Restless Explorer

When looking at hotels for our trip to Scotland this past August, I was shocked by the prices.  If we wanted to stay anywhere near Old Town or New Town it was going to cost us $600 CAD plus a night for a budget hotel.  I started panicking… how was I going to afford this?  So, I started looking a bit further from the city center, prices still didn’t look great. Then someone suggested looking at the Travelodge.  I visited their website and came across the Travelodge Cameron Toll.  It was a bit further from the city center, but wasn’t too far.  It was a budget hotel but had a restaurant, a bar and the ratings for cleanliness were good.  We ended up paying about $320 CAD a night… believe me that was a good price for August in Edinburgh, during Fringe Festival.

When planning our UK and Ireland trip, I was the least excited for Scotland; kilts, haggis and gloomy weather?   But my presumptions and expectations were wrong, Edinburgh was my favorite city on the trip and one of my favorite cities I’ve travelled to.  What’s so special about Edinburgh you may ask?  All you need to do is look up some pictures and you’ll understand.  A visit to Edinburgh is like a visit to the past.  Medieval architecture everywhere with flower pots and flags lining the building façades, cobblestone streets, castles and gothic churches litter Edinburgh’s landscape.  One stroll through Old Town and along the Royal Mile and you’ll be amazed.

When we were in York we met some friends for dinner.  We wanted British food in the heart of York and they recommend The Star Inn.  The chef is a Michelin Star chef, and the other Star Inn in Harome has earned a Michelin Star.  In York the restaurant does not have a star but has excellent ratings and has won several awards.

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a history fanatic, particularly violent and exciting history like the Vikings.  So, when we decided to go to York, I know there’d be a lot of interesting stuff to see and learn, especially after watching Vikings Valhalla and some of The Last Kingdom.  After researching, I discovered the JORVIK Viking Center; so closer to the time of our trip I looked to book tickets, and then found out you could add on two other experiences for only a few extra pounds.  This is called the Pastport which includes all three experiences.

York is small and easy to get around, but still the best place to stay is The Shambles.  We only had two nights so needed to be close to the action.  With such a good price, that’s why we booked the Hampton by Hilton York Piccadilly.

After our 5 nights in London, we boarded the LNER (London’s Northeast Railway) for a two-hour train ride to York.  York is halfway between London and Edinburgh, Scotland, so it was a perfect stop if doing a multi-city trip through the United Kingdom.  We had two nights in York, and we were glad we chose to stay there.

Paddington Bear is one of the most famous cultural symbols of London.  There are three movies, a TV series and a new film and series in development.  If you don’t have kids, Paddington Bear may not interest you as much, but it is still something worth watching before London; as for the experience, you don’t want to be a creep and go solo, so watch the movies and skip the experience.  But as for Paddington Bear tourism in London, there is a Paddington Bear store in Paddington Station, a Paddington walking tour, a Paddington themed double-decker bus and the Paddington Experience.  We chose to visit the store in the station and book the Paddington Experience.

The British get a bad wrap when it comes to cuisine.  “It’s all potatoes”… “it’s bland”… “they don’t use enough spices”… “all they use is salt and pepper”, are many of the phrases you hear when listening to people talk about British food.  But when you are there, the food is actually excellent.  And yes, some of those things are true… there are a lot of potatoes and the main spices used are salt and pepper; maybe it’s because of the farming, but the English know how to make their food tasty.  London is also a very diverse city, so there any many options of cuisines to try.  But be careful, with all the carbs, some from food, some from beer, I probably gained about 10 pounds on my trip to the UK.

We were landing in London on our one-year wedding anniversary so we wanted to have a nice dinner.  Even though I was dying to get to a pub, this could wait.  A couple of weeks prior to our vacation we looked for somewhere close to our hotel with good ratings and a good view.  After finding out that a few interesting places close to us were full or had menus that didn’t look too appealing, we settled on the Butler’s Wharf Chophouse which looked perfect for the occasion.

London is a massive global city with a ton of history; with that being said there is tons to do and something for everyone.  To fully explore London, you need a lot of time and energy.  We spent 5 days there, packed our itinerary and still could have used another day or two.  There are historic landmarks to see, great restaurants and markets, amazing pubs, tons of kid’s activities and cool neighborhoods to just walk around, grab a coffee or a pint and explore.

Everyone has heard of Stonehenge and it is one of the most famous sites in the world, but realistically in the photos it doesn’t look that special.  But it is one of those travel bucket lists; something you should see if you are in England.  When planning our itinerary and doing some research, I came across a tour on Get Your Guide that included Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath.  It was costly ($600 CAD) for two adults, and our baby was free, but it had good ratings and was a full 12-hour day where you got to see a lot.  You could customize the tour and pay less if you didn’t want entrance in the above 3 attractions, then you’d just explore the towns, but we decided it was worth it and booked the full package.

Anyone who’s been to London knows it’s expensive.  Being the global city with some of the world’s most iconic sites comes with a price tag, but luckily there are a wide range of hotels available.  When researching, the hotel with the best ratings, in the best location and with a decent price was The Tower Hotel.  I was shocked when I saw the price, after reading a few reviews we booked it!  We secured a price of just under $250.00 CAD a night, in the peak season of August, it seemed too good to be true.