Tuesday, January 24, 2017

travelogue: scotland, part 1 of 4, edinburgh and glasgow


our travels to scotland was amazing; i may have a crush.  gorgeous edinburgh, isle of skye's fairytale landscapes, and that wonderful charming accent.  we all tried haggis and we survived the *very* narrow roads while driving on the wrong side of the road to boot!

it's been six months since our summer trip to ireland/scotland/wales with our friends, the weinsteins who i find myself missing along with the beauty we have seen together. i will break down our 2016 summer travels in one liner-ish notes, the parts that stand out more than others...


edinburgh


coming out of the underground i was instantly in awe, spinning a 365 to take in the gothic city landscape around me; utterly incredible.

walking up and down and around the "royal mile" following rick steve's walking guide; popping into shops (dede and i each bought a cashmere scarf), chatting with friendly shop keepers, and peeking into the mews (cute and ancient courtyards hidden away).


stefan recommends brew coffee and fortitude coffee for your coffee and pastry fix.


eating a messy and delish pulled pork sandwich at oink.


climbing up calton hill for spectacular views of the old and new towns; meeting a friendly local lending a helping hand (literally).


arriving late to visit edinburgh castle and settled on relaxing in a park with a view of the castle while the kiddos enjoyed rolling down the hill.


posing with a piper, of course!


trying haggis - we all did! - and deciding it wasn't for us, but everything else was spot on; lots of dining choice on rose street.


i could spend days wandering around edinburgh, so swoon-worthy.


















































haggis!




glascow

the necropolis, located next to the glasgow cathedral, on a hilly vegetated landscape is meant to be gawked at; the monuments are quite striking, apparently famous architects were commissioned by wealthy families.


coffee?  gordon street coffee and riverhill coffee bar.

wandering around merchant square and happening upon a festival where the boys scored some foodie goodness.  we, the ladies, tucked ourselves away in st. wilson street pantry and dove into our salads, lots of veggie goodness for a change.  for dinner, we were back in this neighbourhood at cafe gandolfi.

amazing graffiti can be seen in many of the neighbourhoods.

kelvingrove art gallery is a fascinating and unusual museum with an array of exhibits; fine art alongside stuffed animals, a spitfire plane, scottish art and french impressionist work.  best of all, most everything has an easy reading paragraph of interpretation, you can learn alot about art here.  i wish we had this museum, it would be a favourite.


i can't help but get the giggles thinking about my lovely travel companions trying to play the bagpipes... just look at those pics at the national pipping centre.  we concluded you simply cannot pick up a bagpipe and start playing, you will get nowhere. it's quite the complex task with a lot happening at once... holding the cumbersome bagpipe, inflating it, playing the reeds, blowing, etc.  to give them credit, they did manage to let out a few squeaks :)


































tomorrow, travelogue: scotland, part 2, on the road to fort williams.

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