A Long Weekend for the Humanities

Having trouble with the Flickr photo site at the moment...so pictures to follow soon.

Spent the weekend up in and around Edinburgh, Scotland. From the minute of our arrival (well, earlier I guess) I had the biggest smile on my face, from the o so delightful accents to the cheery nature of most of the people we met on to the spectacular scenery, both urban and natural. I was constantly assaulted by the legacies of the likes of Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns (came a week earlier for the haggis eating festivities of Burns' night), William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, Mary Queen of Scots, Rob Roy, MacBeth, and Miss Jean Brodie, to name a mere few, historic and fictional. The core of Edinburgh is a world heritage site, and it truly shows--yet the city is still vibrantly alive with life, just as it has been for centuries. Pubs, clubs, musuems, churches, restaurants, and a university--all still very much there and thriving. The city is built upon an extinct series of volcanoes, and the hilly terrain was a welcome change, although our legs were feeling it by the end of the trip, particularly on Saturday when we ran into two sophomores from Boston College and spent the day trekking from the hill on one side of the city where Admiral Nelson's monument stands down into the valley past Holyrood Palace on up to Arthur's seat, tallest, coldest, and windiest point in the city. The entire journey on foot took a good 5 hours or thereabouts, without food save for an early breakfast and a lunch at the end that bordered on high tea time. Lunch was "haggis, neeps, and tatties" or sheep entrails (lungs, heart, liver, etc) ground up and boiled inside a sheep stomach served with mashed potatoes and turnips, a traditional Scotch food apparently still quite readily devoured. Washed down with a hot toddy, it was none too bad and tasted quite like a hamburger. Figure I got the carbs and proteins replenished after miles of hiking...

After continuing my tour of European church sites to attend mass in lovely St. Mary's cathedral on the new town side, we had a brief night out on the town centered around Randy catching up on his American football near Grassmarket, the university area. Bidding out BC friends good bye, it was off to bed and early to rise for a long trans-Scotland journey--"the race to Loch Ness and Back"--otherwise read as 12 hours in a bus surrounded by the magestic splendor of the highlands. Drove past Banockburn and Sterling Castle, both playing key roles in the stories of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce (to whom the name Braveheart truly applies--he sent his heart to be buried in the Holy Land and it didn't quite make it, to abbreviate the story). The bus briefly passed Doune Castle, that of Monty Python fame, and then we went on to the Trossacks, the Highlands in miniature and the old stomping grounds of Rob Roy, enshrined in movies and the work of Sir Walter Scott. Up to Loch Ness and all it's associated legends and stories, including the history of Urquhart Castle, around the Loch at Inverness and down to Pitlochry, passing Burnam Woods of MacBeth lore somewhere along the way. The back to Edinburgh and the town of Miss Jean Brodie.

Monday was spent touring the city again, going on the Scotch whisky heritage tour, and seeing Mike and Randy off on their over priced castle tour as Kevin, Arnold and I took in views of the old city beneath a rainbow. A bit of tourist shopping was in order, with a few key acquisitions. Last item on the agenda before hopping the Flying Scotsman back to London was a fabulous lunch of venison stew at a little place next to the hostel. It was so scrumptious, I'd travel back simply for a full meal at Doric restaurant, with a history dating back to the 18th century. Edinburgh seems a small thriving city of the arts, a center of finance and commerce, but also history and the cultured life. An excellent start to our wanderings among the Isles.