OFF TO THE LAND OF THE INSECTS _ MAY 10th

Alright folks, our view has changed dramatically! It now looks like a tapestry of oranges, reds, greens etcetera, creating a fabric so beautiful they decided to use it as seatcovers on the bus. we are now viewing the back of one of the seats towards the very back of the bus. I blame Leslie for this. She just could not behave herself completely while sitting so close to the front (ie. the vicinity of the driver). It is much more difficult to take good photos from this seat.

Sometimes I think Leslie and I are the only ones who came to have fun. We are both experiencing fits of laughter as the bus trundles along these lovely country roads through the lowlands of Scotland. The elevation may be lower, but it is anything but flat. Scottish legend says that when a Scotsman died in a foreign land he returned to Scotland by means of the "low road". Thus the song "If you take the high road, I'll take the low road and I'll be in Scotland afore ye." The condemned man would return before his freed buddy who was still alive. Sometimes being "afore ye" is not a good thing.

My only disappointment so far is that the UK seems to steer clear of good salads. We have eaten way too well over here but I am longing for a good, crisp salad.

Today we visited Gretna Green, famous for the Blacksmith marriages. England had strict laws on marriage, so many eloped to Scotand where they could marry easily.

You can all understand why approaching Gretna Green, in a vehicle carrying both Leslie and her "dream man" was cause for some concern. Well wouldn't you know it, Leslie left her camera on the bus just so she would have an excuse to return unchaperoned to fetch it. The driver doesn't know how close he came to being lured to the Blacksmith's Anvil. Thank goodness he had to eat breakfast in an area restricted to the passengers.

Following our brief stay here we crossed the border back to England at 10:40 am. We stopped at Grasmere for lunch before heading to Liverpool, our overnight destination.

We have been on a fast track these past few days-early mornings and late nights- most of our travelling companions are finding it easy to nod off between stops on the bus. They miss out on some tremendously panoramic views. I am just as interested in the journey as the destination - therefore I am determined to stay awake. I need to see it all - get my money's worth. Our tour director played an ample supply of soothing elevator music after lunch and I was grateful our driver managed to stay awake through it all.

Well, after being warned not to expect great things from our rooms at the Britannia Adelphi Hotel, Gloria-Rose and I think we've got a pretty good room! We have twin beds, ensuite bathroom, spacious sitting area, lots of room to relax.

For the last to nights we have had to suffer with an incredible view, from our room, of the Edinburgh Castle. To compensate, our room this evening overlooks a busy street and a seven story parkade.

So relax we did, our bags arrived and a minute later the phone rang and we were late for our tour. We should have been royally boo'ed, but we were royally pardoned by our tour guide, Hugh Davies.

We had a brief guided tour of Liverpool, starting with a visit to an absolutely magnificent Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ Your King. The choir was singing. The whole experience ethereal. It is the most magnificent structure I have ever seen. It was designed by the same 21 year old man who designed the English style red phone booths. Do not worry... The church is neither red nor tiny by any means.

Of course Liverpool is not complete without the Insects. We went to see "the Cavern" which was the coffee/tea nightclub where the Beatles were discovered. It is now a night club in the true sense of the word. Some of our group are there right now. The tour guide then took us to the Philharmonic Dining Room and Pub where Leslie and I had our first shandy : first of many I hope. It was very tasty.

Oh, I see Leslie neglected to tell you she had Shandy. Well it was not surprising that she would forget because after a half pint of shandy she forgot her purchase on the bus, her coat in the dining room and I as afraid to ask her what her name was for fear she had forgotten that too! Right now she is passed out on her bed. I must be the only one from our group who is behaving.
It must be that saintly complex that I felt tingling over me when we were in the chapel.

We'd been told the internet was available at MacDonald's 1/2 block from the hotel. Yes, Ronald MacDonalds, so we walked there only to find the internet was down so no blog could we post Thursday. We hope to have better access Friday when we get to Bristol.

Well good night until we are able to write again.

Written by Leslie and Gloria-Rose. You figure out who belongs to which paragraph>