scotland

July 10 PHL -> JFK -> EDI: 12.07.2009 00:27:54

PHL -> JFK -> EDI PHL flight delayed due to excess weight (full fuel + passengers + luggage) 8 passengers were paid $400 ea (vouchers) to change flights.

Didn't sleep as well as usual during JFK -> EDI

Arrived ~7:50AM left luggage, walked...found good coffee @ Wellington

walked...towards castle (construction on Princess St blocked the view)

Wandered into the Cuthbert Church graveyard, admiring the stones & castle view. Asked in the church for directions to Thomas Dequincey's gave. Unimpressive stone, but the next grave over told the interesting story of Rufus Woodward, "the amiable american stranger" who lived in Scotland from 1823 to 1828.

We then made our way up toward the castle, stopping in a weekly farmer's market for some delious semi-solid aged goat cheese, bread, and local (hard) cider.

We walked up to the castle, through the outer courtyard (staged for the Crosby Stills And Nash concert) and briefly inside the castle walls. After seeing the crowds, and the line at teh ticket booth, we continued down the "Royal Mile" (toward Parliment) for about another 40 minutes, including a quick look inside St. Giles church (surprisingly narrow and low-ceilinged for a cathedral, with the two transcepts centered, making a "plus sign", rather than a cross (or so it appeared). The small chapel for the Scottish Knights was impressive in the level of decoration, and in the fact that it was completed in 1911!

After strolling down from the Royal Mile back to the train station (and our checked luggage), Mark rested while Meredith got the key to "our flat". We found the flat after a reasonably short walk uphill from the train station. It turned out to be a nicely furnished, clean, bright, modern apartment in a student/guest housing space used by the University of Edinburgh. Think "Apartment by Ikea".

The flat was well located, between a large gracery store/halal butcher and a larger mosque, and very close to a wide range of restaurants.

We too a nap at about 5pm, then a long walk along Bridge St. until we found a nice restaurant for dinner...think a pub that's made a serious upgrade to their menu, and is now primarily a restaurant, but which retains that casual, friendly atmosphere. Meredith had a local/home made veggie burger, wheile Mark had veggie haggis and a quiche.

After dinner, about 9:30 PM, we strolled out into full sunlight--not quite twilight--and headed to a pub that was recommended for live music. The Royal Oak was about 6 blocks from our flat, and had very good music, good beer, standing room only, converstations with Scotch (in both senses), Brits, Norwegians, and Germans.

Finally, a bit after midnight, but still wide awake, we headed back to the flat.
July 12, EID: Cooler and overcast in the AM. Breakfast and coffee (from a cafe with the 1st and 2nd place finnishers in Scottland's Barrista Championship!) Dirzzle and overcast, stroll through the University and The Meadows, and the to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, by way of the west end of Pricess St. Drizzle/sun/overcast/sun/drizzle/cool/windy/sun...the whole way, with Meredith performing he quick-change act with her jacket a dozen times in response to the weather.

Looked at 18th & 19th C. paintings, and some beautiful tapestries.

As we we about to leave the museum, there was a brief burst of heavier rain, and then, within minutes, it was bright and sunny and cool when we walked out the door. We took about :45 to do the "brisk 20 minute walk" to the Dean (Dene) wing of the national museum. The landscape and density were totally different, with the museum buildings being set on in enormous formal grounds straddling a road. We had just enough time to do a liesurly tour of the Tate collection of "Artist's Rooms", with the most intriguing spaces being from Andy (Is it Really Art?) Warhol and Damien (Gross, Fascinating, Is it Art?) Hurst.

We we left the museum, at it's 5PM closing, it was bright and sunny, with a brilliant blue sky and occasional clouds hanging over the still-wet grass.

Leaving the Dene, we did a long, slow, long stroll down the Dene River, through Dean Village, under the Dene Bridge (sensing a theme here?), and finally a long curve back to the city center.

After walking uphill to the Royal Mile, we strolled further along that street, towards Parliment, before finally turning inland again and heading in search of a drink and snack. We passed up a few pubs in search of a place where we could sit outside. About 7:00, Mark heard some music coming from one place, and deciding that outweighed the lack of outdoor tables. As it turned out, Sandy's Bells turned out to be a lucky choice, as the music was excellent, and we ran into a one of the musicians from the previous night's session at the Royal Oak who filled us in on the personalities of the musicians and local politics.

Finally, after 9PM, we left the pub in search of dinner, and ended up in an Indian restaurant around the corner from our flat.
July 13 EID -> Glasgow: Train from EID to Glasgow.

Observations: almost no wooden construction/roofs clean along the train lines, at city edges

Glasgow: hotel in an odd area...behind a 'mall', on the south (not nice) side of tghe Clyde, but a 15 minute walk (including an attractive new pedesterain bridge) from the center.

Lots of walking...rain on-and-off...lunch outside, followed by a tour of Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art. The School of Art is in very active use... one of the impressive things, especially compared to other notable architects (Frank Lloyd Wright), is how well the original design of the building has held up, both in terms of functioning as a school and as a structure.

Malasian ninner, walk back to hotel w. a circular wander in search of sticky toffee (found!)
July 14 Glasgow: Rushed walk/cab to Univ. of Strathclyde for Meredith's conf.

Walked to cathedral, decided to find food before touristing..down the hill to Merchant City. Semi-seedy area, mix of design shops, small new restruants, public defenders, cell phone shops, shuttered businesses, old pubs, etc..

After foor & email, wandered the east edge of Merchant City (towadrd much-more-downscale East End). Stopped in pet store...saw an Indian Ringneck-sized bird...indigo blue, some green, yellow ring around it's neck. The shop owner identified the species as a "foulmouthed parakeet".

Then walked up to cathedral. Great architecture & history, lower chapel seems to double the floor space. Good explanagory info, but you must understand Scottish religous history (at very least, the last 500 years of Catholic vrs. Protestant and Scottish vrs. English)

Visited Provand's Lordship house (oldest house in Glasgow, c. 1470), then wandered through George Sq., ending up at the GoMA.

Ground floor exhibit was unremarkable, except for the building, but the temp exhibit "shOUT" by/about GLTB+transex people was very moving.

Headed back toward Strathclyde U., with a stop in a nice restruant/pub to wait out some rain & sample some Drura "Superstition" single-malt. OK...

Met Meredith, then went with the conference folks to Roganos for dinner.
July 15 Glasgow: Espresso w. Meredith @ Tinderbox before she went to her conf., then a quick stop @ GoMA library branch to check email.

Took minature subway to St. George's Cross in order to wander the West End. The subway car reminds me of a 20+ seat regional aircraft, but was comfortable, fast, quiet, and reasonably priced.

Strolled along Great Western, with a stop in the verfy-well-stocked Heine Gerieke motorcycle gear shop...almost bought their "summer" gloves...which I'd use for fall through early winter riding!

Got a nice aged goat cheese, bread, and sun-dried tomatoes for my picnic. The local bio-organic shop also had 3 kinds of V. sausage & gluten-free porridge oats!

Picnicing in Kelvingrove Park as I write this, enjoying the view of Glasgow U. and the breeze, almost too warm when the cloud bands part to let the sun in.

Wandered into the Hunterian Museum largely by accident. Really enjoyed the show "Recent Acquisitions in Contemporary Art", particularly Ilana Halperin: Nomadic Landmass (The Eldfell Birthday Event)

"in geological time I should be able to meet Robert Smithson, in practical time it is not possible" 15.07.2009 14:18:23

left the museum nto brilliant sunshine, having missed a brief, heavy rain
Wandered into Botanical Gardens, looking for info re. Bard in the Garden...went into Glasshouse to wait out rain... Beautiful building & plants. Amaxingly, the entire greenhouse was dismantled in 2005 and shipped out for restoration

Left greenhouse @ closing (4:15), then sheltered under a tree during the next rain (hardest of trip).

Confusion coordinating w. Meredith via text message (ick) about to meet for dinner...found each other outside the subway stop in the West End.

Had a drink (Oban), caught up w. each other about our days, then wandered toward the Univefsity of Glasgow. Fantastic light to the east (8:15PM) as the storm clouds receeded.

Lots of photos, then to a disappointing dinner at a well-reviewed Indian restaurant.
July 16 Glasgow to Fort William: Slow start, delay @ airport getting rental car.

OMG! The car is defective...the steering wheel's on the wrong side!

16.07.2009 16:02:55 Most challenging car driving of my life....closest to motorcycling.

The road along the north/west end of Loch Lomond would be a good riding road anywhere...lots of 15mph turns, terrific views, etc. However, being on the 'wrong side' of the road required (at first) a racetrack-level of concentration. The slightest moment of relaxation was shortly followed by an abrupt minor panic, as decades of driving experience suddenly told me that I needed to move to the other lane!
As the road continued north, the landscape reminded us of high alpine meadow valleys...no trees, a very green mix of ground cover and scrub bushes, streams and pools from the sporadic and incessent rain, what looks like a smooth meadow from a distance would resolve itself into low hills and mounds as we got closer, revealing that the landscape was as convoluted in minature--on foot--as the ranges of hills, mountains, and lochs are on the map.

Many photo stops along the way up...whenever I felt that I could pull off the road!

Started looking at places to stay anout 15miles south of Ft. William (FW), our target destination. Concerned that FW would be booked (as guidebooks warned). First stopped into a vegetarian B&B (full) about 8 miles south of FW, then decided to continue...easily found a nice B&B on the road into FW, about a 1/4mile walk from the (1/4mile long) town center. The B&B was more reasonable than expected (feared) and quite nice.

We walked into town and went to a pub...and wound up in a long conversation with a couple of Australians who were in Scotland to watch a friend play in the British Open. Both men were in commercial fishing...one was a fisherman, and the other a wholesale buyer & "shark barber". Interestesting talk about fish, travel, fishing, scotch, fishing, etc.
July 17 Fort William: Ranger-led walk in Glen Nevis, lunch, walk toward Steall Falls, nap & dinner, sunset photos.