Porto

This afternoon we explored a small section of Porto along the river, which contains a great many wineries and shops, lots of moored wine boats, a fun playground, the gondola station, and a great many neat cafes. It is such a lovely city, and we are looking forward to exploring more of it over the next few days.

Barcos Rabelos (wine boats) moored on the Douro River

Quinta do Noval 

Quinta do Noval tasting flight
(These were our favorites of the day!)

Calem House

This was the largest cask at Calem, holding 60,000 litres of ruby port.

The tawny ports are housed in the smaller casks, to give them more contact with
the oak wood and to expose them to more oxygen. These barrels are later sent to
the Famous Grouse Scotch distillery in Scotland, which we saw while we were there.

The lovely tasting room at Calem

Ferreira
(Visited on the recommendation of the street vendor
who sold us the roasted chestnuts)

We tried only the "special" ports at Ferreira

We were likely the only port drinkers out today with our own knightly bodyguards.

Two peas in a pod

Dinner on the river

Monday Favorites

I haven't done a favorites post in a while, and since it's a cold, wet Monday and the first day of school for us in over a week, it seems like the right time to focus on some things that make us happy.

I have long been a fan of Baileys, but it seemed especially important
to feature an Irish product since we're here in Ireland.

These Icebreaker Merino glove liners are perfect
for adding another layer of warmth, which I am always in need of.
But they also work well as stand-alone gloves when it's not quite as cold.
And, I love that they are thin enough that I can operate my camera with them on.

I was so sad when I lost an earring in South Africa.
But, I ordered these as replacements, and I really love them!
They are a great weight and just the right mix of fancy and casual.

We've stayed at a few places that haven't had coffee pots,
and after seeing me struggle to improvise, Jeff bought me this.
It folds completely flat when not in use, and it makes a mighty fine cuppa joe.

The whole family is engaged in this fun series. Ruth just re-read all the books,
Weston is almost finished reading them, and the rest of us are listening to the audio version.
We have also watched the first movie together and have been to a couple of tourist locations
that had to do with either the books or movies. 

My FitBit fell apart on me a few months ago,
so I decided to upgrade to the Moto smartwatch.
I love the look and the many cool features!

I recently came across this video, and I think T.D. Jakes eloquently and
accurately describes the true path to happiness in just five steps.
I think everyone should internalize this message!

I had a zipper break off of my original toiletry bag,
so I picked up this replacement, which I love.
It has pockets of all sizes, a detachable mirror,
a removeable waterproof pouch, a hook for hanging,
 and it folds up to about the size of a hardback book. 

Since we've been in the UK, we have been gobbling this stuff up.
It is absolutely delicious, and we put it on/in everything!

And, speaking of delicious, we became addicted to sticky toffee pudding
while we were in Scotland. I haven't tried making it myself,
but I'm linking to the recipe, so I can find it easily in the future.
Who knew dates could be so amazing?!

 *The final photo is mine. The others were borrowed from the Internet. I in no way receive compensation for endorsing these products. I'm simply sharing things my family and I enjoy. I'd love it if you'd share some of your favorites with us, too!

Goodbye Scotland, Hello Northern Ireland

We hopped up around 5:30 this morning to get the car packed up so we could deliver Nana to the airport for her early flight. We were sad to send her back to Texas but are so very thankful for our time with her in Scotland.

After we dropped her off, we proceeded to drive no faster than about 10 mph from Edinburgh to Glasgow because of construction and rush hour traffic, which was extremely frustrating, since we had to check in for our ferry to Belfast no later than 11:00. We eked into the terminal with just about ten minutes to spare. This was a very fancy ferry, and we had a great time on our 2 1/2 hour ride across the Irish Sea. We landed in Belfast and then spent another hour and a half driving up to Bushmills (of whiskey fame, if you're in to that sort of thing), which is where we will stay for two nights, before heading south into Ireland. (In case you don't already know, Northern Ireland is still part of the UK, while Ireland is a whole separate country.)

Goodbye Scotland

Hello Northern Ireland

Our Bushmills home

The view from my bedroom window

Two castles and a museum...and everything in between

This morning, Mom and Max and I hopped up and headed over to Edinburgh Castle to have a little look around, while everyone else slept in and took the morning at a slower pace. We got there before most of the tour groups and crowds and were able to wander around at our leisure. We had such a great time!

We made it back to the apartment around lunch time and had a quick bite to eat, before heading out again. Mom and I explored the part of the Royal Mile that our tour didn't cover yesterday, while Jeff and the kids took off in the direction of The National Museum of Scotland, where Mom and I later met them.

We picked up KFC for dinner and then feverishly packed up all our belongings in preparation for our early departure tomorrow. Edinburgh has been a blast, and I'm so glad we got to spend some time in this lovely city!

The outside of the Edinburgh University School of Divinity...

...And, just inside the front gate.

I had so much fun exploring Edinburgh Castle with these two!

The Mons Meg is a 6 ton canon that could, at one time, launch
one of those huge cannonballs about 2 miles!

Looking down on the city from the castle, toward Calton Hill and the Forth.

A tribute to Sir Walter Scott

So much to discover at The National Museum of Scotland

Fun at the museum

Clay was very excited to find Mr. X at the museum.
(Mr. X is a character from a story Jeff made up to tell the kids.)

Holyrood Palace:
The Queen's official residence in Scotland

Seen on the Royal Mile, at a restaurant called Oink

Also seen on the Royal Mile--
I don't even know what to say about this!

Edinburgh Walking Tour

We finally saw our first piper, working a busy corner for tips.

Only in Scotland!

The start of the Royal Mile

St. Giles Cathedral, which isn't actually a cathedral but a Presbyterian Church

The city is full of statues of all kinds,
but this was the one Clay wanted a picture with. 

Edinburgh Castle perched upon Castle Rock

Greyfriars Kirkyard
(The building on the right--The Elephant House Cafe--
 is where J.K. Rowling wrote the first of the Harry Potter books.)

This would have been similar to J.K. Rowling's view from the cafe.
It is said that the school in the distance is what she used
as the inspiration for the creation of Hogwart's.
She also borrowed a few names off some of the gravestones for some of the characters.

Mortsafes, such as this, were used in Greyfriars to deter body snatching,
which was quite popular in the 18th and 19th centuries,
 due to an overwhelming need of the medical department
at Edinburgh University for bodies to dissect.

Adventures in relocation

Full of happy memories, we left Kenmore behind this morning. We were to make our way to Edinburgh, but we made a couple of stops along the way, just to make things more fun. Our first order of business was to take the whole group over to the Birnam Wood, for a look at the mighty Birnam Oak and the Young Pretender. After that, we headed over to Cairn O' Mohr Winery for a tasting and lunch. This was a place we read about in a random and hilariously written brochure we found in our Kenmore house. We decided to visit because of the uniqueness of the products--wine made with every fruit except grapes--and because of the wittiness of the brochure writer, as we literally laughed out loud when we read it. Though we didn't really love any of the wines, we did have a great time. We finally made it to Edinburgh in the middle of the afternoon, and, after settling into our roomy apartment, Mom and I decided to go exploring. We wandered around the city streets for a while and finally found ourselves at Calton Hill. So, up we went. The top of the hill is covered in a variety of interesting monuments and offers spectacular views of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth. It was a wonderful welcome to the city, which we will look forward to exploring further over the course of the next couple of days.

Our group was able to wrap about half-way around the ancient Birnam Oak

These two silly guys were delighted to find a "cave" inside the old oak.
(The oak is hollow for about the first ten feet.)

A last look at the River Tay

We were greeted by some friendly faces when we arrived at Cairn O' Mohr.

The winery where everything is a little different

Tasting choices included strawberry, elderberry, elderflower, citrus,
currant, bramble, and meadowsweet, to name a few.
They also had three types of non-alcoholic juices for the kids.
We didn't try all of them, and, honestly, we didn't really love any of the ones we tried.
But, it was definitely a unique and fun experience. 

Our Edinburgh home under the street, which is truly lovely, despite its unassuming entrance.

A peek at the Firth of Forth from the top of Calton Hill

A good look at Edinburgh

That's Edinburgh Castle on the hill in the distance