What I did on my summer vacation

[The Wizard of BC]

Bobbie and I have returned from our business/vacation trip to Scotland.

I thought I would share some of the adventures we had and photos we took.

The first thing you should know and understand if you wish to go to Scotland is to check and double-check with your airlines to insure you have not overloaded you bags.
We first packed everything we though we would need, and wanted, for the trip and then discovered that we had overpacked by about 40 pounds.
So late the night before we were due to begin the trip we spent about three hours frantically re-packing and paring down our bags to fit within the Charter flights weight restriction. I'm afriad to say that I was forced to pack and unpack so many times that I left some important stuff behind like my Charcoal Argyle Jacket and shirts to go with my dressier outfits.

Then On Wed. the 17th of June we loaded our bags into a taxi for the short ride downtown to the bus station for the three hour ferry ride to the airport.

Vancouver International Airport has just undergone a major upgrade in preparation for the 2010 Olympics. One of the sculpture pieces in the airport is this magnificent piece.



It is called "The Jade Canoe". It is a bronze done by First Nations artist Bill Reid. I thought I would let you all see this with Bobbie standing next to it for scale as it is on all the Canadian 5 dollar bills.

On the way to our gate we were met with this view of a river running down the length of the terminal.




The river led bubbling and rolling over rocks and glass salmon to this enormous aquarium.




The aquarium is full of local saltwater fish, anemones, and starfish from our local waters.



And what to our surprise but two divers in the tank feeding all the fish.
The divers were hand feeding all the anemones with cut up squid and the starfish with clams and mussels.





Then there is this wonderful piece.



It is called "Raven meets Fog Woman" and tells the story of how raven stole fish from a Woman who in turn created Fog so that Raven would become lost and had to return the fish.

Then it was onto the plane for an 8 1/2 hour flight direct to Glasgow.


More to come.

[KFCarter]

....and these are just the pix from the airport on the way to Scotland?

whoa...

Time to pop some popcorn and pull up a chair!
:ootd:

[vmac3205]

Great photos so far....putting on a pot of coffee and waiting for the rest. Can't wait to go next year and not be able to take anything on the plane.

[MacKay71]

Great pics! I can't wiat for you to actually leave on your trip!

[The Wizard of BC]

The flight Bobbie and I had booked was operated by Thomas Cook. The flight was 8 1/2 hours direct from Vancouver to Glasgow. The airplane itself was an older Airbus 320. The video system was broken and there were signs of old carpets and worn seats. AND THIS WAS IN THE PREMIER CLASS SECTION! So we spent the time trying to read, squirming in the seats to get comfortable, admiring the ice fields in the ocean below, and waiting for the next meal to arrive.

I will say this for the company -- the amount of booze that was offered free to us and for sale in the duty free was amazing. If I had taken them up on it all I would probably not have noticed the little stuff. All in all it was a typical flight. You've all seen the inside of airplanes so I won't bother posting pics.

And then we arrived in Glasgow, where the border agent seemed to feel it was humorous that a kilt maker was traveling to Scotland -- something along the lines of "taking coal to Newcastle".

I'm sorry but there are no pics of the first three hours of our stay in Scotland. First due to us finding out that our phones were not working. It seems that our Canadian cell phone service provider does not think it necessary to provide automatic International roaming. I don't know why they don't. After all, I posted here that I was making the trip. Did they think that I would remember to go all the way to their offices and sign up for that stuff?

I'm really going to have to have a talk with them about this. How do they think I'm supposed to check on the 26 emails I get a day offering to sell me Rolex watches for $20.00? How am I supposed to answer all the calls from customers wanting to know where their Kilts are?

In the end there was nothing to do but to turn our phones off and forge on with the trip. I felt like I was on a turn of the century safari to darkest Africa.

It also meant that I would have to spend the next 14 days talking to my wife. Oh the horror. Oh the deprivation.

We now come to the affair of the previously booked and paid-for rental car.... It was explained to us that the rental car agency was out of rental cars for a few hours -- we were asked (politely, I must say) to come back later. This was not a hardship for us, but really ticked off several other people in the queue! We found an internet connection to let the shop, the house, etc., know about being incommunicado, and we were able to get a cup of coffee (but I have to say finding a Starbucks in a Scottish airport a bit disconserting) When we did come back, a Scoda was waiting for us....Scoda. What's a Scoda? I know about Chevies, I know about Dodge pick-ups. I've even heard about those foreign things they call BMWs. But what's a Scoda? Oh well, at least they didn't try to give me one of those things I saw that said Ford on it but looked like one of those shoes little kids have with the roller skate wheels in the bottom.
I swear, that's exactly what they look like.



And to top it all off this Scoda they gave us had a serious factory defect. Someone had installed the steering wheel on the wrong side.
I'm not even going to mention the roundy things they drive on over there. I saw a lot of them. Many for three or four times each as I went around and around trying to find out how to get off.
Let me just say this. It became my mission in life to teach the Scots and English the proper side of the road to drive on. I drove normally on the right side. After a while the other drivers would veer over to to their right side. Hopefully they learned their lesson and will do it correctly from now on. It is for sure I gave them enough of a lesson.

[Lady M]

Love the aquarium, thanks for sharing!

[SFCRick]

I have enjoyed your trip so far, can not wait for the next set

[vmac3205]

Driving on the OTHER right? I hope you learned them good, Steve. Skodas have come a long way since I was in Hungary in 1989.

[Standard]

Looks like the beginning of a fun adventure. Can't wait to see the next set of photos. The nerve of some people thinking that they can just drive where ever they please in their own country never ceases to amaze me when I'm traveling. I certainly hope you set them straight on proper driving patterns.

[The Wizard of BC]

The Skoda we had was a really nice car. Definitely not what I remember from the old days.
Like most cars from the UK it is a drivers car. The gearbox is tight and the suspension stiff. I sort of describe the difference in driving in N. America and the UK like this.

In N. America we are used to "Going for a ride in our cars". They are comfortable and smooth on the road. You can relax and enjoy the scenery going by.

In the UK you "go for a drive". You concentrate. You drive every moment. You think about shifting and down shifting. You brake before entering a corner and accelerate coming out of the turn. Your passenger doesn't just sit there, they lean into the sideways forces as much as the driver.

The roads are far more narrow than in N. America and the trees and bushes come right up to the edge of the road so there is no use trying to watch the scenery.

I really enjoyed driving in the UK. It is like driving a motorcycle. You are totally involved in the experience of driving.