Kilts and Bagpipes Galore

This past weekend I had the pleasure of jetting up north to Edinburgh, Scotland with my friends Brittanee and Catherine.  We were all very excited to take in the rugged Scottish landscape and of course kilts, bagpipes, shortbread, and plaid a plenty.  We departed the Crofton on Friday evening and after a pit stop at Snog for a delicious frozen yogurt we headed to the Victoria Coach Station to catch our night bus.

After sleeping throughout the 9 hour bus ride, we finally made it to the city gleaming with early morning sunlight.  Our first order of business was to drop off our bags at our hostel so that we could start experiencing all that the city has to offer.  We next headed to a cute cafe up the street to grab a hearty breakfast.  Along the way, we saw the famous Blackfriar's Kirk Dog statue.  I couldn't help but give it a pet.

Blackfriar's Kirk Statue

At the cafe, we all appreciated the strong coffee and freshly made breakfast favorites.  I had the eggs and toast and got a scone to go to enjoy later in the morning.  As Catherine and Brittanee often quote, "Travel Rule Number 2: Never travel without snacks."

Next, we headed up to the main street of the Old Town called the Royal Mile.  It is filled with cute shops that sell all of your favorite Scottish goods including thousands of cashmere sweaters and scarves, custom-made kilts, and tons of bagpipes.  We had fun window shopping and looking at all of the touristy stores. Continuing on, we made our way towards Hollyroodhouse Palace which is the official residence of the royal family when they are visiting Edinburgh.

Hollyroodhouse Palace

After taking a few pictures, we began our epic journey into Hollyrood Park to climb a huge hill to what is known as Arthur's Seat. Myth has it that this is one of the possible locations of Camelot, hence the name refering to King Arthur.

Beginning the climb

We took our own path weaving back and forth up the steep hill.  I am happy that we decided to take our own way because it allowed us to go at our own pace and take in the breathtaking views free of the other people also making the hike.  The sun was shining and the green grass and fresh air made for an extremely enjoyable hike. 

View along the way up

After about 45 minutes we made it up to the peak and one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. Standing up on top of the hill it literally felt like you were on top of the world.  We felt very accomplished for having hiked up and had a small photo shoot to document our victory.

We made it!

Gorgeous view

On top of the world

On the way back down, we stopped to just sit and soak in the view for a little while longer.  I enjoyed my scone that I had taken to go from the restaurant.

Enjoying my scone

After we returned to the base of the hill, we decided to head back up the Royal Mile to find some place to sit and get tea.  We chose a cute little cafe called Clarinda's which was complete with lace table cloths, a side table overflowing with baked goodies, and a local crowd. 

We all ordered traditional tea and a pastry from the display. Everything was delicious! Our next stop was the Edinburgh Castle.  Walking back up the Royal Mile Brittanee and I purchased plaid cashmere scarves and Catherine bought a Barbour jacket.  We also saw our first official bagpiper of the trip!

Do you know "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang?

After our quick shopping spree, we finally made it up to the castle.  Perched on top of the volcanic Castle Rock and surrounded by battlements, the castle is a very intimidating structure. 

Edinburgh Castle

The castle has lived through a very tumultuous past and today stands as a living testament to Scotland.  Inside the castle walls, we had the chance to see the Scottish crown jewels, examples of Scottish armor and regalia, and the Prisoners of War exhibit.  This castle reminded me a lot of the Tower of London because of the similar feel to the structures and history.

Finishing up at the castle, we decided to return to our hostel to get settled in and relax before going out for dinner.  Our room was nice, but the consensus was that the hostel was not your typical hostel because it did not have many people our age who were just visiting for the weekend at it.  For dinner we went to a restaurant called 54 Bar Kohl for burgers.  Then, we went to an Irish pub to watch some Six Nations Tournament Rugby.  After about an hour watching we finally started to get a feel for the game and decided that it would be a fun sport to follow in the future. Exhausted we returned to the hostel and went straight to bed.

Our second day in Edinburgh began with a trip to the famous Elephant House for breakfast! 

In this cafe, J.K. Rowling sat in the back room near a window overlooking the Edinburgh Castle to write Harry Potter.  Her thoughts of Harry, Dumbledore, and Hogwarts were originally jotted down on napkins. Being a huge Harry Potter fan, I was very excited to get to sit and enjoy a meal here.

Writing my novel just like J.K. Rowling

It is easy to see how J.K. Rowling was so inspired by this place.  So dramatic and robust rising out of the mountainous cliff, the view of the castle was spectacular.  It reminded me of Hogwarts in a heartbeat.

Edinburgh Castle from the back room of the Elephant House

After breakfast, we began to make our way down to the Edinburgh Harbor to see the Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia. This is the second royal yacht to bear the name Britannia.  Before being permanently retired to Edinburgh Harbor, this ship sailed over 1,000,000 nautical miles around the world.  Queen Elizabeth II and many members of the royal family have lived on this boat for extended periods of time during journeys.  Prince Charles and Princess Diana even spent their honeymoon on the boat.  The Queen said that she felt the Britannia was more of her home than any other palace and is known to have shed a tear during her final disembarkment from the vessel.

On the ship, we took a guided audio tour through all of the main cabins and decks.  I really enjoyed getting to see all of the bedrooms and living quarters and learning more about the royal family.  The rooms displayed many family photos throughout the years along with the furniture and decorative treasures.

Queen Elizabeth II talking with the crew

William and Harry...too precious to handle

Royal dining room

Drawing room where the royal family spent their evenings

Throughout the tour I learned that the ship was manned by a crew of 250 individuals.  While on board they were addressed by first name by the royal family.  Additionally, the crew had to use flag and hand signals while on duty because they were forbidden to yell commands.

Ship's flag

While on Britannia, we got to see the royal racing yacht Bloodhound and the ship's bell.

Us with Britannia's bell

Me with the Royal Racing Yacht

Loving every moment on board, we chose to have lunch in the Royal Tea Room. Flooded with natural light and featuring views of the water, it was such a relaxing environment. I had an amazing chicken, bacon, and brie sandwich and split a piece of chocolate fudge cake with Catherine.

To end our time in Edinburgh we walked back to Old Town and picked up our things at our hostel.  We had dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant named Jimmy Chung’s and took in a stunning sunset as we hopped on the Airlink bus to head to the airport.

Edinburgh skyline with the sunset

From the amazing hike up to Arthur's Seat to exploring the Royal Yacht, Edinburgh is one trip that I will always remember.

Legally London

This week has been a busy one at work.  Daily press clippings took quite a while towards the beginning of the week because there were so many movies and events that the clients were involved in over the weekend.  It was very interesting to help out with last minute details for the First Light Awards which took place on Tuesday at the Odeon in Leicester Square, as well as with other big projects that others in the office have been working on.

On Monday evening I ran back from work to meet my friend Brittanee to go to buy half price theatre tickets for a musical.  We made it to Leicester Square and stopped at one of the many ticket booths around.  After searching for tickets for a few shows, we decided to see Legally Blonde!  In a little over twenty minutes, we found ourselves in our seats ready to see the show.  I was really excited that this was the show we selected, because neither of us had seen it before.  Additionally, I have been dying to see it for a few years now.  The show was great!  It was one of those shows that you just can't stop smiling during because it is so ridiculously funny and entertaining.  I loved dancing along to some of my favorite songs including "What You Want" and "So Much Better"and just seeing the show performed live.  After the show we headed to McDonalds for a quick late night snack before stopping in Trafalgar Square to see the brand new Olympic Countdown clock which was just revealed that day.

Today during class we got to attend the Ideal Home Show at the Earl's Court Convention Center.  The expo reminded me so much of the sales displays at the Minnesota State Fair in the Grandstand except on a much larger scale.  The show features just about everything that you would like for your home.  My first stop in the expo was the food area which had many free samples and food demonstrations.  I stopped for a few minutes to watch one of the celebrity chefs prepare a dish.  Next, I saw the "Ideal Woman" section which had many little jewelry, accessories, and clothing stands, free hair and makeup displays, and a fashion show with choreographed dancers.  I got a free manicure in one section of the exhibition.  In the center of the convention center there was a huge pond with boats and a restaurant to have tea which was surrounded by waterfalls.  The ground floor featured hundreds of booths with home improvement goods and outdoor goods.  There even were two model homes contained within the building!  Overall walking around at this huge event and taking in all of the action made for a very relaxing Friday morning.

Life Is Too Short Not To Be Irish!

As the Irish saying states "Life is too short not to be Irish," and today I did just as this saying suggests by experiencing the Irish life.  This morning I headed to Trafalgar Square with my roommate Catherine and friend Mandi to experience the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival.  When we first arrived we headed to the center of the Plaza to listen to couple of Irish bands: Xander and the Peace Pirates and The Davitt Showband. 

Fountain in Trafalgar Square

Next, we headed to the edge of the plaza to watch the parade pass by.  It was lots of fun to see all of the bands playing traditional Irish music, enthusiastic crowd members decked out from head to toe in green, white, and orange, and the cool parade floats. 

After the parade, we met up with our friends Katherine and Heidi and headed back to the stage to watch some Irish step dancers from the Delaney School of Irish Dancing.  They were so talented!  It was fun to cheer them on during their performance.

Irish step dancers on stage

In between performances Katherine and Heidi ordered a traditional Guinness from one of the vendors who was walking around with a cooler backpack decked out with a tall flag proclaiming "I sell Guinness." 

Mandi and I enjoyed singing along to the Beatles' hits that were blasting from the speakers while we decided where to go for lunch.  In the end, we decided upon a British pub to warm up and have a delicious meal.

Mandi, Catherine, and I enjoying the live music

Before long we headed back to the crowded square to see a few more performers.

View of the festival

My favorite band of the day was Beoga, a traditional Irish folk band.  They played a lot of great jig music and kept the crowd very excited.  Every time they would start an energetic chorus the crowd would erupt into cheers and begin jumping up and down to the beat.  It was the perfect end to the very Irish experience!

Contemplating History

This morning Katherine and I set out for a day of exploring two of London's best museums: The Museum of London and the Imperial War Museum. 

Our day began with a trip on the Tube to The City to see the exhibits at the Museum of London. When we arrived at the museum we headed straight to the special exhibition entitled London Street Photography. This exhibit featured photographs of major city locations, such as Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street, and The City, between the years of 1860 and 2011.  It was amazing to see how much the famous locations in London have changed over the years.  Here are some of my favorite prints from the exhibit as found on the museum website.

Fleet Street during the 1920s

Piccadilly Circus during the 1920s

Great image showing fashions of the past

My favorite picture from the exhibition: Henry Grant's Trafalgar Square from 1955

I especially appreciated seeing the changing fashion and styles of buggies and cars.  It was just so fascinating to see what some of my favorite places looked like over 150 years ago and see how they progressed throughout each of the decades.  Following my advertising class during the first part of my program, it was cool to see street advertisements for some of the most popular brands. Further, it was interesting to learn how the techniques and purposes of photography have changed.  In the past photography was used as a means of capturing day to day life as well as creating social change.  The exhibit ended with some pictures from today juxtaposed with quotes about street photography.  My favorites were, "Street photography is about seeing and reacting" and "Capturing a slice of daily life."

Next, we moved on to the timeline exhibit which showed clothing, toys, furniture, and much more throughout the "recent" history of London. I really enjoyed seeing all of the dresses, shoes, and suits from different time periods.  They made me yearn to watch Pride and Prejudice once again.

Also, I thought it was really cool to see the display of town shops containing all of the objects that would have been found within them. The exhibit featured a pawn shop, bakery, and barber shop, amongst others. The most impressive part of this display was the Lord Mayor's Stagecoach circa 1757.  Bathed in natural light, its gilded edges and hand painted exterior were absolutely amazing.

The Lord Mayor's Stagecoach

Famished, we left the museum to find some lunch.  We decided upon the Gourmet Burger Kitchen which was across the street from St. Paul's Cathedral.  We both had been wanting to try this chain and were definitely craving some burgers and chips.  I was very impressed by my cheeseburger, chips, and chocolate milkshake.

Our next stop of the day was the Imperial War Museum.  Because of the wonderful weather, we decided to make the journey on foot to South Bank.  Along the way we crossed through the courtyard of the Southwark Cathedral. With blooming trees and crowds of people enjoying their treats from the Borough Market, it was a beautiful sight.

Southwark Cathedral

After a nice walk and navigating our way through the underground tunnels guiding us to our destination, we reached the museum.

Imperial War Museum

Before entering the building, we paused to look at a piece of the Berlin Wall which was displayed outside.

Portion of the Berlin Wall

Once inside, we began our visit by looking around at the impressive display of planes, tanks, and missiles found on the main floor.  The planes made me smile because they reminded me of my dad's favorite Christmas tree plane ornaments which are hung each holiday season.

Planes in the entry of the museum

Continuing further inside, we first went to the War through Children's Eyes exhibit.  The goal of the display was to show the visitor what the World Wars would have been like for children living through them.  I felt that it was an interesting take upon the historical material.  Many times we learn about the wars through the perceptions of governments or adults, but rarely do we think what impact they would have upon kids.  By sharing numerous quotes from children and toys, games, and school lessons, the exhibit was very intriguing.  It was interesting to learn that many children were evacuated from the city of London during WWII and sent to live with relatives or in boarding houses in the country.  Because I had never heard about this before, I was fascinated by the stories of individual children and their experiences.  Additionally, I enjoyed seeing the Anderson shelter, a small bomb shelter that many families had in theirs yards to protect themselves during the Blitz.  The tiny interior room was meant to hold six people, although it was hard to imagine that many people fitting within the structure.  I also liked seeing the model 1940s home that they had in the exhibit.  I loved seeing the old appliances and furniture in the kitchen, dining room, and bedrooms.

Kitchen in the 1940s model home

After this exhibit, we headed to the World War I and II displays.  I can easily say that I have never seen such an extensive and well-done exhibit outlining the World Wars.  The impressive amount of artifacts from the wars, paired with the easy to follow informational paragraphs, made this display incredibly detailed and thorough.  It was great to walk through the chronological areas of the exhibit to hear and see the story of the wars played out before me.  The museum even included an "Experience" room for each war to put the visitors into the footsteps of either a soldier or civilian during the Wars.  For WWI the experience was a trench that you could walk through, and for WWII the experience was the "Blitz experience" in which you could sit through an interactive show that demonstrated what it would have been like to live through an air raid. I thought these were a fun way to show what the wars were actually like.  It is one thing to read about the wars and see remnants of them in a display case and a completely different thing to be in a situation that feels life-like.  My favorite part of the WWI display was the personal letters and audio recordings documenting survivors experiences during trench warfare.  In the WWII section, I really enjoyed seeing all of the war time posters urging women to enter the workforce and promoting the rations and seeing the military uniforms.

WWII Poster

Nazi Uniforms

Discussing the exhibition, Katherine and I decided that what this museum did exceptionally well was to present the history of the wars from a neutral viewpoint. We found it interesting recalling what we were taught about the wars in school and how most of what we focused upon was the American involvement.  There was a much broader perspective to the wars which we couldn't remember touching upon in history classes.  This exhibit's ability to present all sides of the war in a captivating method provided a much thorougher look at what truly were worldwide wars.

Our final stop at the museum for the day was the Holocaust Exhibition.  It is difficult to put into words the experience of going through this exhibit.  I think that the museum website describes it best stating, "The silence and intensity of emotion only deepens as you go further into the exhibition."  While everyone has learned about the Holocaust in their history courses, it is a new experience to take time and reflect on the events while seeing pictures, letters, artifacts, and videos about the event.

One of the strengths of this display is that it includes many personal accounts of the Holocaust from survivors alongside the informative descriptions of what took place. Going through the exhibit you could recognize the individuals names and faces and learn about their horrifying experiences. I found it very moving to read the final letters that individuals sent to family members at home as they were entering concentration camps.  Their hopefulness masked their urgency and was both inspiring and heartbreaking.  At the conclusion of the exhibit there was a video of one of the survivors explaining his difficulties in sharing his experiences with others.  While he was in a concentration camp he thought that if he were to someday make it out he would tell the entire world about the atrocities that took place there.  However, when he was freed he struggled for twenty years to tell anyone about his experiences.  It wasn't until his daughter asked him about it specifically that he decided he needed to share.  His reasoning was that if he couldn't tell his own children about his story how would they be able to tell their children about what had happened.

Overall, this exhibit was very well put together.  Its quiet and somber feel gave me time and space to comprehend everything that I was reading, hearing, and seeing. The stark evidence of persecution and slaughter, collaboration and resistance shared in the exhibit left me contemplating the event long after I left the museum.

On A Lovely Saturday Afternoon

Today was a very relaxing and very typically British Saturday.  After sleeping in this morning, my roommate Catherine and I decided to book a table for afternoon tea.  Researching our options on afternoontea.co.uk, we selected the City Cafe in Westminster because of the pictures of delicious looking treats on the site.

At 1:00 we headed to the Pimlico stop on the Victoria Tube Line to do some exploring before sitting down to tea.  Surprisingly, as we began to walk towards Westminster Abbey the cloudy sky cleared up to reveal bright blue skies.  As it was the first time either of us had been in this area of town with the sun out, we snapped a bunch of photos of the monuments. 

Houses of Parliament

Big Ben

Because we had time to kill before our reservation we headed across the Westminster bridge to the area of South Bank. 

A quick snapshot while crossing the Westminster Bridge

It was amazing to have the chance to see the Houses of Parliament from the southern river bank.  It truly is a magnificent sight to behold.  We both agreed that the side that faces the river is a lot more picturesque than the northern side which is cluttered with street lights, fences, and hundreds of tourists.  Viewing it from across the river allowed us to take in all of the beautiful architectural features. 

View of Parliament from South of the Thames

As the time neared our reservation, we headed to the restaurant which was located in the London Mint Hotel.  Because the cafe was nearly empty, we were seated quickly and ordered our traditional English Breakfast Tea.  Our server brought over our tea and we each poured a cup.  It had a nice full-bodied taste and was perfect with one lump of sugar and milk.

Loving every sip

The afternoon tea service was a great deal.  Here, it cost us fifteen pounds and included a selection of four kinds of finger sandwiches, two scones with clotted cream and jam, three pastry desserts, and a small pot of tea each.  All in all, a wonderful bargain!  Soon our server brought over a cake stand for each of us filled with all the traditional tea time delights.

My selection of tea time treats

My favorite items on the tray had to be the scones.  With the cream and strawberry jam, there was just no beating them. The sandwiches were good and the other desserts were so delectable.  By the end of the meal Catherine and I were both so full.  Satisfied with a sugar-coma, there was no way that either of us could have had another bite to eat. 

On our way home on the Tube we decided to stop off at Knightsbridge to see the famous Harrods.  This high-end department store has over 1 million square feet of selling space and 330 departments. It's motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique—All Things for All People, Everywhere and it truly is achieved within this magnificent store. 

We began our journey in the world famous Food Hall.  They have everything that you can ever imagine wanting to eat or drink.  Dim sum, pizza, cheese, tea, pasta, candy, Krispie Kremes, seafood, and so, so much more.  Continuing on past the outstanding jewelry and watch department shimmering with chandeliers and huge diamonds, we found ourselves at the Egyptian Escalator.  All five floors were decked out from floor to ceiling with sumptuous Egyptian inspired decor. There was a stained glass ceiling, golden balconies, and hieroglyphs adorning the walls and columns.  At the top there was a gilded Sphinx and an opera singer serenading all of the shoppers.

We began our explorations of the various floors with the sporting goods featuring tennis, football, and equestrian equipment.  One floor down, we immensely enjoyed the Pet Kingdom which had everything you could ever need for your pet.  They even had puppies for sale! Next, we played around in the toy department.  Nostalgically we relived our childhood through all of the stuffed animals and dolls.  Our favorite toys were the Harrods bears dressed as guards, beefeaters, and scots.  On the next floor, we found furniture, fabulous vintage prints, and a bookstore.  We loved flipping through the book all about Kate and William dedicated to the upcoming wedding.  In the end, I have decided that Harrods is positively brilliant.  It was the most luxurious department store I have and most likely ever will see.

It is days like this that truly remind me why I love London oh so much.