Scotland: Glenfinnan Viaduct and Glencoe

 While in Scotland, we were hoping to take a train ride on the Jacobite, a steam train that travels across the highlands. Sadly, the train was completely booked during our week-long vacation. So instead, we went to see the Glenfinnan Viaduct, a portion of the track made famous by the movie Harry Potter.

In an effort to get a decent picture, Erick and I trudged through some serious mud. Can you see it? I made the kids stay on the path. They wanted to climb up too, but I just couldn't handle the idea of all the mud when we still had hours of driving ahead of us. It didn't stop them from getting soaked in the rain, though.

We really loved the wild and rugged landscape of the highlands. I asked Erick to pull over often, so I could capture the beautiful scenery. It was raining most of the day, and the clouds and fog covered many of the mountains. Every once in a while, it would clear up a bit.

We ended up driving through Glencoe, a famous, scenic, and historic area. There is Celtic lore that originates in Glencoe and lots of Scottish history surrounding the MacDougall, the MacDonald, and the Campbell Clans. Most recently, the movies Skyfall and Harry Potter were filmed here.

When there is rain, there are often rainbows!

Christmas vacation - London by night

Now remember, I have young kids. When I write "by night" I actually mean late afternoon and evening. By actual night, I was back at the hotel in my bed. Ha ha!

In the afternoon, we headed off to King's Cross Station. The kids wanted to see Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter. In fact, it was the top destination on their list of this entire Christmas vacation. That is the only reason we were willing to stand in the super long line to take a picture. I probably would have walked away at the sight of the line otherwise. But now, looking at the photos, I believe it was worth the effort. The kids were in heaven!

After King's Cross Station, we took a little detour to Baker Street. Joey has become a huge fan of Sherlock Holms. This was truly a highlight for her. We went into the Sherlock Holms gift shop, and Joey came away with a t-shirt and a few other fun items.

We finished off the evening eating dinner at a nice pizza place on Baker Street. By that time, we were all wiped out.