bits and bobs part 2

loch ness and nessie
i was very excited at the prospect of spotting nessie gliding through the famed loch ness waters... and after the rain cleared i had many opportunities to gaze out at the water from the ruins of uruqhart castle. but in the end i was surprised by where i managed to spot nessie:


and

i also spotted nessie outside of a large gift shop and strapped to a raft near a loch cruise dock. apparently he gets around. otherwise i would be selling these photos to the tabloids.

men in skirts
i don't know what it is... there's just something about men in kilts that i find very attractive. (not really a fan of the hats these boys are wearing in my photo... but still) and lucky for me there was some sort of award ceremony going on at the edinburgh palace. so while jill and i strolled the royal mile we passed many good looking young boys (and some older guys as well) sporting their kilts. :) makes a girl smile.



the perfect close to my trip since i started out my trip with hassle on my amsterdam to edinburgh flight, it's only fitting that i end my trip with more flight hassles. i arrived in london for my 2 hour layover without issue. i bought myself a magazine (that came with a free bathing suit - yes, seriously) and i sat down to read a bit while waiting for my gate number to be posted on the departures screens. when the gate was posted i gathered my belongings and made my way to the gate. it was a bit of a hike, but i didn't mind since i knew i would be sitting for the next 6-7 hours. as i neared where the gate was i saw a large mob standing off to one side. i breezed past them and to my horror - they were waiting to get in to the same gate i was looking for. *sigh* i took myself to the back of the queue and waited patiently. after standing in line for nearly 30 minutes (and our departure time fast approaching) i was finally through to the waiting room (after having my matches taken away from me, which i packed only because lighters are not allowed). it was exactly 30 minutes before our departure time that we were allowed to walk down the hall... at the end of which there was, not a plane, but a bus. we piled on to buses and rode for nearly 20 minutes (no exaggeration here) to our plane. it was one of those gigantic double-decker planes capable of carrying 5,000 passengers (probably a little exaggeration here...) - and it took well over an hour to get the rest of them from the terminal to the plane. not only that, but i was seated next to this surly american girl who was just angry about all aspects of the flight (okay, so i was annoyed as well, but it was a resigned annoyance, i wasn't trying to get anyone to comiserate with me). luckily i got to eat lovely food (chicken and penne with creamy broccoli and mushroom sauce) and watch good movies (failure to launch and lucky number slevin).

i'll probably post some pictures in a few days - i took like a million.

bits and bobs part 1

since i didn't get many chances to post while in scotland, i decided i would just tell a few short little stories:

royal pain in the arse airlines
or sometimes also called "royal dutch airlines" - KLM. after an overnight flight where i never really slept (like i said before, there were good movies) i had a short flight with them from amsterdam to edinburgh. well, it should have been short. we were all put on the plane, which wasn't very crowded. i had an empty seat next to me and an emergency aisle, the responsibilites of which were explained. then we waited. the captain came on and announced that there were low clouds in edinburgh, which meant that they didn't want planes coming in too close together. so we would be delayed about 30 minutes. we were served juice and pretzels. then we began to pull away from our gate. but before we got too far the captain came on again. this time there was a problem with the electricity on the panel. so we pulled into another stand and waited for the electrician to come on board and check it out. so we waited. eventually some repair was made and we were ready for takeoff *again*. but then.... the captain came on *again*... and due to the weather in edinburgh we wouldn't be able to takeoff for another 55 minutes. fortunately we actually got to take off this time, i was sure there were some surly businessmen who were near mutiny. and my concern was that i had no phone number to call jill and let her know even if i did have a phone (which i didn't). but when we arrived in edinburgh 2 and a 1/2 hours late she was still there. what a peach. :)

monster mash
after a couple of days at less than my normal (giant) appetite, we went to monster mash for dinner on friday evening. and it was sooo good, especially on a cool and rainy night. basically a british diner, the specialty is sausages and mash. there were sausage specials for the day (and vegetarian sausage specials as well) and mashed potato specials. one of the sausage specials was a beef, ale, and stilton sausage - which both jill and i got. then you pick your mash - plain mash, mash with spring onions, mash with neeps (turnips). i chose mash with spring onions. the final step - gravy - i went with the classic gravy. when they brought this food out i was completely enamored with monster mash. a giant bowl of mashed potatoes - giant like i would make for myself when i'm at home and eating nothing else for my meal - topped with my two sausages, and a pitcher of gravy on the side. once i dug in, i knew it was love. monster mash and i were meant to be. a truly perfect meal on an slightly cool summer night. after the short walk back to jill's flat it was all we could do to sit on the couch and have a cuppa tea. soooo good.

castles
i do love castles. and really, stone buildings in general, which edinburgh is filled with. my first glimpse on this trip was of edinburgh castle at the top of the royal mile (literally the mile long road between the castle and the palace). i snapped a quick photo while some fellas in kilts marched about. the first castle i went in was on loch ness, urquhart castle - if you can really call it going "in". maybe explored is a better word. but anyway, what remains of the castle sits on the banks of loch ness and is quite beautiful (minus the tour groups milling around). then there was elgin castle. or rather the spot where elgin castle once stood and now lies a pile of stones and a tall monument. but a nice view of the town. i spent part of my last full day in scotland wandering through edinburgh castle, which compared to my other castle sightings on this trip is very well maintained and dramatically perched on a now extinct volcano. i was actually a little obsessed, taking millions of photos of the walls coming right up out of the cliffs. so cool. (pictures coming soon)

the haggis experience

so this morning we rose bright (seriously, at 7am!!!!) and early to catch the bus to inverness, north of edinburgh. we were collected at the bus station by jill's mum and dad and took off to loch ness. the weather was a bit rainy, but we managed to get some sunshine while we explored urquhart castle on the banks of the loch.

i have a few nessie sightings caught on film, which i'll share later when i get my camera hooked up to the internet. and loads and loads of pictures of the castle itself (i'm a bit obsessed).

we had a little nap on the ride back to elgin (and got a little bit of a sore neck) and when we arrived the dinner started getting prepared... a traditional bit of dinner... haggis, neeps, and tatties...

truth be told it was actually really nice! even though i had read the ingredients to haggis in the supermarket (not a nice image) it was very, very tasty. you don't really eat the intestine wrapping, you just kind of scoop it out. it's like a pile of minced meat. and there's oats in it, it's spice very nicely. i really, really enjoyed it (which was a surprise to me - i did intend to try it, but i never imagined i would like it). the "neeps" were not so good... (that's turnips) but i can never say no to "tatties" (potatoes). if you ever have the opportunity to try it, i highly reccommend. just don't think about it too much.

so tomorrow we'll do a bit more looking around elgin, and traditional roast lunch. then we're back to edinburgh for a scary ghost tour in the evening.

my favorite letter is RRRRRRRRRRR!

got to see the new pirates movie last night. which was very exciting, and of course is sort of jill and mine's film. (we were a bit obsessed in japan - how can you go wrong with johnny *and* orlando?) we got to sit in the posh "gold club" seats. :) all in all a very exciting evening.

yesterday seemed like my first real day in edinburgh, since my plane arrived 2 and 1/2 hours late on wednesday, and i was in despareate need of a nap.... there were some good movies on my transatlantic flight... i never actually got to sleep.

so thursday we got out bright and early (around 1pm) and did some wandering in edinburgh. walked the royal mile, which is the road between the palace and the castle. saw the castle and the palace (from the outside only....) saw a man dressed as william wallace taking photos with and axe and tourists.

it is really a lovely little city, which jill claims is easy to navigate, but i don't quite agree. everytime i think i know where we are or where we're going i find that i am mistaken. but i do keep ending up at places i recognize, i'm just not sure how we got there.

so for the weekend we're going up to elgin, where jill's mum and dad live, for a visit. i think we'll also go to loch ness. and i may be treated to a meal of "haggis, nips, and tatties" (which is haggis with turnips and potatoes). i'm wiling to try the haggis, but i'll have to say no to the turnips....

i think our plans for the rest of today involve a bit of shopping and more likely than not some food. :)

leaving tomorrow, and more to come...

so tomorrow i'm headed to scotland to visit my fabulous friend, jillian, and see the lovely city of edinburgh.

my goal is to actually post a few times while i'm there (i'll be away for a week). but as of late i've really hated everything i've written for this site (hence the lack of posts), so i'm not making any promises.

*however*

this will be my first trip with my digital camera (disney and pennsylvania don't really count...) and i intend on taking as many photos as i possibly can. so even if i don't get around to posting anything (or i only post crap) i will probably have a few photos to post when i get back.

i am also tenatively planning to make a MAJOR journey in the fall... more on that when i return from scotland.