Way up north where the air gets cold

A nice change of pace for me this week: I was out of the parliament and in my MSP's constituency of the Scottish Highlands. In Inverness, to be exact. Inverness is the "capital of the Higlands," but for a capital city it's small with only 100,000 people. 

I took the train up Wednesday morning and arrived in Inverness around noon. First thought: it was cold. Way colder than Edinburgh, which has actually been pretty sunny lately. I shivered as I made my way to the constituency office  -- warm and toasty inside, yesss -- and spent the afternoon getting out a survey for my MSP. 

That night I spent a little time looking around Inverness before heading to my B&B. Inverness is a quaint, charming town straddling the Ness River with lots of ancient-looking buildings. Picturesque is a good word to describe it, so here are some pictures:

[caption id="attachment_294" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The pink Inverness castle overlooking the city."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_295" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The River Ness and the city beyond."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_296" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The footbridge connecting both sides of Inverness."][/caption]

Gray skies, cold air, and a constant drizzle limited my exploring; I went to the B&B early that night to warm up and enjoy some British television (I don't have a TV in my flat in Edinburgh, so I really haven't watched any at all). Wrapped up in a blanket, I watched the British "Apprentice" -- it was basically the only thing on. 

After a breakfast prepared for me by the very friendly owner of the B&B Thursday morning, I went back to the office to finish my work and then was given the afternoon off. I explored the town some more, stopping at a really neat secondhand bookstore that's in an old church (I picked up Anna Karenina and have vowed to read it before I make it back home -- perhaps a little too ambitious). I also managed to find St. Mary's, the church Lilly's parents married in and took pictures there for her.  And after a lonesome dinner at a pub, it was another quiet night for me.

[caption id="attachment_297" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="St. Mary's -- hi, Mrs. Insalata!!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_298" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Bookstore in an old church -- the biggest in Scotland, I think."][/caption]

Friday was my favorite day of the constituency trip. My MSP took me to visit two schools near Loch Ness, and we drove along the shores of the lake. It was just how I pictured: moody, misty, mysterious. No sightings of Nessie this time, but I'll be back next week and will look with more purpose.

The first school was a high school; we talked to the principal and received a tour. The next school was a super small primary school with only 36 pupils for 7 grades -- and only two classrooms. The students were very excited to meet someone from the U.S. and asked me about Hollywood, celebrity sightings (have you seen Zac Effron?!) and randomly about how I raised my pet frog. 

[caption id="attachment_301" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Can you spot Nessie?"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_302" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The primary school students -- can you tell which one is me?"][/caption]

Then it was pretty quickly back to Edinburgh for one of the last weekends I'll spend here. I have seven more weeks to go in Europe, but I'll be traveling for alot of that time. So this weekend I decided to stay in town and see some of the sights I've been meaning to see.

On Saturday I met up with some of the other interns to walk to Leith, Edinburgh's sister port city. We took a nice hour-long stroll from Princes Street to get to Leith and just basically walked around and saw the sea. We had lunch at a great seafood restaurant -- megrim for me and I liked it very much. 

[caption id="attachment_303" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Leith"][/caption]

 Today I took a solo adventure to Rosslyn Chapel in the teeninsy village of Roslin (yes, they are spelled differently even though the chapel's in the town). It's famous for its intricate stone carvings and is rumored to be one of the resting places of the Holy Grail. It appears in The DaVinci Code and they filmed scenes for the movie there; ever since there's been an upsurge in tourists.

Conspiracy theories aside, the chapel is stunningly beautiful with amazing carvings throughout. No pictures allowed inside, so all I have are ones of the exterior, which is undergoing restoration. 

[caption id="attachment_305" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The entrance to the chapel."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_306" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="View of the grounds from an upstairs walkway."][/caption]

This week should be great, I've been looking forward to it for a while. USC is taking the UK study abroad students to the Scottish Highlands to see tons of castles, Loch Ness, and the Isle of Skye. Tomorrow night we're kicking it off with a dinner at a Chinese buffet, woo hoo! 

The Scottish sign texts and emails with an x to mean "hugs." So cheers from me, xxx!

Guinness Stew and Sausage Rolls

I'm writing this post post-fried mars bar, and I'm in a bit of a sugar coma.  There is a shop on my walk home on the Royal Mile that advertises "we sell mars bars in batter" and as I had a bit of a stressful day at work today, I decided to indulge.  I wanted to try it at least once before leaving the UK (fried everything - even pizza! - is the thing here). 

Thoughts: It was caramely, chocolate meltiness and tasted like a  s'more - I enjoyed it. I wanted to take it home before eating it, but when I asked the lady behind the counter for a bag she looked at me as though I were crazy and told me that you have to eat it right away. "Would you like a wee fork?" she asked. So fork and fried mars bar in hand, I finished my walk home - and the mars bar was done when I got there.

On to less edible things: I spent last weekend in Ireland, trip details here. I'm part Irish (with a middle name like O'Shee, how could I not be?) and really liked the country I can (sort of) call home. I even found a place called O'Shea's that could belong to a distant relative -  my middle name, which is my mom's grandmother's maiden name, was changed at immigration. 

Two other interns and I flew to Dublin Thursday night and got into the city around midnight. Dublin at night is sketch, like all good cities, but we managed to find our hostel, Isaacs, just fine. Cleanliness wasn't a priority there, so it wasn't the most pleasant stay, but at least the beds were comfortable. 

We were awoken Friday morning by construction work being done in our hallway - literally right outside our door - around 7 am. We had to navigate around construction guys and their ladders and other equipment to get to the bathroom. Oh, hostels. 

The weather in Dublin was glorious! Friday was the first time I have actually felt warm outside since I left the U.S. We shed our coats and donned sunglasses for our walking tour around the city - a completely free tour - that gave us a comprehensive view of all the major sights:

[caption id="attachment_269" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="City on the River Liffey"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_270" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Unfortunately the only leprechaun we saw."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_271" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Dublin Castle"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_272" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Christ Church"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_273" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="You know you're in Dublin when..."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_274" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The Temple Bar in the famous Temple Bar district - a tourist mecca."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_275" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The beautiful Trinity College."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_276" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="St. Stephen's Green - a lovely central park that was alive with locals and tourists wanting to enjoy the sunshine."][/caption]

After the tour it was on to the number one tourist destination in Ireland - the Guinness Factory. I don't think it deserves that distinction, but as it is the thing to do, we couldn't miss out. We hiked out of the city center to where the storehouse is located and participated in the Guinness "experience." The admission fee includes a pint of fresh Guinness at the end of the tour in the Gravity Bar, which has 360 degree views of the city - pretty darn cool. The tour is arranged to take you on a winding route through the largest pint glass in the world - but can that really exist? hmmm.

[caption id="attachment_278" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="I was the only one to actually drink and finish my pint - I am Irish, after all!"][/caption]

The Irish say that if you drink a Guinness you don't need a meal, but I still wanted to try some Irish food, so the girls and I went to O'Neill's, a pub in the city center. Sarah, my friend from Notre Dame who studied abroad in Dublin last semester, highly recommended it and I'm glad she did. I got the Guinness and beef stew, per her suggestion, and a heaping side plate of vegetables. mmmm

[caption id="attachment_279" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="O'Neill's"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_280" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Mah dinner. p.s. I ate pretty much the whole thing."][/caption]

We were pretty tired that night so we then just went back to the hostel and attempted to get a good night's sleep. That didn't exactly happen, but we awoke the next day excited for our tour to Wicklow and Glendalough - the second most visited places in Ireland. Some USC students who were in Dublin a few weeks ago highly recommended going to the South, and I always enjoy getting outside the city. I wish we could have seen more, but I'll be back, as the tour guide kept repeating.  

Our bus driver was a bit condescending to the tourist set (makes you wonder why his job is being a tour guide) but the tour was great otherwise. Wicklow is a national park known for it's beautiful mountainous scenery. Glendalough means "valley of two glacial lakes" and was a stunning sight.  It actually reminded me of Yosemite quite a bit.

[caption id="attachment_281" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Within Wicklow - Loch Taye, I believe? "][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_283" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Famous bridge because P.S. I Love You was filmed here - I had never seen the movie but just watched it - tearjerker!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_282" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The ladies at the loch."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_284" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Cemetary that's part of an old monastery in Glendalough."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_285" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="An Irish dog - wearing clothes!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_286" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Shore of the upper glacial lake."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_287" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The other girls were creeped out, but I thought he was a pretty one!"][/caption]

After taking in the Irish non-cityside, we arrived back in Dublin just in time for the Ireland v. Wales rugby game. Temple Bar was the place to be, and we found seats in a room full of crazy, middle-aged, drunk Wales supporters. It was really fun being around people who were so invested in the game - but also just there to have a good time. I think we amused some of the people - one man kept stopping by to tell us he loved us and kept insisting he could explain the rules to us if we needed. The Irish are very friendly, sometimes overly so!

After witnessing Ireland's close victory, we went to Messrs McGuire for some pub fun. It's a multi-level place on the river, and it was a really lively place to be. I had a pint of cider, but just one - drinks are very expensive in Dublin! My cider was about 6 euro, and that's pretty much standard.  We are certainly lucky here in Edinburgh that drinks are typically between 2 and 3 pounds (1 pound is roughly 1 euro). 

The next morning we tried to go to mass at St. Patrick's, but for whatever reason they weren't offering the typical mass, so we went to a close-by church, St. John's, that was also very nice. I was suprised to see that even in Ireland, what I usually think of as a very Catholic place, mass attendance was very low and mostly composed of people over the age of 50. 

[caption id="attachment_288" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="St. Patrick's."][/caption]

Then it was pretty quickly to the busy Dublin airport and back to Edinburgh. A very nice weekend, all in all. My homeland is pretty cool.

More thoughts about Ireland:

- I really liked Dublin, but I didn't really see many Irish people! There are 4 million people living in Ireland and 8 million tourists go through the country every year. We were constantly surrounded by Americans on holiday - but that may be because of the types of places we went to.

- Even though mass attendance wasn't what I expected it to be, it is very evident that the Irish still place much value on Catholicism -- Catholic churches are everywhere, and most places are closed Sunday morning so that people can go to church - even the city buses don't run. 

- I really like sausage rolls: sausage wrapped in a buttery, crusty bread. I had two on the trip.

- The whole of Ireland only has 7 Starbucks, good for them! Other Ireland-owned coffee shops have been offering good deals since Starbucks started expanding there and it's worked so far. I haven't been to Starbucks one time since I've been in the UK, and I'm not planning on it.

This week it's up to Inverness in the Scottish Highlands to visit my MSP's constituency and this weekend I'm planning a day trip to Leith (port city next to Edinburgh) with some of the interns.  From Scotland, with love, until next time.

Stratford: lovely little town by day, sketchville at night.

It was back to jolly old England for me last weekend; I didn't think I would be back so soon, but when I learned there was an extra spot on the USC Stratford-upon-Avon trip I figured why not? The offer of free train travel, lodging, meals, museum entrance, and a play was hard to turn down.  I'm quite the sucker for free things, as those who know me know well. 

I've been to Stratford before, during my senior year of high school on the St. Joseph's Academy literary tour of England. I wasn't going this time as much for Shakespeare as I was for the free stuff, but of course the weekend revolved around the bard. Stratford is his home town, place of literary inspiration and final resting place. 

I took an afternoon train from Edinburgh Waverly and arrived in Stratford around 6 pm. I met Lilly at the train station and even though I had a map I managed to get us a bit lost trying to find the B&B - shocker. But we finally found the Linhill Guest House, a charming little place on what seemed to be B&B road, catering to the Shakespeare enthusiasts I'm sure. The owner, a sweet motherly lady, could not find my name on the USC list but assured me I would at least have a place to sleep - in her son's basement bed - if no B&B beds opened up. That's hospitality.

Lilly and I spent about an hour before it was time to meet the group watching some UK television. I have no TV here and otherwise no way of watching television, so it was nice to have a remote in my hands again. Pimp My Ride UK captured our attention -- British kids just sound funny using words like "gangsta" and "wicked." Lilly and I agreed that they should do a show combining the British and American casts: XZibit meets funny ginger UK lead guy and they pimp out a car together. Hilarious.

That night was an amazing dinner at Marlowe's, and since USC was footing the bill we dined royally. Bottles of wine for the tables, all the (quite expensive) food we wanted, decadent desserts. Thanks USC! It was fun getting to know the other Trojans studying at UK universities, and there were some very interesting characters in attendance. We followed dinner with a quick trip to a pub and then went back to the B&B for slumber.

Observation: the gents of Stratford must have taken a lesson from the men of East L.A. on vehicular flirting. Lilly and I were honked and catcalled at twice making our way to the B&B and were the victims of a somewhat scary interaction with four men in a car after the pub. Stratford: lovely little town by day, sketchville at night.

The next morning we had breakfast at the B&B (full English breakfast for me, of course) and then Lilly, fellow Trojan Kevin, and I walked around Stratford a bit and ended up at Shakespeare's birthplace. We were interrupted mid-tour by a call from the USC UK director telling us we had to meet him and the group for our walking tour, so we peaced out and headed to the other side of town.

[caption id="attachment_256" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="What many of the buildings in Stratford looked like."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_257" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Shakespeare's birthplace."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_258" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Where the bard was born."][/caption]

A delightful English lady named Norma led our group through Stratford and shared her accredited insights. We walked through a lovely park infested with killer geese (as acc. to the USC UK director after many of us tried to chase them) along a river and made our first stop at the church where Shakespeare is buried. His tomb is not ornate as one might expect it to be; it's merely some writing on stone on the altar. Shakespeare's fear was that someone would move his bones, and he asked for a short poem to be displayed along with his grave warning potential gravediggers.

[caption id="attachment_259" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Chasing the killer geese."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_261" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Posing with the steeple of Shakespeare's church."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_262" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Lovely park along a river."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_263" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="An "award winning" public toilet. Big disappointment - there was wee (that's what the British call it) on the seat!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_264" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Shakespeare's resting place."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_265" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Don't touch those bones!"][/caption]

After the tour we had lunch at a tearoom and then Lilly and I attempted to do some shopping - the only thing I bought was Ritter Chocolate. Lilly's been raving about it since she's been here, and I haven't had any luck finding them until Stratford. Ritter is a German company that makes squares of rich chocolate with different fillings. They are good, but as I'm not the biggest chocolate fan I don't know if I'm fully appreciating them. 

We had another fabulous dinner compliments of USC at a Malaysian restaurant, and mmmm it was nice to have ethnic food again. Then we hurried to see the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of The Tempest. I'm not much of a theater person, but if you're gonna see Shakespeare Stratford is the place to do it. I did fall asleep in the first half and had a hard time following the plot, but the costumes and props were amazing. 

On Sunday I had one more English breakfast and then hopped on a train to come back to Edinburgh. Delays caused the trip to be about 8 hours total - yuuccck - but as always, I enjoyed staring out the window and watching the scenery pass by. Scotland and England have lots of sheep, btw. And my previous statement that Scots like to drink on trains has proved itself to be true time and time again -- this time it was a group of raucous men who had people clamoring for them to be kicked off the train for their "filth."

I'm off to Dublin this weekend, hopefully not too late for St. Patrick's Day celebratin'. Wear green tomorrow, don't get yourself pinched!

"That girl is taking a picture of me. She'll lust after me for the rest of her life."

I met my future husband in Hyde Park in London this weekend. JOKES! That's for Julia, Jennifer, and Lilly, the last of whom I spent my fabulous weekend with in Londontown. So great to see my ginger friend!

I took the train down to London Friday morning and had a very pleasant ride through the Scottish/English countryside. After about four and a half hours, I arrived at London's Kings Cross Station. Yes, the station the Hogwarts Express leaves from. No, I didn't see platform 9 and 3/4 - but I did try. There's actually a plaque where it would be, but it was blocked off :(

I took the tube to Mile End stop, which is close to Queen Mary's campus where Lilly is studying in the East End of the city. The first thing that struck me was how diverse London is.  Scotland has a whopping 2% non-white population, and it was refreshing to see people of all different ethnicities again; Lilly told me her part of town is over 50% Muslim. I could hear all different languages being spoken in the Tube.

I've been to London before, but the St. Joseph's Academy literary tour of England skipped some of London's most vibrant parts. I really liked the East End. After catching up over tea in her flat, Lilly and I set out for Brick Lane, famous as the part of town where the Jack the Ripper murders occured. It is, quite literally, a long brick lane lined with Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi restaurants. We first went to the Ten Bells Pub - Jack's victims were said to frequent there - and I had a pint of Strongbow while soaking up the sordid history. 

[caption id="attachment_229" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Brick Lane. Sorryz for the blurriness, but you get the idea."][/caption]

Next was our dinner date at a Bangladeshi restaurant, and I am still dreaming about the culinary delights I experienced. We got the set meal for two and gorged on multiple courses of sweet, savory, fried, and saucy. It's probably the best meal I've had being abroad.  And as if that weren't enough, we hit up a "beigal" place for salt beef bagels. Think a bagel sandwich with thick slices of salty beef in the middle.  I saved mine for breakfast and found it very satisfying.  I certainly ate well last weekend.

That evening we took the tube to Camden, a punk rock area by day and a chill hangout spot at night. We went to two pubs and chatted over wee pints. 



I was exhausted, and it wasn't hard to hit the hay that night in preparation for my full day in London. Lilly and I ventured first to the London Eye and took pictures of the Parliament buildings and Big Ben by the Thames before taking our ride. The Eye is basically a huge ferris wheel with large glass pods instead of seats - incredible views of London.

[caption id="attachment_232" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Before taking a ride on the eye."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_234" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Bigggg BEN!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_235" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Just couldn't get enough of this kodak moment."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_236" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Lilly: "That is the fattest pigeon I've ever seen! And it has one leg!""][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_237" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="High above London."][/caption]

 We next trapsed across the bridge to soak in the sights of Westminster and headed to Westminster Abbey. It was one of the highlights of my last trip to London, and I desperately wanted to see it again. No pictures allowed inside, but it is simply an incredibly beautiful building. Everytime you step you're stepping on the grave of an important person: Charles Darwin, Chaucer, Dickens. There are chapels throughout containing the intricate tombs of numerous British royals like Elizabeth I, Bloody Mary, and Mary Queen of Scots. The whole place is seeping in amazing history. 

[caption id="attachment_239" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The glorious abbey."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_240" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Spotted - a USC fan in London! Totally a stalker photo, I know."][/caption]

Next up was lunch at Porters, famous for its authentic British food, in the part of town called Covent Garden. Wanting to experience the authenticity, I had Shepherd's Pie (lamb, peas and gravy topped with mashed potatoes) and Lilly had steak and Guiness pie. Mmmmm.

[caption id="attachment_242" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Yes, those are fries with my shepherd's pie. But they call them chips here so I was still being authentic!"][/caption]

 We then headed out to explore Covent Garden. The central feature is a large, open building containing an outdoor marketplace. It was really crowded: there were tons of people gathered around various street performers. Lilly and I watched an acrobat who stood upside down with his hands resting on two guys' heads, a sweet card trick guy who could produce the right card from his mouth, and a lame-o juggler whose best talent was making small children cry. 

[caption id="attachment_243" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Lovely Lilly at Covent Garden."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_244" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="It was very crowded!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_245" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Obligatory phone booth shot. Too bad the phone booth smelled like urine."][/caption]

We next stopped briefly at Trafalgar Square, and I made an ass of myself (quite literally) climbing up to the top of the Lord Nelson monument and hugging a lion''s rump. 

[caption id="attachment_246" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Lion butt."][/caption]

 That was it for Saturday except banoffee pie-making that night. It's a banana and caramel pie with a biscuit (the English kind - so aka cookies) and butter crust and real whipped cream topping. I will be bringing the recipe back to the US with me for sure. It's even better than it sounds.

Sunday morning we trekked to Hyde Park for the Speaker's Corner. Anyone can speak about whatever they want, and it attracts some interesting characters. This man held a special place in my heart:

[caption id="attachment_248" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The object of my heart's desire."][/caption]

As I put my camera up to take a picture (for my loyal readers, of course!) this guy stopped his nonsensical speech to look at me and say "That girl is taking a picture of me. She'll lust after me for the rest of her life." I'm pretty sure I turned beet red. Another highlight was when a man in the audience told this Lothario "Paris Hilton told me she wants to shag you next week, but I told her you were fully booked." Yep, fully booked with me - JOKES!

The speaker's corner was somewhat entertaining, but Lilly and I left pretty quickly to take a walk through the rest of the park. I would say it's London's Central Park, but in actuality it's more likely that Central Park is New York's Hyde Park. But you get the idea. 

[caption id="attachment_249" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Hyde Park - it was windy!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_250" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Lilly getting swept away by the wind."][/caption]

After a quick lunch it was time for me to say goodbye to jolly Londontown. Lilly and I hugged on the tube and I was off again to King's Cross and back to Scotland. One thing I learned this weekend is that Scottish people love to get drunk on trains: Four middle-aged women on my train back got drunker and drunker, louder and louder as the miles passed.

Wonderful weekend with a great friend in a great city, and now it's back to work. The Scottish and English sign with an X to mean "hugs" and I likes it, so X from Edinburgh from this UK traveler.

p.s. Check out Lilly's blog for another account of our reunion!