The Glenfiddich...and a fish

On Saturday the 29^th we took a trip to Blair Castle in Blair Atholl to see the Glenfiddich Piping Championship.

We started out a little late. We were supposed to get up at 5:15 to catch the first train out of Waverly station at 6:30. Unfortunately, we woke up at 7:20. Not quite sure if the alarm did go off or not, but neither of us remembers waking up to turn it off. Either way, we caught the next train out at 9:30, changed at the Perth station, and made it to Blair Atholl by about 12:30. The walk out to the castle was great once we figured out which way to go. Signs here are less than helpful sometimes! But we found ourselves on a small gravel road which took us beside sheep pasture to deposit us onto the paved, tree lined lane that lead to the castle. It was gorgeous. It was a very overcast day so the colours in the leaves and the greens in the grass were vibrant. And the sheep were begging me to come in and hug them!

When we found our way into the castle we found that we’d missed all but three of the piobaireachd (traditional pipe music) plays. We listened to two and then they took a break for lunch. By that point it was raining but Brandon lead the way up a little hill and found us a great spot to eat our picnic. Then before we went back in to hear the rest of the competition, we explored a little.

What a beautiful estate. There seems to be a series of pathways that wander through the trees and along the stream. And again I was struck by how green everything still is here. The pasture land is lush and there are still green leaves hanging onto the trees. Between all the shades of green there were oranges and reds and browns – all working together to create a dream of what autumn should look like. I was actually kind of sad that we had something else to do that afternoon; I’d have been just as happy to go wandering around a bit!

Back inside we listened to ten of the best pipers in the world. Brandon would be a much better at describing what we heard and saw that day, but even I can say that the music we heard was flawless. How the judges can make a decision is absolutely beyond me. It took a long time to get through all of the plays and then a little longer to wait for the results. The lady who was MC-ing kept everyone happy by telling a few stories and even singing a little bit of a piobaireachd in Gaelic. But finally the results were given and everyone was happy. And as we left the hall everyone was presented with their very own tiny bottle of 12 year old Glenfiddich single malt.

I should mention that the room where the competition took place was rather interesting. I looked up what the room is online and it says this on the castle’s website: “Commissioned by the 7th Duke for the annual gathering of the Atholl Highlanders, this grand ballroom remains unchanged today. It is still used for its original purpose and for many Highland balls, wedding receptions, corporate hospitality and private dinners. Designed by David Bryce and completed in 1876, just before his death, the ballroom is essentially Scottish in style and setting."

The ceiling is all open beamed, dark wood and there are massive paintings of kilted Highland men looking rather serious and formidable. On the walls above the doors and windows are deer skulls, complete with their antlers, expertly hung in perfect symmetry. As far as I could tell there are approximately 180 of them. And then below all of that are spears and hunting garments that I assume are very old and they had a very foreign, almost African look to them. It was a beautiful setting for the competition.

We made our way back into town down the lane, in the pitch dark, rain coming down, and cars streaming along behind us. And then into restaurant at the hotel for dinner graciously paid for by Brandon’s mom and dad as an engagement treat. We caught the train back to Edinburgh and were home by about 11. It was a long and slightly soggy day, but a really good one too.

Yesterday we had very little planned. We slept in, made a great breakfast, and then set out for Calton Hill. It’s a hill park in the centre of the city and there are loads of monuments up on top of it. We spent a good bit of time up there just taking in the view and enjoying the weather. The nights cool off pretty quickly, but during the day the temperature is still warm enough to get by with just light coats.

On our way back down we stopped in at the pet store to buy a fish. We bought an interestingly shaped vase at a thrift store last week and got all the gravel and water treatment supplies too. We chose a low maintenance fish that though technically a goldfish, is black with rather googly eyes and big flowing fins and tail. Brandon named him Simon Fish and he seems to be settling in very well. Not as cuddly as Charlie, but a pet to love none-the-less!

As tonight is Halloween, we’re going out to experience the festivities (and the crazies!) on the Royal Mile tonight. We’re not dressing up, but we’re going to go down there when Brandon gets home from his lesson in Glasgow and spend some time people watching before our ghost tour at 11. We’re going down below the South Bridge again but this time for a more ghost story specific tour. I agreed to it only if Brandon promised not to laugh at me when I get so scared that I scream and cry. Happy Halloween!

Rosslyn

Brandon worked on Saturday night and got home late so we slept in, made breakfast and then made our way towards Princes Street. We stopped at the visitor’s centre to find out where to catch a bus, and then made our way out to the tiny town of Roslin to see Rosslyn Chapel. This was a must for me since it was one of my most favourite memories from when Colin and I came here in 2008. Back then, out of all the churches we saw, Rosslyn was the only one where I felt God present. It was a Place for me. And I couldn’t wait for Brandon to see it.

We got on the bus at George Square and it took about 45 minutes to get there. It seems very odd for the city busses to go out into the small towns but it’s terribly handy! We walked down the road a bit and into the tiny chapel. It was very busy and we’d just missed the beginning of a formal talk about the chapel so we wandered around looking at all the carvings. At the back, in the Lady Chapel area, we talked for quite a while to a guide about all the cubes that come down from the arches. They all have a pattern carved on them – 13 different patterns that repeat in a pattern around this part of the chapel. One theory is that they represent musical notes and combine into a piece of music. This makes a lot of sense when you consider all the carved angels playing instruments that appear just below the cubes. We also talked about the green man carvings throughout the church. It’s a common theme in many medieval churches since it represents nature and rebirth and the early missionaries used it to help convert the pagan religions. But while most other churches have one or two, Rosslyn has 110. There’s one in the centre of each of the window frames and more hidden all over inside and out. As you make your way around the church, the green men under the windows get a little older until the last one which actually resembles a skull. The simplest theory for these guys is that they represent the life of man from birth to death. A more involved theory is that they follow the life of Christ.

We listened to the next talk about the chapel, learning about its history and some of its legend. One very well-known is the story about the apprentice pillar. The story goes that the master mason finished carving one of the pillars behind the alter and before he started the next one, he convinced William St. Clair, the man building the church, to let him go abroad to gain inspiration for the next one. While he was gone, his apprentice had a vision in which God showed him how to carve the pillar. Somehow he got permission and completed it before the master came back. When he did come back and saw that what was going to be his masterpiece was already finished, he flew into a fit of rage. Which of course was made worse by the fact that it wasn’t another well-known and respected mason who’d done it – it was an insolent apprentice! He bashed the apprentice’s head in with his awl and for that was himself hanged. Now, it’s thought that a likeness of the master mason’s face is carved into a front corner of the chapel and it’s positioned so that it’s looking directly at the apprentice pillar – quite the bit of extra punishment!

We also learned that the chapel was closed up for nearly 250 years during the reformation. The alters were destroyed and it’s thought that some of the more valuable and important statues were removed and hidden, but they’ve never been recovered. In 1650 it was actually used by Oliver Cromwell’s troops for stabling their horses so some damage was done then. But for some reason, Cromwell saved the chapel instead of destroying it as he did so many others. There is a theory that it was because he was a Mason and there is much Masonic imagery both inside and outside the chapel.

And of course, the Holy Grail and the Arc of the Covenant are both reported to have been hidden there inside the chapel. The guide said that the crypt and tombs below the church itself are at least as deep as the roof is tall, but they’ve long since been sealed up and if that’s where these treasures are held, they’ll never be found. The family refuses to open up the tombs since after all, it’s their ancestors that are buried down there; some of them knights in their full armour. Brandon and I decided that it’s a much better story to believe that something really important actually is down there and it’s been a heavily guarded family secret passed down from generation to generation that they keep hidden.

There are sadly no records that explain any of the imagery or the theories surrounding the chapel. They were all destroyed in a fire hundreds of years ago. Or maybe that’s part of the secret! There’s so much there that it makes me wonder how long they planned before they started building. Everything is placed so perfectly and nothing seems to have been added on a whim. It took only forty years to build, but how many years did they plan and draw and carve first? And get this: there are foundation stones in the ground to mark where the church was eventually going to be added onto. If Sir William’s son continued, the church would’ve actually been at least three times larger. We decided that we would like to go back as often as we could because 600 years of history is too much to take in all at once.

You can take a bit of a walk down into the glen behind the chapel to the ruins of a small castle. Part of it is still usable and it’s actually rented out as a holiday cottage when the family aren’t using it. Around it there are small paths that you can follow into the trees and under the old castle walls. Brandon found a great place where a tree has completely covered over a quiet corner. We joked that he should’ve waited and proposed there! There was amazing scenery up and down the sides of the valley with every colour of autumn in full glory.

One thing that’s very different here is that many shops and restaurants are closed on Sunday. Especially in small towns apparently. We were starving but there wasn’t anything open so we bought snacks at the little grocery store and waited for the bus. We made it back home to the flat by about 6:30 and then finally got to Skype with my mom and dad. We had a fabulous day.

I should mention that Brandon has a job! He’s signed on with a temp agency that specializes in chefs only. He’s worked twice now at the Marriott Hotel and the recruiter said he should be able to keep Brandon busy. He also has two more interviews tomorrow so we`ll see what comes out of those.

As for me…well, I don`t really want to talk about it. Instead, I’d like to share this list of things that I’m starting to miss. In no particular order:

Tim Horton’s breakfast sandwiches and steeped tea double doubles
Clothes dried within an hour instead of hanging up for two days
Baking – well, having an oven at all
Charlie
All our kitchen tools and gadgets
Coffee dates with my friends
My family
My clothes and shoes
Driving
A queen sized bed
Books
Country 105
Dill pickle chips
The Highlanders

Not too bad I guess…most of these things I can do without anyway!

A hike, a question and a ring

Yesterday was quite a day. And I’m sure you’re all reading this to get details of a certain event that happened. But I’ll start at the beginning.

We began our day a little later than usual because we both did a little job searching online and then after breakfast and showers Brandon played his pipes for a bit. When he was done we loaded up our little backpack with water and the camera, stopped at a little deli/bakery close by for sandwiches and headed off for Arthur’s Seat. I’ve wanted to attempt this hike for a while now and since it was maybe one of the last clear days we could have for a while, today was the day. Arthur’s Seat is a hill in a large park in the middle of the city. Here’s what the guide book says about it: “The rocky peak of Arthur’s Seat (251m), carved by ice sheets from the deeply eroded stump of a long-extinct volcano, is a distinctive feature of Edinburgh’s skyline.” It’s visible from nearly everywhere in the city and it doesn’t look like all that bad of a hike when you’re at the bottom.

The path we took lead us to a stone wall that is the remains of an old church. From there, the path got steadily steeper and steeper and we both realized that although we’ve been doing an awful lot of walking lately, neither one of us is in very good shape. After a few rest stops and photo breaks, we eventually did make it up to the top. The view is absolutely worth the hike. You can see all the way out to the Forth bridges in one direction and to the beach in Portobello where we ate lunch last weekend the other way, and then there’s farmland and city and town everywhere in between. It was pretty gusty up there though and we were both happy we’d bundled up a little bit.

We found a good spot overlooking one edge of the hill to eat our lunch and we let our poor knees recover from all the hard work. We were both getting rather chilly so we decided that we should start the downhill trek. I started packing everything back into the backpack and stuffing the sandwich bags into the Pringles can because the lid blew away while we were eating and didn’t really pay too much attention to what Brandon was doing. I put the camera and our keys into the pack to make room in my coat pockets for my chilly hands and then turned around to pass it to Brandon who was going to carry it down. But he just stood there looking at me for a minute. I was about to ask him what was wrong when all of a sudden he was down on one knee holding up a ring in his fingers. I’m sure my eyes got huge and my heart leapt up into my throat and he said, “Will you marry me?”

Now this is the moment that every girl dreams about from the time they’re old enough to be reading about Prince Charming. Or Jamie Fraser, or Edward Cullen or whoever it is that happens to be your fancy. And I’ll admit that I’d been thinking for quite some time now about just how the perfect reply to that question should go. In my head, I got down on my knees with him, took his hands, looked him deeply in the eye and said, “Yes. With all my heart, YES!” We’d kiss, we’d hug, people would cheer.

In reality, what actually happened the moment Brandon asked me to marry him, was that I pretty much ignored the ring, even though I held it on my index finger while I grabbed his face, pulled him down and ended up half sitting, half laying on the ground kissing him and crying and trying to make coherent words come out of my mouth. Somewhere in the middle of all this I said yes, I put the ring on the correct finger, took a moment to admire how totally gorgeous it is, asked him when he bought it, laughed, kissed some more, asked him if he was serious, and pretty much was taken up in a moment of complete and utter joy.

In a nut shell, I did pretty much the opposite of what I thought I would. And it was perfect.

We had a man who was there with his family on the hill take our picture and explained that we just found out that we’re getting married. He was so happy and smiley and took a great photo. You can hardly tell we’re happy in it at all. (Ya right!) Then we took a moment or two to just let things sink in a little and began our walk back down. I don’t really remember much of that part of the day, I think I floated more than walked. And when we got back down to pavement, we went to the first pub we found, ordered glasses of wine, and Brandon toasted to happily ever after.

I was completely and totally surprised by this proposal. I mean, I kind of hoped it would happen while we’re over here, but I did not expect it yet at all. And get this: Brandon’s had the ring since the middle of August.  He actually bought the diamond in March then worked with a jeweller to choose a band and a setting and bought ten more, smaller diamonds to go into it as well. I love my ring. I love that he spent all that time and effort to make this ring all mine. He listened so carefully to everything I ever hinted at for what an engagement ring should be, and no one else has ever tried this one on. And he did it all right. He asked my dad, he consulted with my best friend on the ring and he didn’t give me a single hint that this was coming.

October 19^th is now one of my most favourite days.

Weekend update

Written October 17

It’s Monday morning and I’m sitting in the living room at 7:55 waiting for the electrical guy to come and do an inspection. The gas guy came last week and the letting agency is sending this guy today too. Brandon didn’t sleep well so I’m up and waiting for a phone call to let him in the building since we don’t know which buzzer outside is ours!

We had a really great weekend. On Saturday we slept in and after a breakfast of loaded scrambled eggs that would’ve made my dad proud, we headed over to the internet café to get caught up. Sent a few emails, Facebook’d a bit and I uploaded my resume to a placement company to see if they can do anything for me. It’s the same company that Brandon had a meeting with on Friday and he said the guy he talked to was really helpful and confident that he would have companies for Brandon to interview with early this week.

After getting our little internet fix, we headed towards Princes Street. We went to Jenners which is the oldest department store in the UK. It’s kind of like Harrod’s in London – five stories of designer goods and apparently just about anything you can imagine. We stuck to the basement floor though for the toy department. Not nearly as good as Hamley’s, but still pretty great.

We walked across the street then and after a slight detour to find a cash machine, we attacked the Scott Monument. There are 287 steps and we climbed them all right to the top. There are four viewing areas and the view just got better and better on each level. But the steps were small and very cramped spirals, especially up to the last level where it got so small that my shoulders were touching both sides of the stairwell. Brandon had to duck and go sideways through part of it. I don’t have evidence of our ascent because I forgot to bring the camera with me, but we do have little certificates that they gave us to put our name on to say we did it.

We made our way to the Royal Mile through a steep close which deposited us on the castle side of the bridges. We stopped for a quick beverage and then crossed over to find the John Knox House. It`s Edinburgh`s oldest surviving tenement building, apparently built around 1490. Knox lived here in the mid 1500`s. On the way there though, Brandon ducked down another close and found a great little shop called Celtic Craft (or something like that). They make kilts by hand and do a great job of it too. One of the proprietors was also a piper so we stood and chatted with them for quite a while. They recommended a couple of pubs to us too where we could find pipers. We did finally find the Knox House, but it was a bit of a disappointment. It was expensive to get in when the only really interesting thing was the painted ceiling in one large room. I’m sure for someone interested in the Presbyterian faith it holds a lot of history, and the information provided was very good. Most notably I learned that Knox was instrumental in forcing Mary Queen of Scots to abdicate the throne in favour of her baby son James. Oh the mess religious fighting has made of things over the years!

Our next stop was into a free museum about life in Edinburgh. It had displaces of how various individuals would have spent their days throughout different ages. I found it a bit creepy because of all the mannequins but it was interesting to learn about life during and after the wars.

Another stop before home at the grocery store and then finally we were done walking for a while. We made a quick supper and then relaxed a bit before getting ready to go out again, this time with pipes on Brandon’s back. We headed back up to the Royal Mile, but this time from the other end, past Holyrood as Brandon has figured out a bit of a shortcut from our place to there. It’s not really faster as it’s still uphill most of the way, but then everywhere you go in this city is mostly uphill! Our first stop was Canon’s Gate Pub where Brandon had stopped in on Thursday while he was handing out resumes. They have live folk music on Saturday nights and though there weren’t many other musicians there yet, they were very welcoming and urged Brandon to play once more people arrived. The pub was pretty much empty for the first half hour but then all of a sudden a huge group came in and it got louder. The guy who seemed to be kind of the leader of the music table sang one song and then Brandon played to much cheering. There were a couple more songs and then as it turned out, that large group was a choir who was in the pub to celebrate the concert they’d just performed. It didn’t take very much convincing to get them to sing holy crap that was an experience. The voices were coming from every direction around us and the harmonies were perfect. I don’t know what they were singing, I’m pretty sure it was Latin, but it was absolutely incredible. They sang again later on and it was just as stunning. Someone commented that who’s ever been to church while in a pub before?!

Brandon played twice more there and then we decided to try a place the kilt maker guy had told us about, but it was not as much fun. It is supposedly the place pipe bands go when they’re in town and judging by all the photos of bands from around the world on the walls, I believe that’s true. But there was an odd sounding duo singing in the corner, no pipes to be seen, and the crowd was far from what we were expecting. Brandon talked to the bar tender and one other guy who had pipes there and I guess we just caught it on a bad night. We’ll have to try again. We caught a cab home after being flirted with by a man dressed in a mini-kilt, heals and a blond wig and called the evening a grand success.

Sunday we woke up late-ish again, made breakfast and Brandon played a few games of chess on the computer. It was sunny and mostly clear so we were just getting ready to head out to climb Arthur’s Seat when Jesse called and invited us to spend the day with him and Katie. We met them up on Leith Walk and we headed to the seaside in the neighbourhood of Portobello to have lunch, and then we drove out of town to what they were calling our surprise location. We ended up in a tiny little village and parked beside a house with a rather wooded backyard. We headed out into the woods a bit till we came to what looked like a pile of sticks with a few leaves on top. “Go in!” they told us so we crouched down and walked into the pile, which is actually a yew tree. A roughly two-thousand-year-old yew tree, that is. It was beautiful and somehow it didn`t seem possible that what we were standing in the middle of was all the same tree. We were completely surrounded by branches that twisted and dipped and dove underground only to come back up ten feet away creating what looked like a whole new tree. The light was coming in at the perfect angle to make everything seem rather ethereal and standing there felt a little like being in a magical, fairy tale place. The photos I took don`t do it justice, but at least they give an idea of what we saw.

The drive back into Edinburgh was an adventure too. The roads are twisty and windy and though nothing like in Canada, the scenery did feel a little like home. This part of the country has very rich farmland and though it was odd to see, there were still many fields full of crops. There are rolling hills and stone fences and small wooded areas along the way which could almost make someone forget they`re in one of the rainiest countries in the world. But as we were coming through a little town called Haddington the car started making a rather awful noise and it smelled hot. Katie pulled over, the boys jumped out, and it was determined that the calliper on one of the front brakes was seized up. Katie called AA (AMA back home) and a super nice guy came out to rescue us. He couldn`t fix it so Brandon and I rode with him in his van while Katie and Jesse stayed in the car to steer as he pulled the car on a tow bar. He chatted to us the whole way into the city and told us all about how Scottish hospitality has changed since he was a boy. Jesse and Katie were so sorry that our day ended like that and that we had to take the bus home from their part of the city, but we were honestly just so happy to have spent the day out.

We made soup and sandwiches for supper and then watched a DVD on the computer. There`s a little video store about a block away that sells old movies for 2 pounds or so and in the absence of tv, that and playing cards have been our entertainment lately. Movie over, we played a couple hands of 31, had a good long talk about religion of all things, and then put ourselves to bed. A great weekend I think!

Perspective

Written October 14

Today I feel a little better than I did yesterday. It’s amazing what a phone call home to my mom can do! I realized that I don’t need to put so much pressure on myself and I don’t need to be taking this quite as seriously as I was. Well, obviously getting a job is serious, but my mom reminded me that I need to find a job to help support our life here - not to get rich or have a fabulous career, and I'm not replacing Coast Paper. There’s no reason why I can’t apply for positions that will be fun and interesting and low stress. So, with this fresh perspective, there is a bookstore not far from our flat that looks interesting and I actually want to shop in, so I will probably go ask if they need help. And I might actually go see if there are any jobs at the Castle or at Holyrood that I could apply for. There are museums all over and though I know nothing about art, there are galleries too. I think I just need to let my head catch up with the fact that we’re moved in now and actually living in Edinburgh. I’ll get there, I just need another day or two. Thanks Mom!

In other very, very good news, we get cable and internet hooked up on Tuesday! This internet café is cheap, but too far a walk to check emails as many times a day as I’d like to. I have many photos to post and many emails to write so I can’t wait.

Resume

Written October 13

I’m having trouble today. I don’t know why it should be so hard to wrap my head around the fact that I need to look for jobs and apply for them. Why should this suddenly be such a source of terror for me? Last night and this morning we worked on getting Brandon’s resume all in order and all I could think about was how I’m just not ready for this. That’s not fair and I know it. I need to be employed as soon as possible too and start bringing in money too. And yet when Brandon suggested I come along with him to the internet café and start a job search online while he gets his resumes printed, I nearly flipped out and sat here on the couch crying. I know that part of this is because my job at Coast Paper lasted eight and a half years. I can remember years ago thinking that quite possibly the worst thing in the world that could happen would be for me to be laid off and have to find a new job. I like security. I like knowing exactly what’s going to happen every day and how to do everything that will be asked of me. I hate being “new” and as much as I say I like to be challenged, I’d much rather have a predictable and scheduled day. I knew this was part of the deal when I signed on for this Scottish adventure, but I honestly did not expect the reaction I’m having today.

I’ve been carrying around a stack of resumes with me that I printed on my favourite paper from back at Coast. I even designed the file on A4 paper since that’s the standard here. I have reference sheets to match and I had envelopes to put them in. But suddenly this morning I decided they’re not good enough. How I’ve managed to get them here without wrinkling and creasing is a mystery. But this version is very much suited to working for a paper or a printing company. And at this point, versatility is much more important than proving I know how to make a perfect bound mock up, or that I know the difference between linen and laid. So while Brandon is out today, dressed in a shirt and tie, knocking on hotel kitchen doors, I’m here in unwashed hair, the comfiest clothes I have and bare feet pushing myself to re-write a resume. It looks pretty good so far, but I can’t seem to get things to sound like I want them to. I need an objective that doesn’t make me sound over confident or too cute. And I need a program other than Word to make it look good.

I’ll get through this and I will find a job. But I am just so, so scared.

I'm on a boat!

Written October 12

Catching up again! All this pressure to keep up to date! Just kidding. We’ve been busy and I just haven’t had the energy to write in the evening.

So to begin, last Saturday we took a long, somewhat damp stroll to the Leith Docks where the Royal Yacht Britannia is docked. By accident we found out how to go in as we stopped at the shopping mall there to eat first. This was a great thing to see. It’s huge! And thankfully we were allowed to take pictures everywhere. The best parts were seeing the Queen’s bedroom (Prince Phillip sleeps down the hall!), the dining room and then in rather stark contrast, the quarters for all the Royal Navy and “Yotties”, as the crew were called, on board. The royal apartments were beautiful, but not nearly as fancy as I thought they might be. Everything still looked very old fashioned – or well, kind of Seventies fashioned. It was very interesting though to see photos everywhere of the royal family having fun and dressed more casual. The yacht was a real vacation for them even though they were still served as they would be at home. The audio guide said that the front deck was often home for an inflatable pool that the family could swim in while sailing! I also really enjoyed seeing the various messes on lower decks where the crew could unwind. They very much reminded me of the messes in the armouries back home.

We got back to the hotel and after a bit of a nap for me, we got ready to go out for dinner with Jesse and Katie Third. We met them at an Italian place just off of Princes Street and had a great meal. I’d never officially met Jesse, the day he brought his kit back to the armouries was the only time I’d ever seen him at Highlanders practice. But he and his wife Katie are great people and I’m so, so glad to have met them. We laughed a lot and told stories and shared bottles of wine. Afterwards, they took us to two pubs – one close by and the other in the Grassmarket area in the Old Town. On the way to that one, we wandered through Greyfriars Kirkyard. It felt rather odd to be strolling through a graveyard at night while Katie told us stories of the area. It’s built up rather higher than the streets around it because as they ran out of room for graves, they just added more dirt and started digging more. Because of this, the  ground is very soft and it’s not uncommon to find bones from time to time sticking up out of the earth. There were lots of people around though and it really didn’t feel as creepy as you might think it would. This place also gave us an awesome view of the back of the castle all lit up from below.

We sat in the pub for a while and listened to a little band play. There was a guy playing a whistle, a girl on fiddle, two guitars and an old man playing double bass. He was quite the character! He engaged us in conversation and eventually ended up inviting us to come outside and share some of what he was rolling into his cigarette with him. We all politely declined. It was a really great night.

Sunday we got a late start and actually missed breakfast at the hotel. Turns out being at sea-level does not allow me to drink more before I get drunk. But it’s not entirely my fault for needing to sleep a little extra – the people in the room above us were engaging in some rather…ummm…squeeky physical activity in their bed and I couldn’t stop giggling. In spite of our late night and late start, we got some more sightseeing in on Sunday. We had lunch at a French café on Leith Walk and got lattes to drink while we meandered our way up to the Royal Mile. Thankfully St. Giles Cathedral wasn’t closed for the day so we toured ourselves through. It’s a very old, very nice place with amazing carvings and masonry work. I think Brandon said there’s been some sort of church on that site for more than 900 years. The highlight for me was the Thistle Chapel though. That’s where the Order of the Thistle, the highest order of Scottish chivalry, meets. The ceiling, the seats, the alter and just about every surface is carved from wood or stone and it’s stunning. The best part is the angel playing bagpipes. We bought a little replica from the shop.

After touring the church we found our way back to Greyfriar’s Kirkyard again to check out some of the monuments. They’re so, so old. Most of them date from the 17 and 1800’s. A lot of them you can’t read anymore and the sandstone is worn away causing breakage. Brandon kept looking for bones but only found sticks. Maybe next time! There’s a large section that is locked up behind an iron gate that we couldn’t go into. I’m not sure why exactly, but it’s the section reserved for the Covenentors. I don’t have all the information on that particular movement in Scottish history so I won’t comment on that just yet. I would like to take an official tour of the cemetery though so we could go into that section as well.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the mall and bought the fourth season of The Big Bang Theory on DVD. And that’s how we spent our evening – eating Pizza Hut delivery and watching tv in bed. It was pretty awesome! I’m having some trouble with my knee being stiff and a little sore from all this walking I’m not used to doing. So a night off to veg out was totally fine by me.

Monday morning we got up early and headed over to the letting agent’s office. We read through so much paperwork but finally got our lease signed and handed over six-month-worth of rent. It felt great to have that done and secured. After that there wasn’t much to do for the day. Brandon had a lesson back in Glasgow at 4 so around 1, I walked with him up to Leith Walk, picked up some lunch at Tesco (a great grocery store with loads of pre-done lunch stuff), and then saw him off to the train station. Then I spent most of the afternoon catching up with photos, cleaning the room and packing my backpack. We had Chinese food to celebrate Thanksgiving, packed Brandon’s backpack, sent the last emails we needed to before we lost the internet for a while, and hit the sack.

Tuesday was moving day! We got a taxi from the hotel to our new flat even though it really wasn’t that far of a walk. But we had accumulated so much laundry that it needed a bag of its own and there was just too much to carry. The letting agent finally arrived with our keys, we did a quick walk through and got some instruction on the boiler and electric-heated shower and the place was ours! It felt wonderful to walk around with so much space and to put our backpacks down, knowing we won’t have to be packing them nearly so heavy for some time. We did a quick little inventory of what was in the cupboards and wrote a list of the necessities, then headed out to shop. We stopped in at what we hoped would give us everything we needed, but they were seriously lacking in selection and a little higher than we had in mind for price. So, into a cab and out to Ikea! It was great. We got almost everything we needed in one trip for under 200 Pounds. Good thing those little black taxis aren’t so little inside! We got back home, unloaded and then went out again for groceries. Our cab driver told us how to get to the closest Sainsbury’s, a large grocery chain here in the UK. And it was great. It’s the biggest grocery store we’ve seen here and we’re so thankful that we know where it is now. It’s within walking distance as long as you don’t buy as much as we did and everything we bought filled up our kitchen rather nicely.

And today, Wednesday, we had another productive day. We bought two small tables from a second hand charity shop for the living room that will be delivered tomorrow, we bought a TV from the cash converters store, Brandon got us signed up for TV and internet and I found us a coffee maker and a few other things we forgot to put on the list yesterday. It’s starting to feel like home and in spite of the fact that we don’t quite know how to make the heat and hot water work properly, and that the laundry takes forever to dry on our tiny drying rack, and that there can only be one person in the kitchen at one time, we are loving our home. It’s great to be able to cook in our own kitchen and do as many loads of laundry as I want one right after the other. It’s wonderful to walk around barefoot and to leave things out on the table without worrying that someone will take them. It’s fabulous to unpack the toiletry bag into the bathroom and not have to worry about taking up too much space or that you can’t leave your shampoo bottles in the shower. Finally, Scotland is feeling like home.

A little break

Tomorrow morning we move into our new flat! We're both so, so excited and can't wait to live out of drawers instead of backpacks. And to cook. Oh man are we looking forward to cooking in our own kitchen with stuff spread out as much as we like! We meet the letting agent there tomorrow at 10am to do a walk through and get the keys and then we're going shopping for bedding and such. There's an Ikea here in the city somewhere...hope the cab drivers know where!

Though this is fabulous news, unfortunately it also means that unless we have some awesome neighbours with unsecured wi-fi, we'll be without internet for a little while until we get our own account set up. I will promise though that I will have a rather large post for you with details on our visit to the Royal Yacht, St. Giles Cathedral and the Grayfriars Kirkyard as soon as we're back up and running.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We celebrated with take out Chinese food eaten on our hotel bed with plastic forks. Not quite as good as turkey dinner, but we're thankful all the same!

Great news!

Great news!

Today was a most excellent day. It started yesterday. We got up early to have breakfast and it was a welcome change from the cold cereal and toast that we were getting so used to in Glasgow. Cold meat, fruit, cereals, breads, rolls and pastries…so good. Then, armed with a map and addresses of where we needed to be later in the day for viewing appointments, we left for the Palace of Holyrood House.

It was by far one of our favourite places so far. Because it’s a working royal palace it’s kept in perfect condition and the two floors that are open to the public are beautiful. You walk in and are taken first through the dining room which is used for both fancy dinners and every day dining when the royals are in house. There were pieces of silver on the table that are part of a three-thousand piece serving set. Crazy! The table seats as many as thirty and the Queen sits in the centre to be best able to visit with all of her guests.

Up the grand staircase you enter into the royal apartments as they were in the 18^th century. There is plaster work and paintings and tapestries everywhere that demonstrate the opulence that the royalty came to enjoy. Once you finish on the king’s side of the castle you move through the great hall and on to the queen’s side. Here we saw Mary Queen of Scots bed – or well, the bed that has been there on display in her bedchamber since she was living there in the palace. Her real bed was up a spiral staircase in a much more private room. We learned so much inside the palace and really enjoyed how historically accurate all the furnishings and decoration is.

We went outside then to the remains of Holyrood Abbey and that was a wonderful place. I got some beautiful photos of the huge windows and walls. Thankfully at this point of the day it was sunny and clear not raining and foggy like it was earlier. We also wandered through the gardens a bit where the Queen holds her party every June. How great would it be to be one of the 3000 people invited?

From here we had lunch in a great little place just up the Royal Mile. And after that we started back towards our first flat viewing of the day. It was a sweet little place and we both liked the building, the street and the flat itself. We went back to the b&b for a while and rested our feet before we left for viewing number two. This one was not so great. It’s amazing how fast a single street changes from trendy and bustling to sketchy and rather dingy. So from here we made our way over to Leith Walk (the near-by main street) for a pint before going to our last flat of the day. And as we sat there, we got a call that someone else had already taken the place. Disappointed, we got Chinese takeout and went back to the b&b.

So now for today. After tossing and turning much of the night due to nervousness, we got up, went to eat breakfast, and then called the letting agency office. I told the lady that we wanted to take the first place we’d seen that day and thankfully, it was still available. But she told me she’d have to first talk to the agent who showed us the flat to make sure he thought we were suitable tenants. Now, because we don’t yet have bank accounts or jobs here, we have no way to guarantee that we will pay our rent. So, we have to put the whole six-months-worth of rent up front. The lady told me she’d put all of this info to the landlord and get back to me.

So we waited. And waited some more. We wandered up Leith Walk a bit and looked into a couple of second hand charity shops at furniture and such. (I bought a set of really pretty crystal glasses. Gorgeous.) And we gave the agency a call back just before noon.

Finally, the good news…we have a home! The landlord accepted our six-months rent, the agent thought we’d be good people and the flat is ours! We’re no longer homeless and we get to move in on Tuesday. I can’t wait to have our own space and our own kitchen. And best of all, they’re having a brand new mattress delivered before we move in. As soon as I can I will post photos.

They don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here, but I think we have plenty to be thankful for this weekend!

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I should add what we did after we got our good news. We walked up to the Royal Mile with intentions of visiting St. Giles Cathedral. But we took our time and just kind of wandered around and window shopped a bit. There were a bunch of stalls on the side of the street with art and knitting and all sorts of neat things. Then we stopped to watch a street performer who was hilarious. He juggled and did whip tricks and all sorts of things.

We decided to check out what tours were available from the company that we toured the vaults with. The one that was next up in the evening was called Sin in the City and it was a lot of fun. We learned a whole lot about some rather questionable characters from Edinburgh’s past.   One guy in particular was hilarious. He had as many as three or four ladies of very good standing as long term mistresses at any one time and frequented 60 or more prostitutes as well. The guide also told us about how the brand new Presbyterian Church dealt with all this debauchery and sexual sin. Our guide was about 65 years old, fabulously dressed and super funny.

When this tour ended we walked back about a block to a spot we’d passed on the tour.  It’s called Mary King’s Close and we actually took a tour there too! This one goes down under the street level to a close that was closed up and built over in the 18^th century. Rather than tear whole buildings down, they decided to use the lower levels of the existing tenement buildings as foundation for the brand new merchant exchange building which today is the City Chambers. So much is preserved down there including a 400 year old house that still has plaster on the walls with visible wood block paint. They discouraged us from touching the walls however because that plaster is actually made from water, horse hair and human cremation ashes. Yep, they burned the dead from the plagues and used the ash in plaster. Lovely! The best part of this tour for me was walking up the close that used to be open to the air but is now completely closed over. It’s dark and stale and the air feels heavy. It’s very haunted of course and like the vaults under the bridge, you can spend Halloween night locked in down there. No thank you!

We got coffee after this tour as it was pretty chilly. As soon as the sun goes down it gets really cold here. And I’m proud to say that this was our first and only visit to Starbuck’s in this adventure! A quick walk back to the b&b and we climbed into bed. Our room is in the basement of this three story house and it’s terribly cold. We even got a space heater from the reception because apparently the radiators aren’t in use or they’re just not working. It’s a pretty cute place though and breakfast is awesome. Tomorrow we’re going to walk the other direction and make our way to the docks to visit the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Catching up

Wow, I need to catch up!

On Monday morning we got up and called the letting agent in Glasgow about the flat we were going to try to secure. We were on our way to the train station to go sign some paperwork when Brandon stopped me and said, “What if we don’t live in Glasgow?” That was a bit of a shock, but one that I was very open to. So we stood there in front of Glasgow Central discussing how we both honestly feel about the city. Glasgow is dirty and rough and rather unfriendly. Even in the piping centre where Brandon was spending lots of time no one really seemed all that interested in talking to him. No one seems to really care all that much about the space around them and there is garbage everywhere. The alleys are gross and smelly, the train stations are disgusting, even the grocery stores are grungy and messy. But more than that, it just doesn’t feel right. I know we’d only been staying downtown and possibly not seeing the very best of the city, but I hadn’t felt comfortable anywhere in the city other than in the cathedral. Can’t live there! On the other hand, in Edinburgh, we both felt good. The other day it just really felt like a much better fit for us. Brandon can play his pipes in the park there and actually be appreciated. There are park spaces and more trees and just a general air of more acceptance.

It had been a week. I think we gave Glasgow a chance and saw what it had to offer. So we decided to follow what our hearts have been telling us.

Glasgow is out and Edinburgh is in. We’re there now in a bed and breakfast that hopefully we’ll only need for a couple of nights. We packed up the backpacks and got on the train this morning. We looked at one flat already today which was not so good but we have three appointments tomorrow. Hopefully one of them is good and we’ll be able to move in right away.

Plus, there are people here we know! Brandon had a pint with Jesse Third this afternoon and he came by the hotel so that he and I could officially meet. He and his wife live on the south end of the city and I can’t wait to meet her too. A friendly face, with a Canadian accent, is a terribly welcome thing.

So. That’s the situation all up to date. In other news, yesterday we went to Stirling. It took about half an hour to get there on the train and when we arrived, we headed off towards the Wallace Monument. After quite the hike through town, we found our way to the bottom of the park. We bought tickets, and hopped on the shuttle to the top of the hill. And then started to climb. Up and up and up – 246 steps all the way to the top! There were galleries with interpretive stuff on three levels so at least there were breaks along the way up. And we learned a whole lot about the life of William Wallace. But up at the top it was so cool. The views were amazing even though the wind was gusting hard enough to almost push us off the edge.

We took the little shuttle van back down the hill and then we took a taxi back into town and up to the castle. This was a really neat castle and there was a whole lot more to see than I thought when we walked in. One building was fixed up like it would’ve been when Mary Queen of Scots and her mother, Mary of Guise, were living there. The grounds were really nice too and there weren’t a lot of people there so it was easy to spend lots of time looking at everything, instead of being pushed around.

When we finished up at the castle we walked into the centre of town and Brandon had a chat with a guy who makes and refurbishes bagpipes. Back to the train and back to Glasgow where we got a quick supper and then started to pack.

Send some good vibes our way please…we need all the help we can get to find a place to live tomorrow!  

Change of plans

Not much time to write just now, today we spent the day in Stirling which was great and I'll catch everyone up on that tomorrow. But right now, we're packing up because tomorrow we're leaving Glasgow. We've decided that Edinburgh is a better fit for us so we're going to look for a flat there. We're booked into a B&B tomorrow night and we have an appointment to see an appartment around 7pm. If it's good, we'll take it. Fingers crossed!

Still tourists

Yesterday was a long and busy day. We started out early, or well, early for us lately, and we were out of the hostel by about 9. We made our way to Queen’s Street train station that’s just at George Square and we bought tickets for the next train to Edinburgh. It takes about an hour to get there and the train makes a few stops along the way. But we were both surprised about how smooth the ride was and how fast the trains move. We couldn’t see much for scenery as the tracks are surrounded for much of the trip by quite high berms on both sides. And it was rather rainy and foggy most of the way too.

When we arrived in Edinburgh, it took a while to get our bearings. I remembered being exactly where we got off the train from my day there in 2008, but we couldn’t see the castle for all the fog. So, even though we stopped for a map, I got us headed off in the wrong direction. Didn’t take too long to figure that out though and from then Brandon was in charge of the orienteering. When we finally did get across the bridge and onto the Royal Mile, all was well. We walked slowly up the hill and stopped in a shop or two to listen to the piping music they were playing and to window shop a little. I had my eye on a mini kilt that I regretted not buying years ago, and I looked closely a pair of cashmere gloves but they were 36 Pounds so I decided they looked better just where they were.

The castle was great. We paid a little extra for the audio tour but I’m not totally sure that was necessary. We also waited a bit and followed along after a guide for a half hour live tour. When that was done we saw the Scottish crown jewels and the Stone of Scone and we watched as a live performer wrapped a volunteer in a highland great kilt. The guy was really funny and the volunteer took it all in stride. And while the performer was folding all his pleats and getting things ready, he gave us a William Wallace history lesson that proved how many liberties Mel Gibson took with the story in Braveheart. It was a really neat place to visit, but I think we both agreed that the Tower of London was better. But it is really neat to know that Edinburgh Castle is still a working garrison for the army. And it’s pretty cool that it’s been there in some form since the 800’s AD.

When we were leaving the castle the fog had lifted quite a bit which enabled us to see a good part of the city and all the way out to the North Sea. We made our way down the hill and found a restaurant to eat lunch in. Our meals were so-so, but we both had sticky toffee pudding for dessert and holy crap. Best. Dessert. Ever. I even took a picture.

We hurried from here just a little further down the Royal Mile to Mercat Cross by the St. Giles Cathedral. This is where we met and started our tour of the hidden vaults under the south bridge. About two hundred years ago when the city needed to start building out instead of up, they build the north and south bridges to go over the two large valleys that surrounded the Royal Mile. The bridge is basically made up of arches that go way down underneath the street level. Over the years the rooms these arches made became a rather intricate system of vaults that have been used for any number of purposes. There was a time when lots of legal work happened down in the vaults and they’ve discovered evidence of everything from cobblers and book binders to oyster sellers. There are also shelves built into the walls of some of the vaults that were used to store wine and claret. However, when the craftsmen cleared out due to lack of light and the other horrible working conditions, the illegal trades moved in. Whiskey stills, brothels and opium dens were common but the body snatchers also used the vaults in their lovely little trade. This was a great tour and we learned an awful lot. They also do late night ghost tours down there as the BBC has deemed this one of the most haunted places in the whole of the UK. Brandon wants to go back for that tour…I’m not so sure!

We walked back across the bridge onto Princes Street and walked up to the Scott monument to get some pictures. And while there, we heard a piper and went to find him. There was a three man band – pipes, guitar and drum kit – playing just outside of the art gallery so we sat and watched a bit. They were pretty good and the crowd loved them. I think they were called The Spitting Blowfish.

And then back to the train where luckily we were just on time for the next train back to Glasgow. We got Subway on the way to the hostel and turned in early. It was a good day.

A church, a museum and a house

First of all, check out the update a few posts back...I added photos!

Today was a busy day of touring. Brandon got up early and went to practice at the piping centre and when he got back, and when I finally got up out of bed, we headed out into the rain. After a really good lunch at a place called Maggie May on Argyle Street, we made our way over to the Merchant City area.

We started at the Glasgow Cathedral and it’s now my favourite place in the city. I can see myself spending time there – just to be. It’s so old and so beautifully built. It’s truly gothic in the way I’ve always pictured a gothic cathedral: dark, a little damp, all arches and stone and wood. It’s decorated and there are statues and tombs, but nothing obtrusive or too in your face. It doesn’t feel like a museum, it feels like a church. I loved all the angles and the way the light came through the arches in different ways. You could stand and look at something head on and love the view, but then you could move just an inch to one side and it would be completely different and just as lovely. I can’t go on enough about it.

 

There was a spot in the bottom of the church under the main cathedral that to me was perfect. I can’t say exactly what it was about it exactly; it was just an empty spot under a point where multiple arches met. But it just felt like it was the centre of something…a place to be still and quiet and just know that you were in the presence of God. My heart was quiet here. It is a Place for me.

 

After that we went to St. Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life. It’s just in front of the cathedral and it houses artefacts and exhibits from all the major world religions. It was an interesting place for sure and I think we learned a little bit about many different things. We sat down at their café for a warm drink and called our parents for a quick visit since it was about time they were waking up back in Canada!

And finally we went to Provand’s Lordship. It’s the oldest house in Glasgow and it’s one of the only medieval buildings left in the city. It once served as a house for the clergy of the cathedral but it’s also been a place to help the sick and poor, it’s been an inn, a stopping point for royalty and much later, a candy shop. It’s restored now to show what a house would’ve looked like in the 1700’s and it’s very interesting.

Then we made our way back through the Merchant City to the hostel, stopping to window shop a little along the way. We also got some stuff for supper but neither of us felt like cooking so we bought microwavable dinners! We’ve planned out our day in Edinburgh tomorrow, or well, we plan to get on the train, go to the castle and then take a tour of the hidden vaults under the Old Town. Should be great!