Home again, home again...

Hello lovelies! We're officially back in the US of A! I started to update yesterday but crashed pretty quick - it was a weird day; and 8 hour time difference is quite a lot to handle!
Let's backtrack a bit and talk about our journey home. It was a long day, to say the least!
We started off with our last day at Smile! Cafe. Rocco was on shift that day so we spent a nice bit of time with him.


He's so freaking precious.
We had fun making frown faces to denote our extreme sadness in leaving...

Love that one of Cindy!

All silliness aside, we'll be missing our awesome Italian coffee and our adorable new friends, Santino and Rocco!
Back to the flat... One last time up the four flights of circular stairs and did a sweep of the house for any missing items.
Then off to the airport - got there quite early and it was a good thing! We ended up needing the extra time - note to you travelers - whisky CANNOT be packed in your carry-on unless it is purchased AT THE AIRPORT. So some frantic scrambling and reorganizing... Then poor Diana had to go all the way back to recheck a bag then go through security again. When she got back we thought maybe she'd be needing to drink the whisky right there at that moment but she was full of smiles so no need to crack open an emergency bottle at the Duty Free shop. (The funny thing is that none of us are whisky drinkers anyway, but when in Scotland...)
Here's a lovely shot of Cindy and Luna while we were waiting...

Aren't they pretty??!!
So we boarded the plane for a relatively quick jaunt to London then RACED to the next plane (we only had an hour!) But we did well and everything flowed smoothly and before you knew it we were on the big plane to Seattle! 9.5 hours of that bit of fun - including 3 babies screaming and crying and one puker. Awesome!!!
I myself caught up on four movies... Wanderlust (hilarious), the latest Sherlock Homes (always shot well but kinda long...), Albert Nobbs with Glenn Close - she's a genius! It was amazing..., and a fun romantic comedy called This Means War, I think, that was decent. Pretty people, you know... Missed the last ten minutes due to landing in Seattle but thankfully Cindy watched that one on the way there and filled me in. Let's just say that one is a Netflixer.
So that's enough of my movie reviews! Thankful for on flight entertainment - makes the time pass by nicely! (Unless you're watching Bel Ami... Don't even get me started...)
Back to Seattle... Long line through the passport check, pick up luggage, customs, luggage back to be checked to Spokane, then a three hour wait until the next plane. Thought we would fall asleep for sure! We were really feeling it then!
Finally on the plane to Spokane... Quick hop over then off at last... back in Spokane!


Richard picked us up and we were so glad to see him!
Dropped off MommaRam, then Jenna and Luna (happy dogs greeted us squealing and jumping about - we have three), and then Cindy back home to be greeted similarly by her cats (she has three!) so our menageries of animals were all happy again and all was right in the world!

The next morning, Luna and I got up quite early and decided to walk down to The Shop, our glorious neighborhood coffee shop for Jenna's long awaited "dirty chai" (iced chai tea with three shots of espresso - delicious!) (Thanks to Carrie for getting me hooked on that one!)

As we walked I was inspired to share how pretty our home neighborhood is - we saw many beautiful places in Europe but we also live in a very lovely place - for all of the complaining Americans do, we sure are blessed to live here; we have a truly magnificent country!

On the corner of my street

My glorious coffee place!

Luna Jean

Cool interior

Happy me!

Was missing Cindy so we texted quite a bit while we both enjoyed our respective coffees!
So that's about it, folks! We will work on doing a "behind the blog" of sorts with extra pictures and Cindy wants to fill you in on some things, including the Glasgow Cathedral and St. Andrews so keep checking back from time to time!
Missing Scotland but glad to be home! Weird to see spectacularly sunny skies and wear summer clothes - going to be hot moving on forward!
Blessings to you all -
Jenna

Location:E 9th Ave,Spokane,United States

Sigh... Winding Down...

Sigh... Lovelies, it's our last day in Scotland! And it's POURING like crazy!

We started the morning off right with Santino, who tells us he will miss us as much as we will miss him. And we're his only American friends! How cool is that?!

:: Jenna, Santino, Luna & Cindy ::

:: Jenna & Cindy ::

We had a nice day out and about on Buchanan Street - last trip to All Saints, naturally, and the Queen was in town to see us off. The procession went by All Saints as Jenna was trying on clothes... Come on, what's more important?! (The girls caught sight of the procession, so all is well!)

We went to lunch at DiMaggio's... AGAIN... (it's that good!)



And then finished up some last minute shopping. We got home just about in time for the serious rain to start. And it's a doozy.

So seriously... That's all to report for today. We leave tomorrow and will be back in Spokane quite late in the evening. Leaving 50-60 degree weather for official summer! Wild!

Yesterday was slow for the Redhawk family. We took it easy and packed Brandon up and then went to dinner at the Ubiquitous Chip which was FREAKING AMAZING. We unknowingly ate a Spanish version of blood pudding and it was delicious beyond belief. I know... I know... Super gross... But it was surprisingly yum-yum. Brandon said we never would have consumed half of what was on the plate if we knew what it was first so it's a good thing we're adventurous folk.

:: Luna's Vanilla Bean ::

Cindy and Diana had a much more exciting day - they went to St. Andrews! They came back full of smiles and had a smashing good time. I will share one special picture that mom shared with me... Something very important to my (late) father, Bob, who was an avid runner... From the Chariots of Fire film...

:: Beach scene from Chariots of Fire... We miss you so much, Bob! ::

That brings tears to my eyes!

Well... We're in the midst of packing and such so we'll be signing off for now. Keep checking in though... Cindy will update you on St. Andrews upon our return and will fill in some more blanks and we'll update you on our journey home as well. Also, we'll have more photos to share from the "good" camera.

Wish us a safe journey home! We love you all and thanks for coming with us on this extraordinary adventure! It has been a magical experience on many levels!

Blessings and love!
Jenna, Cindy, Diana and Luna

Location:Clouston St,Glasgow,United Kingdom

Let's Review... Monday Train to Oban

Afternoon, lovelies! We're nearing the end of our Scotland adventures. A recap is due to you about our Monday excursion - a day trip to Oban.

We left around 7:15am for the train station at Queen Street in Glasgow. Coffees and nibbles were purchased, and then we were off on a three+ hour train ride to Oban, along the Western coast of Scotland.

We saw lots of this:



And this:



It's impossible to capture the true beauty of the Scottish landscape by train. The rolling green hills, the sheep, the hairy Highland "Coos" (cows), the little precious houses along the way, more sheep, the Lochs... And so on. You get the idea. It's freaking beautiful.

:: There's a tiny castle in the distance. Trust us! ::

:: Little Waterfall ::

:: Little Luna Eyes ::

:: Pretty girl on the train ::

:: This handsome little fella was also along for the ride! ::

We arrived in the darling town of Oban a little after 11:30am. Just in time for lunch! But first some cute town photos...

 :: Cute Town Photo ::

:: Beautiful Oban ::

Oban is OLD. The first known inhabitants were here around 8,000 BC. That's pretty freaking impressive, wouldn't you say?! They found their remains when they were building a warehouse in 1894. Interesting stuff!

But at that moment we were mostly interested in being fed, so we headed to the Waterfront Fishhouse Restaurant for a nice leisurely lunch on the water. (Hence the name, Waterfront. Duh, Jenna!)

:: There's our girl, Cindy! Miss those latte pictures!!! ::

:: Ooh... And Diana's beer! ::

:: Brandon ordered a Kilt Lifter - nice! ::

:: Jenna was happy to sample it - yum! ::

Another big YUM! Goat cheese and cranberry compote on toast. Tracy & Jenna loved theirs!

Oban is well known as the seafood "capital" of Scotland! Most everyone was ecstatic about this - with the exception of Jenna, who doesn't "feast on our friends from the sea." (Never fear - I did quite well despite the fact!) And a wonderful lunch was had by all!

After lunch we split up into two groups for shopping. Cindy & Diana headed out to the quilting and yarn shops, among other things I'm sure, and the rest of us popped in and out to the touristy shops, biding our time to the Oban Whisky Distillery tour, where we all met up once again!

:: Yay! It's Whisky Time! ::

There we were treated to a wondrous tour 'o' whisky, Oban style! No photos were allowed but it was a very interesting process, as we were lead from room to room, watching and learning the complicated process of whisky making. Of course no tour is complete without a taste, and they did not disappoint! We were able to sample a 9 year early pull as well as the final 14 year end product. Delicious! Some of you will be able to try this as well - especially our Spokane readers, as Jenna & Brandon bought a bottle! Super fun for everyone.

After the tour we had two hours to kill so we went to the "Olive Garden" which is in no way affiliated with the Olive Garden that we know and love in the US of A. But it was okay and kept us busy until the train ride back to Glasgow.


Back in Glasgow... Very sad to say goodbye to Kristin and Tres. We wish them a safe journey home tonight. They took an early train this morning (Tuesday) to London and then are on a plane, right at this moment, actually, from London to NJ.

That's it for the Monday update!

Signing off for now... Jenna

Tuesday Morning Update With Jenna

Happy Tuesday morning, Lovelies!

It's actually not raining (at the moment) and Tracy & Kristin departed early this morning on their long journey back home to the fine state of NJ. (Jenna is quite sad about this. But looking forward to her trip back home to see them in September, and this time she will be bringing her bestie, Carrie, along for the ride!) Cindy and Diana are on their way to St. Andrews for the day, Brandon is sleeping in for the first time on his whole vacation, and Luna is watching Megamind (and exclaimed this morning, "I'm up for anything today as long as it involves sitting on the couch all day.") Not a bad idea, Luna!

It's just me and you, folks! Jenna and her Smile! Cafe latte... trying to catch you up on some of our comings and goings over the past two days. It's amazing how little time there has been to write with so many people involved in our adventure! I'm sure you all understand though. Not writing means we're just busy having lots of fun!

Sunday was more of a slower day. We split up quite a bit in the morning, so the best I can do is let you know what I've been up to and the little I know about who did what and what we all ended up doing together... Lots of choose your own adventures abound!

Let's start off with some yummy curry soup from Naked Soup:

:: Mmmm... ::

We want to try to recreate this at home! (To my dearest Joy - are you interested?! You'd love this!)

Brandon and I headed over to the wondrous Naked Soup and we shared that delicious soup and a panini. This place is one of my favorites that we've been to over here in Glasgow. I wish we had this at home! Brandon concurred...  It may look plain, but it tasted delicious!

:: Panini Heaven! ::

The girls, Kristin & Tracy, went to the Kelvingrove Museum after a failed attempt at going to the Macintosh Museum, which is apparently under construction. Diana, Luna and Cindy all stayed back and rested.

In the afternoon we all met up again and went to the Botanical Gardens which is located conveniently around the corner from where we're living. This place was a splendid treat! Brandon and I were commenting that we know we're officially "old" now that we actually enjoy photographing flowers and making garden plans. Ha ha... So here's a bunch of flower shots for all of us "olds" out there...

:: Brandon had a photography field day! ::

:: Is that Tracy hiding back there? ::

:: If you look closely, you can see the beautiful and rare "Luna" flower! ::

:: Luna and her Pretty Grandma ::

:: Check out that trunk! It looks like snakes! ::

:: Secret Stairs ::

:: Koi Pond ::

:: I want these in my garden!::

:: Diana, Jenna & Tracy ::

After our flower bonanza we headed down the path towards the picturesque walkway that goes down below the bridge we frequent up above everyday. It was a magical pathway!

:: The bridge we frequent ::

:: Magical Gates ::

This place is perfect for a fairy ring! Luna and Auntie Kristin got to work. But first we all got to "charge" our stones with love and positive thoughts...

:: Diana's Stone ::

:: Jenna's Stone::

Luna hand selected each stone for each person. Her Auntie's Cindy, Tracy & Kristin, Grandma, Daddy & Mommy and herself - all hand selected. It was very cute and she did a great job making the choices! On to the construction...

:: Luna took this photo ::

:: Luna and her Creation ::

Oh no! We have company!

:: How hilarious is that?! ::

We love it! Luna had the foresight when planning on the "ingredients" of what to leave for the fairies NOT to leave chocolate just in case a dog came along, such as this darling pooch, who immediately happened upon Luna's circle. Smart and thoughtful girl! (Chocolate is toxic to dogs, for those who did not know.)

Many thanks to Auntie Kristin for making this so special and memorable for Luna. I'm sure this was the highlight of her trip!

We headed back to the flat and prepared to scout out some delicious local dinner.

Mommaram found a nice little car:





And we ended up at a burger joint that was awesome! It's called Ketchup:

:: The beautiful sisters ::

:: Kristin & Luna ::

We all had a lovely dinner together and then headed back to the flat. The girls ended up staying at the hotel right behind us and I got a nice view from the courtyards I've been admiring from up above from the reverse view - looking up to our flat!










Pretty amazing view!

I'll end here for now and we'll fill you in on our Monday adventure to Oban a little later.

One more picture... Of our precious squirrel friend...





That's all for now, lovelies!

Jenna

Location:Clouston Ln,Glasgow,United Kingdom