Golden Gate Bridge

Again it was up, take Patrick to work, and then swing by Specialty’s for my mocha and a pastry for Amber. But horror of horrors – Specialty’s is NOT open on the weekend! Neither Saturday nor Sunday. What’s up with that?  We were going to stop on the way to the airport on Saturday, but not now… *sob*

Amber and Kathy

Amber again drove into San Francisco to Golden Gate Park. I’ve never been there and Amber had been there once before. Luckily, we were a bit early as it was around 10:00.  Easy parking!

We decided the weather was good enough, so we started walking across the bridge.  I was worried it would be too spooky above the water, but it was fine. It’s not even quite a mile across and it was great fun. The traffic was whizzing by on one side and there were bike riders, joggers, old folks and kids walking the bridge.

Some info about the bridge, gleaned from the internet:

The Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed in 1937, and has become one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California, and of the United States.

It has been declared one of the modern Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The Frommers travel guide considers the Golden Gate Bridge “possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world. [I can vouch for that. I took almost 100 photos of the bridge. --KB]

• Height 746 ft
• Longest span 4,200 ft
• Clearance below 220 ft.

The weight of the roadway is hung from two cables that pass through the two main towers and are fixed in concrete at each end. Each cable is made of 27,572 strands of wire. There are 80,000 miles of wire in the main cables. The bridge has approximately 1,200,000 total rivets. 

After returning to our car we headed back into the city. We got stuck in messy traffic (how can people stand it?) and it took us about 30 minutes just to get back to the freeway. We *did* get to experience the very steep streets and dramatic stops. It’s a good thing Amber’s car had enough power to make it up the hills AND good brakes for the trip back down!

I won’t bore you with all of my photos, but here are some I find interesting:

Amber and Kathy

Kathy, keeping to the right

 

We Made it to Edinburgh

So far all of our reservations, B&B’s cars, flights, etc. have been flawless (THANK YOU AMBER). Of course now there are continuing stories of flights being canceled due to the volcanic ash from Iceland.  Add to that a strike by British Airways (our flight back home), and all three of us now have our fingers crossed.

Today we drove from Glasgow to Edinburgh – not really a long drive at all.  We stopped at three planned places along the way, and a third popped up along the way.

Falkirk Wheel

First was the Falkirk Wheel which is better seen in person that read about. It’s a giant lift used to lift boats 35 meters so they can avoid having to go through the equivalent of 11 locks. Very odd and they seem to have tried to turn it into a tourist attraction. We stood and watched a small barge of tourists being lifted up, boat, water and all, then wait, wait, wait, then the barge was lowered again.  It certainly got the point across, but it was something like £8 for the ride, which I didn’t think was worth it (it looked pretty boring; truth be told).

Second was the Forth Bridge in northern Edinburgh. Well, actually there are two Forth Bridges – one for cars and such and another for trains. These bridges cross the Firth of Forth – which can get to be a mouthful! We were interested in the bridge built for trains. While both bridges are one mile long, the one for trains was the first major steel bridge ever built, in 1890. It’s held together by more than eight million rivets. The bridge is so big, and needs constant painting (and yes, there were parts covered up for renovation – see more on this below), that the saying “it’s like painting the Forth Bridge” means something is that non-stop and repetitive.

Forth Bridge

Rosyln Chapel is there somewhere...

Third, we headed south of Edinburgh for the Rosyln Chapel. I’d read that the ceilings inside the chapel were very ornate and a “must see”.  This was also a location where part of the Da Vinci Code movie was filmed. As a side note, we’d seen that virtually ALL of the churches we’ve visited have been undergoing renovation. This means that typically we walk up, and the front ¼ of the building is hidden by scaffolding. I realize this has to be done, and it’s probably an ongoing task, but really – EVERY church?  So, we pull up to Rosyln Chapel and we look off in the distance where we *think* the chapel is.  And we see a metal roof? Over a mass of scaffolding?  Yup – you guessed it. The chapel was undergoing a huge renovation. But I figure, hey, that’s ok since I came to see the interior anyway.  But of course, as we get nearer, there’s a sign saying that there’s scaffolding inside as well and the ceilings are not currently visible.  And for this you’re supposed to pay £8 ?  I don’t think so… so we left… quite disappointed.

But on the way back, we stumbled across an Ikea and a COSTCO!!  Score! I did not like Ikea at all (I felt like part of a herd of cattle being forced down the chute to slaughter) – but of course Costco was great fun. Since I’d heard they had Costco’s over here, I brought my card with me – and it got all three of us in without question. They had typical things like Kirkland brand dog food, but also different things – like hard liquor for one.  It felt so good to be inside!  It was interesting though – the street that Ikea and Costco were on was named Costkea.

New Car for Mike

Finally, we headed for our B&B. It’s on the northeast side of Edinburgh, on the water! Past experiences with B&Bs on the water has not been too great.  But this one rocks – it’s called Joppa Turrets and between my windows and the water is a little garden, a walking path, and sand!  With my windows open I can hear the gentle surf.

 

Amber’s Birthday!

Fifty pence to pee!

Once again it was down into the tube station and off to the heart of London.  Since it was Amber’s 28^th birthday we decided to take her to jail – the Tower of London that is.  We did manage to find a public bathroom that charged 50 pence each (that’s about $.75). I was surprised – but I have to admit, there was hot water, soap and towels!  There was a Starbucks after that – where we found free bathrooms! Oh well.

The Tower of London is an 18-acre site that’s been a castle, king’s residence and prison/execution site. I wasn’t too interested in the areas like the torture room, but the Tower is also known as a fortress/stronghold, and it’s there that the crown jewels are stored and on view for the public.  Ohhhh – diamonds, pearls, sapphires and rubies. I loved all the glitter. They had things displayed like they do in jewelry stores – all sparkly.

We wandered around the Tower for quite a while and found a nice exhibition about armor – it was fascinating to see what the men and horses wore. I have no idea how either of them could have moved while wearing all that metal. One particularly large suit of armor for a tall man was 130 pounds.

And just for fun, I counted the steps up and down while at the Tower.  This does not include walking up/down for the tube, or steps forward/backward – just real steps going up and down.  For the Tower:  499 steps.

Outside the Tower of London, Tower Bridge Behind

Next we walked to the nearby Tower Bridge.  This is the bridge that opens and closes for large boats that go up and down the Thames. The engines inside have been replaced by electrical ones but you can still see the mechanics of the old steam engines. By this time of the day the sky was turning a beautiful blue and I took far too many pictures of the Tower Bridge.

Following this Amber and I were tired of walking, but Patrick persevered and went onboard the HMS Belfast – the last big-gun armored warship of World War II. While he was touring the ship, Amber and I really did keep walking further along the Thames – hoping to get a glimpse of the replica of Sir Francis Drake’s Golden Hinde. We walked for 30 minutes and didn’t even come close… so after we set foot on the famous London Bridge we reversed and headed back and waited for Patrick.

Lastly, back on the tube system and a return to our apartment. Patrick is off working on his Guinness count and Amber is planning tomorrow’s ventures.

 

A Day of Splendor

We started our day on the tube as usual but this time we headed in to London early and survived the commute crush. Egad – how do people do this day after day? We crammed ourselves on to a car and at the last minute Amber got left at the station!  We were all messed up then.  Patrick and I were on one car – and we both had a set of apartment keys, but Amber was on another totally separate “train” and she was the only one who knew where we were going – and she had the map books showing our routes as well!  

Luckily, Patrick figured we’d just get off at the next stop, wait for the “train” behind us and hope to find Amber on it.  Thankfully it all worked out just fine. Whew.  And I have to admit, the people crammed into the second “train” smelled a lot better than those on the first train. It was standing room only, everyone all smooshed in together for mile after mile.  

St. Paul's Cathedral

  

We arrived at St. Paul’s Cathedral just as the steps to the upper levels opened. This has to be The Best church I’ve ever seen – including Notre Dame and Westminster Abbey. First, the place is huge – 515 feet long and 250 feet wide. Second, it’s tall – the top of the dome is 360 feet high and the only church dome higher is at St. Peter’s in Rome. And third, it’s beautiful. It’s hard to describe the interior. While there *are* stained glass windows – most windows are clear glass that let in a lot of light. The arched ceilings are covered in amazing tile work that looks like tapestries woven with gold threads. Pictures aren’t allowed inside, so I have no pictures of my own to show. No picture will do it justice anyway.  

At St. Paul’s the three of us climbed 259 steps up a wooden spiral staircase to the Whispering Gallery. This is a railed section up inside the dome where you can stand, whisper something to the wall, and people on the other side of the dome can hear you.  And it worked!  Amber and I sat in the Whispering Gallery while Patrick trudged up an additional 119 more steps to the Stone Gallery – which is on the exterior of the dome.  Then, ever onward, he walked up another 152 more steps (530 total) to the Golden Gallery that gave him an amazing 360 degree view of London.  Patrick took over 100 pictures while up there and we’re hoping for some great panoramic pictures!  

St. Paul’s is England’s national church and there has been a church on the same location since 604 AD. There was a great fire in London in 1666 and the church was rebuilt then.  

Historically in the 1900’s, St. Paul’s was considered Britain’s symbol of resistance since it withstood 57 nights of bombing by the Nazis. Winston Churchill’s funeral was held here in 1965 and the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diane took place at St. Paul’s in 1981.  

We had planned on a quick 30-minute visit (not  knowing how fantastic it was going to be) but St. Paul’s was so amazing that we were there for an hour and a half.  

Millenium Bridge

After St. Paul’s we walked across the Millennium Bridge made famous in Harry Potter The Half-Blood Prince. This is a pedestrian-only bridge that crossed the Thames.  

Even though it wasn’t noon yet, we jumped back on the underground and rode to a stop near our final destination for the day: The British Museum.  

The British Museum was established in 1753, has 94 galleries and walkways totaling 2.5 miles. Rick Steves says it’s the “greatest chronicle of civilization… anywhere” and we all think he’s right.  

We were there for 2.5 hours and were exhausted.  We saw mummies, Chinese jade, great Assyrian art work, historical clocks, coin making, Roman and Greek statues, a statue from Easter Island – and yes, we saw The Rosetta Stone. The oldest object in the museum was a rock hand tool – 1.8 million years old. The Assyrian winged bull statues were among the heaviest things in the museum at 17 tons each. It was an amazing place and we didn’t do it justice. I’d estimate we saw about 10% of the items and actually studied less than 1%.  

Assyrian Statue

Throughout this whole day you have to remember that we were walking. Again, things like elevators or escalators seem to be almost non-existent. We walk down to the tube; transferring a couple of times means it’s up and then back down, then up and back down, then finally up to the street level. And the “up and down” can be two or more floors – all on concrete.  St. Paul’s Cathedral was a climb up stairs to the Whispering Gallery, a nice walk across the Millennium Bridge, and back, then down underground for another tube ride, and back up.  Then all around the British Museum… and finally back down to the tube again and a long ride home.  

You can bet that we’re sleeping well at night now that we’ve adjusted to the time change!