Thursday and Friday - Back to England and a visit with Graham and Katinka in Redding

Graham and Katinka

Graham needed to bring his boat from Oxford England to Redding for repairs so we had a lovely day on the Thames.

Graham asked Art to handle the anchor as we set off and the lines as we passed through the many locks along the way.  Little did he know the about the risk of gastrointestinal illness from the Thames but he soon learned that giardia was about the worst thing ever.  It is sometimes rightly referred to as the great fermentation and that is what it felt like in his gut.  He started feeling queasy that night and woke the next day - the day we had reservations to fly home - feeling awful.  Needless to say, it was one of the worst flights ever but he managed to get home without embarrassing himself.  On Tuesday, he was diagnosed and given a massive antibiotic which cleared it up in a few days.

Wednesday - Edinburgh, Scotland

The capital city of Scotland is a lovely college town.   We found a terrific bangers and mash place for dinner with four types of vegetarian bangers and about 15 types of mash at Mums on Forrest St.

Tuesday - Sterling Castle

Sterling Castle

Monday - Kippen, Scotland

Kippen is the home of Margaret Flint, Rachel and Andrew's Grandmother.  Margaret is 93 and lives alone in a small cottage under the watchful eyes of several neighbors and the Inn Keeper across the street.

Views along the road to Kippen

We had a terrific stay at The Cross Keys Inn.  The room was comfortable, the food was great and the Innkeepers were wonderful.  They take very good care of Margaret.

Margaret and Mary

Margaret's cottage

Sunday - English Gardens

We had a lovely tour of several English gardens near Peter and Priscilla's

Saturday Kew Gardens

Kew Royal Botanical Gardens

Lovely grounds and large glass greenhouses housing plants and trees from around the world plus an extensive seed repository.  The gardens were started in the 16th century by Henry VII.  Today, one of their missions is collecting and preserving seeds and plants from around the globe with a focus on habitats and species that are a priority for seed conservation.

There are three cafes on the grounds each with a slightly different menu.

The table was set as a display.  Everything was screwed down

Peter and Priscilla were the terrific hosts

The Peacocks were very entertaining.  

As were the baby ducks