This year is the year of standing in our power.
Evolving from explorers to doers
From fairies to warriors
& the chrysalis to spreading wings
***The Arrow & The Bow***
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@thearrowandthebow
This year is the year of standing in our power.
Evolving from explorers to doers
From fairies to warriors
& the chrysalis to spreading wings
***The Arrow & The Bow***
"Kesh Jig" & "You Couldn't Have Come at a Better Time" By, Band of Moonlight Love
Our Farewells to Scotland & Ireland
Our adventures would not be complete without a closing post. I apologize for the delay & will be giving a full description of our final days spent in Scotland & Ireland.
We spent our final Scotland night in Glasgow & Edinburgh. When we arrived in Glasgow off of the 4 o'clock train, our mission was to have dinner & see traditional live music with a glass of whiskey in a bar. This became quite the interesting exploration...We had dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant, moseyed over to a bar & listened to jazz for the first half of the night. We decided to venture out, still attempting to seek traditional music one last time before hopping the late night train to Edinburgh, but we had no such luck! Instead, we found ourselves in a rowdy bar with what struck the ear as polka music. Clearly the bar scene in Glasgow = not our cup of tea.
Instead, we gathered our bags & instruments, took a cab to the train station & met a lovely man who talked to us about his recent adventures to the US. He showed us pictures of being at The Emmy's & talked about the splendor of Hollywood. Hannah & I were completely amused with his personality. He was quite entertaining & had such a kind heart. I wish I could remember his name, but I do remember his face. He left us the stop before Edinburgh. With all of our bags at the final stop, Hannah & I got a cab to our hotel so that we could catch our early flight back to Dublin for our final night in Europe.
The next morning, we piled into a shuttle at the hotel, went through security without a hitch & got on the plane back to Dublin. Upon landing in Dublin, we decided to take a cab in order to maximize our time left in the beautiful city. Much to our dismay, we had our first and only terrible cab experience. The driver was stubborn, lost & couldn't figure out how to get us to our host family's house. The meter was still running. Hannah finally asked him to stop the meter & let us out of the car so we'd stop paying for nonsensical mileage. Completely unapologetic, he dropped us off in the middle of a suburb with all of our bags. We ran into an older couple who were on a late morning stroll, and their empathy calmed our anger. After talking to them a while, we decided to start walking towards a church to gather our bearings. As soon as we started walking, another cab approached. We decided to ask if he could at least help point us in the right direction. Minutes later, he told us to get in the cab and drove us to our host family's house for free! & just like that, even when we had our first bad experience, we were in the presence of an angel.
Hannah & I got "home", saw Tessa the dog, chatted up our good friend Aidan, telling him of our latest adventure. It was as if we had never left. After a couple hours of rest, we decided to pack, get freshened up & go into the city one last time before flying back to the states. We got on the bus & made our way to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. The line was out the door, but we decided to wait it out anyway. In the 20 minutes we were waiting in line, it started POURING. This was our first rain in Ireland. I suppose it had to happen at some point... It was raining cats & dogs for about 10 minutes. Ah, the comedic timing of nature...We were completely soaked from head to toe & chilled, but we decided to stick it out in order to see this piece of history that seemed to weave its way through our journey abroad. We entered the museum. People of all ages from all over the world came to see this manuscript. It is truly humbling when you see it. The intricate design, the colors, the precision, the history & all it stands for is truly miraculous. Hannah & I were speechless. I think it carried much more weight for us to see it at our trip's end just because we had been to Iona, where the book was written & experienced the Celtic mysticism of the island. We stayed until the guards kicked us out & found our way to the old library. It reminded me of Beauty & the Beast when the beast gives Bell the library. It was books upon books upon books in a grand hall. There were at least 100 different shelves and rows upon rows of books. It was quite the surprise as we were being rushed out of the museum. The child in me was extremely giddy from seeing this space.
After seeing leaving Trinity College, we found ourselves at KC Peaches, a lovely restaurant we had read about in a local paper. It was DELICIOUS. Hannah & I had huge plates of food, had some tea & one amazing conversation really providing a mirror for the other person to discuss our vulnerabilities within our fears, insecurities, weaknesses, & strengths. We stayed at the restaurant for nearly three hours, really digging & reflecting our true selves.
With open hearts, we left the restaurant & wandered through the streets of Dublin one final time. We walked around Temple Bar, bidding farewell to the contagious vivacious spirit, walked in & out of gift shops, & found ourselves at a bar for one last glass of Powers whiskey. Band of Moonlight Love was playing. It is a duo of two men who switch between playing guitar & mandolin & sing an array of songs from covers to originals. It was the perfect way to end our trip. We ended up talking with them on their breaks and towards the end of the night, they dedicated a song medley to us. The first was "Kesh Jig" (one of my favorites) & "You Couldn't Have Come at a Better Time" -- aka-- probably the most amazing song that could've capped the night. Mick & Robin, thank you so much for being the perfect dose of happiness on our final night in Dublin.
(Check out the post after this and you will be able to hear clips of both!)
After leaving the pub, we wandered towards the Liffey River & cast a couple coins wrapped in wishes before returning to our host family's home.
As sad as we were to see our adventures come to an end, we already found ourselves making plans for another.
The next morning, Aidan & Barbara helped us get in the cab back to the airport. It was hard saying goodbye to those two. Their hearts are so big and they were both so kind to us while we were staying in their home.
When wheels were up & we were in the sky, I definitely shed a few tears. Most were because I realized that this adventure wasn't just an adventure. It truly was a soul journey. I realized I was going home a better version of myself. In exploring new countries & cultures, Hannah & I were able to give ourselves space to grow, explore, learn, & give.
Its funny to think it all started with a dream...
In the months to come, Hannah & I will start dreaming up our next adventure.
Until then, Thank You Ireland! Thank You Scotland!
& Thank YOU for following our journey :)
XO,
The Arrow & The Bow
The songs that were dedicated to us on our final night in Europe!
Celtic dancing, cathedral singing, and Scottish heritage exploration.
Oban - pronounced "OH - ben," not "oh BAHN," as I eventually embarrassingly discovered, again after speaking with my Scottish friend, Hamish - is a quaint, harbor city nestled on the west coast of Scotland, overlooking the beautiful ocean water with mountains in the distance, nearby, all over really. Some of the buildings are from the early 1800's or older, and paint the town with colors of the past, though still bustling and active in a modern time. It's a main stopping point for ferries and travelers headed to the islands in that area. We arrived from the Isle of Mull around 7 or so, and began the mile hike-trek from the ferry to our hotel. It definitely looked closer than it was, especially with our friendly entourage of luggage. Poor shoulders! Eventually, we made it to the Kilrechen house, checked in, and rested before grabbing dinner, witnessing the unbelievable pastel sunset, whose colors kept transforming and changing into more vivid and vibrant shades as the sun continued its descent on the horizon. We spent the evening in search of authentic traditional Celtic music and dance, which we did find eventually, and also joined in on the dance! Hillary called it the Scottish mob pit. :) I really loved the band that played that night, as well as the traditional melodies, instrumentation, and overall spirit in the music. It felt very real, authentic, and sincere. We danced our way back to our room and rested well. In the morning, we enjoyed a well-made breakfast at our guest house, and ventured into the city to explore the area. Along the way, Hillary mentioned she had a song idea: "I will be still in my mind, in my mind." "Yes, I love it! And then we can have be still my heart, and be still my soul, and another B section somewhere in there..." And so and so forth we went back and forth, excited about this song and working towards the perfection of its lyrics and melody, our creative juices spilling over. After a nice tea to warm up from the rain, we meandered through the streets some more and wound up in the St. Columba Cathedral. We finished writing the song here, and recorded a performance of it on our iPhones. We'll share it with you after this post! So we continued walking on our quest to find the castle if Oban. Why were we on the search for a castle you ask? Well, yet again, the universe seemed to align perfectly for us, although at first it didn't seem that way. You see, our hostels that we'd thought we had booked we hadn't, and we spent one of the mornings in Edinburgh trying to figure out our schedule for the weekend while still being able to go to Iona. We decided at the time to do half of the journey back from Iona one day, then the other half the next day. The halfway point was none other than Loch Lomond. "Excuse me, do you have any rooms for Saturday?" "No." This conversation happened I don't know how many times; I called all the hostels/ hotels in my lonely planet guide. Finally I said, okay, Loch Lomond isn't working. What's the next best place? Hmm oh, this town looks good! It's on the way to Edinburgh. OH-ban. Had a little difficulty with the hostels/hotels downtown, but eventually booked a little bed and breakfast a little further out. Rewind a few days to a conversation with my mom, Nancy: "I got in touch with your uncle. There's a castle where he tracked down the family ancestry and found distant relatives." "Where is it?" "I don't know, I'll email you when I know." You guessed it. The castle that my ancestors used to live in just so happened to be a 10 minute walk from our hotel. I couldn't believe :O ! So we found the castle, I met a distant distant cousin who will be the next heir to the estate, and what a neat experience that was. Not only was it connected with my ancestors, but also Iona. They used to have funeral processions of kings to Iona starting from that castle. All in all, even though it was raining, it was still a beautiful day. We hopped on the 4 o'clock train to Glasgow for our last night in Scotland. Hillary will tell you more about this later... Thanks for reading! More music and blogs and pictures coming soon! With warmth and light, The Arrow & the Bow
A beautiful sunset in the harbor town , Oban, Scotland
Make-shift mic stand. #microphone #love #diy
Journey to Iona: Part 1
I would like to start this blog post by saying that going to the island of Iona was not originally part of our plans. We were actually drawn to it for a number of reasons. It started almost two years ago when my UCC pastor, Jane, was holding my hand and my mother's hand in her hospice room. Jane had been on a retreat with her church in Europe and ended up going to Iona. It was a triangle of holding hands. Both of us were holding my mom's as she was drifting in and out of sleep. Jane lit up as she spoke of this peaceful, spiritual place and told me if I ever had the chance, that I should go. Since that conversation, my life has changed dramatically and I actually completely forgot about it until Hannah and I were in our hostel in Edinburgh planning the journey to Iona and the power of the memory hit me. Another interesting encounter occurred when we were writing a new song, "Island," at Lake Isle Retreats in Northern Ireland. We were just about to walk back from the lake when a bright-eyed couple appeared from their yurt. (Ok, side-note: to be honest, we didn't know what a yurt was until that moment. Apparently, it's a Mongolian tent. We can now add this new word to our vocabulary!) We shared a lovely conversation, and in passing, they mentioned the isle of Iona, how magical and beautiful it was. One other encounter we had was at the house concert we played in Dublin. After our performance, we talked to the guests and told them we were leaving for Scotland in the morning. One woman immediately piped in saying "Are you going to go to Iona? You absolutely must if you can! It's such a beautiful place. Really good energy there..." So we had these nudges and they didn't budge us much, but once we got to Edinburgh, we realized we didn't have any binding accommodations for three days. I thought I had booked hostels a month prior to us going, but it was clear I hadn't since I couldn't find the confirmation emails from Glasgow. With this free time, a show about an hour away from the first ferry and too many people nudging us, Hannah and I looked at each-other and decided we had to go. I put in a FaceTime call to Jane from our hostel in Edinburg, told her we were in Scotland and had decided we were going. She got extremely excited and gave us the low down on how to get there. The journey is not an easy one. First, we had to take a bus from Callendar to Oban. From Oban, we had to take a ferry to the island of Mull and then a bus across the island of Mull to another ferry that would then take us to Iona. It is about a six hour pilgrimage. With all of our luggage and instruments, we knew it would be that much more work to get there but decided to dive into the adventure heart first. After waking up in a friend of a friend's house somewhere in the mountains near Callendar, we took an hour long bus ride to Oban so that we could begin the series of catching the ferry, another bus and the final ferry before sundown. Our crazy new friend, Tom - an enthusiastic Scotsman with a lead foot drove us with only minutes to spare in the pouring rain to the bus station so that we could begin the journey. We were pretty tired because of playing a gig the night before and our bodies were already getting pretty sore from hauling all of our gear. As soon as we got on the bus, we took a nap until we reached Oban. As soon as we arrived in Oban, the sun came out and it turned into an absolutely beautiful day. It seems that everywhere we had been, the sun was shining. Oban was no exception. We got off the bus and booked our ferry tickets. After that, we walked around some shops and had a quick lunch. We got to the ferry and once we were off, Hannah and I were in complete awe of our surroundings. Every direction we looked was filled with green, endless mountains, white pillowy clouds and blue sky. After a 45 ride to Mull, we got on a bus for an hour and a half drive across the island. When we got on the second ferry, Iona was in site. It was a short 10 minute ferry ride. On that ride, we met three lovely travelers from Spain. We were all not knowing what to expect of the island, but extremely excited to explore its mystery. The closer we got, the more I started smiling. As we were getting off the boat, I felt myself slowly relaxing and sighing after a long day's travel but also feeling so energized at the same time. With our instruments and luggage in hand, we found our way to The Argyll Hotel. As we were walking, we met a gentleman, Rory. He is studying Chinese medicine in England, traveling with two friends and told us they were camping in the island. We chatted until Hannah and I were taken to our rooms, hoping we would be able to connect later on in the night. We took some time to freshen up before dinner.... Aka shower because we were grimy from all of the travel. I was forced to take a bath because I had no shower in my bathroom. I honestly cannot remember the last time I took a bath. It really forced me to relax. After getting dressed, it hit me that I was in Iona. I felt kind of anxious, and then decided to make some tea. I reached for what I thought was ginger tea, but ended up being Apple tea and I started to cry. Actually I started bawling. It was so good to release the sadness of missing my mom and how happy and proud she would be of me for making my dream of traveling and sharing music a reality. Her last advice to me before passing was to follow through. And I was. Hannah and I have followed through with our dream and to action to make it happen. I finished my cup of tea, feeling refreshed and ran down the hall to get Hannah for dinner. When Hannah and I went down for dinner, we were brought to a table overlooking the ocean during the sunset. We almost burst in to tears. (Surprise, surprise) The beauty was beyond my expectations. I didn't expect to feel at home, but I was completely present and at peace. Over dinner, we laughed a lot and really got to truly relax for the first time since being in Europe. We quickly made friends with the servers, gobbled down our delicious food and were the last people to leave. Once we were finished with our food, Rory and his friends came out to enjoy the moonrise with us. After talking and getting to know our fellow travelers, Hannah and I got our instruments and played music until the moon rose over the horizon and into the sky. Between the laughter, music and conversation there were moments of gratitude rolling through my mind. Gratitude for Jane telling me to make the journey two years ago, gratitude for Hannah being with me and supporting me and encouraging us to make the journey, gratitude to be able to make music and connect with so many new people from so many different places, and gratitude for my mom who's spirit filled my heart completely while we were there. We eventually went outside to make more music with the moon and then decided it was best for us to get some rest so that we could have the energy to go to yoga at the town library, The Nunnery & The Abbey before our journey back to Oban. What a journey. To be continued... Xo, The Arrow & The Bow
From Cities to Mountains!
Hello again! Hope you're enjoying our stories! This day began with a train ride to Glasgow, although we ended the day in a much more rural environment than this well-known city. The day before, my friend Hamish had messaged me about meeting for lunch in Glasgow before our gig in Callendar that evening. "Ok, so we take the train to Glasgow, hang out there for a couple of hours, then a train to Sterling, then a bus to Callendar, and then the lady from the hotel will pick us up and bring us to Ewan's house who has a PA we can borrow and mic stands, and then back to the hotel to play the gig." Sounds absolutely crazy. Of course we had to do it! (One thing that Hillary and I luckily have in common is the need to take advantage of every opportunity we can, especially when we're not sure we'll have the chance again to do it.) And so it was that by 10:30am, we arrived at Hamish's flat in Glasgow, had some chai tea lattes next door, and simultaneously caught up on things, told him about some of our adventures, and got the skinny on where to go during our two hours in Glasgow. It was so fun to see Hamish! I hadn't seen him in about a year, and the last time I saw him was at the good ol' 171 piano practice rooms at Berklee. In fact, I remember having a conversation with him about how I was going to be in Scotland. I didn't know when, I didn't know how, but knew that I would go there. He actually gave me a list of places to go! Lo and behold, here I was in Scotland. Still amazed that it actually happened. We hung out at his flat for a little bit, further solidifying the complicated route to Iona, making sure that the bus times lined up with the ferry times lined up with the next bus times and the last ferry to the island. As we say in the midwest, Oofta!! (More about this later!) Hamish had just moved into a new flat, but fortunately for us, he already had his piano there, and having been deprived of our own pianos now for a week and a half, we decided to give him a little performance of our piano duet version of "Higher Love." We'll share the video of this on our blog soon! After that, we moseyed on over to the Kelvingrove Art Museum, saw a couple of beautiful paintings by Monet and Picasso, and found our way back to the apartment just in time for our train to Stirling! Also, Hamish had this brilliant idea: "Why not stop back in Glasgow on your way back to Edinburgh? It'll be Sunday Fun-day as they say!" Sunday Fun-day = music everywhere. He gave us a list of 500 or so pubs to go to and a spare set of keys so we could leave our luggage at his house. So nice of him, as he would be out of town that day. So yes, we arrived in Stirling, then took the bus to Callendar and busked outside until our transportation arrived. The lovely, energetic, lively Lisa picked us up and drove us through some of the most stunning scenery I have ever seen. Majestic mountains, rivers, and lakes (or lochs as they say here) on every side. Misty clouds wrapped around the peaks. It was unbelievably beautiful. We arrived at Ewan's, Hamish's friend's cottage nestled in between mountains, rehearsed a little bit, and freshened up for our hotel/bar gig that evening at Mohr 84. This newly remodeled hotel had previously been known as "The King's House." The reason being that the area had previously been used as a safe haven for the king, and other travelers as well. It was a lovely place with classy decorations, while still maintaining a rustic mountain atmosphere. Trendy-classy-rustic-mountain vibe. Tom, Lisa's husband, arrived in a spacious white van and helped us pack up our equipment. He also had a lot of zip and energy! We picked up a couple of his little nieces and nephews along the way and zigzagged our way back through the mountains to the hotel. After being served a spectacular dinner, Hillary and I worked to set up everything. We were almost done setting up when we realized that there was only one mic stand. We'd thought there were would be two. Whoops a daisy! "Hmm...how on earth are we going to make this work... " we worriedly thought to ourselves. (Usually we use 3 microphone stands.) What we ended up doing: Both singing into one mic on the one mic stand, and ducktaping the other mic onto the table for the guitar! We shared our originals, covers, and some of our stories with this new audience. Overall it was a good time. We met a lot of lovely people and were grateful to share our music with another Scottish audience! Somehow, things always works out in the end! At one point, we took a break outside, when we suddenly felt little tiny creatures biting our skin; it felt like they were everywhere! We frantically ran back inside, and learned about these little buggers. They're like mosquitos, except smaller and more vicious! They call them "midges." And so, after the gig, Tom drove us back through the winding mountains where we were tucked away between the mountains for a peaceful night's sleep and a big journey to Iona the next morning. All in all, it was a busy day, but an exciting one filled with new friends, old friends, and good times. Tata for now! Xo, The Arrow & The Bow
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Max Ehrmann
Edinburgh sky!
Edinburgh - Day 2
"Eee-den-burg." "No, no... It's Eh - din - bur -oh." And after some more of this experimentation with mispronunciation, I finally heard from my friend Hamish the proper Scottish enunciation. "It's Eh - din - brah!" I still have yet to de-program my brain completely and accumulate the exact way to say it, and though try as I might, I still end up saying Ee-den-burg. Ah, yes, still American it seems! So, we began this day with a hearty breakfast and a couple of good laughs, and further solidified plans for the upcoming days. My friend Hamish managed to line up a gig for us a little outside of Callendar (Thanks Hamish!) and we also made the commitment to travel to Iona that day, although the trek to get there was a bit complicated... (More about this later!) So, because this is the way things often seem to go with us, sometimes we make plans, and then life says, "Nope, sorry, I've got other plans for you! " and this is how this day happened. We had planned to go on one of the free Scottish Highlands tours, the hooty yeti bus or something along those lines, but alas, perhaps due to the nature of it being free, the tour was sold out for the day. So Hillary and I ventured out into the city to discover what more secrets and beauty Edinburgh would reveal to us. We stumbled upon a place called, "The Whole Works," a holistic health care center which just so happened to have reflexology, which just so happens to be Hillary's favorite therapeutic thing to do! We'd actually half-joked about getting massages in Scotland for our shoulders since we'd been carrying so much weight. Well, lo and behold they had availability for Hillary and one appointment open for a "Therapeutic Massage" for me. Perfect. So after making our appointments for later, we meandered about the streets of Edinburgh, soaking up the still-miraculous weather. Apparently, they haven't had a summer like this in 10 years. Lucky ducks we are ! We stumbled upon the jazz and blues festival and bought some affordable tickets to see an incredibly talented rag time pianist in a beautifully remodeled cathedral/church. She was from St. Louis, Missouri, and her name was Stephanie Trick. We were transported into another world. Listening to her graceful spirit shine through as she tickled the ivory keys of her white-as-snow bay grand piano, we lost track of time and place and simply were present with the music. But before this blissful musical performance, Hillary and I experienced a different kind of excursion, which she'll tell you about now... As some of you may or may not know, I love whisky. I love it on the rocks. I love it neat. Sometimes I like sipping on a glass before a show or before I sleep. I love whisky. (Especially with ginger beer) Naturally, when I came upon a distillery tour on our first day in Edinburgh, I knew we would have to make time to experience the process of making whisky in the country from which it originated. We went on the tour without any expectations and it ended up being an hour n' a half long experience from start to finish. First, there was a little barrel ride that informed us of the entire process of making a single malt whisky. Then, we were taken to a special room where we were introduced to the four main types of whisky, their regions and unique flavors. They are Highland, Lowlands, Islay, and Speyside. Highland whisky has more of a smooth vanilla flavor whereas something from Lowland has more citrus flavor. (Grapefruit, in particular) Islay is extremely smokey and they compared Speyside to... Bananas. I didn't get the banana thing, but my nose didn't prefer that kind anyway. I ended up sampling a highland whisky and Hannah chose a lowland. Once we had our generous pour, we were taken to the coolest room I've ever seen. It was filled with 3,500 collected bottles of whisky- the largest collection of whisky in the world. The walls of this room were basically glass cases and from the ceiling to the floor, all you saw was whisky. We gathered around a round table where we were shown how to taste whisky. The most important part about tasting whisky is actually using your nose. We were told its best to open your mouth as you smell the whisky in order to get the most accurate "read" on the whisky. It definitely came in handy and I'm probably going to do that ritual every time I have a glass now! The best part of the tour was definitely walking around the room with a newfound knowledge and appreciation of whisky while gawking at the thousands of bottles on display. Needless to say, it was money well spent and I have no shame for falling into that "tourist trap" :) I could geek out even more about the experience... But I should probably leave space so Hannah can talk about the rest of our adventurous day! ... Thank you Hillary, newly certified whisky conessouir. After our adventures at the distillery and concert, it was time for our bodies to stop, rest, and take a break. Taking long bus rides and trains and planes every day can be pretty exhausting to the body, not to mention all the new sights and sounds combining to create "information overload" in our psyches. What started out as a simple way to relax turned into an intense emotional release! Both our practitioners, in addition to understanding the physical body, somehow also understood its connection with stored emotions. Certain areas of the body hold tension, and as a friend of ours would say, "Your biology [aka body] becomes your biography." It tells the story of where you've been. So, apparently these professionals had seen quite a few patients, as their authenticity and compassion created a safe space to let go. Their wisdom and gentle attitude provided not only a relaxation for our muscles, but also for our emotional health. What a beautiful, transformative experience that was for both of us! To dive deeper into the mysteries and wisdom our own bodies hold... And so, though in the morning we'd talked to our waiter about going dancing/clubbing later (haha!), we instead spent the evening further processing and reflecting on that experience, and really having a heart-to-heart conversation about the things that challenge us right now. All in all, it was a magnificent day, rich with meaningful experiences and time well spent :) More stories and reflections coming soon! Love, The Arrow & the Bow
Positive post it we left at a cafe in Edinburgh !
The Eve of 2 Arrivals: The Royal Baby and...The Arrow & The Bow!
Warning: This has a lot crammed into one post... Because we are adrenalin runners trying to soak up and experience as much as possible: We bid farewell to Ireland in a peaceful drive through the mountains with Aiden and the family dog, Tessa. From the country, we went straight to the airport, getting to our gate without a hitch and seeing the TV screen displaying constant headlines of Kate Middleton being in labour with the heir to the throne. The constant coverage was rather silly, really. Hannah and I couldn't help ourselves from laughing. There's only so many times news reporters can say "she's still in labour" and have it be exciting... I mean, they were interviewing people who were wearing William and Kate paper masks for Pete's sake. At any rate, we journeyed on to Scotland. Upon landing in the UK, we learned that the future King was born! It was a historical way to start our week long adventure with half of our trip planned and the other half yet to be. Our jaws were hanging open as the bus took us deeper and deeper into the city. The buildings were absolutely beautiful! It is unlike any city either of us had ever seen.Once we got to our hostel in the Old City of Edinburgh, we were pretty tired but decided to go out for dinner and a hot totty regardless. It was nice to unwind with our first sip of Scottish whisky! We ended up going to bed around midnight and decided not to set an alarm for the next morning. The next day started with a bit of rain, but as our luck would have it, the sun and blue sky came out to make it a beautiful one. We had breakfast at a little cafe and decided to split up some chores to get organized for the rest of the trip. Hannah went upstairs to make travel plans while I went out in the rain to find rain boots and explored for a bit. Rain boots = too expensive. Not worth it. However, I did stumble upon a cute store called Miss. Katie's Cupcakes and purchased a ring that has the face of an old wrist watch on it as well as a necklace running on "Scotland" time. My feet lead me up the road a bit further to the Royal Mile and my eyes were not prepared for the gorgeous architecture that stood along the the big open road. You could actually feel the history of these buildings by standing in their presence. It was so fascinating and I was inspired to explore, explore explore. Before I got too ahead of myself, I ran back to the hostel to get Hannah and bring her out into the city. We decided to go to the National Museum of Scotland and spend some time in their galleries. It was pretty overwhelming, actually just because of how much stuff is there. It was FREE admission, which was very appealing to us because Scotland's beauty comes with price! After the museum, we went walking around various churches and all the way to the castle. Along the way, we heard bagpipes being played for the first time and it suddenly all seemed to hit us that we were in Scotland, feet away from the castle& listening to bag pipes in the street. One thing I was really looking forward to as a tourist in Scotland was WHISKY. Whisky shops are like candy stores to me. It was awesome to see all of the various whisky shops and distilleries. On bow street, they had a cheese shop, whisky shop & tea shop all lined up next to each other. Three of my favorite things in a row? Heck yes. We decided it was necessary to take a make time another afternoon to take tour of a distillery so we could learn how whisky is made. After strolling down the Royal Mile, Hannah and I made our way to Grass Market where we had big Tibetan singing bowls tapped on our heads, got delicious fresh fruit smoothies as well as a visit to a jewelry stand to look at various types of stones and gems. By the time we got to our hotel room, we had to quickly change and get ready for our gig at the Leith Folk Club opening for Malcolm Bushby. Malcolm is a very talented fiddle player, touring with Seth Tinsely. Seth is a guitarist from Newcastle. He sang a bit as well. It was really great to hear them as a duo because they usually perform separately. Before the show, we ended up chatting about our tour and asked if they were planning on touring somewhere else anytime soon. When they said New Zealand, Hannah lit up and without missing a beat, asked if we could open for them even though they hadn't heard us play yet. They chuckled a bit and said if we were there around the same time, they could probably swing it. The thing is, Hannah and I really want to go to New Zealand so... We might have to take them up on the offer :) It was awesome to be around such great players and be inspired by their talent. Although the sound for our set was a bit inconsistent, and Hannah's mic randomly turned off mid set, we had a great time sharing our music while connecting with the audience. Hannah and I also ended up meeting a very interesting older gentleman, Robin. (He introduced himself as "Robin, like Batman & Robin". I knew he was going to be awesome as soon as he said that.) In a nutshell, Robin is a badass. He used to be a bass guitar tech for Queen's bass player and had some pretty amazing stories to tell. He also knows Stevie Nicks, calling her a beer stealer, and still stays out at pubs until 5 am on any given day of the week. He needs to write a book with all of his tour experiences with various artists because he has too many not to! While with him after our set, we learned a very important Scottish word, "blether" which means: a conversation. So we had "a wee blether" with him as we waited for our cab. He was so sweet. I'm so happy our paths crossed. Once we were back from the gig, we decided to hit the hay right away so we could get up and explore more of Edinburgh and further sink our teeth into the beautiful city. See, it's a lot of stuff. We love doing lots of stuff. More stuff soon! Xo, The Arrow & The Bow
The backyard house concert at our host family's house!
24 hours before our flight to Scotland..
So, after "The Great Suitcase Chase," Hillary and I finally arrived back at the house around 6:30pm; all in all it had been a 6 and a half hour journey back from Derrilyn. We had a bite to eat (and a quick nap), and prepared for our evening house concert! What a beautiful evening it was! The backyard of our host family was decorated with lights and candles, and their yard had the perfect spot to perform: a perfect green circle right in front of their outdoor patio, a fantastic place for an audience to gather. We enjoyed sharing our music, chatting with the audience in between sets, and making up another audience-inspired song. The notecard this time described a beautiful water fountain and garden, something similar to what the beauty of our surroundings were. We ended up writing something called "Beauty and Grace." After the guests left, we video-chatted with Hillary's cousins living in Minnesota and then crashed for a much needed good night's rest. We slept like rocks for the most part, although interestingly, we both had some intense dreams that woke us up in the early morning hours. We slept late the next morning, resting up for our trip to Scotland in the evening. We spent the afternoon catching up on emails and blog posts, and trying to figure out how to combine all the stuff we wanted to bring for the week into one suitcase! It took us a little while, but we managed to make it work. That ended up being a very wise choice. I can't imagine what we would have done if we had brought TWO giant suitcases in addition to our carry-on entourage. Who is in our entourage you may ask? Well, here are their names :) (We decided to name our luggage after losing Hilsy's bag, and we now call off their names before leaving anywhere to make sure they're with us hahaha) Peri - the little blue suitcase who had a few too many beers, with a beer belly that creates difficulties when trying to squeeze into a carry-on flight storage unit. Winkle - Peri's uncle, the big blue suitcase who in addition to having too many single-malt whiskies, also had too many fish and chips, and has the tendency to tip to one side in his drunken, oversized state. Babs - the spunky, flowered, been-around-the-world-and-back-again backpack. A little worn around the edges but still working just fine! Spruce - Hillary's best mandolin friend! Duke the Uke - My little ukulele buddy :) Podge - inspired by the nickname of a Patrick we'd met in Kilkenny, my travel-friendly, Simon & Patrick model, Godin guitar. Big Red - Hillary's beautiful ruby purse with suede fringes. And finally, Boadecia - my purse, who has been through quite a few battles in her lifetime. (Named after a Celtic warrior woman!) So yes, you can imagine what a sight we've been wherever we go, transporting these lovelies from town to town, country to country! After packing it all up in the car, Hillary, Aiden, and I took a little road trip to the nearby mountains of Dublin before heading to the airport. The beauty of this place literally took our breath away, and we made Aiden stop several times along the way so we could take pictures. Little did we know how much more beauty we would see in our travels throughout Scotland! More about those adventures later... Thanks for stopping by! Love, The Arrow & the Bow