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16 SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | OCTOBER 2024 By Janet Boyce, Resident Traveling to the United Kingdom (UK) was something I always wanted to do, so it came o my "bucket list" during the fall of 2022. I had been to London years ago while in college, but this was denitely dierent. e trip began in England with stops in London and York. London is unique with its old style buildings next to today's modern architecture. I love seeing the multiple chimneys atop the old roofs, and the narrow cobblestoned streets. Buckingham Palace with its statue of Queen Victoria, and the golden entry gates, is impressive. e Big Ben clock tower, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Harrod's department store are a must to see. Aer the capital of London, we moved north to York which is famous for William Shakespeare. We experienced the old village, and the house where he lived. Of course, there is a statue honoring him in the center of town. From England, we went further north into Scotland, and the capital of Edinburgh. We toured the famous Edinburgh Castle, up high on Castle Rock. It was built in the 11th century, and was lived in until 1633. e main street from the castle, down to Holyrood Palace, is known as the Royal Mile. Today there are lots of little shops for tourists, and men in kilts playing bagpipes or accordions. e main thing I wanted to nd was the grave of the little terrier dog known as Grayfriar's Bobby. e story was made known by a Disney movie lmed in Edinburgh, and released in July of 1961. It tells how Bobby's owner died, and the dog stayed by his grave for fourteen years until his death. Next, we traveled to Glasgow on our way to a ferry which took us over to Ireland, and the City of Belfast. Here we paid tribute to the Peace Walls, honoring the war between the Protestants and the Catholics, from the late 1960s to the 1990s. We got to write our own message of peace on the wall. Traveling south through Ireland, we saw elds and elds of sheep! We got to see a sheepdog demonstration, wherein the dogs masterfully corral the sheep from one location to another. ese dogs are incredibly smart! ere were also many historic pubs where you could try their Irish whiskeys. We were in Londonderry on Halloween, and they celebrate similar to the states with lots of scary decorations. Our last stop was Dublin, the capital of Ireland. It is a very large, impressive city. is was the highlight of my trip, because I was able to reconnect with a former 3rd grade student of mine from thirty plus years ago! She showed me around Dublin from a local's point of view. She's in her 50s now, and has lived in Dublin most of her adult life. I hope you get to experience the UK, if you haven't already done so. My main reason for going was because I recently found out that I am Irish instead of Scottish. Here's to travel! The UK: England, Scotland & Ireland

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