Howdy all — Just checking in on this cloudy Memorial Day in Denver. I scooted around Denver Saturday and Sunday, when it wasn’t so cloudy, discovering and re-discovering a couple of great patios. As the new editor of Denver’s print monthly mag: Motorcycle Rider News, I blogged about those discoveries there, so check out my blog here at MRN.com and here at my other blog.
Still have lots more to tell you about Scotland, but a fun one to talk about is — Traveling Jordan. Anyone that has kids may have heard about the traveling Flat Stanley book. If not, here’s a quick blurb: “In the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown, Stanley is squashed flat by a falling bulletin board. Since he is now flat, he can visit his friends by traveling in an envelope.”
Well, my best friend from my high school called me to ask if her son could send me his own version of Traveling Stanley to take on my trip to Scotland & England. Of course, I said yes! Afte returning from Scotland, we ended the trip with Traveling Jordan getting a view of a Colorado Rockies baseball game at Coors Field. 
What a fun school project — in fact, I think I had just as much fun!
 Made me wish my kids were still younger. Oh wait, I have grandkids, so no need to relieve that pain….
Have a great weekend!
Diana
The flight is always the worst part of the journey, even more so when you’re flying across the pond to Scotland. But I’m here, and I arrived to an overcast (typical) day in Edinburgh after an overnight flight through Newark then to Edinburgh.Â
It’s been a whirlwind sort of trip, always heading to the next place with barely enough time to explore. Sunday (April 27) we began our journey with tea, coffee, mimosas and pastries at Rocco Forte’s The Balmoral. We were greeted by staff dressed in kilts — what a way to start the journey into Scotland. Checked in to this striking historic hotel, took a quick walkabout in downtown Edinburgh, near CityCentre. Lunch at The Dome, drinks on board the Royal Yacht Brittannia.Â
I knew I’d come home when our tour guide for the royal yacht, really more like a cruise ship, was named Viv Rowe, a grizzled little man retired from the Royal Navy, with a welcoming smile and the gift of gab — ah yes, I thought he must be a relative.
Dinner back at The Balmoral.   A “piper” serenaded us and played a wee bit of pipes, culminating in the haggis and hummus ceremony. While the vision of sheep’s intestines and other innards is a bit off-putting, I did give it a sample. It tastes rather rich and spicy, and I much preferred the mashed potato part of the haggis “cake.” The traditional Scotch whisky was the perfect compliment, mostly to make you forget about what you were really eating.
I finally stumbled my way back to my room, partly due to not having slept for a day, and then perhaps a wee bit of the blame might be the Scotch whisky and wine…
 More soon!
Diana
