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Post by chariset on Sept 3, 2010 5:35:49 GMT
Hey boardies, I'm off for a while. I leave for Scotland tomorrow and I'll be back in Texas on Thursday the 9th. I'll check in when I can but I don't know how much internet access I'm going to have.
Fare thee well, keep the Clone Sanctuary warm for me, and I'll see you when I get home.
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Post by lew on Sept 3, 2010 6:09:04 GMT
You'll have a fab time, especially if sampling the Malts ;D
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Post by dit on Sept 3, 2010 6:20:24 GMT
Have an excellent time. Scotland can be glorious; a beautiful country. Hope you get plenty of chance to see lots of it!
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Post by vertebraille on Sept 3, 2010 7:18:20 GMT
Have a happy and safe trip  |
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Post by jacqui on Sept 3, 2010 7:45:59 GMT
Have a brilliant time chari the NC will miss you ;D
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Post by xjsarah on Sept 3, 2010 9:45:59 GMT
Scotland is a lovely place. Bon voyage!  |
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Post by devil-may-care on Sept 3, 2010 12:19:37 GMT
Have a fantastic time, Chariset! ;D ;D We'll miss you!
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Post by eshalda on Sept 3, 2010 18:18:15 GMT
Enjoy. I hope the good weather holds. Which part of Scotland are you visiting?
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Post by violetrose on Sept 3, 2010 18:33:32 GMT
Have a wonderful time! |
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Post by From Afar on Sept 4, 2010 0:08:45 GMT
Enjoy Chari.... you will be missed sweetie pie  |
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Post by chariset on Sept 10, 2010 3:19:15 GMT
I am back from the wilds of Scotland!
Tried beef Hula Hoops (yes, I put some of them on my fingers), cottage pie, prowled up and down Edinburgh and St Andrews, saw a black Fiat Panda (they're tiny!)
Very jetlagged, will give a fuller account tomorrow.
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Post by devil-may-care on Sept 10, 2010 6:23:50 GMT
Welcome back, Chariset! ;D Can't wait to hear about your trip!! ;D
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Post by violetrose on Sept 10, 2010 6:49:29 GMT
Welcome home, chariset! Excited to hear all about it when you've slept off your jetlag. ;D
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Post by chariset on Sept 10, 2010 19:48:43 GMT
Okay, here is the story.
I left Dallas on September 3 with my friend and fellow theologian Scott (he's a PhD student in the program I just finished). We flew to Newark, NJ and connected with my adviser and still mentor, whose professional name is William J. Abraham but who generally goes by Billy. Then we flew to Edinburgh and arrived Saturday morning. Billy took a nap but Scott and I took a bus into town and walked up and down Princes Street. There was some kind of weekend festival going on and people lounging on blankets in a central park with a large sloping green lawn -- also a lot of chairs set up in front of a band shell in preparation for fireworks over the weekend.
I admit to one shamelessly fangirly moment -- the train station is also off Princes Street and the Balmoral Hotel is right next to it. There was a man stationed at the entrance to the hotel (probably just a doorman but I was thinking security guard and was too intimidated to go in). So Scott and I prowled the train station, looked at the tracks Jeremy must have come in on, looked at the stairs leading up to street level (an impressive climb for ol' Jezza) and I was resigned to getting pictures of the exterior and calling it good. But the bar has a separate, unguarded entrance with an open door, so I went in. Two different, impeccably-dressed and rather baffled waitstaff were there, asking if I wanted something -- I explained I was a Top Gear fan and they just nodded. I had a quick look around -- there's the corner! There's the wall! There's the floor! -- and escaped before I could lose any (more) dignity. It looks exactly the way it did in the film. I didn't take any pictures. I figured I had embarrassed myself enough.
The next day we went to church and then up to the castle, and then drove to St. Andrews that evening. Billy is from Northern Ireland and had rented a car (a nice Diesel Audi), and it fell to me or Scott, usually me, to navigate. What fun!
Our reason for going up was a conference at the University of St. Andrews, and we stayed in a place called New Hall on the edge of town which acted as a dorm but was also a general-use hotel for backpackers, golfers, and conference-goers. A very nice place, infested with bunnies. The conference was in St. Mary's College, which is in the middle of the town center but only about fifteen minutes walking -- the whole town can be crossed in half an hour on foot. Most of our time was spent conference-going but we had time to prowl and buy tacky tourist tat and take pictures. Scott likes curry and Thai food and is something of a tea snob. He also has wheat allergies. We went to an Italian place twice and a Thai restaurant and a couple of pubs. Cottage pie is excellent but not something I'd want to try every meal. Scott had a pint of cider once and initially claimed it was light but then confessed on the walk back that 'gravity was doing odd things.' We saw a chip shop but didn't go in.
My first name is Heather and my last name is a variant on a Scottish clan name, so I looked for clan "stuff." My stepdad's last name is McAfee, but MacPhie was the closest I could find. I bought some Malteasers and Hobnobs and of course a pack of Hula Hoops, mostly to pack home and send to family -- and some packets of Scottish fudge, but I resisted the allure of shortbread. I also bought a scarf in MacPhie tartan to send to the stepdad and some beads for Mom, collected some shells and beach glass for the nieces, and a little Scottish-flag window cling for myself.
I looked all over for James' new book, but they didn't have it yet. No sign of James himself of course, nor anyone I recognized. I did get to watch a little Dave ja vue, so I got some Dara, David Mitchell, and Stephen Fry in. And some odd show called 'Young, Dumb, and Living off Mum' narrated with smooth disdain by Robert Webb, about spoiled young adults being forced to grow up.
We left for Edinburgh Thursday morning, flew back and spent all of a very long day traveling. I was next to a young family on the overseas flight -- an English mother and a Scottish father (I think) with twins who can't have been more than four. No one, and I mean no one, does a childish whine better than an British child. My ears are still ringing. Not really their fault -- they're just being kids, and kids don't tolerate boredom well -- but I wish I could have sat somewhere else.
I'll upload pictures later. Good to be home.
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Post by vertebraille on Sept 10, 2010 20:03:07 GMT
Wow, thanks for sharing. Sounds like you had a fantastic time. I'm guessing Scotland and Texas are very different places? Looking forward to your photos. Are you allowed to have a drink in the Balmoral Hotel? (I will definitely need to remember the whole gravity doing odd things) |
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Post by xjsarah on Sept 10, 2010 22:28:51 GMT
I'm glad you had a good time in Scotland. Edinburgh and St Andrews are both lovely places. Did you get the chance to visit anywhere else?
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Post by chariset on Sept 10, 2010 22:42:19 GMT
Are you allowed to have a drink in the Balmoral Hotel? St. Andrews was a lot cooler than here. We're still in the 90s and very humid. Plus they have a near-constant sea breeze and that can be very chilly indeed. I think you could have a drink at the Balmoral bar, but you'd probably have to be dressed for it. It looked very upscale. I'm glad you had a good time in Scotland. Edinburgh and St Andrews are both lovely places. Did you get the chance to visit anywhere else? We had dinner Sunday night in a little place called Tayport, but other than that, no. It's sad, because I would have liked to see the Tay Bridge remnants and the Falkirk Wheel, both of which were relatively close, but all we really had time to do was drive from Edinburgh to St. Andrews and back. |
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Post by Wyvern on Sept 10, 2010 22:45:54 GMT
Glad you had a good trip Chari! An Australian friend of mine is over here at the moment as well, and she has been enjoying much the same things on Dave you have Pity you had to go home so soon... tonight's WILTY was PRICELESS. I hope there's a download somewhere for you. I'll just say David Mitchell + dressing gown ;D |
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Post by dit on Sept 10, 2010 22:51:35 GMT
Good to have you back, chari. Scotland is a lovely place!
Wyvern's right about tonight's WILTY and the dressing gown - great stuff, made me laugh extremely loudly!
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Post by xjsarah on Sept 10, 2010 22:51:35 GMT
I went to see the Falkirk Wheel a few years ago while I was visiting my parents, who live about 30 minutes' drive from there. It's definitely worth a visit if you can ever make it. |
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Post by chariset on Sept 10, 2010 23:01:25 GMT
I'm trying to get some pictures together now.
One of the highlights of the trip was when Scott and I befriended a young woman named Eleanor who was from London and we could talk British telly. It was wonderful to admit my raging crush on David to someone else, and she of course remembered Robert Webb's little flashdance routine. I asked her if she watched Top Gear and she said she had a raging dislike of Jeremy Clarkson.
I know she's not alone, but...is hating Jeremy the national pastime of half the population over there? They seem to love to hate him.
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Post by xjsarah on Sept 10, 2010 23:29:43 GMT
LOL!! Jeremy tends to polarise public opinion over here. He's the TV presenter equivalent of Marmite - you either love him or hate him! ;D For example, I think he's great, but my parents can't stand him!
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Post by dit on Sept 10, 2010 23:42:57 GMT
I agree with xjsarah's explanation. People either think he makes complete sense, which led to the rise of the "Clarkson for Prime Minister" movement, or he makes them very, very cross. Don't understand the confusion myself - I know what I think, he's a very clever and funny man.
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Post by devil-may-care on Sept 11, 2010 1:22:59 GMT
Sounds like you had a fabulous time. Too bad you couldn't get in a little more sight-seeing though.
My neighbor's parents just came over for a visit a week or so ago. They live in Swindon.
His dad was nice enough to bring me four Daily Telegraph. One had James' article in it! ;D ;D
Someday I shall make it to England! ;D
Can't wait for the photos, Chariset!
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Post by vertebraille on Sept 11, 2010 8:28:27 GMT
My friends brother in law is coming over soon from the UK, I was thinking of asking her to get him to bring me a copy of the Daily Telegraph. I'm not sure how to ask without sounding like a weirdo though.
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Post by devil-may-care on Sept 11, 2010 13:42:38 GMT
My friends brother in law is coming over soon from the UK, I was thinking of asking her to get him to bring me a copy of the Daily Telegraph. I'm not sure how to ask without sounding like a weirdo though. Whenever anyone is coming here to the US from the UK or vice versa, I always ask for a UK newspaper. I used to just ask for any paper, but now I specify the Daily Telegraph. I don't know what papers you get in Australia, but the Telegraph we get here is published in Pennsylvania and is a weekly instead of a daily. They cram in news they think we Americans would like and screw the rest. Try telling him that you're interested in the news stories because they are so different from yours. I know that's true here. You could also mention that someone recommended that particular newspaper to you / thought you might like the Telegraph. It's worth a try anyway! ;D ;D I really do read all the articles. The writing style is so different from the US papers. Fun all 'round. ;D |
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Post by vertebraille on Sept 11, 2010 13:59:06 GMT
Won't I have to specify the Sunday edition?
Good tips though!
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Post by chariset on Sept 11, 2010 14:02:25 GMT
Still trying to fulfill my promise to post pics, but for some reason Firefox won't let me upload anything...
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Post by devil-may-care on Sept 11, 2010 15:02:04 GMT
Wyvern's right about tonight's WILTY and the dressing gown - great stuff, made me laugh extremely loudly! Just got the chance to watch the download of last night's WILTY! Fantastic!! ;D ;D The dressing gown had me in stitches! Was it just me, or was the Patsy girl a bit thick? Chariset, I hope you get the chance to see this episode! And I hope Firefox straightens itself out soon for you. |
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Post by chariset on Sept 11, 2010 19:34:41 GMT
Well it seems that the images themselves were the problem, not the browser. Let me see if I can get them straightened out
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I love a man who can handle a gun 
