Friday, July 11, 2008
Home, and Moving On...
Thus, our Scottish days are over (as are our Bluegrass days, I suppose). Justin will continue to blog faithfully, as always, on his blog... and I have decided to try keeping up with one of my own as well. No promises... and I certainly know better than to commit to daily postings (that about killed us both in Scotland!), but I'll do my best to be current.
The new blog is called Coastal Tendencies - and for those of you who know me well, that's where I'm happiest. (You also know it needs to be the east coast... but maybe that's just picky...) You can just link to the page from here... or, the web address is www.sohereiaminnc.blogspot.com Are you seeing a pattern??
Ok, y'all... see you on the coast!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
DFB
So, now we're chilling in the fire department while Mark & Suzi visit with friends... eating cookies and drinking tea... Sometimes, you just never know where life will take you! :)
Monday, June 23, 2008
A Quick, and Inadequate, "Thanks!"
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Glasgow in a day...
Next we went to the Museum of Modern Art - always interesting. You just never know what you'll find in a modern art museum! Then we walked the shops in Merchant City - which is the city center of Glasgow. Very cool; they even had a PUMA store... yes, the WHOLE store was Puma attire... I was in love. And I bought nothing. That was sad.
(Yeah - these are a bunch of chairs glued together with a few mirrored purses mixed in... just for fun.)
Anywhoo... then we were off to the Glasgow Cathedral. SUPER impressive. The scary man who reeked of alcohol who offered to give me a private tour of the cathedral catacombs (no joke!) told me that it dated back to the 5th century... I'm thinking that it was actually the 15th century. I never saw a solid date, but suffice it to say - It's old.
After some more walking we headed off to an area called The Barras. Basically, this is an outdoor gypsy market. Very cool in a lot of ways, pretty dirty in more than one way, and totally shady in all ways. Unfortunately, by the time we got there the rain was beginning, so the "shops" (read: carts with tent covers) were beginning to close. Alas, no merchandise was bought... And I was so hoping for a cheap Coach purse... (j/k)
After this we headed back across town for our hotel, took showers, had dinner (Chinese food), and headed off to a local bowling alley. That's right - what else would you do in Glasgow on a Sunday evening??? Fun was had by all... and now I'm here once again in the hotel lobby chatting with you fine folks! :)
Tomorrow we're off to Dunfermline (good luck pronouncing that one...) for one night before we start our trek home. We'll have an overnight layover in Dublin, Ireland... but more on that later. Cheers.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Out of the Sky(e)
This is a waterfall we saw on the side of the road while we were driving. It's actually a much steeper fall than it looks.
So these two sheep - a mommy and a baby sheep - were just walking off into the sunset together, as if the road were theirs for the wandering... We hated to drive up to them and scare them off.
This is the remains of a family fort - built by family clans in the 14-1600's to protect against invaders to their villages. The family would hide out in here for as long as necessary, as it was easier to defend than their thatched-roof houses. They were simple inside, but completely built from stones - that must have taken forever!
Those of you who know me well know that food is sometimes difficult for me - I'm not picky so much as I am choosy... So, this delightfully American meal of pizza, french fries, and Mac-n-cheese was quite exciting. Still, I feel the need to report that not a single one of those items tasted like they would at home - Thus, I was still getting The Scotland Experience.
Will write more tomorrow night after we see the sights of Glasgow! Cheers!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
The Simple Life
The weather here is not that great, overall, but the views are pretty amazing. Since we're coastal now, we're just about at sea level... but looking out our front window we can see mountains that are as much as 2500 ft straight up! There is a small sea channel, also, in our front view where there are always fishing boats coming and going (when the tide allows - it's a pretty dramatic change throughout the day!). And on of one of the smaller mtns across the channel, there is a small castle in ruins that is just perched atop the summit. It's very cool. I hear that when the tide is completely out the channel dries up completely and you can just walk across the land to climb up to the castle ruins. We might try that tomorrow if we're around at the right time. Also, the cold rain, though sometimes stinky, never lasts very long, and makes for some AMAZING rainbows - seriously the most vivid I've EVER seen. The camera shots we got of it just dont do it justice.
Finally, we're staying in our first hostel of the trip. It's a first for me, and for Justin too, though I understand that this one is much nicer than others, and so maybe we're not getting an accurate taste of what hostels are sometimes like. I think that's ok with me. Overall, I do think it's quite comfortable. The 5 of us are sleeping in one room with bunkbeds, but we have our own shower and there's a comfy livingroom area to chill in the evenings. No internet, of course - but I hadnt expected that. There are 5 other people in the hostel with us tonight - 3 girls from Sweden, 1 from Canada, and 1 from Germany. They're in a different sleeping room than we are, of course, but we got to chat with them for a few minutes earlier in the livingroom. Nice girls. I think they think we're wusses though, since we've rented a car and we arent backpacking up 4000 ft peaks like they seem to be - of course, they never said that... But, I got some strange looks when I was using my hairdryer & straightener at the "Hair Dry Station" in the hall. Maybe I looked less rugged than hostel residents tyically do - not to stereotype, but if you're there to backpack it probably doesnt matter too much what your hair looks like, right? Well, I was headed out for the evening, so I cared. Anyway, looking back, I seem to have been able to retain some small level of prissyness despite what crazy conditions I find myself in, right Mom? :) Anyway, if I could trust all hostels to be like this one, I would definitely do it again sometime (I mean, after the 3 nights we have in this one!).
So here are a few picures to give you an idea of where we are now...
This is the front walk of our hostel... the channel would be to the right - you can sort of see the boat masts in the background.
This is our room in the hostel - pretty bright, and very clean. All we need!
Again, the camera can't possibly capture it well, but this rainbow was almost flourescent! It went all the way from one side of the channel to the other, right down to the ground on both sides - and there was even a faint double rainbow above it. It was perfect.
Talk to you all again soon!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Interesting Signage
So just for fun today, rather than recounting the castle and mountain adventures of the day (though they were great... once again...) I though I'd share with you some of the more interesting pieces of signage that we have come across in our time here. It has amused me that the people here have such... um, quaint... ways of saying things. For example, one sign that we saw (that I didnt get a picture of) was on a little side road and it said "Not suitable for long vehicles." How nice is that?? In the US, it totally would have just said, "No Trucks". (Just in case the word "suitable" is troublesome for some...) Another was a sign that read, "No mobile phones whilst driving." I loved it. "Whilst" - we just dont use that word enough. And so, without further delay, here are a few of the more interesting ones that we have come across...
It FAINTLY says "offence" in the space below; but, the point is clear - be sure to pay attention when walking your dog lest he foul whilst you're not looking... :)
What if it were as easy as walking down the road?? Surely this shop would be outfitted with gold stars and incense burners - and no, I never actually found it.
Since you all DO dream about your baked potato fillings... I hope that this sign inspires you to branch out beyond sour cream & chives.
This was at the bottom of a really tight spiral staircase - So as I walked up, I counted (of course) to see what might happen at the fateful 11th step. I am happy to report that I did make it beyond that point, despite the change in color of the steps!!
Both parts of this one seem awkward to me - but, I basically take the bottom to read, "You're not allowed in here unless you're allowed in here." That same sentiment is in another sign I keep seeing that says , "No entrance except for access." Well, jeez...
What does it do if you wake it up, exactly?
The bathroom sign at any good Mexican restaurant...
It says, "Spirit Vat"... and it even has a nozzle for easy dispensing... so if your spirit is low, fill up here!
My rebellious side... what can I say?
When the crew at St. Andrews heard that Justin and Josh were coming to play a round, they promptly set up a sign to warn the locals...
Ok, so there are a few more, but let's not spoil all the fun in one day, shall we??
Tomorrow we are off to the Isle of Skye... despite it's tropical-sounding name, it is, in fact, still part of the Scottish highlands (high meaning northern, not altitude, as it is coastal). Nevertheless, it is quite remote, and I havent been able to locate a place for sure that has internet access there, yet. So, of all our locations, it will be hardest to blog from there. I'll get back on here just as soon as I can, though, to update you on our journey! Oh, and wish us luck - tomorrow we go Nessie Hunting... I even brought special shoes...
Monday, June 16, 2008
Highland Adventure
Tomorrow's agenda: Some battlefield somewhere, Cawdor Castle (MacBeth's Castle), Inverness Castle, Shopping, Fort George... a big day... we'll come home with a few hundred more pictures! :)
Front entryway into our B & B... doesnt it look like a cute little church??
The common lounge in our B & B... quite comfy!
Yeah, I'm a Pringles duck... don't act like you've never done it!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
What a day!
View of the castle from the top of one of the towers at St. Andrew's Cathedral.
This is a view of the front/side of the castle... there really was only a front and a back; for the most part, the sides were down.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Perth with New Friends!
Movin' on Up...
Things to note: the accents ARE getting harder to decode the further north we travel; the mini-egg breakfast is still made of a half dozen eggs (or perhaps ostrich eggs); and, exact directions don't exist here - we asked a man for directions to a particular restaurant last night and he made a spiral like motion with his finger in the air (think "wrap up" motion) and says, "I'd say it's a bit that way."
All good fun. Oh, and there's a string in the bathroom that you have to pull to turn the hot water on... let's not talk about how long it took me to figure that out... :)
Here are a few pictures from yesterday:
So this was the sunset over Edinburg our last night there - at what time, you ask? Try almost 11:30pm! And oh yeah, by 3:00am it's starting to get light again...
These are pictures of St. Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh. The pictures dont do it justice, of course. It was MASSIVE - if ever I've used that word to fully capture something, it's now. This picture doesnt even encompass the congregational pews - the seats you see on the side are the choir rungs, and yes, that's the altar........ wayyyyyy up there. Massive. Honestly.
And here are a few from our short walk around Perth last evening. Since Perth is closer to the water (the Tay River, not the sea), it's a bit more windy (read: chilly). No idea what this blind-folded hoola-hoop guy was doing, but I thought I'd join in the fun.
More later! We're off to explore Perth! Oh, and if you're interested... here's a link to a map showing you where exactly we are right now: Scotland Map Find Edinburgh and look just north for Perth.