Posts Tagged ‘Scotland’

Glasgow, Scotland

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

I went to Glasgow for a 3 day weekend, to visit my old flatmate Ginnie, and her husband Colin. They have lived in Glasgow for the last 4 years, and got married in New Zealand in January.

While I was there they had a ceilidh (which I guess is a sort of Scottish dance party) to celebrate their marriage with the people who couldn’t make it to New Zealand for the wedding. It was an awesome night, with much drinking and sweaty scottish dancing.

There was a 3 piece band playing, and before every song they would explain the steps for dancing in it. Mostly it was running around and spinning each other, which becomes more and more dangerous as the night goes on and everyone has more and more to drink.

Happily, no photographic evidence from the party exists, at least none that I’m going to publish.

The next day Ginnie and Colin took me for a driving tour around Glasgow, and we visited the Burrell Collection, which is a bunch of general museum-y stuff and some paintings that were given to Glasgow by some old guy. The best part was one of the rooms of stuff, which had huge bay windows that opened out into a view into the forest behind the museum. Having the forest behind the displays really gave it an exciting dynamic. It reminded me of the totem pole room in the UBC Museum of Anthropology.

On Monday, my last day, I went into town and had a look around. The Glasgow Museum of Modern Art had some Bridget Riley paintings up, and I got a free tour of the Glasgow Art School, thanks to Colins brothers girlfriend, who works there.

I also went up a scary flight of stairs, which did terrible things to my vertigo, and got a photo of the rooftops.

Stairs at the lighthouse, Glasgow, Scotland

Stairs at the lighthouse, Glasgow, Scotland

Rooftops of Glasgow, Scotland

Rooftops of Glasgow, Scotland

Overall, Glasgow was a nice place to visit. Even the dark alleyways are nice.

Alley by Central Station, Glasgow, Scotland

Alley by Central Station, Glasgow, Scotland

Scottish Highlands

Friday, January 2nd, 2009

We took a one day bus trip to the Scottish Highlands and Loch Ness.

It was a beautiful day, no rain, and mostly sunny. However, since it was the middle of winter, it was very cold, and got dark around 4pm.

On the way in, we stopped for lunch at a little shop / restaurant / tourist trap that had some of the best hoar frost I have see in a while.

Hoar Frost

Hoar Frost

We stopped at Castle Urquhart, which is on the shore of Loch Ness. It is the largest ruined castle in the UK. It is nice for a quick look, but everyone on the tour decided to do the boat tour of Loch Ness instead of a tour of the Castle. It was just a couple of walls after all.

Castle Urquhart, Loch Ness, Scotland

Castle Urquhart, Loch Ness, Scotland

Loch Ness itself was ok. The bus driver had told us that it was a physical and biological impossibility for there to be a Loch Ness monster. Apparently there are 18 Loch Ness monsters, which provides enough of a population for sustainable breeding. Or maybe they are on the decline.

He also mentioned the Ogopogo monster in BC, and some other Loch Ness type monsters around the world, which I thought was kind of cool.

As it turns out we were lucky enough to get a sighting of these marvelous beasts.

Loch Ness Monster

Loch Ness Monster

The white note taped to the base of its nesk is a sign telling people not to touch or ride the monster. They are an endangered species after all…

Edinburgh, Scotland

Thursday, January 1st, 2009

We were in Edinburgh, Scotland for New Years.

Sarah booked a flash apartment for us to stay in with a few friends. It worked out cheaper than staying at a backpackers, and was a million times nicer. The view out our bedroom window was incredible.

Fantastic view from the bedroom window

Fantastic view from the bedroom window

We bought tickets to the massive block party on one of the main streets for New Years Eve. There was live music all night, and a good fireworks display at midnight.

The organisers had cleverly only put up 3 bars for 20 000 people, so there were many less drunk idiots than I expected. On the down side, people had to wait in line about an hour to buy an expensive beer, or wine in a glass, but I am starting to think that is what passes for a good time in the UK.