Here we go! Or, more fun than you are legally allowed to have in the UK

Great oogly moogly – we are actually going to London!  But not JUST London.  Oh no.  We’re also going to Edinburgh, Scotland and Dublin, Ireland.  Because, well……I have to reclaim the family castle.
Yeah, yeah, I know – big talk for a old lady.  But I have a plan.
See this?
Yeah.  That’s Castle Menzies (pronounced “Ming-iss”) about an hour and a half north of Edinburgh Scotland, and it used to belong to my family.  Now, never you mind that I’m descended from a youngest son who had no chance of ever inheriting it, and ran away to America rather than join the clergy, his only other option (see? I come by it honestly).
So – back to the plan.  I have an insider.  My daughter lives in London, England.  I found out that the castle is open to the public from April – November, but we will be there in December.  I had her call the castle to find out if we can at least get to see it from the outside at Christmastime (I don’t know how private the grounds are, or how far from a public road).  Apparently the gentleman she talked to was “lovely” (she’s been in the UK almost 4 yrs, she’s corrupted.  sorry) and he told her that there are a few special events that time of year for which the castle is open.  Maybe we could manage one of those.  If not, we should be able to see it from the grounds, or, he told her, just give us a ring and maybe we can work something out. 
Hehehehe.  Yesssss.  We’ll give you a ring.  >evil laugh<
Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself.  I should start at the beginning, and the beginning of this adventure is TODAY.   The tickets have been purchased.  We fly into London on December 17.  We’ll see lots of the surrounding area between then and the 29th or 30th when we will travel to Edinburgh.  I have it on good authority that Edinburgh is an amazing place to spend the New Year, and I, for one, cannot WAIT to torch a Viking ship!  More on that later……. Then back to London for a day or two, and on to Dublin, Ireland, to fly home from there on the 7th of January.  I’m going to chronicle the journey here, and if you know anything about this family, you will NOT want to miss the stories.  If you don’t know this family it will be even funnier, because you won’t see it coming.  Buckle up!