We're back in England, and the bay windows of our Airbnb glimpse back in time to Tudor England - the 1500s. The town is full of uneven buildings that date back to that time - or are made to look like that. The river Avon runs alongside the town, and in 1800, the canal was completed to connect Stratford to Birmingham. We've had a lovely few days to explore and see living history here.
Reflections from just another traveler
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Stratford-Upon-Avon
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Isle of Skye
Northlink and Loch Ness
One of the best parts of going to Shetland is the overnight ferry. It's such a fun experience to board the large and fancy (to me) ship, settle in our cabin, and eat dinner. The crossing was supposed to be pretty calm - but in the end, it was pretty exciting - up, down, side to side.
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Shapshots around Shetland
So many "oh wow" moments - our adventures continue:
Monday, February 26, 2024
Norik Up Helly Aa
Up Helly Aa is the Viking fire festival celebrated in Shetland every winter. The big festival is in Lerwick at the end of January, and we watched it online. It's very dramatic. But very crowded.
There are also another 12 smaller Up Helly Aa events. Last year, we went to parts of two of them, and it was really fun. They're very much community events, with the participants working for months to prepare, and touring the schools and care centers before the festival to show off their costumes.
This year, we happened to be in Unst for the Norik Up Helly Aa, and our airbnb host kindly got us tickets to go to the hall afterwards (the rest is free). Seeing the whole thing was amazing.