UK Trip: Day 12, Liverpool

Thursday June 23, 2022

Another driving day. We packed up and got out of the rental house just in time. Then we drove and drove all the way to another rental house in Liverpool.

One last ride on the zip line

We couldn't decide which type of grain was growing next to the farmhouse.

We made a few stops along the way. First, we stopped at a rest stop (still in Scotland) called Welcome Break to eat some lunch. Some of us got fish and chips from Harry Ramsden’s, Gabe got Burger King, and Erik and Ian got KFC. I thought the fish and chips were pretty good. Elisa wasted a £1 coin in a dispenser in the bathroom trying to buy a weird chewable tooth cleaner, but when she put the coin in, nothing came out. Then we drove and drove some more. I was just barely asleep when we stopped by the Preston Temple. We just walked around to stretch our legs; we stayed for maybe 15 minutes.

Then we drove and drove some more to our rental house. It was a really old house at the end of a dirty street. Elisa was excited about sleeping in the very top loft. The floors were uneven, and the kitchen smelled weird. We stayed just long enough to drop our stuff off, and then Erik had us pile in the van again. We parked in a car park and walked around Royal Albert Dock. We looked in some shops, and then decided to eat at Brasco Lounge. Gabe and Elisa shared a berry pancake, Ian ate (what else but) mac and cheese, and Erik and I shared some tapas, which came in a trio: guacamole made from soybeans, a feta cheese dip that tasted a lot like Greek yogurt, and Halloumi & Sweetcorn Fritters. Then off to bed for our second to last night in the UK!

Our green rental house

We saw the Beatles walking around Royal Prince Albert Dock!

Toffee pudding with ice cream for dessert

These three are weird.

UK Trip: Day 11, Part 2, Royal Mile and Chocolatarium

Wednesday June 22, 2022

We left the castle with about 45 minutes to spare before our chocolate tour, but we easily passed the time by looking in some shops. I found a money exchange, and I exchanged a $5 bill for £4 or so. Gabe especially took advantage and traded almost all of his cash for UK coins.

This was one of the narrowest closes we found.

Listening to the bagpipes while exchanging currency

Then it was time for our chocolate tour! The tour was super fun! First, we sat down and were given a small cup of warm chocolate with a spoon to eat while the tour guide told us about how cocoa beans are harvested. Then we went into another room where we learned more about how chocolate is made, and we got to make our own chocolate bars, which mostly consisted of squeezing chocolate into our chosen tray mold and adding our choice of mix-ins. Unfortunately, there weren’t any nuts, but I chose some honey granules and, just to be weird, chili flakes with ginger bits. I chose a mold with four separate pieces and chose dark chocolate. The chocolate was obviously made already, so we didn’t technically make any chocolate, just our chocolate bars. Then the best part—chocolate tasting! We went into another room, and we were allowed to choose 6-7 different samples from the shelves. I chose more like 8-9 and went back for more, so I probably tried double what I was supposed to but oh well. We also tried some chocolate tea, which I thought was pretty good. For having zero calories, it tasted chocolaty enough for me!

Learning about chocolate and tasting "hot" chocolate

Making our own chocolate bars

Sampling chocolates

Our finished chocolate bars

At the end of our tour, we were led into the front to try ruby chocolate that’s a new type of chocolate, which I thought was good. Then we were left to shop for chocolate bars at our convenience. Gabe bought the root beer float chocolate bar with his own money. Erik picked out a dark chocolate Duffy brand bar, and I picked out a lavender chocolate bar, since that was one of my favorites. After the chocolate tour we were so stuffed with chocolate that we didn’t even bother with dinner. Besides it was late, so we just went to bed.

UK Trip: Day 11, Part 1, Real Mary King's Close and Edinburgh Castle

Wednesday June 22, 2022

We got out of the rental house a little earlier than usual in order to make our appointment for Mary King’s Close tour, which was a tour of the underground city (a small section of it). We were not allowed to take pictures unfortunately. It was really neat and a little creepy. It's crazy that people would even live like that. After the tour, we browsed the gift shop, where I bought a magnet and keychain set, and Grandpa bought Gabe and Elisa some rat puppets. After the tour, we walked around Edinburgh browsing shops and looking for a place to eat. The problem was that the restaurants didn’t start serving food until noon. We finally found a place called The Scott’s Kitchen. I ordered the Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties. It was pretty good. I’ll never have a craving for haggis, but it was fun to try.

The only photo we could take in the Close; notice the plague doctor in the background.

The tower has a unicorn at the top. Unicorns are a symbol of royalty in Scotland.

Adam Smith is the founder of modern economics; he wrote "The Wealth of Nations."

Scott's Kitchen was on a second story sidewalk.

After eating we walked to Edinburgh Castle. We spent a good amount of time there walking around and viewing the exhibits. After all, we had plenty of time to kill before our 5:30 chocolate making tour began. The castle was ok; not too much to see and too much walking and standing.

The Argyle Battery had great views of the city.

Inside the Scottish National War Museum

Inside the Royal Apartments at the Royal Palace

Sitting outside the Scottish War Memorial

The view next to Mon's Meg: the biggest cannon in the castle.