Train to Glasgow

Matthew and I went to Glasgow last weekend to visit a friend from undergrad who is now doing her PhD there.  It was nice to get a chance to see more of the city in which we landed in August.  It had snowed all of Friday night, so the hour's train ride west was a real treat, with views of pristine countryside the whole way there.

While there, we got to explore the Botanic Gardens.

Which were filled with many interesting treasures like this quirky little monkey disguised as a pumpkin...

... and these amazing fiddle heads.  I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but they were huge!

It was nice to explore and see all the jungle plants and tiny, beautiful flowers while just outside everything was covered in a blanket of snow.

We then took a walk along the River Kelvin.

Where we were thrilled to see this little guy who reminds us of home...

...and to see such beautiful architecture along our snowy walk.

We also ran into the first of many representations/ tributes to St. Mungo (Kentigern) that can be found in Glasgow.

After lunch we headed to the Kelvingrove Museum to admire it's stunning architecture and lovely interiors.

I concluded that if the movie "Night at the Museum" were to actually happen it would be really freaky at this museum!

We learned many interesting things, including:

Kiwi birds lay the largest eggs, when one takes into account the proportions of the egg compared to body size.

I got to hang out with Queen Vic...

...and Matthew got to hang out with Odysseus and Homer!

Oh, and this one's for Uncle Bob:

After meeting such illustrious folk we needed to recover but we were out in force again the next day.

We got to see beautiful Glasgow University...

... and then we were off traveling in Glasgow's wee subway system!

We lunched at a reproduction of the Willow Tea Rooms, built by famous Glasgow architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

After that we set off on a hunt to find the St. Vincent Street Church, built by another famous Glasgow architect, Alexander "Greek" Thomson.  The church is used by the Free Church of Scotland and is absolutely mind-blowing.  It is a combination of Greek, East-Indian, Egyptian and Assyrian influences.

After a walk down a quaint black-and-white lane it was off home again.  With so much left undone, we will definitely have to visit again!

The Skies of Bonnie Scotland

One of the things I have most been enjoying about living in Scotland are the spectacular skies.  When we first got here I couldn't figure out why we were blessed with such spectacular sunsets every night, but then I realised that it is because there are almost always clouds in the sky.  Cloudless days have their charms, but they make for lousy sunsets!  I love looking up at the sky at the tiered levels of clouds and varying shades of blue and waiting for a magnificent pink-and-orange sunset.  I know that the Prairies of Canada boast some great skies, but I did not grow up there, so know nothing about them.  But I know that in Edinburgh it is not uncommon to have great stacks of clouds high in the sky, with lower, fast-moving clouds scuttling their way across the city.  Or to have the whole sky filled with cotton ball clouds.  Or to look out the window and get excited for a good downpour because the sky has suddenly gone ominously dark.  Or to look again and have my breath taken away by a brilliant rainbow piercing the clouds after a rainfall.

I think that the sky has become more a part of my day because of the topography of the city.  Edinburgh is so hilly that as you walk through it you have constantly changing vantage points. One moment you feel that the city is beneath you and that the sky is all around you and a few minutes later the roofltops are etched against the sky as you look up at them.

Right now, in winter, the sky is perhaps a little less exciting as there is less light, but I am looking forward to Spring and once again seeing the gorgeous sunsets out of my own living room window.

I was reminded of my admiration for Scottish Skies on recent day trip to Stirling, during which we got a whole day full of an impressive balance of light and cloud, pictured below.

This is my home, it's where I live...

The snow had gone, but now it's come back.  Hopefully we will have a white Christmas after all!

American Thanksgiving

I know that American Thanksgiving was several weeks ago and that I am a wee bit late in posting this, but I thought I would anyways.

Matthew & I, Trisha & Corey, and Kathleen & David went over to Jennifer & Lonnie's flat to celebrate.  There was a ton of food, as always, including some dishes I had never had before like green bean casserole, pineapple casserole and gooey butter squares.  Here is our evening, as captured on film and video:

 

Me, Trisha, Corey, Kathleen, David, Jennifer, Lonnie

Trisha and her home made pumpkin pie

Our Smorgassboard

Chilling after the main event and trying to digest so that dessert would fit!

Our gracious hostess

A city transformed

Scotland is not a country that gets a lot of snow.  Edinburgh is not a city that is prepared to deal with it.  But that does not prevent snow coming and transforming a familiar landscape into one of outstanding beauty.  Matthew and I went out to tramp about and capture the look of our home with its mantle of snow.  Here are a few of my favourites:

The courtyard of New College, where Matthew studies.

Edinburgh Castle and the Mound

The Spire of St. Giles Cathedral

Rooftops as seen from Granny's Green Steps

Arthur's seat with it's crown of snow

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Snow really is magical.  I think its magic lies in its beauty as it falls and its ability to make individuals feel empowered and the world seem a better place.  At least, that is how I felt as the flakes began to fall during our celebration of American Thanksgiving.  As they came down the world changed into a happier, better place.

I say this because all of a sudden that little flat was a flurry of activity.  Squealing females were bowling over their husbands in their rush to get to a window.  Cameras were grabbed.  "Oohs" and "Aaahs" were the vocabulary of the moment.  A night which had previously been declaimed as "bitterly cold" was suddenly a welcomed guest as window sashes were thrown open to let in the magical, sharp, pure air of a first snow.

Trisha and I were suddenly children as we donned our footwear and dashed down to the street to capture the snow on our tongues and on film.  We were not the only ones to be transported back to childhood by the snow. And you know what?  All the people on that street shared a common emotion: Happiness.  Jubilation, even, in some cases as the snow was gazed upon, held, shuffled through, or scooped up to aim at friends.

You see, the first snow does not bring thoughts of having to shovel, or of the dangers of ice and the annoyance of slush.  The first snow is enjoyable.  A celebration.

Walking home afterwards through that pure, perfect air with the silent snow around us was an untainted delight.