October 24, 2006

We went to the new Starbucks! Had the scone and ginger/rhubarb jam we bought last night at Marks & Spencers.

We walked and walked today, past Hyde Park, to Oxford Circle - saw the Marble Arch - and then to Regent Street ending up at Piccadilly Circus. We shopped at TopShop, Selfridges, Debenham's and Liberty. This was my first time visiting Liberty's - it's a beautiful store. Bought myself four wee hankies made from their lovely printed fabric. The we walked around the West End where the shows are - saw the theatres where 'Mousetrap', 'Spamalot' and 'Mary Poppins' are playing.

Also saw the Ivy Restaurant.

And did I mention there's millions of people walking the streets of London - we held on to each other because you could lose someone in a heartbeat! Poof they're gone!

Sat for awhile at the statue at Piccadilly Circus - then took the Tube to the Bayswater area. Had a Strongbow and a jacket potato with Red Cabbage Slaw and Cheddar Cheese at the Redan Pub. Then we walked around some more - got back to our hotel around 8:30. My feet are aching!

Oh yes, last night - there was a thunderstorm!!

October 23, 2006 - goodbye beautiful Glasgow...

The train left at 11:10 and arrived in London at 4:30 pm. The train ride was quite action-packed. Lots and lots of people - people had to stand, there was confusion about who should be sitting where - reserved seating vs non-reserved seating. We had non-reserved and we had a very nice seats.

We took a cab to the hotel. Room 206 and it's almost as tiny as the one in Dublin. We re-arranged the bed and chairs because there was no where for us to put our luggage!

Once we got all settled in we went in search of libation as you do! Saw the Prince Edward Pub just across from the hotel so we went on in. I had a Bacon, Tomato & Cheese sandwich with chips and a two pints of Strongbow! After we went walking - found us a Starbucks; tons of restaurants; a mall with a Marks & Spencer Food To Go and a coffee and tea place with lovely cups, teapots etc.

LONDON IS IN A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN!! Woo hoo!

We saw in a 8 - 9 block radius all these types of restaurants: Persian, Thai, French, Indian, Lebanese, Japanese, Brazilian, Bangladeshi, Greek, Malaysian, North African, Morrocan, British and American fast food!

October 22, 2006

We left after 11:00 to go to Geoffey Tailors to try on kilts - then to Starbucks for coffee. We walked up to the Glasgow Cathedral and toured around inside - it's really busy in there, lots of different nooks and areas to explore. And a lower part that was kind of creepy - someone could hide in there forever if they wanted! St Mungo is buried in the cathedral. We also went over to the St. Mungo's Art Gallery - there was an interesting display of all types of religions death customs.

Also, saw two old women hunched over walking along - me and J'nyn in our golden years! They met up with Debbie D. who hasn't changed at all!!


We went up to the Necropolis - it was awesome and the view is spectacular and all those gravestones. We wandered around for over an hour, just taking it all in. After that we made a stop in the Oldest House in Glasgow and then down to the Ramshorn Church. We visited their graveyard too. This led us to the Merchant City area which seems to be an up and coming area - lovely condos for sale and upscale shops and restaurants. Another Marks & Spencer lingerie stop was next, we meandered around for a bit more and finally ended up at the Variety Wine & Bar for some pints.

Campus Pizza was our last meal - it was so delicious the other night so we wanted to have another - it's the best pizza I've ever had, made by a most desirable Scottish man! We ate in our room.

I've been crying all day, downtown, at the bar, walking down the streets. I cannot believe I'm leaving my beloved Scotland tomorrow. It has been everything I knew it would be and more - I will be back again and again...

And to my wee ghost at the Renfrew Nursery School for Infants 'bless you and watch over all the wee children'.

October 21, 2006

We walked to the Hunterian Museum and the Macintosh House - he was fantastic - oh god he was an incredible designer, craftsman, architect - I know I've written this before but it's worth saying again. I am totally in awe, I walk into these rooms and I'm speechless and teary-eyed as he did not get the accolades he deserved while alive. His bedroom is my dream bedroom and it's white!! The dining room is in a beautiful
mocha brown with pinks and purples in the lighting.

We walked back to the guesthouse to drop off and collect. Then we shopped til after 5:00 - walked to King Tut's Wah-Wah Hut for a pint of Strongbow. Then we ended up at Wetherspoon for supper. I had salmon cakes with a Tennent. Did tons of walking today - we've been doing tons of walking every day and all our clothes are getting looser especially the jeans! We picked up some snacks and went back home.








Lots of action in regards to dress - shorts with tights or pantyhose, jeans with dresses, women wear really high heeled shoes or boots and people are either really ugly or really pulled together.

October 20, 2006

We walked through the most beautiful park - Kelvingrove Park - saw lots of wee children running around and playing with their caregivers. We got to the Kelvingrove Museum and stopped at the KG Café for tea and lunch. I had a big cheese sandwich - they grate the cheese about half an inch thick! They give cheese away here and it's the best cheddar cheese - not like the cheddar cheese you get here - bah.

We walked through the museum for the next three hours. Saw Dali's 'Christ of St. John of the Cross' - we had to search for it and yet, it's right there! Lots of children running around but that's just fine. It's October Week and kids are all off school in Scotland and next week when we're in England, they will off then too! We stopped at the gift shop and J'nyn ordered a featured CD by Craig Armstrong. She spoke and arranged the transaction with Nan, who was such a lovely lady. I know we will eventually get the CD because Nan is taking care of it!

Then we went over to the University of Glasgow to figure out to get to the Hunterian Museum. The campus is so lovely, the buildings so old - established in 1451!! There's a plaque for James McGill, who founded the University of McGill in Montréal - he attended U of G! Bought a cute tee shirt. We walked around wishing that we worked here instead of... Went back to the guesthouse for a rest. We ended up back at Ingram's Pub for a pint of Strongbow and Haggis!!



We stopped off at Borders to buy magazines - it was another great day!

October 19, 2006

Got up at 7:30 - ugh! - to get ready - it's tour day! We left at 8:45, stopped for a coffee at Starbucks. Our guide was Bruce and he was a Scottish dream man - hairy in all the right places, balding with reddish hair and lord, the accent - to die for! And he sometimes wore a wee wool cap to keep his head warm! Oh dear!

The day started well with no rain but by the time we got to Loch Lomand, it was raining pretty good. It rained for most of the day - it was not cold but very misty. The cruise ship was called the Silver Marlin. Loch Lomand is beautiful. After we went to Aberfoyle for lunch at the Forth Inn Pub where we waited too long for our lunch and subsequently had no souvenir shopping time. A lovely woman from Cambridge joined us for lunch. There was a bird exhibit just outside the gift shop where they had some live wee owls!! They were adorable.

Before we got to Loch Lomand we stopped at a wee village called Luss where I want to live. Something about that place made me absolutely fall in love with it. So wee, so quaint, cozy, comforting, in the middle of the mountains and Loch Lomand...


After lunch, we left for the Trossachs which again is absolutely lovely, the scenery, even with the mist and rain was gorgeous - it makes me feel so warm and comforted. The colours of Scotland...

We made our way to Stirling Castle - it was still pouring rain when we got off the bus but after a wee while if finally stopped and we were able to really enjoy the outside of the castle and the spectacular panoramic view. Just before we got to Stirling we made a quick stop to visit Hamish the Highland Coo! He's very feisty and cute!

The bus ride home was very enjoyable - Bruce's stories and information was making us giggle like school girls! He also was playing Afro Celts! We got to Glasgow around 6:15 and as we departed Bruce said to us 'see you later!' - we both squealed.

To calm ourselves we went for a Manhattan at the Millenium Hotel Bar which was quite enjoyable. We sat by the windows and watched the Glaswegians go by... And the bathrooms were lovely and HOT! After we found another pub called Waxy O'Connor - enjoyed a pint of Strongbow and Potato Skins. Walked back to our guesthouse, the leak had been fixed and we had more drinks, chips and telly! A wonderful day...

October 18, 2006

We were off by 10:30 to get to the Glasgow School of Arts tour. It was a brilliant tour done by a lovely Scottish lass. Charles Rennie Macintosh was an amazing designer, architect, everything he produced was a beautiful work of art. The building is incredible and he never comprised his integrity! Did some souvenir shopping - everything is so lovely.

Keeping with the theme, we went to the Willow Tea Room, also designed by Macintosh. I had a Cheese & Onion Toastie and then a scone with cream and jam. Mmmmm, good! After we walked around through the squares, stores and down to the River Clyde - walked over the bridges.

We returned to our room to do a 'drop off' and then headed for the Variety Wine & Bar for some Strongbow pints. We wanted pizza so we headed back to Bucchanan Square and ended up back in our area at Campus Pizza. It had it's grand opening this evening and we were the 14th customer. We ordered a Ham & Pineapple - after it came out of the oven they put a fresh tomato/basil topping on top. We brought it back to the room to eat - it was one of the best pizzas I've ever had - oh my god! They also gave us two dipping sauces for the crusts - the pesto one was brilliant!.

October 17, 2006

We told the reception desk about the dripping. Fix it!

We stopped at the Glasgow School of Art that Charles Rennie Macintosh designed - there's a lovely gift shop with lots of stuff. We're going to go on a tour there tomorrow.

We walked to the downtown area, found and stopped at a Starbucks. We went to book our tour for Thursday at the Info Centre. We shopped for the rest of the afternoon - I tried on more bras at Debenhams and bought four more! They have to last until I return. Found our Pringles scarves - we didn't buy them cos we had to rush off for our manicures! It was lovely - lovely Scottish women giving us a awesome manicures. While we were there, a supervisor from London, who looked like Miranda from Sex in the City, was doing a check on the O.P.I. counter girls. Good gossip when she finally left - very funny!!


We went to the Ingram's Pub for food and drink. It was lovely. I had Steak & Ale Pie with Chips and broccoli and carrots. We shared a wee Haggis with Drambuie sauce appetizer - yummy! Walked home - it was so nice out, warmer than this morning actually and a tad humid!

October 16, 2006

We left around 10:15 for the train station. The luggage was searched and put into a locker. My suitcase is so HEAVY already and there's two more cities! I wanted a tea and scone but couldn't find anything that suited so we ended up at Starbucks in the mall. Then it was off to Marks & Spencer for a bra session. I tried on about 20 bras (in the freezing cold). There's a wonderful label called Freya with big cup sizes and lovely colours. I'm so excited!

We meandered about the mall. Lots of great jewellery at Debenhams. We had a pint of Tennents and lunch at the Filling Station and wrote postcards. It was nice and warm in the restaurant as it was flipping cold in the Eastgate Shopping Centre. We walked around outside to find a letterbox and ended up back inside Marks & Spencer to use the toilets and the heat was finally on! It's actually the first cool day we've had.

We boarded the 4:55 train to Glasgow where we froze most of the way until I discovered a car that had heat. On the train, a wee girl and boy were quite entertaining to watch. She was quite the little girl with her jewelery, her tootoos, and her Disney Princess colouring books - a going concern! And bossing her brother!

We got in around 8:40 and took a taxi to the Victoria Guesthouse. Dragged my luggage up four bloody flights of stairs (not including the outside stairs). Apparently Glasgow has some hills!! And hotels/guesthouses don't have lifts!! Room 29 is nice, not as nice as others but not as bad as Dublin (not that it was bad).

We left to search for beverages, came back to eat chips and watch telly.

In the middle of the night - well actually it was 5:00 I was woken by the sound I love the most - water dripping. And sure enough it was coming in through the window onto J'nyn's luggage. We got the garbage bins to collect the water. ...come what may...

October 15, 2006

We left around 9:50 for the tour. Our guide was George. The bus left at 10:30 and we made our way to Loch Ness and the cruise to Urquhart Castle. Both are brillant! We saw a lovely film about the history of the castle and at the end the the screen went up and the curtains opened and revealed the actual castle!! This castle is old and full of history and was destroyed by the Scots themselves to prevent the English from ever occupying it.

My only complaint is 'not enough time'. We could have used another 30 minutes at least to visit the gift shop and just to be there. We got back on the bus and drove to the Loch Ness Experience 2000. It was a six room tour thing to disprove/prove the Loch Ness Monster theory. The bottom line Nessie is there because we saw her! So no more 'theories' and as well, not enough time for the gift shop!! And this time we had to run to bus - we were the last ones to board.

We drove back to Inverness because not everyone was taking part in the second part of the tour. We had to get off the bus, wait 20 minutes and then get back on again. We left at 2:30. Culloden was amazing, so quiet, sad, very solemn - it was a beautiful hour. I kissed Scotland in front of where the Frasers stood in line prepared for battle against the government (made up of the English and the Scottish, which I did not realize...). It looks exactly as it did over 260 years ago.

The gift shop was very good - for this part of the tour we had lots of time to appreciate the site and the souvenirs! Next stop - the Clava Cairns! This was brilliant (as you may have noticed pretty much everything we have seen is brilliant or amazing!). Four thousand years old cairns that really come into their own on December 21. I would love to be there on that day and Halloween. There were some huge stones, and I was looking for the portal to get to 'Jamie'! It was very peaceful and calming.

We got back to the guesthouse after 5 and had a glass of port. We went for a walk along the River Ness before going to the Westend Chippy for the best fish 'n chips ever! I had the Scottish Haddock fish and it was so tasty and good!
Another Top List - Top 100 Albums of All Time and #1 was Radiohead. Bah.

October 14, 2006

Get up around 8:30. J'nyn went down for the breakfast - she brought me back some lovely toast with jam and marmalade. We got a cab back to the train station and got the 11:40 train to Inverness. We got to there around 1:45, walked to the Bluebell Guesthouse. It is so lovely and quaint! Room #1. It's all wood and cozy.

Inverness is beautiful - really lovely and Scottish!! Aberdeen in retrospect was not very Scottish, no Gaelic on the signs. The River Ness runs through the city. We walked around the downtown area, discovered some new shops - Tesco and Primark. For supper we went to the Rajah Indian Restaurant. There was a family of five, three wee girls with their parents. They were so adorable all dressed up in their party dresses eating Indian food. The food was excellent - Nan Bread, Korma Chicken with Rice, Samosas, Sag Aloo (the best thing!) and Pakora. There was a couple next to us who ordered two chicken dishes, rice and an order of fries. They ate the chicken with the rice and then with the lovely sauce that was left they used it for their fries! They've done that before!! That's some fine eating!! Very lovely Indian atmosphere with celtic music playing - I love it here!





We walked over the footbridge that crosses the Ness - it's a beautiful evening, everything was twinkling and lovely. Ah, Scotland...

October 13, 2006

I left my beloved Edinburgh on the 10:28 train thankfully it was late by 3 minutes which allowed us to make it!! We took a GNER train where the train guy was pretty intense - did not want to fool around with this Scotsman, he was all business. We had to write down on our BritRail ticket the actual date we were travelling - this was our fourth train ride and we did not have to do this on the previous trips. He kept strict attention to who was getting on at the stations. Not that he should not be doing that but it was much different atmosphere on the GNER trains vs the Virgin trains!

While on the train, an air force jet flew over us and holy cow, it was going super fast. It was quite something to witness!

It took about 3 hours to get to Aberdeen. We took a cab to the St. Ola Guesthouse. The room is nice and cozy and roomy - three beds, a nice bathroom, telly - all the amenities.
We walked all the way to the beach on the North Sea. It was awesome! We stayed there for about 90 minutes watching the tide come in and the surfers going out! We gathered up rocks and shells.
We walked back and stopped at an old church that has been converted to a bar! It's called Soul and we had Manhattans and french fries (tasted just like McDonald's).

October 12, 2006

We left the room around 11 and stopped in at the Scottish Portrait Gallery - I thought there might be a photo/portrait of Ewan - but nae. Onwards to Starbucks for coffee. We stopped at Boots for painkillers and they worked quite well.

We scurried out just before 1 to finally hear the bloody One O'Clock Gun and scurry it was because we were trying to get the blast on Janine's camera! We did hear it but it's not as loud as I thought it would be. We shopped for the rest of the afternoon - we ended up in the Calton Hill area where they filmed scenes in 'Trainspotting' - like where Renton is running for his life and runs into a car. Harvey Nichols is a beautiful store and we each bought our 'One' tees. We also stopped at Sainsbury's and perused the groceries.

Delivered our treasures to the hotel, rested while watching 'The Weakest Link' and 'Deal or No Deal' before going back out for dinner and drinks. We went to the Scotsman's Bar for a Manhattan. Dinner was at the World's End where I had a pint of Tennent's and Smoked Haddock Fishcakes with Chips - delicious!

October 11, 2006

We're on a tour today - going to Blair Castle and the Atholl distillery. Right at this moment we're stuck in a traffic jam - an accident on the highway. Other than the accident & the 'whatevers' on the bus, it's a good tour so far.

Saw the Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument from afar. I want to see them close up! Fran the tour guide explained why it's called Glen Eagles - nothing to do with the bird or the golf term but actually from the french 'église' - there are lots of churches in the glen! Cheers to that! She also talked about the shooting of 15 children with their teacher in Dunblane. There is an altar quilt in the chapel at Stirling Castle with stars representing the wee children and their teacher who tried to protect them.

So we're still stuck on the highway - it seems like about 45 minutes - it would be okay if we were to come back late but they'll probably take time off our visit in the village we'll be visiting this afternoon. The 'whatevers' are so annoying!

Earlier we drove past Grangemouth - well, I understand why 'they' left! Pretty bleak and ugly and it takes alot for me to say anything in Scotland is ugly. Big old oil refineries - very industrial and very flat - houses look plain. There could very well be some redeeming qualities but from the road driving by I could not see any.

We finally got going - drove all the way to Blair Castle. We toured all the rooms - over 30 of them - some of them bedrooms and furniture was quite lovely. Then we had lunch. It consisted of a Potato, Mushroom & Leek Bake, roasted veggies, mashed potatoes and steamed purple cabbage. I counted 10 different types of vegetables! Vegetarian delight!

It's been raining with heavy mist most of the day - it's the first rainy day we've had. We made our way to the Atholl distillery - did the tour and had a free dram of their whisky. I found it very strong. We left after 4 in the pouring rain but the closer we got to Edinburgh it got clearer. We went over the Forth Bridge and saw the big red bridge that has been declared a historical landmark. We arrived just after 6 and headed straight for M&S Food Emporium to get supper. We bought BBQ Chicken Legs, Stilton Cheese with Cranberries, Scottish Cheddar Cheese, a Pumpkin Salad, Cheese Biscuits, Lemon Cheesecakes (that we never did eat...) and a bottle of Port! We had ourselves a delicious feast! And watched telly!

October 10, 2006

The fact that I have survived this long amazes me and that I am here in Edinburgh for my 50th blows my mind.
So after our Starbucks, we made our way to Edinburgh Castle (the view from the castle was the best gift I could ever get!!) via the same route as the day before - down into what was in the 1700's a loch (they drained it so they could build the New Town. It cost 20.30 pounds (for 2) to get in. I really enjoyed it - we were there for about 3 hours and we missed the One O'Clock Gun again... cos we were inside, having some wee drams of whiskies - well, what are you gonna do! You apparently have to be in the 'sound range' of the boom. Hopefully, we'll hear on Thursday!


Bought a thistle pin and matching earrings. It got windy and cool as we were leaving like it was going to rain. Going down the hill I went into Coda, a folk music store. Bought 2 Wolfstone CDs, one live and Runrig's Proterra! We got M&S Food To Go - Bacon, Chicken & Avocado Sandwich, wee cheeses and chips. I must talk briefly about the Marks & Spencer Roquefort & Smoky Bacon chips. They are the BEST chips I've ever had. They taste exactly what they are - they are incredible.

We left for our Mercat Tour just after 6:00, we had to be at the Mercat Cross by 6:45 pm. The tour was quite enjoyable. We went into the underground tunnels of Edinburgh. It was kind of creepy down there. Faith is a grand storyteller and the lager came just in time - I'm so thirsty!

October 9, 2006

Woke up around 9:00, showered and went to Starbucks and it was really HOT again. Had a muffin - typical Starbucks cake muffin - should have had a 'toastie', I love that word!

Walked over to Edinburgh Castle, up the big hill, which was not that bad of a climb. We proceeded to walk down the Royal Mile - stopping at all the lovely shops. We had a 2:00 pm Tennent's at the Royal McGregor pub! Boy, that really got things moving along - I went into a ladies shop and bought a beautiful kilt - it's the Princess Diana Memorial Tartan. Trying on a kilt while you're a wee bit 'sheeted' is quite the experience! We kept sauntering down the Mile, stopping in a celtic shop and buying a Celtic cross. At the end of the Mile is the Scottish Parliment - "There shall be a Scottish Parliment". It's a beautiful modern building at the base of one of the oldest streets and across the street is the Salisbury Craig. The combination of old, modern and nature is overwhelming. We walked a wee bit up the craig - it's steeper than it looks! Next time, we go all the way up!










So now I'm going to speak about Marks & Spencer Food To Go Emporium. This is for people who want to grab something quick and go especially at lunchtime. They is every kind of permutation of sandwich ever, all kinds of salads, cheeses, desserts, juices, etc. It's FANTASTIC and it's cheap and it's good and it's all so lovely packaged. We decided that tonight we would eat in. We bought ourselves some sandwiches and salads for supper. I had a Cajun Chicken Sandwich with a Scottish Salmon Pasta Salad. 'Please sir, can I have some more?'