Another night of sound sleep and I was refreshed. Nina made some fresh toast from home-made bread with butter and jam while I showered and packed my things. I actually tried a bit of marmite on one slice! It wasn't as horrible as everyone says, but it was very salty. William, Nina, Pookey and I all piled into the car for a drive to the beach. After stopping to apply fly ointment to Romeo and Chili, we were on our way.

There was a HUGE castle, Bamburgh Castle, once the capital of Northumbria a long time ago. Many a Viking tried to breach the walls and take the King, because doing so would mean capturing the entire land. Now it is a tourist attraction and we parked nearby to go and walk along the beach.

Pookey had a great time running ahead and meeting new doggy friends. It was refreshing to stroll past saltwater and shells, talking about local history and future projects. Nina found the shell of a small sea urchin and gave it to me as a gift. As we were on our way back to the car, she decided to take a brief swim in the freezing water. While there was no way I would ever attempt such a feat, it was clear that the swim was good for her.

We then drove to Chillingham Castle where William showed me around the different rooms, including one that was used by Edward I to plan his defeat of the Scots. I kept looking at the wooden rafters imagining what Sorbie Tower would have been like when it was more than a shell. William works a s a tour guide in between acting and film projects, so we left him there to share his expertise with expectant guests.

Nina, Pookey and I continued on to the train station so I could catch my flight in Edinburgh. On the way, we passed the Alnwick Castle where I snapped a few photos. It was used as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films. Since the train wasn't leaving for another 2 hours, we went into Alnmouth town and had a nice mug of coffee with some biscuits. Poor Pookey had to wait in the car.

The time passed so quickly as we chatted about many things, and before we knew it, it was time to catch the train. We said our goodbyes as new friends. The ride along the coast to Edinburgh was only an hour. My stomach reminded me that I only had some toast for breakfast, so I took out a steak pastie - perfect! Chris was awesome to insist I get a few for the road.

As soon as I got off the train at Waverly Station, I went to the information desk. The nice guy told me the bus to the airport left every 10 minutes. It was 3pm and my flight was at 7pm - no worries there. My second question was about WIFI. He checked his computer and confirmed that the airport had WIFI access.

It was drizzling a little rain and I decided I would enjoy arriving at the airport where I could post my travel diary and upload photos. Nina and William had suggested spending an hour or so wandering Edinburgh or seeing the Scottish Gallery, which I could have done.

The bus was only $3.50 Pounds and took about an hour. I found a comfy seat with an electric plug at the Costa Coffee. I sipped an Americano with milk and took care of Internet business. As I uploaded photos to Facebook, I couldn't help but smile silently to myself - how am I doing all this? It's like some kind of time warp! But some how it works.

Surprisingly, security was just as strict if not more for this domestic flight - well, maybe they consider it international because Wales IS a country. But still, I think the boarding for the flight from Nice to Dublin went quicker. There is a lot of construction and the plane was parked on the other side of the terminal from the gate. They loaded us into a shuttle and drove us around.

The airline was BMIbaby and they were the first ones to say anything about the fact that I had a carry-on bag and a duty-free shopping bag - technically making 2 bags instead of one, but they let me go through anyway with just a warning. ((Thanks Mom for giving me your duty-free bag, it's been priceless!)) However, there was another passenger - an older lady - who kept giving me an evil eye. I just ignored her.

My friend, Wynford was a little late arriving at the airport, but so was my plane. I walked out to the pick-up area and by the time I found his number to call, he pulled up. I could see him answer the phone as it rang. The ride into and through Cardiff was scenic. Wynford pointed out sights and told me of local history. We also caught up on the status of the TV project that was how we met; I was the local production manager in Cambodia back in January.

His house was a older brick building built in the early 1900's. It has been remodeled and I kept finding new items to be amazed about, like a coffee machine (espresso machine?) in the cabinet wall. We cooked a meal of pork steaks with rice, green beans, carrots and a tomato/bell pepper sauce. For dessert there was fresh raspberries, blueberries (my favorite) and mango with vanilla ice cream. Wynford offered coffee or tea, but I really needed a break because I had been drinking so much of both.

He's been reading my travel diary and dusted off the hot water bottle for me! Life is good.

--
Mariam Arthur
CEO
Kmy Films
+855 (0)12 54 30 74
http://www.kmyfilms.com/
http://www.filmcambodia.org/