Isle of Skye by Foot

Over Easter weekend we went to Isle of Skye and had a wonderful time. Wow is this little island in Scotland beautiful. We hit the weather jackpot. Nothing but clear blue, sunny skies. While we drove around Isle of Skype we picked out a couple hikes. I printed information from this website to use as a guide and it worked out very well.

First up was the Fairy Pools at the foot of the Black Cuillins near Glenbrittle. This hike took us about an hour there and back. Pretty easy hike with breathtaking views!

Towards the end of the day we made our way to Neist Point. Neist Point has one of the most famous lighthouses in Scotland and is on the most westerly tip of Isle of Skype near Glendale. Driving to the lighthouse is not for the faint of heart. Thankfully I was the passenger! Getting to the lighthouse was a one track road and Adam had to reverse down hills multiple times to get out of the way of oncoming traffic. It was an adventure! The hike/walk itself is pretty short. Some people chose to hike up this cliff but we opted against it. This would be a beautiful spot to watch the sunset.

  

The following day we hiked through the Quiraing area. This was by far my favorite hike and the most challenging. This area is part of the Trotternish ridge and has been formed by massive landslips  which have created high cliffs, hidden plateaus and pinnacles of rock.  The terrain was a little challenging and probably should have had hiking boots...next time :)

We also stopped at Old Man of Storr for a hike but went the wrong way. After soaking our shoes in mud we took in the view and headed back to the car... The area at the beginning of the hike has been turned into a commercial tree farm and everything has recently been cut down. So it is extremely muddy. This hike is properly the most famous walk on the island. 'Old Man" is a large pinnacle of rock that stands high and can be seen from miles around. Lucky for us, you can see the view from the start of the hike!

Hiking in Isle of Skye was something I will never forget. If you every get the change, please go! Overall my favorite hikes were the Fairy Pools and Quiraing. All of the hikes have a car park but make sure to get there early, especially in the summer.

A afternoon at Hampton Court Palace

So, I am miserably failing at updating this blog...

This past Saturday, Adam and I ventured to Hampton Court Palace and had a lovely afternoon. It's about an hour southwest of central London by train.

Spring has been so beautiful in London. I can't get enough of all the tulips!

Made it through the maze!

The palace is right along the Thames.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Hello everyone, we are missing everyone back in the states but we are very thankful for all the opportunities we have been experiencing in Europe! We had a great Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, a little different than we are use to, but had a great time and have so much to be thankful for. We ended up making a chicken instead of turkey. The only turkey I could find was at Whole Foods for 50GBP, yikes! I also tried a couple new recipes; a homemade apple pie and rosemary sweet potato and apple hash with cranberries. The sweet potato dish was so good, I highly recommend it!

Onto our most recent getaway, last weekend Adam and I hopped on a plane to Copenhagen. We had such a great time and couldn't have had better weather...well maybe a little warmer but we had nothing but sunny blue skies!! 

We ended up staying at WakeUp Copenhagen. Everything in Copenhagen is so expensive and so was this hotel but a much better price than a lot of other options in the city. The rooms are very small but clean and pretty centrally located. Supposedly Copenhagen is the least expensive major city in Scandinavia. 

Even so, we fell the love with the city and all the Christmas magic! One  of the things we are really loving about Europe is all the Christmas markets,  it really puts you in the Christmas spirit.

When we got to Copenhagen we dropped our bags off at the hotel, then walked around the city.

 We stopped for lunch at Cafe Wilder, where Adam had the largest burger ever and I had an amazing goat cheese and pear salad. Add this to your list of restaurants if you are ever in the city. Most of the places we ate at were recommendations from Rick Steves' book or Time Out- 48 hours in Copenhagen. We also had a great dinner at Mother Pizza Parlor. 

After lunch we headed to the very intriguing borough of Christianshavn, right outside of downtown Copenhagen.  It's a commune of about 850 residents where they live a very progressive and liberating Danish lifestyle. There is a lot of controversy about the area regarding these "special laws" i.e. buying and selling of soft drugs. It was very interesting to read about and see an alternative community. Many of the areas within the neighborhood have prohibitions against taking pictures, but I managed to snap a few outside the restricted areas.

The main street- Pusher Street is where the selling of soft drugs takes place. It literally is like a farmers market of selling drugs...

After walking around Christianshavn we headed back to the city centre. Most people ride bikes everywhere, even in the freezing temperatures. Cars are taxed at 180 percent here!

The next morning we had a late breakfast at Cafe Norden. I loved the atmosphere and the place was decked out in Christmas decorations. Adam and I both got the brunch which was a ton of food. It even came with a piece of cake!

 Opera house

Checking out the Little Mermaid statue. Hans Christian Andersen, the author of many fairy tails including The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New Clothes and The Princess and the Pea is from Denmark and lived most of his life in Copenhagen.

Trying the famous Gløgg. It's a hot punch made of red wine, brandy, and, sherry flavored with almonds, raisins and orange peel.

 Checking out the Nyhavn Christmas market.

One of the nights we checked out Tivoli Gardens, a winter wonderland. If this doesn't put you in the Christmas spirit, not sure what will. So magical! 

 

 Checking out another Christmas market.

 Until next time Copenhagen!