in the meantime

we arrived in london on sunday afternoon. many friends had warned us that london drivers have a tendency to tailgate. this was quickly confirmed by the numerous signs by the road prompting drivers to keep a safe distance between cars. we had also been told that traffic was really bad in the london area. in order to reduce traffic, the city of london introduced a congestion tax for all cars that enter the inner perimeter of the city. because we were driving in from scotland, we rented an apartment outside of the city where we could leave the car safely. we are staying in woolwich. it is about 20 minutes from city centre, by either boat, tube or train. we had to take a long route around the city to avoid the congestion charge so we anticipated lots of traffic, but we actually had none! it was a breeze. we arrived so quickly we needed to find something to do in the meantime before meeting with the owner of our property to get the keys to our flat.

the kids were hungry as usual. eric had heard of a pub in the greenwich area nearby called "the greenwich union". it was located on a side street of a quaint little neighbourhood. the put was filled with parents and their kids. bikes were parked in the doorway. dogs were allowed in the pub. it was such a relaxed and convivial atmosphere. it was roast beef sunday so we were treated to the most amazing roast beef and yorkshire pudding. eric got to taste some local beer. for one brief moment, all was right with the world. i took some of my best photos of the kids that day. i was feeling the love. if you are ever in london, this place is a must!

Sherwood Forest

North of Nottingham is the royal Sherwood Forest, home of thelegendary Robin Hood. We made our way there, about an hour before sunset, the unofficial closing time for the park.

Sherwood used to be hunting grounds for the privileged, offering unlimited opportunities, as you know, for Robin and his merry men to steal from the riches and give to the poor.

Numerous very old oak trees can still be found in the forest, even the one that Robin used as a hideout. The Major Oak is more than one thousand years old. The larger branches are braced in order to prevent the tree from breaking down. Needless to say that one cannot climb this famous tree.

We picked up branches from the ground and started pretending we were shooting the bow and arrow at the Sheriff of Nottingham . We climbed on the fences along the path to hide. A well deserved adventure after a day riding in the car...

Sur le pouce...

Se rendre à Nottingham depuis Édinburgh était assez ambitieux. Alors, il n'était pas question de perdre trop de temps en pénétrant jusqu'au centre d'une ville et ainsi s'éloiner de la A1(M).

Affamés et résignés, nous avons pris la sortie de Darlington, sans trop d'espoir de trouver un resto potable. Toutefois, nous avons gardé les yeux grands ouverts et, déjà là, sur le bord de la route, un tableau noir, sur lequel il est écrit à la craie: "Home made food". C'est ici qu'on arrête!

Le "Foresters Arms", un pub on ne peut plus local, nous accueille les bras grands ouverts. La serveuse-propriétaire Kate est très joviale. Elle nous demande de lui rappeler de donner du pains aux enfants pour aller nourir les poules, les canards et les moutons dans la cour arrière avant même que nous soyons tous assis à table.

Au menu, des saucisses de venaison, des saucisses de lapin et boudin et, bien entendu, du poisson et frites. Repus, les enfants se sont amusés à attirer la basse-cour, tandis que le conducteur sirotait paisiblement sa dose de caféine.

Un délicieux coin de paradis au beau milieu de nulle part. Qui a dit qu'on mangeait mal en Angleterre?

edinburgh

edinburgh, capitale de l'écosse. surplombant la ville, on trouve le château d'edinburgh -- et oui, nous avons visité un autre château. c'est de loin l'un des mieux préservé que nous ayons vu.

dans le château, nous avons pu voir la couronne de la reine d'écosse ainsi que la 'stone of destiny' utilisée lors des couronnements royaux en écosse.

colin combat le lion

un aperçu de la ville d'edinburgh

dubh prais

for our last evening in scotland, we had made a reservation at a traditional scottish restaurant dubh prais. we had watched anthony bourdain's no reservation and were anticipating a great meal. we were not disappointed. we enjoyed haggis (everyone liked it, even the kids). haggis tastes just like minced pie. we also tried the venison from the highlands. if you are ever in the area, we really recommend this place. it was a nice way to end our whirlwind tour of scotland.

valentine's day

it's valentine's day and it's only fitting that i share with you a picture of our london tour today. at piccadilly circus, you can see a statue of cupid which was adorned with hearts for the occasion.

happy valentines day.

inverness

afin de visiter le loch ness, nous avons du nous rendre jusqu'à la ville d'inverness. le loch ness est le plus gros lac de grande-bretagne donc il fallait faire le tour vers le nord. la ville d'inverness était assez surprenante. petite et compact, elle savait se rendre belle pour les touristes. les ponts, les églises et le château étaient illuminés en soirée -- avec les couleurs de l'arc-en-ciel. les restaurants étaient excellents. nous avons mangé du poisson local et magalie a eu droit à un steak extra-ordinaire (du menu pour enfant!).

moi, j'ai surtout aimé le service du garage qui a remplacé mon pneu crevé avec un nouveau pneu en 15 minutes... bref, inverness valait le détour.