Cross-posting from Livejournal
I think I ended up in the wrong city.
Edinburgh >> Glasgow.
Or it is for two days, at least. I'm not sure about living there. It seems a wee bit touristy. But I would much rather visit Edinburgh than Glasgow.
Took a bus Saturday morning (9:00) and slept the hour over after briefly trying to read some of Robinson Crusoe. [I find I have much in common with Robinson--we both put the idea that "no man is an island" to the test repeatedly]
Dropped our bags off at the hostel, and walked around the Royal Mile and made our way to Edinburgh Castle, which is very impressive, but walking around and standing in awe of the size of the battlements is about all there is to do. You can check out the Scottish crown jewels (thoroughly unimpressive) and Mary, Queen of Scots' birthchamber, where she gave birth to James VI/I.
Much better, though at the entirely opposite end of High Street, is Holyrood House, which is the royal family's little Scottish palace. They still go there every July, and it really is pretty impressive. I thought the audio tour was very good and absorbing, but the people I was with didn't seem to care much.
Right next to Holyrood House is the new Scottish Parliament building. It is approximattely the ugliest edifice I have ever personally seen. Here's a pic:
Actually, the facade is so ugly, they don't even have a picture of it on the official Parliament website. It's ghastly, the bastard child of art-deco and neo-africanism. Or something like that. It may not be art-deco, precisely, but it sounds cool.
I think at this point, we did something else, but I can't remember what it was.
We then ate dinner at a vegetarian restaurant, which was a challenge for me because I not only am a committed carnivore, but absolutely hate most of the vegetables that vegetarian plates are based off of--sweet potatoes, eggplant, carrot burgers. I had mashed potatoes and a salad. And a decent white wine. Yay.
After that, I hung out with two 07s who are in Edinburgh on the Philosophy program. We went to a few clubs, they talked about various parts of women's anatomies, I went back to the hostel.
This morning, we hiked up to the top of Arthur's seat, which is this enormous hill overlooking Glasgow and which affords a breathtaking view. The romantic concept of the sublime might have been born here. I let the wind blow through my hair for about 20 minutes, then we walked down. Here's a pic of the Arthur's Seat, with Edinburgh before it.
We went to the National Galleries, where I saw some darling Raphaels, a dazzling (though small) El Greco, some nice Monets, and a few lesser Van Goghs. I then rode the bus back, sleeping to avoid Robinson Crusoe once more.
Cheers.
Edinburgh >> Glasgow.
Or it is for two days, at least. I'm not sure about living there. It seems a wee bit touristy. But I would much rather visit Edinburgh than Glasgow.
Took a bus Saturday morning (9:00) and slept the hour over after briefly trying to read some of Robinson Crusoe. [I find I have much in common with Robinson--we both put the idea that "no man is an island" to the test repeatedly]
Dropped our bags off at the hostel, and walked around the Royal Mile and made our way to Edinburgh Castle, which is very impressive, but walking around and standing in awe of the size of the battlements is about all there is to do. You can check out the Scottish crown jewels (thoroughly unimpressive) and Mary, Queen of Scots' birthchamber, where she gave birth to James VI/I.
Much better, though at the entirely opposite end of High Street, is Holyrood House, which is the royal family's little Scottish palace. They still go there every July, and it really is pretty impressive. I thought the audio tour was very good and absorbing, but the people I was with didn't seem to care much.
Right next to Holyrood House is the new Scottish Parliament building. It is approximattely the ugliest edifice I have ever personally seen. Here's a pic:
Actually, the facade is so ugly, they don't even have a picture of it on the official Parliament website. It's ghastly, the bastard child of art-deco and neo-africanism. Or something like that. It may not be art-deco, precisely, but it sounds cool.
I think at this point, we did something else, but I can't remember what it was.
We then ate dinner at a vegetarian restaurant, which was a challenge for me because I not only am a committed carnivore, but absolutely hate most of the vegetables that vegetarian plates are based off of--sweet potatoes, eggplant, carrot burgers. I had mashed potatoes and a salad. And a decent white wine. Yay.
After that, I hung out with two 07s who are in Edinburgh on the Philosophy program. We went to a few clubs, they talked about various parts of women's anatomies, I went back to the hostel.
This morning, we hiked up to the top of Arthur's seat, which is this enormous hill overlooking Glasgow and which affords a breathtaking view. The romantic concept of the sublime might have been born here. I let the wind blow through my hair for about 20 minutes, then we walked down. Here's a pic of the Arthur's Seat, with Edinburgh before it.
We went to the National Galleries, where I saw some darling Raphaels, a dazzling (though small) El Greco, some nice Monets, and a few lesser Van Goghs. I then rode the bus back, sleeping to avoid Robinson Crusoe once more.
Cheers.
posted by Andrew at 1:37 PM
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