Highlands, London, and accompanying Shenanigans

The past few weeks have (as usual) flown by. Last weekend, I went down to London with a program that USC organizes. We spent a large part of the weekend on the train actually, but it was beautiful and sunny and finally gave me a chance to write all the post cards I had been gathering for the previous several weeks, so I didn’t mind a bit. On the way down we had the added entertainment of two kids, maybe five years old, chattering away to their mothers in British accents—even when they were being a bit cheeky, they sounded absolutely adorable!

When we got to London, we located our “hotel”… hostel would be a much better name for it, but hey USC was paying and it had a bed and a shower. What more do you really need? Then we ran out to a bakery that Whitney, in her infinite wisdom, had recommended as a “Sprinkles look-alike” except better. (For those of you unfamiliar with LA’s most famous cupcake bakery, imagine a shop completely dedicated to the baking and decorating of cupcakes—outrageously priced, but never seen without a line curving round the block, even on week days.) It seemed as good a reason as any to try our knowledge of the tube, so off we went to sample red velvet cake cupcakes in what I swear was Miss Puddyfoot’s Tea Shop. Having tasted heaven, we wound our way back to the hostel, sorry hotel, and relaxed a bit before heading to the pub/dinner with the rest of the program. We were up early the next morning to take in a tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (see pictures on the left) and though we didn’t get to see a show there, much talk ensued about making another trip down in April when the season starts again. From the Globe, we split up to amuse ourselves for the afternoon and I was able to meet up with Whitney, a friend from USC studying in London.

After a fun sushi sampling, we went out to Hyde Park to soak in the sunshine that was coating the city in pure joy. I am quite sure that half of London went to Hyde Park that day because I have never seen so many people, dogs, babies, roller-bladers, and picnickers one place before… and Hyde Park London’s version of Central Park, so its not exactly tiny. To add to the fun, there was a relay-race going on all around the park, so excited chatter of teams and supporters increased the atmosphere of general satisfaction to be found in every corner of the park. Having increased our melatonin levels a bit, we headed back to Piccadilly Square to meet the rest of the group for an early show of 39 Steps, a comedy adapted from a short story in which 4 actors play many dozen characters a piece in a silly plot involving murder, espionage, and an oddly significant vaudeville act. The show was housed in an intimate old theatre probably built in the 30’s that sets the atmosphere as soon as you walk in with its 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s musical selection. After the show we all headed to an Asian-fusion restaurant for dinner where they not only serve every style and combination of Asian cuisine availably, they also fresh-squeeze juice drinks… if you ever have a chance to try apple-lime juice, I highly recommend taking the opportunity.

After a meal rich in both diversity and conversation, Whitney and I headed out to meet friends of hers at what I can only describe as a combination milk-shake shop and club. When we got there, there was a line out the door with a bouncer letting people in only as others left the establishment. There was loud music and festive-looking people everywhere in this basement diner-themed restaurant—had we not been meeting people, we would have had to wait at least an hour to be seated. I must admit this all seemed a bit over the top to me until we tried our designer milk-shakes and then began to understand a bit more of the excitement. When we decided to relinquish our table at 10ish, the group split up, and a few of us went to a pub nearby, and seized, with a spirit of British experimentation, tried a “Pimm’s Cup” while we chatted away the evening. The next day, those of us with afternoon return tickets walked around the city taking in Big Ben, the London Eye, Westminster Abby and ending up in Kensington Gardens where more people were enjoying the fine weather. We headed back to King’s Cross Station with enough time to find and shamelessly photograph Platform 9 ¾, which the rail authority quite kindly built for those Harry Potter lovers out there severely disappointed by the fact that platforms 9 and 10 are not to be found side-by-side as J.K. Rowling described.

Having spent time in the south, a trip to the Highlands was next on the agenda, so 8 A.M. Saturday morning of the next weekend found Michael and me on a bus with a Scottish army veteran tour guide with a memory of Scottish history and legend unequaled anywhere, and a tendency to increasingly over-pronounce the last guttural sound of the word “Loch”, much to the amusement of his passengers. I captioned all the photos I took from the tour as soon as I got home so I wouldn’t forget all the accompanying stories, so that will give a better account of the trip for those interested in a bit more detail. For those interested in a general overview, I will give a brief(ish) summary here.

The whole trip lasted roughly 12 hours and took us through some of the most beautiful and varied countryside I have yet seen. In typical Scottish fashion, low cloud cover persisted through the first part of the journey, but the sun beams that were able to filter through only added to the spectacle. We drove North West, passing Stirling Castle, then stopped to visit Hamish the Highland cow at Kilmahog (gotta love Scottish/Gaelic names!). Then we went through the lands of the MacGregors (think Rob Roy) and the Campbells (the most hated clan in Scotland), over Rannoch Moor and the Black Mount to Glencoe, the breathtaking setting for a massacre still known and despised not so much for the number of deaths (rather paltry given the standard of the time) but because of the breach in Highland Hospitality it signaled (more detail in the photo album). From there we entered the Great Glen beneath Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis, and drove along the famous canal that creates a safe passage clear across Scotland so ships don’t have to brave the dangerous northern route. The final bit went past Fort Augustus tracing the 24 mile shoreline of Loch Ness and passing Urquhart Castle, which was blown up by the English while they held it rather than present an opportunity for the highland-based Jacobites to use it for a site of another uprising.

We hit Loch Ness at just the right time. It was absolutely beautiful: clear and sunny without more wind that would be expected on a Scottish loch. We chose to go out on the boat tour to see if Nessie would show herself (and yes, for those of you who are interested, Nessie is female and God save you if you speak of her otherwise). The tour took us up the loch as far as the castle ruins while explaining the history of the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, none of which we heard because we were outside enjoying the sunshine and beauty and trying (unsuccessfully) to see further than 3 inches deep into the water—a task made quite difficult by the incredibly dangerous rip-tides that keep the silt in a constant state of agitation, creating the illusion of black water and adding to the mystery of Loch Ness. Having effectively frozen our hands taking pictures of could-be Nessies, and perusing the gift shop that has a Trojan-like ability to incorporate Nessie into even the most mundane merchandise, we hopped back on the bus to finish the northern leg of our trip at Inverness and then begin the long trek back to Edinburgh listening, alternately, to stories from Scottish history and lore and traditional (and not-so-traditional) Scottish music. It was a long day, but well worth it!

In addition to all these weekend travels, I have been enjoying my time in Edinburgh immensely. The past couple of weeks have held dinner parties, sleepovers, pub runs, evangelism, as well as just chill times with friends—to explain them all would make this ridiculously long post even longer, so I will defer until I can do them justice another time. For those of you who have read to the end, well done! And if you still have a few minutes, check out the photo albums on the left-hand side. ;)