Rosslyn Chapel

Rosslyn Chapel (map)
November 1, 2008

Continuing with the trend of beautiful weather on any day I leave the city for a trip, this Saturday featured blue skies, bright sunshine, and autumn colours everywhere. We arrived at the chapel, made famous by Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code (which I haven't read but have heard very mixed reviews about), to find it covered in a big ugly scaffoling! We soon learned that they've built this cover to let the chapel dry out before beginning restoration work. In this day and age when results are expected now and there's always some technology to make that happen, it's refreshing to see people relying on simple patience to get the job done. The great benefit of this giant canopy is we had the opportunity to climb up and walk around the roof of the chapel! This won't be possible in the next two years or so when the scaffolding comes down, so I guess we should consider ourselves lucky.






All the photos are from the outside of the building which, while very nice, is nothing compared to the spectacular interior. I don't have any photos from inside since photography isn't allowed, but you can get an idea of what it's like at http://www.dumdum.co.uk/sphericalvr/rosslyn.htm and http://www.dumdum.co.uk/sphericalvr/alter.htm.

One of the neat things the tour guide brought up is the mix of Christian and pagan symbols in the chapel. Figures like the green men, which represent fertility and connection to nature, can be seen alongside carvings of the birth of Christ. Also very cool is the fact that three plants native to North America have been found among the carvings, suggesting that an ancestor of the family who built the chapel might have crossed the Atlantic before Columbus. (Apparently there is ample proof that Columbus was not the first to travel to the New World... I had no idea!) One of those three plants: the trillium! The guide even mentioned that it's the official flower of Ontario.

Another reason to admire the owners (other than the patient roof drying bit) is that they have refused the many requests of scientists and the like to break into the sealed crypt beneath the chapel, rumoured to contain many Sinclairs buried in armour, the Holy Grail, and a number of other treasures. Not knowing just makes it that much better, doesn't it?

Sorry for the lack of photos. I guess you'll just have to come see it for yourself! Only a short ride south on the #15 Lothian city bus :)

A few more photos at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2176479&l=59edf&id=90402206

Hallowe'en, Pagan Style

Samhuinn Fire Festival
October 31, 2008

At home, Hallowe'en these days is mostly filled with adorable small children in adorable costumes and sassy teenagers in i'm-dressed-as-a-teenager-too-cheap-to-buy-my-own-candy costumes. This year, instead of the usual commercial affair, I got to watch a true pagan celebration of fire and demons and symbolism beyond my understanding. I went knowing nothing about what the celebration is for and don't know much more now, but does seem very interesting and was truly a feast for the eyes. Instead of copying and pasting from Wikipedia, I'll just point you to the "source": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain.

Here are a few photos from the parade/show and the link to the full album at the bottom.

My parents read this blog so I won't go into detail about the sorts of things these red people were pretending to do, but the photo on the left captures their excitement quite nicely...

These guys must have been exhausted (or "knackered" as one might say around these parts) after drumming for the full two hours or so.

This is a neat photo from the show on the stage that featured singing, dancing (of the regular and fire varieties), and lots people climbing on top of each other.

The full album can be found at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2176476&l=3e9bc&id=90402206.

Wizards and Warriors and Castles, Oh My!

Bamburgh & Alnwick Castles, Kelso Abbey (map)
October 26, 2008

Dawn (from the US), Angela (from Australia) and I joined up with a tour called Wizards and Warriors, obviously a sight that this would be a day for me to indulge in my nerdy love of Harry Potter. The tour was expensive relative to the ISC get-you-there-bring-you-back approach, but it was nice to visit several places in one day and hear all sorts of history and tidbits during the drive. I'm going to shamelessly steal a blurb from Heart of Scotland's website to explain what we saw:

"This exciting tour explores the violent history of the Borders, visits two of the finest castles in England (Bamburgh Castle and Alnwick Castle) before returning North for the magnificent Wallace Statue and Scott’s View, the finest panorama in the Scottish Borders."

Bamburgh Castle was our first stop and, while it's clearly a beautiful, massive building, I didn't really take much away from it. There are some nice views from the castle since it sits on a crag right on the edge of the coast:

And some awesome nose-picking gargoyles:

One of neatest things is probably what our driver said about the castle - "you can plot history in the walls of Bamburgh - referring to the different layers of stone used throughout the years:

Then we set off for Alnwick (pronounced "ann-nick") Castle. Of the two castles, I liked Alnwick more for one obvious reason: its proximity to Harry Potter. Dawn and I did a "magical history" tour of the castle led by a guy who doubled for Malfoy in the flying lesson scene from the first movie (filmed in the yard below). As Dawn said, maybe being an extra in the movie gives you a free pass on the interview for doing tours of the castle.

Other than the Harry Potter stuff, the castle also sported some very cool detailed statues of archers and soldiers and men hoisting large objects:

The craziest thing about these two castles: they're both inhabited! Can you imagine growing up in a castle? In Alnwick, we quickly toured through the beautiful interior. In the library, there were hundreds of ancient books lining the walls, even shelved above doorways. And sitting in the shadow of these pages from history? You first guess would probably not be a flat screen TV and surround sound system. Unbelievable.

After Alnwick, we crossed back into Scotland and somehow managed to combine a toilet break with a stop at an ancient abbey ruin... only in Scotland. Kelso Abbey, built in the 12th century and severely damaged in the "Rough Wooing" campaign. Advice to men trying to force women into marriage: invading your lady's homeland with armies and attacking its abbeys... not the best approach.

Full album at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2176475&l=84119&id=90402206.

To the garden, we go!

Benmore Botanic Garden (map)
October 11, 2008

It was great to get out of the city and spend a day at the Benmore Botanic Garden. Found on the western side of Scotland, it was a long and picturesque drive. My favourite part of the drive was the dozens of little streams coursing down the hills through little paths that must have taken years and years for the streams to carve out.

This is the famous Redwood Avenue, apparently planted in 1863. On first glance it just looks like a bunch really big trees. If you can see the people standing in the distance and compare those specks to the trees, that will tell you just how massive they truly are! In addition to being enormous, they are also incredibly squishy - like hugging a teddy bear!


This trip also marked the unearthing of my Rebel camera. It was great to be in such a relaxed atmosphere to begin practising with the camera again. My goal is to finish the year with a basic understanding of the camera and how to manipulate it to do what I want!


Full album at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2172308&l=534a2&id=90402206.

Stirling

Stirling (map)
September 27, 2008

Trip number two landed us on an overcrowded public train to Stirling (the giant group of international students being the cause of the overcrowding… oops!). Once again, the first sight of the day was a castle – Stirling Castle.

This is the Great Hall with a beautifully redone ceiling.

A very delayed lunch, quick walk about town, and confused bus ride later, we found ourselves at the National Wallace Monument. You might know William Wallace by way of Mel Gibson and his Braveheart, a film I’m sad to say I haven’t had the pleasure of enjoying. This was a really enjoyable stop because the free audio guide and detailed displays made it a history-filled afternoon.

Lesson of the day: sunlight really does just make everything better, especially after walking about under grey skies.























The full album for this trip is at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2169738&l=0849c&id=90402206. Enjoy!

St. Andrews, Fife

Most of the trips I’ve done have been organized by the International Students Centre at the university, which is run by other international students! These trips are great for the value (prices are often less than just one entry ticket into the tourist destination), hassle-free transportation, and plethora of international students for you to meet!

The next few posts play catch-up and highlight some photos from these trips.

St Andrews, Fife (map)
September 20, 2008

My first trip out of Edinburgh was a daytrip to St Andrews - home of golf, former ecclesiastical capital of Scotland, and a town famous for giving Prince William a university degree.

Our first stop was at the ruins of St Andrews Castle. Seeing the remains of what must have been a majestic building makes you wonder at what point people decided it's okay to stop taking care of it.






















Next up were the ruins of St Andrews Cathedral.





























Christophe, from Belgium also on exchange at Edinburgh, and I decided to climb up the very narrow 157 stairs up St Rule’s Tower. (Christophe has this photo on his blog, minus the crazy hair!)




















From this view, you can see the site of the castle ruin behind the tips of the spires.


























After a delicious lunch at a little sandwich shop, we wandered around town and past the Old Course. I decided that bringing two barely charged camera batteries would be the perfect way to not get many photos of the afternoon, but managed to snap this one of a fantastic street sign loaded with meaning...



















...and this one proving that people in St. Andrews really like St. Andrews! (That blob you can see way in the distance is the castle.)

The full album at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2169716&l=54c0c&id=90402206 has many more photos from this trip. Once again, they're on Facebook but you don't need to be a member of Facebook to see them!

And so it begins...

Hello there! Thanks for stumbling onto my little blog. This will be a way to keep track of my year studying at the University of Edinburgh and the (mis)adventures that come with it. The posts will not be pages of stories but more photo highlights (with links to various galleries) and little tidbits of information or thoughts.

I've named the blog siubhal (apparently pronounced "shu-al"), which is means "travel" or "journey" in Gaelic. I thought it fitting because this isn't only a physical journey of going to see new places and sights but also a mental and emotional journey of experiencing things that are foreign to me. By "foreign," I don't mean eating haggis or seeing lots of people in kilts (which actually isn't that common here since kilts are a highland thing and Edinburgh is in the lowlands). I use "foreign" in the sense that I've been forced to step out of my comfort zone. When I first decided to come to Scotland, lots of people (myself included) thought, "Scotland? Well, that won't be nearly as difficult/scary/unfamiliar as going to Ghana." In fact, it has been an equally, if not more, challenging adjustment here but for very different reasons. I don't want to get too deep on you here so I'll leave it at that for now.

I'll be making posts for each little trip and may throw in a random post here and there. There will be links to photo albums and many of these albums are on Facebook. You do not need to be signed in to view the albums and this is definitely not an endorsement asking you to join Facebook - it is simply a convenient place to post photos.

Map
I've put together a Google Map for all you visual learners and because I like maps. All of my trips and other points of interest in Edinburgh are (or will be) placemarked with little icons. Click the icon for more information and/or a link to a photo album (if there is one).

Email Updates
I've set up something similar to what I did for my Ghana blog so you can be notified when the blog is updated. To get an email when a new post is made, join the group at http://groups.google.com/group/siubhal. I think you can join the group no matter what email service you use (although I recommend gmail if you haven't tried it yet) but if you have any problems, please let me know.

Looking forward to sharing this year with you...

Evonne :)