So, I had to do yet another video log post, as I took a video whilst at Linlithgow. I haven't looked at it whatsoever, so I don't know how good/bad it is. Completely spontaneous, on-the-spot, unedited version.
Raw Lizzle, here. Beware.
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Friday, December 17, 2010
Linlithgow!
So, yesterday Emily, Anneke, Marie and I went to Linlithgow (lin-LITH-go)! Just say that name: it has a bit of magic to it. An odd type, to be sure, foreign and exotic, yet familiar, yet mystical. A friend had recommended the palace to me, and I have a few days to kill some time before heading back to the States, so this seemed like a good opportunity to go.
Emily, Anneke and I went to St Giles, though, first, because we'd been meaning to get some pictures inside the church before we left. You have to pay for a photography license (£2) but it was worth it.
We met Marie at Waverley station and jumped on a train whose final destination was Glasgow. Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the Linlithgow station and were in Linlithgow town. It was pretty simple, only a few major streets, a few cafes. It was probably the size of St Andrews, I'd say. We grabbed lunch and had a little picnic outside (despite the absolutely freezing weather), and then headed over to the palace. The first impression that I had of the palace was that it was absolutely huge - a fact which was only reconfirmed the more we scrambled through it.
Linlithgow Palace is in ruins, but as such it's pretty cheap to get in (about £5.40), and they let you wander all over the place. There are about five floors which face onto an inner courtyard, and five really large staircases you can wander up. I think I took more pictures yesterday than I did from about October 20 - November 20. There was so much to see and explore. Were I a servant in the mid-sixteenth century, fresh-faced from the farm, I would be utterly lost in that place.
Linlithgow was really cool - literally. My fingers were about to fall off. There were few other tourists there, though, so we had the run of the place, essentially. There were so many rooms and chambers, and they all went back on one another like a maze, that it was almost difficult to get out of the palace. As all of the rooms were in ruin, as well, it was difficult to remember which rooms were Mary's, which were those used by the King and Queen, etc, etc. However, it was a very fertile place for the active imagination - can't you just see memory-ghosts of servants bustling around, of the Queen pacing through her chambers, of little Mary playing down by the Loch?
Emily, Anneke and I went to St Giles, though, first, because we'd been meaning to get some pictures inside the church before we left. You have to pay for a photography license (£2) but it was worth it.
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| St Giles Kirk from the outside |
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| Looking inside through the arches |
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| Stain glass window, circa 1880s |
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| Stain glass celebrating Rabbie Burns, circa 1980s |
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| Carving on ceiling before entering the Thistle Chapel |
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| Looking down the nave of St Giles, towards the entrance |
Linlithgow Palace is in ruins, but as such it's pretty cheap to get in (about £5.40), and they let you wander all over the place. There are about five floors which face onto an inner courtyard, and five really large staircases you can wander up. I think I took more pictures yesterday than I did from about October 20 - November 20. There was so much to see and explore. Were I a servant in the mid-sixteenth century, fresh-faced from the farm, I would be utterly lost in that place.
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| Entrance to Linlithgow Palace, no the Sauron-esque tower is not part of the actual palace |
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| Interior courtyard - with snow! |
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| It's pretty big - now imagine three more sides to this thing |
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| Linlithgow Loch |
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| Big fireplace |
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| How the Great Hall looks today |
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| How it might've looked five centuries ago |
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| Wee Emily up there! |
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| Wee Emily is still up there! |
The above photo is of one of the insignias above the entrance - it's quite sumptuous, is it not? Now imagine the entire castle with ornaments and decorations as brightly painted as the one above. Rather spectacular, no?
All in all, a very, very good day.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Almost Enough to Make Me Believe in Karma...
Bonjour! J'ai passe' un week-end tellement merveilleux a Paris! That translated, "I had an absolutely wonderful weekend in Paris!"
So, I went to visit the wonderful Lala who is studying abroad in the City of Lights, and needless to say, best weekend ever. However, before I get into the events of this weekend, I must remark that on Friday as the taxi was bearing me through the misty Edinburgh morning to the airport, I was gripped with such a feeling of love for this city, I could hardly stand the thought that I was leaving it.
After all, who would want to leave someplace like this? The only thing that got me through it was the thought of seeing Lala, and then it struck me that I was going to Paris. Paris, where I can kinda speak the language. Those prospects made me happy, as the last countries I have flown to (Spain, Denmark, Germany) I have not been able to speak the language, or speak it upon arrival.
Friday afternoon, Lala came to meet me at the airport, and all that was wrong in the world was righted again because I was with one of my closest friends, and together we fought our way through the hordes of French people streaming in and out of Châtelet. Châtelet is indeed a nightmare of a station, as after we had disembarked the train from the airport, we realized that we needed the metro ticket to get out of the station. Silly me, I was too preoccupied with my baggage and extra clothing items to look after my ticket - there were ticket booths on the other side of the barriers, but no way to get to them. However, disaster was averted when I found my ticket in my purse, and then we proceeded out of Châtelet to fight the streaming hordes of Saint-Lazare.
After dropping off my bags at Lala's host family's home in Asnières (which is absolutely picture-perfect and so beautiful in a way that is so French-country-home-finding-itself-in-the-suburbs-of-Paris kind of way), we ran down to the local boutiques and bought some flowers and real French bread. La made me take a bite of the piping hot bread - I would find it no chore to live the rest of my days on warm French bread.
Next, we took the Metro back into the center and found ourselves right beneath the Tour Jacques across from Notre Dame. We had our first croque-monsieurs and walked along the Seine, watching the Tour Eiffel flash its little search light every now and again. We even walked across one of the footbridges across the Seine, where there were tons of "jeunes Parisiens" sitting, eating, drinking, and talking on the bridge. What else were we to do but join them?
Oh right, we also walked to the Louvre at night, and through the archway that is on the other side of the Louvre.
After wandering the streets of central Paris for a while, we turned around, headed home, and had a good night's rest. Saturday morning we had a real French breakfast of bread, honey, marmalade, and hot chocolate. La wasn't kidding when she said that all French people eat is bread. It is truly a staple here.
Lala had to go to a meeting for one of her classes in the Musee D'Orsay, and I had never been to that museum before, so I came along for the journey. It was a glorious hour and a half spent by myself while Lala did her headphoned, guided walking tour with her class. I saw some real beauties, but for the sake of my reader's patience, I won't post them here.
After the museum, we made our way to the artist area around Montmartre, bought ourselves some fougasses, and then ate them on the steps below the Sacre-Couer. At Montmartre, I had my first taste of French ice cream: vanilla and strawberry, the perfect combination for the sweetness of French ice cream.
After Montmartre, we passed through the cemetery nearby for a few minutes, and then were on our way to the center again to go to the Saint-Chapelle.
So, I went to visit the wonderful Lala who is studying abroad in the City of Lights, and needless to say, best weekend ever. However, before I get into the events of this weekend, I must remark that on Friday as the taxi was bearing me through the misty Edinburgh morning to the airport, I was gripped with such a feeling of love for this city, I could hardly stand the thought that I was leaving it.
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| Bruntsfield Commons, a view which I see on my way to Church! |
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| "The Meadows", with Edinburgh Castle in the background. |
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| "French, a language that makes sense." |
Friday afternoon, Lala came to meet me at the airport, and all that was wrong in the world was righted again because I was with one of my closest friends, and together we fought our way through the hordes of French people streaming in and out of Châtelet. Châtelet is indeed a nightmare of a station, as after we had disembarked the train from the airport, we realized that we needed the metro ticket to get out of the station. Silly me, I was too preoccupied with my baggage and extra clothing items to look after my ticket - there were ticket booths on the other side of the barriers, but no way to get to them. However, disaster was averted when I found my ticket in my purse, and then we proceeded out of Châtelet to fight the streaming hordes of Saint-Lazare.
After dropping off my bags at Lala's host family's home in Asnières (which is absolutely picture-perfect and so beautiful in a way that is so French-country-home-finding-itself-in-the-suburbs-of-Paris kind of way), we ran down to the local boutiques and bought some flowers and real French bread. La made me take a bite of the piping hot bread - I would find it no chore to live the rest of my days on warm French bread.
Next, we took the Metro back into the center and found ourselves right beneath the Tour Jacques across from Notre Dame. We had our first croque-monsieurs and walked along the Seine, watching the Tour Eiffel flash its little search light every now and again. We even walked across one of the footbridges across the Seine, where there were tons of "jeunes Parisiens" sitting, eating, drinking, and talking on the bridge. What else were we to do but join them?
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| La in front of a band performing on the bridge. |
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| Internally reliving my first trip to Paris. |
Lala had to go to a meeting for one of her classes in the Musee D'Orsay, and I had never been to that museum before, so I came along for the journey. It was a glorious hour and a half spent by myself while Lala did her headphoned, guided walking tour with her class. I saw some real beauties, but for the sake of my reader's patience, I won't post them here.
After the museum, we made our way to the artist area around Montmartre, bought ourselves some fougasses, and then ate them on the steps below the Sacre-Couer. At Montmartre, I had my first taste of French ice cream: vanilla and strawberry, the perfect combination for the sweetness of French ice cream.
After Montmartre, we passed through the cemetery nearby for a few minutes, and then were on our way to the center again to go to the Saint-Chapelle.
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| Lala in the Saint-Chapelle |
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| Us in front of the Saint-Chapelle and the Palais de Justice. |
To finish the day off, we took a boat tour at that beautiful time when it's not quite afternoon, not quite evening, and saw the major sites of Paris, including the most recognizable attractions in the country, the Tour Eiffel:
After the boat tour, when dusk was just setting in, we went back to Asnières, got some food from the local grocery store, had a wonderful dinner of stir-fry halibut, soup, bread, and the most delicious store-bought fondant chocolat you could imagine (if what I bought was even a fondant). We read a bit, and made an early evening of Saturday night.
On Sunday morning, we had a bit of toast, and Lala was so gracious as to accompany me to the worship service of Church, which was really cool. I thought we were going to miss it, but the Lord was on our side. Afterwards, we spent some time at the Centre Georges Pompidou and explored a Catholic cathedral nearby. Lala knew of a good falafel shop in the Jewish Quarter, and so we went over there for lunch, and I got myself a delicious French-Jewish latke, which tasted like heaven on earth. If I lived in Paris, the Jewish Quarter would be my favourite haunt because of the shops and ambiance of conviviality.
At this point, we turned towards home and Asnières, as I still needed to pack and then be on my merry way to Charles de Gaulle airport. There was a bit of work to be done on the train line direct to the airport, so I had to take a little detour, but all was well, and I'm now safely back in my little corner of the world in Edinburgh.
Mom and Dad, I didn't even have to ask what courgettes were; I already knew.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
My Legs Are Ready to Kill Me
This post was written two days ago, althoug I'm only publishing it now. I'm sorry for the mixed-up timeline. When not hopping hotels every night and with a steady, private internet connection, things will settle down.
I actually did what I said I would do today: I went to Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the Tate Modern today. Add on top of that, we saw Parliament and Oliver, took three taxis rides, and walked over 15,000 steps today. I feel accomplished. I conquered the Earth today! Or part of it, anyway.
My favorite part of the day was Westminster Abbey - I loved the Lady's Chapel and standing in the presence of the remains of so many important people in Britain's history: Henry II, Henry IV, Elizabeth I, Mary I, Mary Queen of Scots, Milton, Spenser, Chaucer Gerard Manely Hopkins, Benjamin Disraeli, Newton, Darwin... Although some of those people aren't necessarily buried there, they have anything ranging fro ma small plaque to a gargantuan monument in their name.
I actually did what I said I would do today: I went to Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the Tate Modern today. Add on top of that, we saw Parliament and Oliver, took three taxis rides, and walked over 15,000 steps today. I feel accomplished. I conquered the Earth today! Or part of it, anyway.
My favorite part of the day was Westminster Abbey - I loved the Lady's Chapel and standing in the presence of the remains of so many important people in Britain's history: Henry II, Henry IV, Elizabeth I, Mary I, Mary Queen of Scots, Milton, Spenser, Chaucer Gerard Manely Hopkins, Benjamin Disraeli, Newton, Darwin... Although some of those people aren't necessarily buried there, they have anything ranging fro ma small plaque to a gargantuan monument in their name.
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