Edinburgh and Bruges. Is this a film set? Almost too perfect!
Dec 10th, 2009, 10:58 PM
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Edinburgh and Bruges. Is this a film set? Almost too perfect!
Edinburgh and Bruges. Is this a film set? Almost too perfect!
I begin my new adventure! I have tried to be less random and put my experiences in some sort of order but I may add various bits as I go along. Here is part 1 of a wonderful experience in mainly Edinburgh and Bruges . I hope that it may be of some use to other Fodorites as they were certainly a huge help to me. How glad I was that they persuaded me to catch trains rather than buses or planes and especially the Eurostar. How easy is that! Thanks everyone!
At the Airport. Sydney.
At the airport I saw an Asian girl wearing a T-shirt with those strange words you often see on Asian T shirts which have been lost in translation. It read."Mockingbird. Bring me luck." Don't mocking birds, well - mock? Especially requests of this nature surely? Blue Bird of Happiness out of favour? The cynical bird lovers plea? Sounds really desperate to me and I don't hold out much hope that the Mockingbird will oblige. Regardless, I still can't help hoping that she gets a “lucky” flight as we are on the same plane!
On the plane.
In the 22 hour journey, I watched just about everything, including , uncharacteristically, Transformers 2 and Gi Joe, which turned out a bit like a favorite movie of mine, Ironman, but far less subtle, if Ironman could be described as subtle. It had a pretty typical plot where the WWW.MM.com (You must visit their web site!) or “World War Wanting Mad Men .Completely Over-the-top Movie” characters try to take over the world and the hero stops them - eventually. In one of the movies, the WWW.MM.com destroy the Eiffel Tower and the hero says the classic understated line, "The French are pretty upset." Ever noticed how Paris is often destroyed in this genre of movie? I guess it's some kind of revenge for their snootiness to foreign tourists or something.
Loved the airline ,Kal.
Great food and excellent service. I ate a traditional meal of a bowl of beautifully arranged little 'things ' (I have no other idea how to describe what these mysterious yet edible items might be) but it sure beat the "old man's snot"( I think it was avocado!) I ate on another airline! You topped this with boiled rice and some very hot paste and then sesame oil and mixed it all together. Delicious, though I knew not to add too much of the hot sauce after meals with a Korean friend in Wollongong. The food she cooked blew your sinuses away making it impossible to eat a meal without blowing your nose vigorously! It seemed that you blew your brains out as well but you sure had a cleaned-out skull after dinner.
One highlight of the flight was going over Krasnoyarsk, a city in the southern Siberian Russia, capital of Krasnoyarsk Territory, a port and rail centre on the Yenisey River. To quote - sort of - “I can see Russia from my plane.” (Thanks Tina Fey and Sarah Palin for a great line that can be used just about anytime or anywhere that you can see Russia.)
Transit In Korea. All free with my flight.
Only 1 degree in temperature but the public buildings are very hot. Songdu Park Best Western was a beautiful hotel with every luxury, though I have since been told Asiana puts you up in an even flasher place- with a spa! I am a simple country bumpkin so I was still very impressed and I could have ended my journey at this point and still been happy. I literally danced my way between the two beds and tried to decide which one I would sleep in. I rarely get choices like this! I made the right choice as it was so comfy though I am sure they were both equally good. I loved the pillows and tried to read the brand name which was , quite understandably, in Korean. There was also a bidet in the bathroom. How I love something that washes your nether regions with so little effort on your part! Dinner was a feast with at least five different kinds of lettuce at the mile long buffet table. Breakfast was also overwhelmingly lavish. I put on several kilos before leaving the hotel in my sincere efforts to prove that there is such a thing as a free lunch.
At the airport, I saw my one and only Korean Bogan (or as the Americans call them- Redknecks) though the flannelet shirt was her only homage to the cult. But as far as I know, this and/or a mullet is quite sufficient for the classification!
In London.
The train trip from the airport to my London friend's house was also interesting. A distinguished ,charming , elderly black gentleman with a walking stick and his affable, elegant, white wife boarded the crowed train and everyone moved around to vacate a seat for them, and they sat opposite me and a young woman eating a snack from a packet. Immediately on being seated, the elderly gentlemen looked over at her , leaned forward and asked eagerly "Are they peanuts? She tersely said "No" and quickly put them in her handbag as though she was concerned he might snatch them off her. The man's wife chided him with a smile, saying "Now behave yourself ! "and he said cheerfully "But I like peanuts! " I got into a conversation with them and found out that they had just come from the annual Nigerian British Education Society cocktail party where, obviously, there had been no peanuts!
I arrive in Edinburgh.
The trip by train ,The Flying Scotsman,was achingly beautiful. (Thanks again, Fodorites, for suggesting the train.) Every minute something more wonderful popped into view. The little ruined stone house, now only inhabited by a single tree, herd after herd of piebald ponies, lovely little cottages that make me think over and over ,"Mmm! Now I could live in a place like that!" and the lone black horse surrounded by a flock of his white, sheepy companions. The pearly grey Constable skies were frequently punctuated by church spires as even very small villages seem to have very big churches and larger towns, several of them.
Many of the almost fluorescent green fields have a patch of miniature forest in the middle - a little untamed area in very tamed landscape. I am not sure what the reason for this is but I assume it may be for the wildlife? Does anyone out there know why?
All this beauty just went on and on and I feel so happy.
That is, until I have yet another embarrassing toilet incidence. The toilet on the Flying Scotsman was a very strange thing to me. A kind of semi circular structure between the carriages with a round rolling door that opened and closed in a rotating manner with an unearthly screeching sound. Sometimes it jammed and made little grunty, whiney noises like a wounded animal. I ventured in with a trepidation that proved to be entirely warranted. The door had a button that you pushed to open and close it and next to it, a button you pressed to lock the door, which of course I did. Except for some reason you were supposed to wait three seconds before pressing the door lock, which I didn't. I was sitting there contemplating, when a man, far more embarrassed than me as I am used to this sort of thing, opened the door. I leaped to my feet, pants around my knees and began to frantically press the buttons. The doors opened and closed , opened and closed, opened and closed, over and over again, all the while making that dreadful sound . My dignity was somewhat saved by my long coat covering the worst of my indiscretion.
Those of you who know me well also know this sort of thing happens to me more often than it should and all over the world as well. In Vietnam I was locked in a hotel toilet, crying, with a dead bird in one hand and the doorknob in the other, until let out by hotel staff about an hour later . In my hometown, after one of those medical tests where you must drink gallons of water, I was left sitting for all the world to see in one of those horse stall type cubicles where the door seems half a mile away. I was unable to interrupt the eternal flow to close it after my mother, who had accompanied me, left the door wide open as she left. I was also unable to open a locked door in a toilet in the National Art Gallery in Vienna and remained trapped for several unsettling minutes. It would happen to be close to closing time as well so the place was nearly deserted!
Well - the list just goes on and on!
More tomorrow when I see the sights of Edinburgh!
I am very taken with the people of Edinburgh as they are friendly, affable and jovial. From the lady who helps me in my struggle to put on my clingy plastic rain poncho at the bus stop to the chatty, jokey museum attendants, all are most charming. More than I am , I'm afraid, as I am tired and damp. (I get over it!) It never stops raining and I am quite unprepared with only a rather useless plastic poncho as cover which makes me resemble a walking garbage bag. Yet, I have not seen one display of rudeness or impatience even during the holiday rush. Despite the constant drizzle, nothing seems to dampen the easy going and obliging personality of the people here. OK- So this is only day two but I feel right at home already.
The Scottish Museum
A wonderful museum! This must-see has a bit of everything but I concentrated on Scottish royalty and the interesting small collection of old Bibles in the Reformation section which is a particular interest of mine.
Our volunteer guide, Terese, a delightfully Scottish grandmotherly type who makes the museum really live, was a mine of information. Our little group was made up of a Austrian girl and her beautiful sleeping baby, a nice couple - she from Hong Kong and he from Singapore, and a young man from Uzbekestan, which delighted us all as it sounded so exotic. It really bought home to me how popular Edinburgh is throughout the world and how small the world has become due to the ease of travel. I highly recommend taking the free tour as you will get so much more from this museum.
The Scottish National Gallery.
The walls positively pulsate with powerful works and I get such a rush to be in this amazing gallery. I am so literally opened mouth that I feel everyone is staring at me!
I don't recall visiting here when I first came to Edinburgh nearly 30 years ago on a rushed day trip, but it all seemed so familiar. Was it because there were so many famous paintings that I had seen in books or just that the works were so beautiful that they seemed like old friends? I always get that feeling in the London National Gallery, though I have been there many times before so I know them all very well now. Whether through books or having seen them previously, it's more than just revisiting these paintings again that gives me such feelings of a happy event relived. They are as ingrained in me as a dear friend is and I get almost the same joy in seeing them again and again as I do with people I am fond of.
Here, Rembrandt is seen as a saddened and prematurely aged 51 year old hung next to the lovely painting of his youthful, vibrant mistress pictured as a bride awaiting her husband on their wedding night. There was a poignant contrast between the two paintings that is rather touching.
In the same room is a small delight - a painting of a glossy 17th century family looking very pleased with themselves. Up the hall, a surprisingly modern looking young married couple are still together despite being painted 200 years ago. There are some wonderful portrait busts as well, all on a level where you can examine them intimately and see the glint in their eyes up close.
While the landscapes here are superb, I am really taken with the portraits. The Scottish section is as expected- extremely good and includes the famous "Skating Minister". The gallery deserves a second look to renew acquaintances and I will try to return before I leave Edinburgh.
Part 2 shortly!
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KERRYAJS1 on Dec 11, 09 at 12:34pm
Sorry. I don't think I have tagged this as a trip report so will fix that later.Kerry.
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Nikki on Dec 11, 09 at 12:41pm
Oh, fun! Looking forward to the rest.
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hanl on Dec 11, 09 at 5:41pm
"In Vietnam I was locked in a hotel toilet, crying, with a dead bird in one hand and the doorknob in the other, until let out by hotel staff about an hour later."
This is has to get the prize for the best sentence that I have read in a trip report on Fodor's, ever! (Though I'm sure it was horrible for you at the time.)
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hanl on Dec 11, 09 at 5:42pm
PS Am enjoying your report - especially as I am originally from Edinburgh but now live in Belgium!
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flanneruk on Dec 11, 09 at 5:47pm
"a little untamed area in very tamed landscape. I am not sure what the reason for this is but I assume it may be for the wildlife?"
There's any number of reasons. But worrying about wildlife (unless edible) isn't among them.
On hilltops and some other exposed areas they're often thought to have had some religious significance in the pre-Christian era. Around rivers, they were probably too much faff to clear. Often, the way crop or grazing rights worked might have meant no-one could clear that bit.
Most often though, small patches of woodland were kept as a heavily exploited agricultural resource
They provided grazing for pigs, coverts for edible birds (which, like deer and rabbits, weren't so much wild as actively cultivated for food) and/or (in forests, which is a term describing the legal basis for land use and doesn't denote dense or widespread woodland) shelter for deer. Trees were actively managed, through a process called coppicing, to provide firewood and light timber in perpetuity. Some trees had other uses (like oak bark for leather tanning, or hazel for charcoal burning: both crucial during England's early industrialisation).
Given England's poor transport facilities till the 19th century, communities couldn't import much from far away, and having woodland nearby was essential for a huge range of daily needs.
I begin my new adventure! I have tried to be less random and put my experiences in some sort of order but I may add various bits as I go along. Here is part 1 of a wonderful experience in mainly Edinburgh and Bruges . I hope that it may be of some use to other Fodorites as they were certainly a huge help to me. How glad I was that they persuaded me to catch trains rather than buses or planes and especially the Eurostar. How easy is that! Thanks everyone!
At the Airport. Sydney.
At the airport I saw an Asian girl wearing a T-shirt with those strange words you often see on Asian T shirts which have been lost in translation. It read."Mockingbird. Bring me luck." Don't mocking birds, well - mock? Especially requests of this nature surely? Blue Bird of Happiness out of favour? The cynical bird lovers plea? Sounds really desperate to me and I don't hold out much hope that the Mockingbird will oblige. Regardless, I still can't help hoping that she gets a “lucky” flight as we are on the same plane!
On the plane.
In the 22 hour journey, I watched just about everything, including , uncharacteristically, Transformers 2 and Gi Joe, which turned out a bit like a favorite movie of mine, Ironman, but far less subtle, if Ironman could be described as subtle. It had a pretty typical plot where the WWW.MM.com (You must visit their web site!) or “World War Wanting Mad Men .Completely Over-the-top Movie” characters try to take over the world and the hero stops them - eventually. In one of the movies, the WWW.MM.com destroy the Eiffel Tower and the hero says the classic understated line, "The French are pretty upset." Ever noticed how Paris is often destroyed in this genre of movie? I guess it's some kind of revenge for their snootiness to foreign tourists or something.
Loved the airline ,Kal.
Great food and excellent service. I ate a traditional meal of a bowl of beautifully arranged little 'things ' (I have no other idea how to describe what these mysterious yet edible items might be) but it sure beat the "old man's snot"( I think it was avocado!) I ate on another airline! You topped this with boiled rice and some very hot paste and then sesame oil and mixed it all together. Delicious, though I knew not to add too much of the hot sauce after meals with a Korean friend in Wollongong. The food she cooked blew your sinuses away making it impossible to eat a meal without blowing your nose vigorously! It seemed that you blew your brains out as well but you sure had a cleaned-out skull after dinner.
One highlight of the flight was going over Krasnoyarsk, a city in the southern Siberian Russia, capital of Krasnoyarsk Territory, a port and rail centre on the Yenisey River. To quote - sort of - “I can see Russia from my plane.” (Thanks Tina Fey and Sarah Palin for a great line that can be used just about anytime or anywhere that you can see Russia.)
Transit In Korea. All free with my flight.
Only 1 degree in temperature but the public buildings are very hot. Songdu Park Best Western was a beautiful hotel with every luxury, though I have since been told Asiana puts you up in an even flasher place- with a spa! I am a simple country bumpkin so I was still very impressed and I could have ended my journey at this point and still been happy. I literally danced my way between the two beds and tried to decide which one I would sleep in. I rarely get choices like this! I made the right choice as it was so comfy though I am sure they were both equally good. I loved the pillows and tried to read the brand name which was , quite understandably, in Korean. There was also a bidet in the bathroom. How I love something that washes your nether regions with so little effort on your part! Dinner was a feast with at least five different kinds of lettuce at the mile long buffet table. Breakfast was also overwhelmingly lavish. I put on several kilos before leaving the hotel in my sincere efforts to prove that there is such a thing as a free lunch.
At the airport, I saw my one and only Korean Bogan (or as the Americans call them- Redknecks) though the flannelet shirt was her only homage to the cult. But as far as I know, this and/or a mullet is quite sufficient for the classification!
In London.
The train trip from the airport to my London friend's house was also interesting. A distinguished ,charming , elderly black gentleman with a walking stick and his affable, elegant, white wife boarded the crowed train and everyone moved around to vacate a seat for them, and they sat opposite me and a young woman eating a snack from a packet. Immediately on being seated, the elderly gentlemen looked over at her , leaned forward and asked eagerly "Are they peanuts? She tersely said "No" and quickly put them in her handbag as though she was concerned he might snatch them off her. The man's wife chided him with a smile, saying "Now behave yourself ! "and he said cheerfully "But I like peanuts! " I got into a conversation with them and found out that they had just come from the annual Nigerian British Education Society cocktail party where, obviously, there had been no peanuts!
I arrive in Edinburgh.
The trip by train ,The Flying Scotsman,was achingly beautiful. (Thanks again, Fodorites, for suggesting the train.) Every minute something more wonderful popped into view. The little ruined stone house, now only inhabited by a single tree, herd after herd of piebald ponies, lovely little cottages that make me think over and over ,"Mmm! Now I could live in a place like that!" and the lone black horse surrounded by a flock of his white, sheepy companions. The pearly grey Constable skies were frequently punctuated by church spires as even very small villages seem to have very big churches and larger towns, several of them.
Many of the almost fluorescent green fields have a patch of miniature forest in the middle - a little untamed area in very tamed landscape. I am not sure what the reason for this is but I assume it may be for the wildlife? Does anyone out there know why?
All this beauty just went on and on and I feel so happy.
That is, until I have yet another embarrassing toilet incidence. The toilet on the Flying Scotsman was a very strange thing to me. A kind of semi circular structure between the carriages with a round rolling door that opened and closed in a rotating manner with an unearthly screeching sound. Sometimes it jammed and made little grunty, whiney noises like a wounded animal. I ventured in with a trepidation that proved to be entirely warranted. The door had a button that you pushed to open and close it and next to it, a button you pressed to lock the door, which of course I did. Except for some reason you were supposed to wait three seconds before pressing the door lock, which I didn't. I was sitting there contemplating, when a man, far more embarrassed than me as I am used to this sort of thing, opened the door. I leaped to my feet, pants around my knees and began to frantically press the buttons. The doors opened and closed , opened and closed, opened and closed, over and over again, all the while making that dreadful sound . My dignity was somewhat saved by my long coat covering the worst of my indiscretion.
Those of you who know me well also know this sort of thing happens to me more often than it should and all over the world as well. In Vietnam I was locked in a hotel toilet, crying, with a dead bird in one hand and the doorknob in the other, until let out by hotel staff about an hour later . In my hometown, after one of those medical tests where you must drink gallons of water, I was left sitting for all the world to see in one of those horse stall type cubicles where the door seems half a mile away. I was unable to interrupt the eternal flow to close it after my mother, who had accompanied me, left the door wide open as she left. I was also unable to open a locked door in a toilet in the National Art Gallery in Vienna and remained trapped for several unsettling minutes. It would happen to be close to closing time as well so the place was nearly deserted!
Well - the list just goes on and on!
More tomorrow when I see the sights of Edinburgh!
I am very taken with the people of Edinburgh as they are friendly, affable and jovial. From the lady who helps me in my struggle to put on my clingy plastic rain poncho at the bus stop to the chatty, jokey museum attendants, all are most charming. More than I am , I'm afraid, as I am tired and damp. (I get over it!) It never stops raining and I am quite unprepared with only a rather useless plastic poncho as cover which makes me resemble a walking garbage bag. Yet, I have not seen one display of rudeness or impatience even during the holiday rush. Despite the constant drizzle, nothing seems to dampen the easy going and obliging personality of the people here. OK- So this is only day two but I feel right at home already.
The Scottish Museum
A wonderful museum! This must-see has a bit of everything but I concentrated on Scottish royalty and the interesting small collection of old Bibles in the Reformation section which is a particular interest of mine.
Our volunteer guide, Terese, a delightfully Scottish grandmotherly type who makes the museum really live, was a mine of information. Our little group was made up of a Austrian girl and her beautiful sleeping baby, a nice couple - she from Hong Kong and he from Singapore, and a young man from Uzbekestan, which delighted us all as it sounded so exotic. It really bought home to me how popular Edinburgh is throughout the world and how small the world has become due to the ease of travel. I highly recommend taking the free tour as you will get so much more from this museum.
The Scottish National Gallery.
The walls positively pulsate with powerful works and I get such a rush to be in this amazing gallery. I am so literally opened mouth that I feel everyone is staring at me!
I don't recall visiting here when I first came to Edinburgh nearly 30 years ago on a rushed day trip, but it all seemed so familiar. Was it because there were so many famous paintings that I had seen in books or just that the works were so beautiful that they seemed like old friends? I always get that feeling in the London National Gallery, though I have been there many times before so I know them all very well now. Whether through books or having seen them previously, it's more than just revisiting these paintings again that gives me such feelings of a happy event relived. They are as ingrained in me as a dear friend is and I get almost the same joy in seeing them again and again as I do with people I am fond of.
Here, Rembrandt is seen as a saddened and prematurely aged 51 year old hung next to the lovely painting of his youthful, vibrant mistress pictured as a bride awaiting her husband on their wedding night. There was a poignant contrast between the two paintings that is rather touching.
In the same room is a small delight - a painting of a glossy 17th century family looking very pleased with themselves. Up the hall, a surprisingly modern looking young married couple are still together despite being painted 200 years ago. There are some wonderful portrait busts as well, all on a level where you can examine them intimately and see the glint in their eyes up close.
While the landscapes here are superb, I am really taken with the portraits. The Scottish section is as expected- extremely good and includes the famous "Skating Minister". The gallery deserves a second look to renew acquaintances and I will try to return before I leave Edinburgh.
Part 2 shortly!
5 Replies | Jump to last reply
| Add a Reply Flag this topic
*
KERRYAJS1 on Dec 11, 09 at 12:34pm
Sorry. I don't think I have tagged this as a trip report so will fix that later.Kerry.
*
Nikki on Dec 11, 09 at 12:41pm
Oh, fun! Looking forward to the rest.
*
hanl on Dec 11, 09 at 5:41pm
"In Vietnam I was locked in a hotel toilet, crying, with a dead bird in one hand and the doorknob in the other, until let out by hotel staff about an hour later."
This is has to get the prize for the best sentence that I have read in a trip report on Fodor's, ever! (Though I'm sure it was horrible for you at the time.)
*
hanl on Dec 11, 09 at 5:42pm
PS Am enjoying your report - especially as I am originally from Edinburgh but now live in Belgium!
*
flanneruk on Dec 11, 09 at 5:47pm
"a little untamed area in very tamed landscape. I am not sure what the reason for this is but I assume it may be for the wildlife?"
There's any number of reasons. But worrying about wildlife (unless edible) isn't among them.
On hilltops and some other exposed areas they're often thought to have had some religious significance in the pre-Christian era. Around rivers, they were probably too much faff to clear. Often, the way crop or grazing rights worked might have meant no-one could clear that bit.
Most often though, small patches of woodland were kept as a heavily exploited agricultural resource
They provided grazing for pigs, coverts for edible birds (which, like deer and rabbits, weren't so much wild as actively cultivated for food) and/or (in forests, which is a term describing the legal basis for land use and doesn't denote dense or widespread woodland) shelter for deer. Trees were actively managed, through a process called coppicing, to provide firewood and light timber in perpetuity. Some trees had other uses (like oak bark for leather tanning, or hazel for charcoal burning: both crucial during England's early industrialisation).
Given England's poor transport facilities till the 19th century, communities couldn't import much from far away, and having woodland nearby was essential for a huge range of daily needs.
Dec 11th, 2009, 02:15 AM
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I take a day trip to the boyhood home of my great grandfather, Glasgow.
One day in Glasgow was not enough as I had no hope of seeing everything I wanted to. I would have loved to see the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and the St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art but I hope to go back one day and spend more time here.
Glasgow School of Arts.
I was fortunate enough to arrive just in time for the tour as I think this is the only way you are allowed through this real working art school. Stepping aside on the staircases for the flurry of paper and pencil wielding students really bought back memories of my own days as an art student.
The furniture display, all designed by Glasgow's world renowned architect and designer, Mackintosh, is particularly good, some of which is worth millions of pounds. On the advice of the friendly staff, I decide to see the Burrell Collection and am delighted with their recommendation.
Burrell Collection
In the Burrell collection there is something to please everyone. Lovers of medieval tapestry will be in raptures. The gallery itself is so beautiful with the wall of floor-to-ceiling glass windows directly behind the gallery exhibits. It is quite unique, as you can admire Egyptian antiquities and medieval statues and, in the background , watch squirrels scamper in the pretty forest that grows right up the gallery. A small but absolutely impressive collection of paintings includes an almost abstracted painting of a horse by Gericault.
Back in Edinburgh, I continue on sightseeing.
Edinburgh Zoo
Most of the animals were very sensibly asleep as it was winter. But very much awake are those rare and exotic native UK animals, the Squirrel. OK, so they are not rare or exotic but I love 'em and I'd pay to see them anytime. The zoo is unmissable if only for one thing , apart from the squirrels. You are merely a few feet and a panel of glass away from the Sumatran tigers who gaze back at you while you study every exquisite detail of their fabulous faces. I found it mesmerizing and I could have stayed there all day.
As well,"Beware, these animals are dangerous" signs hang over butter-wouldn't-melt-in-their-mouth deer, reminding you that their pretty faces are topped with lethal looking horns. The painted wolves were also very beautiful. And yes, they did look like God had painted them with big daubs of paint. You will also see more penguins here than you will ever see in your lifetime unless you live in the Antarctic. The monkeys were also a treat.
Edinburgh Castle.
Even on a windy, rainy day, the views of the city are spectacular, though marred somewhat by the blaring of Christmas carols wafting up from the town below. This musical murder was saved by a piper busking down the Royal Mile and was a fitting soundtrack to this most theatrical of streets.
The Castle's military museum is interesting even if one were a committed pacifist. I was struck by how much is needed to be comfortable and vaguely civilised even in wartime. Cooking equipment, medical supplies, clothing for all kinds of climates etc were needed to be carried everywhere. It must have been quite a burden and I could sympathise as I trudged around loaded down with the necessities of comfortable travel. I was glad I never had to carry a gun as well as some of them looked very heavy! I was disappointed that the beautifully made little models of various soldiers were not on display due to a photography exhibition as these were what I remembered most vividly from my first trip nearly 30 years ago. But what a view! Who could really complain when everything else is so perfect.
A day trip to Oban
I have just returned from what was possibly the most dull sightseeing trip ever. The commentary was marginally less interesting than listening to a talking GPS giving directions for 10 hours. In fact a GPS would have been far more interesting as at least it would be telling you somewhere you wanted to go rather than somewhere you weren't going to go to, would never go to and didn't care if you ever went to! Not that the driver was completely boring as, when he talked about himself or historical events, it was quite interesting. This however took up only about 20 minutes of the ten hour trip. The rest of the time he felt compelled to name every sport's field, every leisure centre and every shopping complex in each area we drove past with the line tagged on to the latter "has all sorts of shops and plenty of car parking" , repeated every time. His one “joke " on Freeway Art was also repeated several times."The authorities call it Art - we call it a waste of money!" This was said so many times that, in the end, I lost count. Oban was a picturesque seaside town known as the gateway to the Hebrides but ,as we only had an hour there, I went to the 1 pound shop and bought souvenir tea towels - as you do in a tourist spot when you only have an hour.
It was not the day trip I had originally booked which was a visit to Sterling castle, a cruise on Loch Lamond and a drive through Glasgow. Rather, this one was a quick drive past a few ruins, a quick drive past dozens of identical lochs and a slow drive in a traffic jam in Glasgow. But there were some lovely places we passed, though most were closed! But as usual , you meet some interesting people, who come from interesting places and who have ended up doing interesting things. One girl from Sao Paolo in Brazil was now living in Dubai and working for Emirates and I met a lovely girl from Shanghai now studying and hoping to make her home in Sydney.
Back in Leith,Edinburgh
My sister, Michelle was quite envious when I told her I would be staying at a hotel in Leith as she loves the Proclaimers' song,” Sunshine over Leith.” I think she would be a little disappointed in Leith, though I can't say I explored the area in depth so I may not be giving an unbiased opinion. But despite a concerted "I Love Leith" campaign including posters by famous Leith residents publicly proclaiming their love, Leith's main street is a little run down with lots of empty shops. But where I am staying is very pretty so I am sure this must be the area the Proclaimers sang about. Naturally, the Proclaimer's faces are on the posters but they are the only famous Leith Lovers I have ever heard of.
I have been quite comfortable in my little room at the Merith Hotel in Leith. Though Leith is not so salubrious in appearance , the hotel faces a lovely park. However at night, the park is lit up by very bright orange lights and, despite the heavy curtains , the room is bathed by an eerie post apocalyptic aura as though the world was still burning after some terrible holocaust. It took a bit of getting used to and I was quite startled whenever I woke up in the middle of the night.
I saw a West Highland White (you see a lot of them here) this evening and felt a pang of sadness, missing my pets. But to my Mum, Dad, family and friends, rest assured I think of you all far more than I do my animals. I am glad they mainly play stirring Scottish music here and not "Crazy" which is a favourite of my parents, as I think I would get a bit teary . Its another thing that the song "Crazy' reminds me of my family. Is that apt or what!
But I am having a wonderful time. Edinburgh is amazingly beautiful with the castle rising above the city and I could never see it and not feel stirred by its majesty. The whole of central Edinburgh is as dramatic as a film set and very evocative of all the history it embodies.
The One Fingernail Ladies
Whenever I travel, I get "cankles" that is my calves and ankles combine and I have no ankle bone. I don't know why it does this but this time I have “lankles!” My whole leg and ankles are completely without shape. Its not painful but it sure looks strange. Perhaps the ubiquitous One Fingernail Women may improve my appearance. Here in Edinburgh all the shops are flogging a nail care kit and twice I have been captured. Once I was foolish enough to ask directions and was then treated to a one finger manicure. I was then captured again as I am too polite to say ” No”. However I figure that, if I strike any more of these one fingernail demo ladies, I will eventually get all my nails done and may then get them to start on my toe nails if they can stand the sight of my “lankles!”
Holyrood Palace
The room where David Rizzio was Marrrrrded! I have attempted to write this as the Scots would say it!
I tried to see this wonderful palace 30 years ago and asked an inebriated Scot for directions. Even though he waved his arms like a windmill and gestured wildly in an attempt to point me in the right direction , I was unable to comprehend anything he said. I may very well have had difficulty even if he had been stone-cold sober as the accent can be very thick. Think “murdered” as being pronounced “mare–rrr-dered” or “mar-rrr – ded.” Viewers of popular Scottish crime show “Taggart”will know exactly how to say it. But I am very glad I found it this time as Holyrood palace is another must-see and has been for many years.
Even before it was open to the public, people in Victorian times bribed the staff for a peek at the private apartments of Mary Queen of Scots, mostly to see the scene of one of history's most dastardly crimes. Picture the narrow, winding, cold, stone staircase leading to Mary's bed chamber and, immediately to the side of the stairs, a tiny room dominated by a large table where Mary, her ladies in waiting and her trusted private secretary, Italian David Rizzio are seated. In bursts her husband Lord Darnley, the weak, nasty, pretty-boy Mary has already regretted marrying, accompanied by a band of ruffians who drag the terrified Rizzio through Mary's bedroom and into the adjoining room above her private chapel. Rizzio attempts to cling to the heavily pregnant Mary but she is unable to save him as one of her husband's friends draws a pistol on her. At the jealous Darnley's orders, the men fall on Rizzio and stab him 57 times while the terrified Mary looks on. Its an amazing feeling to be on the spot where it happened and you can't help imagining the actual event and feeling some of the horror that these rooms saw.
The picture gallery containing "Generic" portraits of both mythical and real Scottish kings is also quite eerie. They peer down at you in their regulated order with the same expressions on their faces as they were all painted by the same artist. While all having a stock standard formula portrayal , one does get the sense of continuity the artist was trying to portray. Scotland, represented by her kings, has been here, unchanged for a long, long time.
Royal Yacht.
Another sight I had to visit and one of particular interest as my father was a Boiler Stoker Mechanic was the Royal Yacht, Brittania as it was possible to see the engine room as well as the only location in the world to view a reigning monarch's bedroom.
The simplicity of the Royal bedrooms and offices was remarkable. The Queen rejected many more fancier concepts and this does give the impression of a no-nonsense, still-at-work Monarch even when holidaying. The varied and sometimes eccentric decorations on board were often bought or found by the Royals themselves, and also show a more personal view of the family. Below deck , where the officers met for R and R , seemed almost decadent by contrast. So many bars for so few officers! Every room seemed to contain a bar!
On my final day I have not changed my mind about the people of Edinburgh. They are so friendly and polite. Is it because I have this ridiculous grin on my face that people respond so positively or do I just look a bit silly and in need of help so that people feel sorry or me? I have even seen a young man offer his sat to a middle aged lady which I don't think is that common in Australia. Not once have I felt nervous here. Admittedly I am back at the hotel early and don't go to clubs or pubs but it is pretty much pitch black here by 4.30 pm and I still feel very safe .
I want to add that the Tourist office, just outside the main train station, Waverly, is very good and I went there every morning for advice. The staff were as the rest of the city - very tolerant of “Stupid Tourist Questions” and the gift shop was not bad either. Also an excellent vantage point to be intoxicated by the absolute gorgeousness of this ancient city. I am not exaggerating!
Next time find out how I end up in hot water at Bath!
One day in Glasgow was not enough as I had no hope of seeing everything I wanted to. I would have loved to see the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and the St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art but I hope to go back one day and spend more time here.
Glasgow School of Arts.
I was fortunate enough to arrive just in time for the tour as I think this is the only way you are allowed through this real working art school. Stepping aside on the staircases for the flurry of paper and pencil wielding students really bought back memories of my own days as an art student.
The furniture display, all designed by Glasgow's world renowned architect and designer, Mackintosh, is particularly good, some of which is worth millions of pounds. On the advice of the friendly staff, I decide to see the Burrell Collection and am delighted with their recommendation.
Burrell Collection
In the Burrell collection there is something to please everyone. Lovers of medieval tapestry will be in raptures. The gallery itself is so beautiful with the wall of floor-to-ceiling glass windows directly behind the gallery exhibits. It is quite unique, as you can admire Egyptian antiquities and medieval statues and, in the background , watch squirrels scamper in the pretty forest that grows right up the gallery. A small but absolutely impressive collection of paintings includes an almost abstracted painting of a horse by Gericault.
Back in Edinburgh, I continue on sightseeing.
Edinburgh Zoo
Most of the animals were very sensibly asleep as it was winter. But very much awake are those rare and exotic native UK animals, the Squirrel. OK, so they are not rare or exotic but I love 'em and I'd pay to see them anytime. The zoo is unmissable if only for one thing , apart from the squirrels. You are merely a few feet and a panel of glass away from the Sumatran tigers who gaze back at you while you study every exquisite detail of their fabulous faces. I found it mesmerizing and I could have stayed there all day.
As well,"Beware, these animals are dangerous" signs hang over butter-wouldn't-melt-in-their-mouth deer, reminding you that their pretty faces are topped with lethal looking horns. The painted wolves were also very beautiful. And yes, they did look like God had painted them with big daubs of paint. You will also see more penguins here than you will ever see in your lifetime unless you live in the Antarctic. The monkeys were also a treat.
Edinburgh Castle.
Even on a windy, rainy day, the views of the city are spectacular, though marred somewhat by the blaring of Christmas carols wafting up from the town below. This musical murder was saved by a piper busking down the Royal Mile and was a fitting soundtrack to this most theatrical of streets.
The Castle's military museum is interesting even if one were a committed pacifist. I was struck by how much is needed to be comfortable and vaguely civilised even in wartime. Cooking equipment, medical supplies, clothing for all kinds of climates etc were needed to be carried everywhere. It must have been quite a burden and I could sympathise as I trudged around loaded down with the necessities of comfortable travel. I was glad I never had to carry a gun as well as some of them looked very heavy! I was disappointed that the beautifully made little models of various soldiers were not on display due to a photography exhibition as these were what I remembered most vividly from my first trip nearly 30 years ago. But what a view! Who could really complain when everything else is so perfect.
A day trip to Oban
I have just returned from what was possibly the most dull sightseeing trip ever. The commentary was marginally less interesting than listening to a talking GPS giving directions for 10 hours. In fact a GPS would have been far more interesting as at least it would be telling you somewhere you wanted to go rather than somewhere you weren't going to go to, would never go to and didn't care if you ever went to! Not that the driver was completely boring as, when he talked about himself or historical events, it was quite interesting. This however took up only about 20 minutes of the ten hour trip. The rest of the time he felt compelled to name every sport's field, every leisure centre and every shopping complex in each area we drove past with the line tagged on to the latter "has all sorts of shops and plenty of car parking" , repeated every time. His one “joke " on Freeway Art was also repeated several times."The authorities call it Art - we call it a waste of money!" This was said so many times that, in the end, I lost count. Oban was a picturesque seaside town known as the gateway to the Hebrides but ,as we only had an hour there, I went to the 1 pound shop and bought souvenir tea towels - as you do in a tourist spot when you only have an hour.
It was not the day trip I had originally booked which was a visit to Sterling castle, a cruise on Loch Lamond and a drive through Glasgow. Rather, this one was a quick drive past a few ruins, a quick drive past dozens of identical lochs and a slow drive in a traffic jam in Glasgow. But there were some lovely places we passed, though most were closed! But as usual , you meet some interesting people, who come from interesting places and who have ended up doing interesting things. One girl from Sao Paolo in Brazil was now living in Dubai and working for Emirates and I met a lovely girl from Shanghai now studying and hoping to make her home in Sydney.
Back in Leith,Edinburgh
My sister, Michelle was quite envious when I told her I would be staying at a hotel in Leith as she loves the Proclaimers' song,” Sunshine over Leith.” I think she would be a little disappointed in Leith, though I can't say I explored the area in depth so I may not be giving an unbiased opinion. But despite a concerted "I Love Leith" campaign including posters by famous Leith residents publicly proclaiming their love, Leith's main street is a little run down with lots of empty shops. But where I am staying is very pretty so I am sure this must be the area the Proclaimers sang about. Naturally, the Proclaimer's faces are on the posters but they are the only famous Leith Lovers I have ever heard of.
I have been quite comfortable in my little room at the Merith Hotel in Leith. Though Leith is not so salubrious in appearance , the hotel faces a lovely park. However at night, the park is lit up by very bright orange lights and, despite the heavy curtains , the room is bathed by an eerie post apocalyptic aura as though the world was still burning after some terrible holocaust. It took a bit of getting used to and I was quite startled whenever I woke up in the middle of the night.
I saw a West Highland White (you see a lot of them here) this evening and felt a pang of sadness, missing my pets. But to my Mum, Dad, family and friends, rest assured I think of you all far more than I do my animals. I am glad they mainly play stirring Scottish music here and not "Crazy" which is a favourite of my parents, as I think I would get a bit teary . Its another thing that the song "Crazy' reminds me of my family. Is that apt or what!
But I am having a wonderful time. Edinburgh is amazingly beautiful with the castle rising above the city and I could never see it and not feel stirred by its majesty. The whole of central Edinburgh is as dramatic as a film set and very evocative of all the history it embodies.
The One Fingernail Ladies
Whenever I travel, I get "cankles" that is my calves and ankles combine and I have no ankle bone. I don't know why it does this but this time I have “lankles!” My whole leg and ankles are completely without shape. Its not painful but it sure looks strange. Perhaps the ubiquitous One Fingernail Women may improve my appearance. Here in Edinburgh all the shops are flogging a nail care kit and twice I have been captured. Once I was foolish enough to ask directions and was then treated to a one finger manicure. I was then captured again as I am too polite to say ” No”. However I figure that, if I strike any more of these one fingernail demo ladies, I will eventually get all my nails done and may then get them to start on my toe nails if they can stand the sight of my “lankles!”
Holyrood Palace
The room where David Rizzio was Marrrrrded! I have attempted to write this as the Scots would say it!
I tried to see this wonderful palace 30 years ago and asked an inebriated Scot for directions. Even though he waved his arms like a windmill and gestured wildly in an attempt to point me in the right direction , I was unable to comprehend anything he said. I may very well have had difficulty even if he had been stone-cold sober as the accent can be very thick. Think “murdered” as being pronounced “mare–rrr-dered” or “mar-rrr – ded.” Viewers of popular Scottish crime show “Taggart”will know exactly how to say it. But I am very glad I found it this time as Holyrood palace is another must-see and has been for many years.
Even before it was open to the public, people in Victorian times bribed the staff for a peek at the private apartments of Mary Queen of Scots, mostly to see the scene of one of history's most dastardly crimes. Picture the narrow, winding, cold, stone staircase leading to Mary's bed chamber and, immediately to the side of the stairs, a tiny room dominated by a large table where Mary, her ladies in waiting and her trusted private secretary, Italian David Rizzio are seated. In bursts her husband Lord Darnley, the weak, nasty, pretty-boy Mary has already regretted marrying, accompanied by a band of ruffians who drag the terrified Rizzio through Mary's bedroom and into the adjoining room above her private chapel. Rizzio attempts to cling to the heavily pregnant Mary but she is unable to save him as one of her husband's friends draws a pistol on her. At the jealous Darnley's orders, the men fall on Rizzio and stab him 57 times while the terrified Mary looks on. Its an amazing feeling to be on the spot where it happened and you can't help imagining the actual event and feeling some of the horror that these rooms saw.
The picture gallery containing "Generic" portraits of both mythical and real Scottish kings is also quite eerie. They peer down at you in their regulated order with the same expressions on their faces as they were all painted by the same artist. While all having a stock standard formula portrayal , one does get the sense of continuity the artist was trying to portray. Scotland, represented by her kings, has been here, unchanged for a long, long time.
Royal Yacht.
Another sight I had to visit and one of particular interest as my father was a Boiler Stoker Mechanic was the Royal Yacht, Brittania as it was possible to see the engine room as well as the only location in the world to view a reigning monarch's bedroom.
The simplicity of the Royal bedrooms and offices was remarkable. The Queen rejected many more fancier concepts and this does give the impression of a no-nonsense, still-at-work Monarch even when holidaying. The varied and sometimes eccentric decorations on board were often bought or found by the Royals themselves, and also show a more personal view of the family. Below deck , where the officers met for R and R , seemed almost decadent by contrast. So many bars for so few officers! Every room seemed to contain a bar!
On my final day I have not changed my mind about the people of Edinburgh. They are so friendly and polite. Is it because I have this ridiculous grin on my face that people respond so positively or do I just look a bit silly and in need of help so that people feel sorry or me? I have even seen a young man offer his sat to a middle aged lady which I don't think is that common in Australia. Not once have I felt nervous here. Admittedly I am back at the hotel early and don't go to clubs or pubs but it is pretty much pitch black here by 4.30 pm and I still feel very safe .
I want to add that the Tourist office, just outside the main train station, Waverly, is very good and I went there every morning for advice. The staff were as the rest of the city - very tolerant of “Stupid Tourist Questions” and the gift shop was not bad either. Also an excellent vantage point to be intoxicated by the absolute gorgeousness of this ancient city. I am not exaggerating!
Next time find out how I end up in hot water at Bath!
Dec 11th, 2009, 03:38 AM
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Hi Kerry. Enjoying your report - very good writing and most endearing ! - and am glad you had a nice time on the whole. It sounds as though you were here just in the last few days, if carols were playing ?
I'm sorry you were disappointed in Leith as I live there ! I looked up your hotel (which I hadn't heard of before) and actually I wouldn't classify that as Leith but Leith Links. Didn't you make it to the Shore, where the remnants of the docks, cobbled streets, Georgian buildings, very old warehouses & other mercantile buildings, plus lots of pubs & restaurants (including 3 with Michelin stars !) are ? Come to think of it, you most likely would have gone via the Shore to get to Britannia. I agree the main Leith street (if you mean Leith Walk or Great Junction Street) is prety rundown and depressing, though.
Sorry too about all the rain you had, although it's a good job you aren't here today as you wouldn't be able to see anything at all due to thick fog (e.g. the castle not being visible from Princes Street) ! There's a line I particularly like in one of Alexander MacCall Smith's books - something like "he loved Edinburgh just the way it was - cold, grey and often only half visible"
I'm sorry you were disappointed in Leith as I live there ! I looked up your hotel (which I hadn't heard of before) and actually I wouldn't classify that as Leith but Leith Links. Didn't you make it to the Shore, where the remnants of the docks, cobbled streets, Georgian buildings, very old warehouses & other mercantile buildings, plus lots of pubs & restaurants (including 3 with Michelin stars !) are ? Come to think of it, you most likely would have gone via the Shore to get to Britannia. I agree the main Leith street (if you mean Leith Walk or Great Junction Street) is prety rundown and depressing, though.
Sorry too about all the rain you had, although it's a good job you aren't here today as you wouldn't be able to see anything at all due to thick fog (e.g. the castle not being visible from Princes Street) ! There's a line I particularly like in one of Alexander MacCall Smith's books - something like "he loved Edinburgh just the way it was - cold, grey and often only half visible"
Dec 11th, 2009, 04:13 AM
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You are quite right ,Caroline.I was staying at Leith Links just a few weeks ago and I realise now I was only referring to the Leith Walk area you mentioned. It was rather unfair of me to pick on Leith as I really didn't see the Shore you mentioned or any other areas around Leith in any depth.
But I certainly found the people of Leith really lovely! It was so easy to start a friendly conversation with the locals while on the bus into the town centre and I enjoyed my time there very much.
I totally agree with the quote you use. I was more unprepared rather than upset by the weather. The rain added a real ambience that suited Edinburgh and I wouldn't want it any different either. I envy you living in such a wonderful city!
But I certainly found the people of Leith really lovely! It was so easy to start a friendly conversation with the locals while on the bus into the town centre and I enjoyed my time there very much.
I totally agree with the quote you use. I was more unprepared rather than upset by the weather. The rain added a real ambience that suited Edinburgh and I wouldn't want it any different either. I envy you living in such a wonderful city!
Dec 11th, 2009, 04:21 AM
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I think Edinburgh looks better in the rain. There's just something about they way the streets and buildings look in the wet that grabs the attention and the Castle is at its most brooding under grey skies.
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Dec 12th, 2009, 12:16 AM
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What a shame you only had an hour in Oban. There are far better things to do with 60 minutes than buy t-towels! A short walk up the hill behind the town brings you to McCaig's Tower - and from there you have fab views out over the island of Kerrera, byond to Mull and on a good day to Colonsay, Coll and Islay. With more time you could have hopped on a Calmac ferry and left Oban for a quick trip to Mull or Iona. I guess it just shows that a day trip with only one hour in the destination is not really on. No idea why you couldn't have more time. The drive from Edinburgh or Glasgow takes around 2.5 hours (3 if you are stoppping for photo opps etc) so you should have had plenty of time to explore Oban. Never mind. Have a look at www.oban.org.uk to get a feel for what you missed!
Dec 12th, 2009, 08:03 AM
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Thanks cologan, I appreciate you're very true comments.
I would have loved to take the Calmac ferry and also gone up to the tower for the fabulous views!
I was being a bit sarcastic , I'm afraid, as I did have a look around, and Oban is really lovely. It's just that the tour was a bit disappointing and the two tours I took after that were so much better.
One of the reasons I took a few tours is that I was just getting over a foot broken in 3 places 7 weeks before and it hadn't really healed properly. I considered canceling the whole trip but it meant quite a delay before I could travel again. I also have Narcolepsy which symptoms are a bit like Chronic Fatigue and I rely on medication to keep me going. Plus, I help look after my parents and it means making new arrangements with other carers. So it can be difficult to get around as much as I'd like.
But I am considering starting a thread on whether tours are a good idea under some circumstances. That is if it hasn't been done before. For me , a quick look at something is better than nothing and , in fact, my quick look at Edinburgh 30 years ago inspired me to return and spend a week there. Still not enough time though!
So my apologies if I seem a bit flippant .My weird sense of humour perhaps that tries to look at the quirkier things ----or I am just plain Nuts!
Really, I loved everywhere I was!
I would have loved to take the Calmac ferry and also gone up to the tower for the fabulous views!
I was being a bit sarcastic , I'm afraid, as I did have a look around, and Oban is really lovely. It's just that the tour was a bit disappointing and the two tours I took after that were so much better.
One of the reasons I took a few tours is that I was just getting over a foot broken in 3 places 7 weeks before and it hadn't really healed properly. I considered canceling the whole trip but it meant quite a delay before I could travel again. I also have Narcolepsy which symptoms are a bit like Chronic Fatigue and I rely on medication to keep me going. Plus, I help look after my parents and it means making new arrangements with other carers. So it can be difficult to get around as much as I'd like.
But I am considering starting a thread on whether tours are a good idea under some circumstances. That is if it hasn't been done before. For me , a quick look at something is better than nothing and , in fact, my quick look at Edinburgh 30 years ago inspired me to return and spend a week there. Still not enough time though!
So my apologies if I seem a bit flippant .My weird sense of humour perhaps that tries to look at the quirkier things ----or I am just plain Nuts!
Really, I loved everywhere I was!
Dec 12th, 2009, 09:03 AM
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Kerry in hot water in Bath.
After a worrying time trying to find the coach point, I was finally on my way to Bath. I was to meet Mr Darcey who said nothing much, two ancient Britains who wouldn't shut up and was to kiss a perfect stranger in my brief time there.
I sat right behind the driver and the tour guide so as to listen to their witty banter - there wasn't any. But Bath itself didn't disappoint in any way. What a wonderful city! The Roman Baths were outstanding. The display of archaeological finds was comprehensive and the Baths themselves in a remarkable state of preservation. But what really made me smile was the two young men dressed as ancient British stonemasons working for the Romans.
I know it's cheesy, but I love it when those historical characters wander through the landscape. I've seen a ghostly Lady Jane Gray wander Hampton Court Palace - and give me a nasty look when I took a forbidden photo. Seen a suitably sulky Captain Jack Sparrow at Tokyo Disneyland and met a young, slim and handsome King Henry the Eighth. (I'd have considered being wife number seven if Henry had looked as good as this bloke did! )and a host of other actors pretending to be someone long dead.
These two "ancient Britains" were a hoot. I noticed no one was talking to them so went up and asked them If they were lost in time. They said "No, we knew exactly where we are. But where do you come ?" … all spoken in the most broadest dialect I had heard for some time. When I replied "Australia" they shook their heads and looked puzzled. "No ...Never heard of that place." They turned to each other and said, " Could she mean Terra Australis?” A pause .” No... that place is a myth. She must be traveling incognito!" they concluded at last.
I went along with the game, as one does when meeting pretend ancient Britains, and said that, "I am spying for the Roman Emperor , who has sent me to find out what you are doing. " This sent them off in a flurry of historical facts about the Emperor's comings and goings and then a comedic routine about the quality of their stonemason work and a lot of light hearted banter between the two of them as to who was the better workmen and which of them had been personally requested to work for the Roman Emperor. They were so funny that I said, "When Television eventually comes along , you two guys should be on it! "Again they looked puzzled ( these guys were good ! ) and one said "Mmm... Tel and vision.... Those words mean much the same, so it doesn't make any sense! " and I believe he is right as Tele as in Telopea means "seen from afar" and vision is related to "seeing". At this point I left them as I think they would have gone on forever as they really had the gift of the gab!
After that, I wandered to the equally cheesy Jane Austen Centre where a decidedly middle aged Mr Darcy presided over the front door. Not resembling Colin Thirth in any way, he was nonetheless charming if silent and I began to wonder if he had an embarrassingly high pitched squeaky voice as he said not a word. He was a very good waver though. I took his photo and we bowed slightly to each other and I went on my way to the bus station.
Except a coach is not a bus as the drivers are always quick to point out. It would be like describing an ocean liner as a boat! Here I really got into hot water as I became hopelessly lost until an older man wearing some sort of uniform passed by, and in a plaintive voice that was not at all put on, I asked for help in finding the coach station. "Take my hand." he said, as I was teetering on the edge of a busy roadway looking suicidal.
I grabbed his hand with all the fervor of a lost child in a shopping mall who finds her daddy at last and he guided me across the busy street and through a parking station explaining that he had helped other lost people and not to worry ...We would make it in time. "You are so kind. " I said and he smiled and said "We are nicer up here than down South," (Before I get into trouble on this - I think the people down South are equally nice!) and led me some distance as I clutched his hand tightly long after we had passed the busy street. As the coach station loomed and he began to go on his way, I impulsively said "Let me give you a kiss... You have saved my life!" and I gave the startled man a quick peck on the cheek then huffed and puffed the last few meters to the coach. So many times I have relied on the kindness of strangers as Blanche DuBois noted in “A Street Car Named Desire.” This has happened in as many diverse places as Holland, Singapore and Vietnam and I have not been let down yet.
AS usual, I have met more interesting people such as the two ladies from the space and flight department of the Smithsonian Institution whose museum boasts a space shuttle, a Concord jet and the Spirit of St Louis! I ate a lovely lunch of Beef and Yorkshire pudding at the The White Hart Inn with a lady from the Michigan university who, amongst many other things, organizes funding for the solar car challenge held in Australia. They came third this year, I believe. They aren't exaggerating when they say travel broadens the mind!
Next , I cram thousands of years of British history into one wonderful day. And I don't get lost once! Except, maybe in time.
After a worrying time trying to find the coach point, I was finally on my way to Bath. I was to meet Mr Darcey who said nothing much, two ancient Britains who wouldn't shut up and was to kiss a perfect stranger in my brief time there.
I sat right behind the driver and the tour guide so as to listen to their witty banter - there wasn't any. But Bath itself didn't disappoint in any way. What a wonderful city! The Roman Baths were outstanding. The display of archaeological finds was comprehensive and the Baths themselves in a remarkable state of preservation. But what really made me smile was the two young men dressed as ancient British stonemasons working for the Romans.
I know it's cheesy, but I love it when those historical characters wander through the landscape. I've seen a ghostly Lady Jane Gray wander Hampton Court Palace - and give me a nasty look when I took a forbidden photo. Seen a suitably sulky Captain Jack Sparrow at Tokyo Disneyland and met a young, slim and handsome King Henry the Eighth. (I'd have considered being wife number seven if Henry had looked as good as this bloke did! )and a host of other actors pretending to be someone long dead.
These two "ancient Britains" were a hoot. I noticed no one was talking to them so went up and asked them If they were lost in time. They said "No, we knew exactly where we are. But where do you come ?" … all spoken in the most broadest dialect I had heard for some time. When I replied "Australia" they shook their heads and looked puzzled. "No ...Never heard of that place." They turned to each other and said, " Could she mean Terra Australis?” A pause .” No... that place is a myth. She must be traveling incognito!" they concluded at last.
I went along with the game, as one does when meeting pretend ancient Britains, and said that, "I am spying for the Roman Emperor , who has sent me to find out what you are doing. " This sent them off in a flurry of historical facts about the Emperor's comings and goings and then a comedic routine about the quality of their stonemason work and a lot of light hearted banter between the two of them as to who was the better workmen and which of them had been personally requested to work for the Roman Emperor. They were so funny that I said, "When Television eventually comes along , you two guys should be on it! "Again they looked puzzled ( these guys were good ! ) and one said "Mmm... Tel and vision.... Those words mean much the same, so it doesn't make any sense! " and I believe he is right as Tele as in Telopea means "seen from afar" and vision is related to "seeing". At this point I left them as I think they would have gone on forever as they really had the gift of the gab!
After that, I wandered to the equally cheesy Jane Austen Centre where a decidedly middle aged Mr Darcy presided over the front door. Not resembling Colin Thirth in any way, he was nonetheless charming if silent and I began to wonder if he had an embarrassingly high pitched squeaky voice as he said not a word. He was a very good waver though. I took his photo and we bowed slightly to each other and I went on my way to the bus station.
Except a coach is not a bus as the drivers are always quick to point out. It would be like describing an ocean liner as a boat! Here I really got into hot water as I became hopelessly lost until an older man wearing some sort of uniform passed by, and in a plaintive voice that was not at all put on, I asked for help in finding the coach station. "Take my hand." he said, as I was teetering on the edge of a busy roadway looking suicidal.
I grabbed his hand with all the fervor of a lost child in a shopping mall who finds her daddy at last and he guided me across the busy street and through a parking station explaining that he had helped other lost people and not to worry ...We would make it in time. "You are so kind. " I said and he smiled and said "We are nicer up here than down South," (Before I get into trouble on this - I think the people down South are equally nice!) and led me some distance as I clutched his hand tightly long after we had passed the busy street. As the coach station loomed and he began to go on his way, I impulsively said "Let me give you a kiss... You have saved my life!" and I gave the startled man a quick peck on the cheek then huffed and puffed the last few meters to the coach. So many times I have relied on the kindness of strangers as Blanche DuBois noted in “A Street Car Named Desire.” This has happened in as many diverse places as Holland, Singapore and Vietnam and I have not been let down yet.
AS usual, I have met more interesting people such as the two ladies from the space and flight department of the Smithsonian Institution whose museum boasts a space shuttle, a Concord jet and the Spirit of St Louis! I ate a lovely lunch of Beef and Yorkshire pudding at the The White Hart Inn with a lady from the Michigan university who, amongst many other things, organizes funding for the solar car challenge held in Australia. They came third this year, I believe. They aren't exaggerating when they say travel broadens the mind!
Next , I cram thousands of years of British history into one wonderful day. And I don't get lost once! Except, maybe in time.
Dec 13th, 2009, 10:47 AM
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Hi Sheila,
I am a bit reluctant to name them as I assume that so much depends on the day and the tour leader/driver and I feel it may not always reflect on the company.
However, since people are looking for recommendations, I will name the companies but with the above disclaimer. Timberbush Tours was the tour I was not really happy with but I was the only one on the coach who had not booked this particular trip as mine had been cancelled. The driver was also the tour leader and I think it is better to have these jobs separate.
The best by far was Premiums's tour to Warwick Castle, Stratford, Oxford & the Cotswolds which had an excellent and knowledgeable tour leader and driver.Both of them really looked after the passengers, the driver even offering a helping hand off the bus each time it stopped which was a nice touch. Anderson's tour to Bath was also very good.
Thanks so much for reading,
Kerry
I am a bit reluctant to name them as I assume that so much depends on the day and the tour leader/driver and I feel it may not always reflect on the company.
However, since people are looking for recommendations, I will name the companies but with the above disclaimer. Timberbush Tours was the tour I was not really happy with but I was the only one on the coach who had not booked this particular trip as mine had been cancelled. The driver was also the tour leader and I think it is better to have these jobs separate.
The best by far was Premiums's tour to Warwick Castle, Stratford, Oxford & the Cotswolds which had an excellent and knowledgeable tour leader and driver.Both of them really looked after the passengers, the driver even offering a helping hand off the bus each time it stopped which was a nice touch. Anderson's tour to Bath was also very good.
Thanks so much for reading,
Kerry
Dec 14th, 2009, 07:18 AM
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My tour crams so much history into one day that my head spins. I started with that still mysterious place, Stonehenge. I had always wanted to see it but had never been out of London much before due to lack of time and funds. As mentioned previously, I was getting over a broken foot so decided to do some tours and see many places I had missed on previous trips .
Stonehenge was smaller than I thought but far more impressive than I had been led to believe. I am at a loss to explain why some people seem so dismissive of Stonehenge as it is almost miraculous as a structure. “How did they do it?” rings in your head as you walk around it ,made especially intriguing as no one else knows precisely either!
Here was the only time I felt cold the whole time I was away. You have to be a menopausal woman to know that even winter in the UK holds no terror! But here, I felt all the force of the weather. Somehow though, it added to the ambiance, and, for a little while at least, you feel at one with Stonehenge stoically enduring all those centuries on the windswept Salisbury plains.
The audio tour was most interesting , though I admit I was so cold, I rushed it a bit. I believe they are planning on putting the gift shop and amenities further from the site so as to not detract from that majestic isolation. A really good idea. I hope they never decide to put it under an air conditioned heated bubble!
Next , Warwick Castle which my medieval loving self really enjoyed. Looking every bit the castle you imagine in your dreams, it was once run by the same people that owned Madame Tussauds, and boasts a wonderful series of tableau covering the life of Warwick the Kingmaker. You can walk right up to and around the wax figures and mingle with the characters as they go about their work, prepare for battle or engage in everyday household chores. It is this almost interaction that stopped it from being too 'Disneyland' though it does teeter on the edge a bit. The realism is superb - I swear the wax horse in the stable even smelled horsey! Just for a bit of fun, one scene of women going about their daily duties had a real woman embroidering , and she did make some people jump when she moved!
Unfortunately, the day I was there coincided with a craft fair and it was impossibly crowded. The craft fair was a great idea but the venue was not good at all as the stands were in the narrow walkways in front of the displays. I am forced to rush back to the coach as I had a “Mr Bean” experience, trapped behind a dear old man, carefully wending his way down the long , long, narrow stairs, with me hopping from foot to foot behind him! But I made it by the skin of my teeth and head off to Stratford on Avon.
Again, being a tour, we didn't have a great deal of time to explore Stratford on Avon but it was an fantastic to walk through the house Shakespeare was born in and later inherited. Largely original, it was an unexpected pleasure as I had really only heard of Anne Hathaway's cottage being available for the public. Right in the center of the shops, it had a sense of permanence as well as of time standing still in the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping Stratford. One almost expected the great writer to pop out the front door and shout back at his wife, Anne " Just ducking down the shops for bread and milk, Dear. Oh, and more pens and paper."
Next we saw Oxford and had a quick tour of some of the universities. Even though it was almost dark, the impressive buildings seem to have a life of their own as well as being alive with students. We were lucky enough to see graduate students being photographed with proud parents and beaming friends so we saw it, not just as a museum piece but as a real center of learning. The evolution of the vast complex of buildings is clearly seen from the Medieval to the Georgian and then some, so anyone with an interest in architecture should see Oxford.
The Hall of Christchurch has all the past painted Deans gazing down on the modern student, with Henry the Eighth at the center and the hapless Wolsey beside him. Feeding the body as well as the mind never had a more grand audience! Oxford is another place I would really like to see more of. Seeing it at night was lovely but I longed for a good look at those “Dreaming Spires.”
Next , If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium and I have lunch with the Mussels from Brussels!
PS Anyone seen the film or documentary "If it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium"?
Stonehenge was smaller than I thought but far more impressive than I had been led to believe. I am at a loss to explain why some people seem so dismissive of Stonehenge as it is almost miraculous as a structure. “How did they do it?” rings in your head as you walk around it ,made especially intriguing as no one else knows precisely either!
Here was the only time I felt cold the whole time I was away. You have to be a menopausal woman to know that even winter in the UK holds no terror! But here, I felt all the force of the weather. Somehow though, it added to the ambiance, and, for a little while at least, you feel at one with Stonehenge stoically enduring all those centuries on the windswept Salisbury plains.
The audio tour was most interesting , though I admit I was so cold, I rushed it a bit. I believe they are planning on putting the gift shop and amenities further from the site so as to not detract from that majestic isolation. A really good idea. I hope they never decide to put it under an air conditioned heated bubble!
Next , Warwick Castle which my medieval loving self really enjoyed. Looking every bit the castle you imagine in your dreams, it was once run by the same people that owned Madame Tussauds, and boasts a wonderful series of tableau covering the life of Warwick the Kingmaker. You can walk right up to and around the wax figures and mingle with the characters as they go about their work, prepare for battle or engage in everyday household chores. It is this almost interaction that stopped it from being too 'Disneyland' though it does teeter on the edge a bit. The realism is superb - I swear the wax horse in the stable even smelled horsey! Just for a bit of fun, one scene of women going about their daily duties had a real woman embroidering , and she did make some people jump when she moved!
Unfortunately, the day I was there coincided with a craft fair and it was impossibly crowded. The craft fair was a great idea but the venue was not good at all as the stands were in the narrow walkways in front of the displays. I am forced to rush back to the coach as I had a “Mr Bean” experience, trapped behind a dear old man, carefully wending his way down the long , long, narrow stairs, with me hopping from foot to foot behind him! But I made it by the skin of my teeth and head off to Stratford on Avon.
Again, being a tour, we didn't have a great deal of time to explore Stratford on Avon but it was an fantastic to walk through the house Shakespeare was born in and later inherited. Largely original, it was an unexpected pleasure as I had really only heard of Anne Hathaway's cottage being available for the public. Right in the center of the shops, it had a sense of permanence as well as of time standing still in the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping Stratford. One almost expected the great writer to pop out the front door and shout back at his wife, Anne " Just ducking down the shops for bread and milk, Dear. Oh, and more pens and paper."
Next we saw Oxford and had a quick tour of some of the universities. Even though it was almost dark, the impressive buildings seem to have a life of their own as well as being alive with students. We were lucky enough to see graduate students being photographed with proud parents and beaming friends so we saw it, not just as a museum piece but as a real center of learning. The evolution of the vast complex of buildings is clearly seen from the Medieval to the Georgian and then some, so anyone with an interest in architecture should see Oxford.
The Hall of Christchurch has all the past painted Deans gazing down on the modern student, with Henry the Eighth at the center and the hapless Wolsey beside him. Feeding the body as well as the mind never had a more grand audience! Oxford is another place I would really like to see more of. Seeing it at night was lovely but I longed for a good look at those “Dreaming Spires.”
Next , If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium and I have lunch with the Mussels from Brussels!
PS Anyone seen the film or documentary "If it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium"?
Dec 18th, 2009, 03:23 AM
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Thanks so much, Caroline.I appreciate that. Will be posting the last bit soon but busy with my Dad who has had a bad fall. For a family of moderate drinkers , we sure fall over a lot!
