December Recap: Final Days

My final days in Scotland after my trip into the Highlands involved studying for my Psychology final and trips to Linlithgow, St. Andrews, Glasgow and Edinburgh- the final two in the same day!

The city of Linlithgow is a few train stops out of Stirling (about 16 miles) and boasts a beautiful palace that housed a few Scottish monarchs in the 16th century. Situated along the pretty Linlithgow Loch, the palace was a clean ruin, fun to explore and get lost along the several open-air floors. In the centre was an intricate stone fountain, and the other rooms held spiral staircases, a dilapidated great hall, and a very tall tower that looked out over the courtyard and the loch. We also had a minute to explore the nearby ruins of Blackness Castle on the rocky shores of the Firth of Forth, from where I could see at a distance the distinct red Forth Bridge that runs from Edinburgh to Fife.

A deer on the fountain

The courtyard at Linlithgow Palace

The view from the top

The next day we took some time in Bridge of Allan, Stirling's little neighbor with a population of 5,000, a town actually closer to the campus than Stirling itself, and stopped into a local brewery. The next day a few friends and I explored St. Andrews; while the others had made a visit at the beginning of the year, I had been in Inverness, but was glad I took the time to visit! The ruins of the castle looked out over some interesting rock formations in the water, and the pointed ruins of St. Andrew's Cathedral were extremely picturesque, and I explored the massive cemetery at its feet for a long time. We grabbed a quick lunch and for dessert I had a taste of Scotland's infamous deep-fried Mars Bar, which was essentially a calorie-laden, gooey and crispy goodness; luckily we had decided to split one and a bite was more than enough. Afterwards a few of us walked out onto a rock projection into the North Sea and played on the beach (in December!) during the sunset before heading home.

The view from the castle towards the cathedral

A deep-fried Mars Bar!

Cathedral ruins at St. Andrew's

Looking back towards the town

Fun on the beach

We had a night out and the next morning headed off to Glasgow for a little ice-skating in the Christmas-decorated George Square. While the skating was a blast, our friend from England who was officially on her first day of break nearly fractured her arm; and to make matters worse we had to say goodbye to her for the last time! After parting we went to Edinburgh and strolled around the Christmas markets and New Town for a bit before heading home.

George Square in Glasgow

Ice skating with friends

Goodbye Edinburgh!

My last day in Scotland I spent packing, shopping for sweets to bring home, and in general spending as much time with my friends as possible. That night we had a meal at the Kilted Kangaroo, a cute Australian-themed restaurant famous for kangaroo burgers (I opted for chicken); before a few of my friends and I walked across Stirling Bridge, found some swings in a park along the River Forth, and climbed a hill called Gowan Hill for a view of the city and the distant Stirling Castle at night (beside us rested the Beheading Stone, thought to have been used in the 15th century for executions-yikes!)

Stirling at night from Gowan Hill

Since my taxi arrived at 3 am for my trip to the airport, I didn't sleep but continued packing and chatting with friends until the morning, during which we were forced to say goodbye. My adventure continued to the airport as I flew to Paris to connect for a flight to Salt Lake City; unfortunately the Paris security workers were on strike, and after a harrowing time in the security line and a mercifully delayed flight and new connection provided by the workers in Salt Lake, I made it home after around 48 hours with little sleep, and around 15 of those hours in a pressurized tube.

Despite being happy to be home, I miss Scotland and am so grateful for my experience!

Edinburgh

This Saturday I took a trip with some friends to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland (the eighth most populous city in the UK with only a little under 500,000 people)! I was surprised at the convenience of taking the hour-long train into the city and impressed with the price- £8.50 on the weekends for return fare seems like a great bargain. Once off the train I was mesmerized with the architecture of this historical 12^th century city, especially the dark rock and spires of Old Town, fading in and out of a nice morning Scottish mist. We walked up part of the Royal Mile, an artery clogged with tourist shops that runs from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse (the queen’s official Scottish residence during her weeklong stay- luckily the Royal Family was out, so I was able to take the tour). 

I love these buildings!

I believe this is along the Royal Mile

“Entering” a castle is a bit of a misnomer, as there are often so many different buildings behind the fortifications that it is hard to determine what part is actually a “castle,” but suffice it to say I visited several places inside Edinburgh’s walls and will have to come back again to catch the rest! 

Edinburgh Castle

Among a few things we had time for, I took a brief walking tour, saw the chapel built for St. Margaret in about 1130 (I cannot believe I am able to see things roughly 300 years older than the written history of my country), looked out over a misty New Town, and briefly passed by the Crown Jewels of Scotland reposing in a dimly lit glass case. 

Part of the Scottish National War Memorial inside the Castle

Me in front of the War Memorial (built in 1927)

A ceiling in the Royal Palace

A view of the city from the Castle

A piper on the street

The magnificent St. Giles' Cathedral

Yes, Scotland has these too!

Lovely!

We walked to the end of the Royal Mile to take a tour of Holyrood Palace. While there were not many buildings towards the end of the mile, the palace sits at the feet of a beautiful group of hills, the tallest of which is called “Arthur’s Seat” and looks out over the city (I will have to walk this next time I visit). Unfortunately for beautiful Edinburgh, some architect erected a really weird art museum next the pal- wait, that’s the new Scottish Parliament building?! I couldn’t believe it. Stuck between wonderfully quaint brick-and-chimney houses and the Hogwarts-like Holyrood is the home of the Scottish Parliament, an expensive and homely creation circa 2004 (think M.C. Escher meets Pick-up Sticks).

Myself in front of the lovely Palace of Holyroodhouse

The courtyard inside

While inside the Palace I was not able to take pictures, but please take a look at the official website or Google to see some of the gorgeous rooms I was able to visit! The audio walking tour was informative and pleasant, and I felt humbled to see all the rooms as they have existed for royalty for many years. There was a small room devoted entirely to the collections of past monarchs, with small trinkets, hand-written notes and portraits that have been somehow preserved for hundreds of years. If the interior weren’t beautiful enough, at the very end we were able to visit the Palace Gardens and the incredible ruined nave of Holyrood Abbey, which may be my favorite thing thus far! There is something very powerful for me in old churches, and this abbey also had the glamour of being mostly destroyed, with a missing roof, mossy pillars and weathered rocks. I have a free pass to visit the Palace again so I may definitely come back to enjoy its presence! 

In Edinburgh I also did a little shopping and bought a beautiful Celtic knot necklace (Celtic jewelry was very popular with vendors here) for just 10 pounds. I tried a bit of haggis that my friend ordered at a restaurant, and while it looked infinitely more appetizing than I expected, it tasted like a creamy ground beef. I am aware that haggis is lamb, but to a person who rarely eats any meat but turkey and chicken, everything else tastes the same; so to my unsophisticated carnivore’s palate, haggis tasted like a hamburger!

That day we also stopped in at The Elephant House Café, proud to claim JK Rowling as an occupant in the days of first Harry Potter manuscripts. A friend I met recently who lives in Edinburgh actually has the author for a near neighbor and saw her at Starbucks writing something that could have been the last book! There were no famous authors milling about on Saturday but I had wonderful chocolate cake and a small pot of nettle tea. We walked through Greyfriars Kirkyard as the sun went down and the rain started, and saw the famous grave of the man whose loyal dog would not leave his master even in death. We ended at Grassmarket street and then turned for home. Even with a good 9 or so hours in the city there was so much left to see, and I am thankful we are close enough to visit again anytime!

In Greyfriars Kirkyard

Sunday I visited St. Mary’s Catholic Church for the first time and forgot to take pictures of the beautiful, towering rose-colored exterior and lovely windows, but I will remember next time! After church I attended a lunch with other members of the church in the priest’s house next door and was spoiled with an assortment of wonderful foods- soup, fresh bread, Scottish mince meat pies, “millionaire’s shortbread,” rhubarb-raspberry pie and thick squares of something called “flapjack” in Scotland that does not refer to a pancake but rather a soft and chewy sweet like a granola bar. I also had my first student radio show with my friend that day. This weekend was a lot of fun!