🙂
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You need to put those dates on the back of a t-shirt and sell em at every stop.
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I thought of you when I looked up ‘live music in Dublin’ and set the date range around my birthday, and Therapy? came up, but I was never a fan, didn’t know them really – and of course, U2, but they’re playing an arena, and I think my time to see them was like, a long time ago. Simple Minds, too. Funny….we’re in a loft apartment space now in an old warehouse on the edge of the old town in Amsterdam and it’s a really lovely neighbourhood. I’m looking forward to settling into it.
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I would like to see U2 again, I think. Only saw them once, on the Joshua Tree tour. In fact, it was the show where they filmed the video for When Love Comes to Town with B.B. King. My first night in Amsterdam was in a hostel the size of a warehouse, with bunk beds as far as the eye could see. Kind of like the last scene in Raiders, where they’re stowing the Ark. Only lasted one night there till we moved on to a little hotel room. Much better. Less stink. Less farting. Boy that hostel sucked. Not as much as the first one that we walked out on before signing up, but it really sucked. Amsterdam. I swear a fairy sprinkled pixie dust on me one night while I was there. I heard chimes and saw sparkles. Pick me up something, if you don’t mind. I’m good for it.
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My back is pretty sore, as far as “picking things up.” Pardon my brevity, I’m waiting for the coffee maker.
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Dude, you give good comment.
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Thankee kindly.
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I guess that’s Fleetwood Mac but I thought it was The Clash. But that doesn’t make sense because the Clash’s Lightning Strikes is about NYC.
Christmas in Ireland. The new year in England. So lucky. So, so lucky.
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You have a good ear for lyrics and yes, it’s “Gypsy” which seems appropriate, because we feel like American suburban gypsies, which is funny and stupid and also suits us, apt descriptions. You are right on the luck factor. Try to remind myself that when I think dumb things, which is often. Lucky to have you as a reader too, thanks Mark.
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Can’t make it but will look for a knock off tour t-shirt on etsy. Cheers!
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Cheers is right Kristen! I like the tour shirt idea, might scratch up some money for a pack of smokes or something.
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