How I spent my summer vacation, Part II

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

Unlike South Florida, trains are big in Europe. In the United Kingdom, for example, in order to get from city to city, one must take the train. My trip from Glasgow to Edinburgh was aboard the comfort of a first class car on a Virgin Train. It had wi-fi (spotty though it was), comfy seats and a concession at which to purchase drinks and snacks. That was pretty cool. Commuter trains, however, are similar to Miami-Dade County public buses, only not as nice. One commuter train I took on the final leg of my journey from Edinburgh to Liverpool even had its very own town drunk aboard, who offered me a swig from his bottle. I politely declined, of course, eternally grateful for the package of antibacterial wipes in my handbag.

The City of Edinburgh, though, has got to be one of the prettiest in the world. The minute you pull into the train station you feel like you’ve stepped into King Arthur’s era. Everything is so old, yet so well preserved, it’s like time stood still hundreds of years ago. Here’s an example of a typical building you see on every single block of Edinburgh.

Turn a corner and you’ll walk onto a street just like this one.

Or this one.

Often, you’ll come across a Scottish bagpiper playing for his dinner.

I stayed in the Scotsman Hotel.

With this view from my window.

Here’s the requisite Edinburgh clock tower.

Edinburgh also boasts that it was the home of the famous Scottish poet, Robert Burns’ first visit there.

But the main attraction in Edinburgh is the castle. Perched high atop the castle rock in the center of town is the pride and joy of the city. Just a quick walk up this street and through the archway is the entrance.

The main attraction at the castle is the One O’Clock Gun,

Which they fire every day at one o’clock. Except for Sundays.

One can also see ladies dressed up in medieval costumes.

For some reason that reminded me of Disney World.

But the coolest thing I saw in Edinburgh was an honest to goodness World War II U.S. Army Jeep parked right on the street! WTF?

Actually there were three vehicles parked there, and they were attracting quite a crowd. I spoke with the young man next to one of them, and he told me he was a collector of United States Army jeeps and trucks. I asked him if he and his crew were there for a particular reason, such as an exhibition. “No,” he replied. “We just stopped to get lunch.” Okay! Hey, gotta eat, right? Well, I got a kick out of the encounter.

OFF TO LIVERPOOL

The next stop on my trip was Liverpool, home of the world famous Beatles Museum.

Where you can visit Eleanor Rigby’s grave.

Liverpool also boasts the famous Liver Birds.

Don’t ask. Just google it.

Liverpudlians like statues. Especially of naked men. As witnessed here.

And here.

One Irish American bar proudly boasted a much smaller version of the Statue of Liberty.

Huddled masses, anyone?

However, I must confess that the best part of my trip to Liverpool was the discovery that Apple stores can be found in even the most remote corners of the earth.

Considering the problems I was having with my iPhone, I cannot describe the relief I felt. (Shameless unpaid plug here: Apple geeks are the best!)

On my way to the train station, I stopped at the Anglican Cathedral for a look see, and (among others) I took this picture of the altar.

Enough of Liverpool, on to London. By train. If you’ve always wanted to know what a train bathroom looks like, here it is.

LONDON

As fate would have it, I accidentally found myself on the literal doorsteps of Buckingham Palace on the very day (and actually the very moment!) that the Royal Vagina spit out the future King of England.

Here are the Palace gates.