Edinburgh's Fringe Festival

On the trip to Edinburgh we splurged and paid an extra £20 (round trip for the two of us!) for first class train seats. I was so excited; we would be traveling in super style, with free food and beverages, and extra leg room for Bill! I should not have been so excited, the leg room was nice, but the free water and coffee/tea was marginal at best. And my tomato and cheese tart was basically a sad little crust filled with a thin layer of tomato paste and topped with what looked and tasted like American cheese soup. Mmmm…

On the train again!

But, the train was still a lovely experience and the farther north it took us, the more picturesque the wee towns and villages were to look at as we whizzed past. 

Passing through Berwick-upon-Tweed

We made it to the Edinburgh hotel around the same time as our friends and their three girls (with five people, it's much more economical to drive than pay for the train). Our hotel was very near Edinburgh's castle, where we walked for our first night's entertainment - the famous Edinburgh's Military Tattoo (see previous post). 

Edinburgh castle up on the hill

Our friends' youngest child, Alison (nicknamed Alice), is a total hoot! She loves frilly dresses, dancing, and all things girly, yet she will dig in the dirt, go-go-go to keep up with everyone else, and already lives life to the fullest. The photo of her rapturously eating ice cream is pretty much Alice in a nutshell. 

Eat ice cream like nobody's watching! 

Our first evening consisted of the Tattoo for entertainment, but the rest of the weekend was chock-full of  Fringe festival shows. Although Bill and I probably would have chosen totally different shows had we been by ourselves, we truly enjoyed all of the kid-friendly shows we attended. Audrey, our friends' middle daughter, always held her hand up when an audience member was requested. And more often than not, she was chosen to hop up on stage. In the show below, the kids comedienne had us cracking up, shooting nerf suction-cup guns, grabbing sweets in the air, and generally enjoying ourselves. It was one of the best shows, and it was FREE! 

Audrey chosen to help out during the kids's show

On that second day, we also saw a card ninja, a sushi tap show, a dance/magic show, and were kicked out of another free comedy show right before it started because, we were told, it really wasn't kid appropriate. Oopsie!

That night we went to a ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee), a big Scottish dance. We knew we were in trouble when we arrived and it was being held in a church assembly hall and the guy running the dance was forcing EVERYONE to get out and do the dances. Bill and I thought we would be able to have a beer and watch from the sidelines, so we tried to be wallflowers. An elderly man in a kilt came over and asked me to dance, so I went and did the dance. And man! That dance was ENERGETIC!! I was completely winded, Bill was incredibly uncomfortable, and wee Alice was starting to have a meltdown. 

Bill and I left to walk back to the hotel with Alice and her mom in tow. Alice was not having any of it, and was screaming at the top of her little 2-year old lungs, "NO!! I WANT TO DANCE!!! YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!! I WANT TO DAAAAANNNNNCEEEEE!!!!" as we walked back to the hotel at 10:00PM. After about two blocks, we realized, we were going the wrong way - Alice was right! So we turned around, and had to walk past the ceilidh to get back to the hotel. Alice calmed down a little bit, and thankfully, when we walked by the ceilidh, her two sisters and dad were coming out to go back to the hotel as well. Phew!! What drama!! :-) 

The next morning was filled with even more Fringe events, starting the day with a musical, family-friendly version of MacBeth. And yes, it still had murder, suicide, and the like, but it was all done with such great flair, the adults and kids really enjoyed it. From time to time, I still find myself singing one of the main songs:

We are the good guys (good guys), 

and we do not deserve to die (to die)!

Inside a speigletent 

I think Audrey had a bit of a crush on the guy who played MacBeth, as she wanted us to take a photo of the two of them after the show. He tried to talk to Audrey, but she was shy, so he feigned disinterest when I took the photo as a way to be silly. 

Audrey with Macbeth

We also went to a pretty amazing trapeze act, where I took this cute picture of all three girls and their mom. Too bad Alice wasn't looking! 

Audrey, Gwen, Alison, and Marianne (smiling at the end of the row)

For the first part of the trapeze act, three artists were on the scaffolding, acting as though it was a raft after a shipwreck. At one point the cables holding up the right side of the scaffolding broke free, making the artists hang on  - it was very beautiful and impressive. But Alice did not like it one bit! She kept saying, rather loudly, "Oh, no! It's broken! That's dangerous, it's broken!" She became inconsolable, so her mom had to step out with her for the remainder of the program. 

Trapeze-type art show

On that last night a babysitter was procured for the three girls and the adults went out for dinner and a show. 

Well… Every restaurant was jammed packed (we didn't think ahead for reservations), we ended up eating at an Indian food truck before going to our 7-piece folk band concert. Then the 7-piece band was a no-show, so we got to sit and listen to a sad, political guitarist wax poetic about Scotland's failed bid for independence for an hour and a half. Off we went to a comedy club, finally saw a great show, went back to our hotel and proceeded to have wine in the Premier Inn bar until 2:00AM! I don't remember the last time I was out that late, having fun! 

Bill walking into the circus hub

Oh! And the next morning before we left Edinburgh, we went to one last show, The Amazing Bubble Man. Again, another kids' show that Bill and I never would have chosen on our own, but so much fun! 

Here's a little YouTube clip of the Amazing Bubble Man in action:

Scotland's Royal Military Tattoo… Again!

We went to Edinburgh's Royal Military Tattoo our first Summer we lived in England, and were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed it. When the opportunity to spend another weekend in Edinburgh and go to the Tattoo came along, we leaped at the chance.   

Waiting for the show to start

Although the show varies from year to year, the basic premise is the same. Host several countries' official military bands for a month and put on a big show… with lots of bagpipers piping! In the short video below, you can see the first piece of the show. 

During the program we saw shetland dancers, the official band and dancers from China, Mexico, and India, as well as the precision riffle team from America. 

How many pipers piping?!

Chinese military band

The dragon dance from the Chinese troop was particularly entertaining. As was the bollywood number from India. 

Cool dragon dance

When the American riffle team was juggling, tapping, and marching in precision with their riffles, the Edinburgh castle was lit with an all-American flag theme.

American rifle precision team

And at the end of the night, FIREWORKS!!

Fireworks finale

Fireworks finale

It was a great start to our weekend in Edinburgh. The rest of the weekend was devoted to attending Fringe festival events with our friends and their three girls. We had a BLAST! 

Cheshire Ring - Day Three, Totally Chill...

Halfway through our last full day on the water, everyone was so relaxed. We had all figured out our rolls on the boats, settled into the rhythm of the canal, and were just so chill. 

Pretty purple flowers

By mid-morning we had made our way to a mooring near a cute garden. We moored our boats, made the short hike, and explored the garden, letting the little ones romp around and get their wiggles out. 

Gwen and Alison

Back on the boat, it was obvious we were all much more comfortable. Alex was brave enough to sit high up on the boat's roof while 'helping' his dad un-moor the boat.

Alex takes charge

The sun was shining and the folks on the other boat were catchin' some rays as they floated past. 

Matt, Audrey, Marianne, and Alison

The older kids decided they wanted to learn how to navigate the canal. 

Michael with his nephew and Gwen

Gwen takes the "wheel"

While Marianne enjoyed some quite time at the front of the green boat. 

Marianne, super-chillaxin'

The kids knew what to do each time we reached a lock, mooring, or tunnel. And we encouraged their help, so we didn't have to do the work! 

More manual labor

Nick got pretty brave while he walked up and down the outside of the blue boat, preforming maintenance, a beer run, or the occasional push to ensure the two boats didn't get too close to one another. 

Nick, tempting fate

…Or he was just showing off! 

Nick, tempting fate yet again 

Everyone enjoyed the trip so much, we're already talking about going again! 

Cheshire Ring - Day Two, Land Excursion

We spent most of our time on the boat, but not all of our time. We stopped at canal-front pubs for many of our meals, and to let the kids get some of their energy out of their system. 

Pretending to be land-lubbers

We found a few parks and took a few walks — far away from the canal-edge that was all too easy to topple into — and all in all, had a lot of fun. 

Gwen, Alison, and Alex
(Photo Credit: Ihde Family)

One of the places we stopped was at an old, but still working, massive boat lock. We had debated using this boat lock and going down a different canal, but we were SO glad we didn't. We spent well over a half an hour watching the boat being lowered from the higher canal, and I don't know if it even moved five feet in all that time. We would have probably spent half the day waiting for our turn, then another two hours being lowered - no thank you! It is much more fun cruising down the canal at 3MPH than waiting in a queue!

Historic boat lock

The Cheshire Ring is in red on the map below. We only did a small sliver of the ring, going in one direction for a day and a half, turning around and going right back for a day and a half. We are already talking about going again next year. I can't wait!  

Cheshire Ring

Cheshire Ring - Day Two, Boat People

There are a bunch of people who own their own canal boats, either as their home, or as a travelling, weekend getaway. So, much like there are RV people (caravan people, to the Brits), there are boat people.  

Boat

As we cruise around, we encountered a lot of these people and their boats. Almost everyone waved as we crossed paths. Those who didn't wave usually looked like the sea captain from The SImpsons and were navigating a sad-looking, rusted-out, houseboat. 

Another boat

Some people had luxury accomodations. Many had wood burning stove chimneys peaking through the boat's roof.

Another boat

Most people, like the two who helped us learn when and where we were allowed to moor, were pleasant and helpful.  

And another boat

But there were some right cranky old bastards. Like the crusty old man, leaning out the window of his rusty barge that looked like it had been moored at the same location for years, who yelled at us for going too fast. We were MAYBE going 4MPH. 

Lookie here - another boat! 

Of course, there were other people who were renting boats for the day, weekend, or even week. We saw one group of the most depressed looking women, on a boat for a "hen do" (bachelorette party). There were all dressed up, but not talking, just staring ahead, looking like they just wanted off the boat. The running theory amongst our group was that they were all hung over from the night before and just about to feed the ducks. 

And yet anther! Fascinating!

Some boats had potted plants and flowers strategically placed along the decks and roof. 

Boat

Some just looked abandoned. 

Sad looking, creepy boat with no windows. Named, almond, of course! (?)

Every boat we saw, no matter how elegant or dilapidated, was named.

Boat

Sometimes a clever name, sometimes just Thingy.

Thingy

And all were painted differently, so that even if they were all basically, variations on the same theme (low, narrow boat with small prow and aft, they all had character. 

And the last boat I will subject you to… in this post!

As did all of the boat people we met along the way. And by the end of the trip, each one of us felt like we could definitely be boat people, too.

Cheshire Ring - Day Two, Tunnels and More

The boat locks on day one were very exciting, but on day two we got the chance to go through two fairly long, skinny tunnels. Because the tunnels only fit one boat at a time, a schedule is posted at each end, explaining that on the hour, boats coming from the other end were allowed through, and on the half-hour, boats on this end of the tunnel were allowed through. It takes about 20 minutes to go through the tunnel, so one must not dilly-dally when it's your turn!

Entering the first tunnel

Our boats were queued up, and as soon as we knew it was clear and our time and our turn, away we went! The green boat went first, with our blue boat following not far behind. 

Michael navigating into the tunnel

It was definitely narrow, and since the boat's long and a bit unwieldy, it took some time getting used to manuevering inside the tunnel. In fact, even though there was a little headlight on the boat, we used our phones as additional light source so we could see well enough to stay in the center of the tunnel. The guys piloting completely understood how the term "tunnel vision" came into being, after staring at the pinpoint of light at the end and trying to navigate straight towards it. 

The light at the end of the tunnel

I like the photo below because it is so deceiving. It looks like we're flying down the tunnel, but nope, 4 MPH is the speed limit, and we were probably going 2.5 or 3 at this point. You can kind of make out the green boat up ahead, just about to exit the tunnel. 

Go towards the light, Carrol-Anne! 

And a few shots of our fearless, tunnel-visioned pilots.

Action shot of Bill navigating the tunnel

Matt navigating through the second tunnel
(Photo Credit: Ihde Family)

And one shot exiting the second tunnel of the day. I wish I had captured this with my better camera, but the iPhone photo will have to do. I love how you can see the clouds reflected in the water, even inside the tunnel.

Exiting the tunnel

Throughout our first full day on the boat, we saw lots of water fowl. Including swans and ducks. We also saw a gorgeous great blue heron. (or maybe it's a green heron?)

Swan!

Heron!

Ducks!

The canal is said to only be about waist-deep at most, sometimes much more shallow. Both boats got stuck in the mud on at least one occasion. On the last day, Nick got our boat stuck in a rather wide spot in the canal... turns out Bill had dared him to try to do a doughnut. Didn't work, but it was certainly worth a laugh!

Getting un-stuck in the mud

An action shot of the two captains of the blue boat. All of the guys REALLY enjoyed this vacation. They had enough to keep them occupied (navigating the boat), but it was so quiet, peaceful, and serene that they all just zen'd out for the whole weekend. Bliss!!

Bill and Nick, co-captains of the blue boat

Just floating

And floating

Little Alex LOVED the boat. He and I hung out in the prow most of the weekend, his mom, Susan was with us as well when she wasn't tending to his 3-month old brother. The guys would join us when they took breaks from navigating the boat. 

Alex enjoyed the boat

We had dinner with Nick and Susan this weekend; when I arrived, Alex ran up to me, gave me a hi-five, and said, "You were on the boat with me!" Awwww!!

But he was happiest when we were NOT in the tunnels

Some of the things we saw looked really old, like this bridge that probably hasn't been used since the automobile had been invented.

Overgrown bridge

As we settled into the boat, we made use of every square inch. There wasn't really a square inch to spare! In the picture below, you see the luxury dining table for six, the kitchen, and beyond that, three "bedrooms" with the hallway to the right of each bed. There were two bathrooms, one of which had a shower.   

Luxury accommodations

But we didn't care! We were all friends to start, and thankfully, we came home even better friends! 

Matt having a beer at the end of the day
(Photo Credit: Ihde Family)