Black & White & Loved

I have loved pandas my entire life.  I got a stuffed panda when I was four who was nearly as tall as I was (remember, I have always been short!) and I aptly named him, 'Panda'.  I currently have two stuffed pandas in Edinburgh. Both were gifts - one I brought with me (his name is 'Little One' because he is wee and came in the panda adoption kit from WWF that Matthew gave me for Christmas a few years ago) and one I was given as a good-bye gift from the zoo.

Working at Edinburgh Zoo was so amazing because I got to go see the pandas on my lunch break.  A daily hit of my favourite, endangered, adorable animal?  Yes, please!  I could just stroll in and be like,   " 'Sup, Tian Tian?"  I still watch Tian Tian over Edinburgh Zoo's pandacam.  I also stalk the Smithsonian and San Diego Zoo's panda webcams.

One day the Smithsonian webcam offered me up this treat:

I feel that this sums up in a nutshell why I love pandas so much.  He was tired and decided a faceplant nap was in order.  He stayed like this for ages!

Tian Tian at Edinburgh Zoo is easily my favouritest panda, though.  I give you this video in which she proves that fully grown pandas can be every bit as adorable as their cubs:

And there you have it.  The Giant Panda: Black and White and Loved all over the world. :)



P.S.  If you, too would like to become a panda stalker, these links will help:
http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/pandacam.html
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam/index.html
(They have a panda cub!  Squeee!)
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas/ 
(The Smithsonian one is particularly great because the camera moves and follows the pandas around and also shows them sleeping at night) 

Come Walk With Me

I recently started a short-term post at the University, and my walk to work is really quite extraordinary.  There is some exquisite architecture along the way so I took my camera with me the other morning so you, too, can walk with me. :)

All Aboard!

My newest favourite recommendation of a great day out near Edinburgh is a trip out to Inchcolm Island to explore its Abbey and World War II defences, and admire the magnificent Forth Rail Bridge on your journey there and back.  Matthew and I went out on a beautiful (but cold!) October day and I definitely would like to go back again!  The boat ride out has commentary on all the islands in the River Forth and how they were used for defensive purposes during WWII (you can still see the defenses), and the boat's leisurely pace allows you to really take in and admire the massive Forth Bridge and to get up close enough to admire some of its 6,500,000 rivets!

Once we had arrived at Inchcolm we disembarked, found a sunny spot against one of the Abbey's walls, and ate our picnic while taking in Edinburgh's impressive skyline from across the water. Then came the truly fun part - poking about the Abbey from its highest height to its sandy beaches and into the nearby Hermit's House.  We even found Matthew a Viking!

The red Forth Rail Bridge with the road bridge to the left.

Our boat and the bridge.

Matthew finds a very accessible seal to hang out with under the Forth Rail Bridge.

Our lovely 'cruise' ship.  :)

Detail of the Forth Rail Bridge.  The Victorians knew what they were doing!  You can see the train track going through one of the double cantilevers.

Started in 1883 and completed in 1890 the Bridge is still a marvel of engineering.

A close-up of one of the double cantilevers which not only give the bridge its strength, but its beauty.

In sight of our destination!

Disembarking and approaching the Abbey.

Edinburgh's famous landmarks as seen from Inchcolm.  At the left is Arthur's Seat, with several church spires punctuating the Royal Mile before reaching Edinburgh Castle on the right.

Sailing in the Forth with Royal Mile church spires in the distance.

The desolate beach at Inchcolm Island.

Some of Inchcolm's plant-life and its wee lighthouse.

The abbey's amazing weathervane!

Hermit's house

I found my own way in...

Centuries of former rooflines exposed.

A wee boy Matthew quite admired for obvious reasons! 

Matthew and the Abbey.

Look who we found on the way back home!

Good-bye Inchcolm, we hope to visit you again.

If you want to read up more about the Forth Rail Bridge, go here.