This weekend, Jake, Kim, Matt and I went to the Highlands! The Highlands are basically the northern part of Scotland, called this because of their mountainous terrain. They are a lot colder than the midlands (where the Uni is), very dry, and basically tundra. They are about 400ft about sea level. Some of the more well-known places are Inverness, Glencoe, and of course Loch Ness.
We went with HAGGIS, a group which takes you on buses for about 26L for a twelve hour tour. They also do 3, 5, and 7 day tours. We took the 12 hour tour on Saturday. We met at 8:15am at the Royal Mile and began our journey.
Our guide's name was Doug, or Doogie, and he was really excellent. He knew a lot of history about Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland, and he was funny. He was a great story-teller, so we had a lot of fun listening to the history of Scotland.
Our first big story came as we passed the Edinburgh Zoo and he told us about a primary school teacher he knows whose five year old students stole a baby penguin during the penguin march, which the zoo does daily. Obviously this story has little to do with the history of the country, but it was interesting nonetheless.
We did learn about the many kings and queens of Scotland. Did you know Scotland actually took over English, placing James VI as James I in London? In fact, most people think that England took over Scotland, but this is false. Queen Elizabeth II actually has three titles, but she ignores her Scottish title as Queen Elizabeth I of Scotland.
Anyway, as we passed Stirling, Doug told us the TRUE story of "Braveheart." Actually, William Wallace was NOT called Braveheart, and the movie is pretty much bull. But still, good film. He played the "They can take our lives, but they cannot take our FREEEDOM" speech by Gibson in the movie while we wound through the green hills. Then he told us the true story.
The king of England and Scotland at the time murdered full villages of men, women and children, as a sign of what he would do to people who disobeyed his rule. So most people did as he said. But Wallace refused to bend to his whim. He was an outlaw for killing some English soldiers, and eventually other men joined him. Seeing this, and hoping to bring him into a trap, one of the higher-ups kidnapped his wife, who was supposedly pregnant with Wallace's first child, and killed her (supposedly...whether or not he was married is still disputed...thanks John).
Wallace's men tied him to a tree for three days to keep him from rushing into the trap.
But basically that's when all hell broke loose. Stirling is famous because of the Wallace Monument, which stands on the hillside where Wallace planned his biggest attack of the English. They led 10,000 troops over a bridge, which they had rigged, and pulled it down behind them, trapping them on their turf. Then Wallace and his men slaughtered them all. Supposedly the river ran red with blood for weeks afterward.
Wallace was finally caught. He was hanged but kept alive, then drawn and quartered, then had his guts ripped out and cooked in front of him. Finally, when he was dead, the king had his head on a post at London Bridge and hacked his body into 4 parts, delivered to the 4 corners of Scotland. But, while this was meant to scare people into behaving, it failed. A prospective king of Scotland was so disgusted by England that he began to help the Scots and took up Wallace's place.
Our next big stop was Glencoe. The hills are called the "Glen of Tears" because of a treacherous slaughter that took place by the Campbells. Basically, all Scots were supposed to sign a treaty agreeing total loyalty to the new king, or else their entire clan would be wiped out. This was a war between Protestants and Jacobites. The MacDonalds were Jacobites and did not want to sign the treaty, but if they did not sign by Jan. 1, they would all die. So, the clan chief went to sign the treaty at the last minute, but in snow he got lost. He arrived 6 days late, but he did sign it.
When the king saw the treaty, one of his attendants pointed out that MacDonald had signed late. The king sent an army of Campbells, who were Scottish and lived near the MacDonald clan and staunch Protestants, to MacDonald's land in Glencoe to kill the entire village. However, when they arrived at night, it was snowy and freezing. There is an unwritten law in Scotland...hospitality. If anyone, even a foe, turns up on your doorstep in bad weather, you MUST house and feed them. The law is meant to save lives.
The enemy arrived Feb. 1. For 12 days they stayed with the MacDonalds. Then, on the 13th, a gunshot in the morning signaled the army to rise up and murder everyone...and they did. 38 died in their beds, and the rest fled to the hills. In below freezing temps, in nigtgowns, and pitch black, women and men herded their children up the rocky mountainside (the hills are about 90-degree angles, too, very steep). Most died from exposure.
There are many slaughters like this, but this was an outrageous one because the Campbells had taken advantage of the hospitality law, eaten with and slept in the homes of the MacDonalds before they rose up and murdered them. There is an inn in Glencoe with a sign that reads "No hawkers, no Campbells" and they really WILL turn away anyone with the last name Campbell. This was hundreds of years ago, but it is such a taboo to misuse the law of hospitality, which was mean to save lives.
That story gave me goosebumps when Doug told it. We all took photos. I couldn't imagine people trying to run away in freezing temps in those hills.
We then continued on. We stopped at a whiskey distillery and we all got samples. I bought some whiskey honey liqueor which was really delicious. Our final stop was Loch Ness. We learned the lochs along the way (13,000 something lochs in Scotland and only one is called a "lake" by the way). Loch Lochie, Loch Lenny, Loch Oich, Loch Ness. Loch Ness is 900ft deep at its deepest point, 32 miles long and 1 mile wide at its widest point. There is proof of prehistoric trout, etc, in the lake, and minimal proof that 18 animals weighing about 3 tons each do live in the loch. At 15 ft deep you get permadark...no sunlight can penetrate deeper than that.
Basically what I'm saying is that it is entirely possible that the loch, while connected to the ocean, allowed in some prehistoric-type beast which, now that the ocean and the loch are separate bodies of water, is stuck there. I can totally believe there is a "nessie" there, but we saw no sign (no surprising, really, by the size and darkness of the water). Not a monster, really, but a very large sea creature resembling prehistoric dinosaurs of some sort.
Anyway, after Loch Ness we made our way home. I fell asleep on the bus. When we got back, Matt and I made dinner, then booked our flights for Spring break (Barcelona, Marseille/Aix-En-Provence, Rome, Venice, and Florence) and watched part of The Stand (Ross has great taste in books and movies and let me borrow it).
I have 3 papers due within the next two weeks, a project due Friday, reading due Monday and Tuesday, and basically I'm starting to stress out. But I go to Ireland on the 15 of March so I'm just counting down to that.
The Highlands are really gorgeous, mysterious, and full of history. I love Scotland for its history; everywhere you go there is a story of bloodshed, deceit, and passion. It's amazing.
Time do to some real work!
Perhaps we will hike Glencoe on Saturday, if I can finish at least one paper before then!
-A-
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Valentine's Day, Birthday, & Ball
14th Feb:
Matt wore his kilt out to dinner for VDay. I had a GF pizza with mushrooms...very yummy. Some tourist girls who saw us walking home "aww'd" at his kilt. It was fun. A waited taking a smoke break wished us a happy Valentine's Day. I think people are nicer when they see someone in a kilt. Too bad they cost about 700lbs because I'd like Matt to own one and I know he wants one of his own, too.
He got me a box of chocolates, too, called "Eden" and each chocolate is named after something like "lust" or "tempation" etc. We're eating them in the order they're listed. So far we've had "original sin" and "lust." Yum!
15th Feb:
A week or so ago, when Kim and I were looking for dresses, I found an old edition of Dante's Divine Comedy at a consignment shop. I wanted it, but didn't want to spend the money on it. When I opened my birthday gift from Matt, how surprised was I to find the EXACT copy I had wanted! And neither Kim nor I had told him! I was so happy, and quite shocked. He also gave me 21 kisses.
I didn't feel like it was my birthday all day. I got ready for the Ceilidh around 4pm, but my converter is running out of steam and my hairdryer/straightener weren't going full blast, so my hair was big and annoying all night. I need to buy new ones. Anyway, Kim and I brought Sangria and rum over to Kitchener and drank enough to feel warm on the walk to the bus. We left around 7pm with a whooole group of people.
At Teviot, where the ball was being held, they made the guys check their sgihn dos (sp), which are the knives put into the top of the kilt hose, even though they were only plastic or rubber.
We all enjoyed a glass of champagne, then went to dinner. We had roast chicken, potatoes balls, and carrots. The dessert was cheesecake. It was pretty good! I had a special gluten free meal, which was basically the same meal but without the mushroom sauce on the chicken.
Afterward, we went to the bar and I bought everyone Chocolate Covered Cherry shots (grenadine, baileys, and rum). Then John bought us all Kilted Black Leprachaun shots, which were baileys, whiskey, and something else and were pretty rank. Callum bought me a gin and tonic. I loved that it was my birthday so everyone wanted to buy me drinks! ...but I wanted to remember the night and not die during dancing, so I was pretty good...probably the only person to NOT black out on their 21st birthday.
Anyway, the Ceilidh was SO fun! It's basically square dancing and some of the songs are the tunes of Yankee Doodle, Oh Susannah, etc. The dances consist of lots of spinning, throwing, lifting, etc, of the women, while the men get the easy bits. So basically the women, in high heels, suffer through most of the night.
Once you know the steps, the dances are easy and fun, but if you don't know the steps, you'll probably get hurt. Lots of people fell, including myself, and at the end of the night I was sure I'd broken a bone in my foot.
My favorite dance (at first) was one wherein the girls put their arms over the men's shoulders and the men lift the girls around the waists and spin them about in a large circle. It was fun the first couple times...Until we got nauseated! Another fun one was, as John described, a "swingers dance"...we all looped arms with every other couple in a figure-eight style.
The dances look like chaos even though they're choreographed! I think they were invented JUST to see drunk people fall over.
The Kitchener House people got everyone to sing happy birthday to Azahara and me! It was nice.
At the end, my feet were killing me. We went home and had snacks, and made a dance floor in the kitchen, but ended up being too tired to dance anymore.
Over all it was a brilliant night, but I STILL don't feel like I've had my birthday. Oh well, I have a whole year to adjust to 21!
-A-
Matt wore his kilt out to dinner for VDay. I had a GF pizza with mushrooms...very yummy. Some tourist girls who saw us walking home "aww'd" at his kilt. It was fun. A waited taking a smoke break wished us a happy Valentine's Day. I think people are nicer when they see someone in a kilt. Too bad they cost about 700lbs because I'd like Matt to own one and I know he wants one of his own, too.
He got me a box of chocolates, too, called "Eden" and each chocolate is named after something like "lust" or "tempation" etc. We're eating them in the order they're listed. So far we've had "original sin" and "lust." Yum!
15th Feb:
A week or so ago, when Kim and I were looking for dresses, I found an old edition of Dante's Divine Comedy at a consignment shop. I wanted it, but didn't want to spend the money on it. When I opened my birthday gift from Matt, how surprised was I to find the EXACT copy I had wanted! And neither Kim nor I had told him! I was so happy, and quite shocked. He also gave me 21 kisses.
I didn't feel like it was my birthday all day. I got ready for the Ceilidh around 4pm, but my converter is running out of steam and my hairdryer/straightener weren't going full blast, so my hair was big and annoying all night. I need to buy new ones. Anyway, Kim and I brought Sangria and rum over to Kitchener and drank enough to feel warm on the walk to the bus. We left around 7pm with a whooole group of people.
At Teviot, where the ball was being held, they made the guys check their sgihn dos (sp), which are the knives put into the top of the kilt hose, even though they were only plastic or rubber.
We all enjoyed a glass of champagne, then went to dinner. We had roast chicken, potatoes balls, and carrots. The dessert was cheesecake. It was pretty good! I had a special gluten free meal, which was basically the same meal but without the mushroom sauce on the chicken.
Afterward, we went to the bar and I bought everyone Chocolate Covered Cherry shots (grenadine, baileys, and rum). Then John bought us all Kilted Black Leprachaun shots, which were baileys, whiskey, and something else and were pretty rank. Callum bought me a gin and tonic. I loved that it was my birthday so everyone wanted to buy me drinks! ...but I wanted to remember the night and not die during dancing, so I was pretty good...probably the only person to NOT black out on their 21st birthday.
Anyway, the Ceilidh was SO fun! It's basically square dancing and some of the songs are the tunes of Yankee Doodle, Oh Susannah, etc. The dances consist of lots of spinning, throwing, lifting, etc, of the women, while the men get the easy bits. So basically the women, in high heels, suffer through most of the night.
Once you know the steps, the dances are easy and fun, but if you don't know the steps, you'll probably get hurt. Lots of people fell, including myself, and at the end of the night I was sure I'd broken a bone in my foot.
My favorite dance (at first) was one wherein the girls put their arms over the men's shoulders and the men lift the girls around the waists and spin them about in a large circle. It was fun the first couple times...Until we got nauseated! Another fun one was, as John described, a "swingers dance"...we all looped arms with every other couple in a figure-eight style.
The dances look like chaos even though they're choreographed! I think they were invented JUST to see drunk people fall over.
The Kitchener House people got everyone to sing happy birthday to Azahara and me! It was nice.
At the end, my feet were killing me. We went home and had snacks, and made a dance floor in the kitchen, but ended up being too tired to dance anymore.
Over all it was a brilliant night, but I STILL don't feel like I've had my birthday. Oh well, I have a whole year to adjust to 21!
-A-
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Valentine's Day Shortie
- Mom sent me a package of fuzzy socks, makeup, tissues, and Scrubs. I am so so so happy!
- I got a killer outfit for my birthday/the ball tomorrow. Can't wait!
- Tonight Matt and I are going to Mamma's for GF pizza to celebrate our second Valentine's Day together.
- A man on the corner was giving out free hugs to passersby today. I think it was a social experiment because a lady was taking notes and tallying things up nearby. Kim and I hugged him and I took a picture, which can be seen in the "Random" folder on my photobucket site, along with a new pic of a man in a kilt playing bagpipes on Prince's Street.
That's all for now! Will update Friday after my birthday celebrations are finished!
-A-
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Rosyth and Kilts
We have a ball coming up! It is a traditional Ceidilh, pronounced "cay-lee", which is a special kind of romping Scottish dance. It's a black tie affair, so the guys have decided to all go in...dresses.
I mean kilts, of course.
On Friday they decided to go Saturday and be fitted for hiring kilts. Kim and I agreed to go check out consignment shops for cheap but fun and goofy dresses. Friday we all cooked together, or rather, I cooked while we all enjoyed Sangria. We made home made fajitas! I made chicken and steak, and we found tortillas that are authentic mexican and marked GF. We had guacamole, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, onions, mushrooms, peppers of all colors, and salsa. They were DIVINE. I'm a brilliant chef, haha.
We spent the evening at Kitchener just hanging out with everyone. It was quite fun.
Saturday at 3, Kim and I mosied down to Grassmarket to check out Armstrongs, and found some very creepy nightgowns from the early 1900s, dresses from Little House on the Prairie, and neat accessories. But no good formal wear.
The guys all got their kilts, and plan on wearing them every day of the rental to get their money's worth. Kim and I plan on finding dresses before the 15th...the day of my birthday and the Ceidilh. Matt told me that he realizes now why people can wear kilts in the cold wind of Scotland. 8 yards of fabric go into one kilt! They are too heavy for the wind to hike up, and very warm because, according to John, the "catch rising warm air". All the pieces that go into a kilt are...well, extensive. When I have photos, I will be sure to make an update about the special names for all the accesories.
That night, we went to Rosyth to hear one of John's friend's bands play. We took the train, which was fun (the bathroom on there is SO space aged, very neat) and then a cab to the Yard (the bar of the concert).
The bands were inspired by AC/DC and Guns 'n Roses. Very good. The title band, Rattlesnake Remedy, was absolutely brilliant. John's friend's band is called Magnus Blaze, and they were fabulous, too. John bought everyone their train tix, admission to the concert, drinks all night, and the cab back home to Edinburgh. I don't know how he does it--I tried to pay for my drinks and he wouldn't have it. He also through a huge Superbowl party with drinks and chips. Nice guy!
The ride home was funny because the cabbie was such a bitch. She didn't listen to her GPS and so she got lost, then yelled at us for not knowing where we were going. But it kind of made the night more exciting.
I am quite peeved that we have no heating or hot water. The guy who owns both David Horn and Kitchener turns off our hot water between noon and 5pm, and the heat is hardly EVER on. We wrote a petition but he refuses to change anything. It's probably something like 40 degrees in here. Ugh. And I had a cold shower today. Even more awful.
Anyway, photos have been updated, and things are going really well here. Four days till my birthday!! How exciting!!!!
I love it here, but today, because of my numb hands, freezing head and basically frigid room, I miss home.
In this post, let me recap on some of the people I've met so that the names are familiar:
John - He's from Glasgow, and is all-around just really hilarious. It's impossible not to laugh with him, and he's just so incredibly nice. Easily one of my new favorite people
Ross - Lives next door to John and is from somewhere in the UK. He has great taste in books and movies (including Labyrinth!) and has a wicked sense of humor.
Elian - One of the girls in Matt's dorm, she's really sweet and funny and I'm really glad I'm starting to get to know her. She's from Elgin, Scotland.
Vijay - Is the Hindu monk I mentioned earlier. He's fun to talk to because we can get into pretty good discussions.
Joanna - Also from somewhere in the UK, also in Matt's dorm, she's really cool and funny.
Daniel - Half Spanish, half Chinese, speaks American English but has never been to America. He's quite fun.
Jake - He's from California and is in my Art History class. We may travel with him over Spring Break this year.
Becca - From NewMexico, she's really fun! I love her laugh.
Tara - Becca's roomie and also from New Mexico.
Pablo - One of the many fun Spanish people I've met. He and the two Spanish girls Noellia, and Athada (sp) always cook dinner at the same time as me and Matt. Athada's birthday is on mine! She will also be 21.
Gosh, there's so many other people but I'm getting tired of typing them all, and I have to go grocery shopping in half an hour. I suppose I should just say that I'm met tons of people and I like them all...basically.
Oh, and my little sent me a card and magazine! She's the best!
-A-
PS: for a link to part of a video I took on my camera of Rattlesnake Remedy and a bluesy-rock song, click here: http://www.yousendit.com/download/aHlUZm1lK3h6NE41VEE9PQ
I mean kilts, of course.
On Friday they decided to go Saturday and be fitted for hiring kilts. Kim and I agreed to go check out consignment shops for cheap but fun and goofy dresses. Friday we all cooked together, or rather, I cooked while we all enjoyed Sangria. We made home made fajitas! I made chicken and steak, and we found tortillas that are authentic mexican and marked GF. We had guacamole, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, onions, mushrooms, peppers of all colors, and salsa. They were DIVINE. I'm a brilliant chef, haha.
We spent the evening at Kitchener just hanging out with everyone. It was quite fun.
Saturday at 3, Kim and I mosied down to Grassmarket to check out Armstrongs, and found some very creepy nightgowns from the early 1900s, dresses from Little House on the Prairie, and neat accessories. But no good formal wear.
The guys all got their kilts, and plan on wearing them every day of the rental to get their money's worth. Kim and I plan on finding dresses before the 15th...the day of my birthday and the Ceidilh. Matt told me that he realizes now why people can wear kilts in the cold wind of Scotland. 8 yards of fabric go into one kilt! They are too heavy for the wind to hike up, and very warm because, according to John, the "catch rising warm air". All the pieces that go into a kilt are...well, extensive. When I have photos, I will be sure to make an update about the special names for all the accesories.
That night, we went to Rosyth to hear one of John's friend's bands play. We took the train, which was fun (the bathroom on there is SO space aged, very neat) and then a cab to the Yard (the bar of the concert).
The bands were inspired by AC/DC and Guns 'n Roses. Very good. The title band, Rattlesnake Remedy, was absolutely brilliant. John's friend's band is called Magnus Blaze, and they were fabulous, too. John bought everyone their train tix, admission to the concert, drinks all night, and the cab back home to Edinburgh. I don't know how he does it--I tried to pay for my drinks and he wouldn't have it. He also through a huge Superbowl party with drinks and chips. Nice guy!
The ride home was funny because the cabbie was such a bitch. She didn't listen to her GPS and so she got lost, then yelled at us for not knowing where we were going. But it kind of made the night more exciting.
I am quite peeved that we have no heating or hot water. The guy who owns both David Horn and Kitchener turns off our hot water between noon and 5pm, and the heat is hardly EVER on. We wrote a petition but he refuses to change anything. It's probably something like 40 degrees in here. Ugh. And I had a cold shower today. Even more awful.
Anyway, photos have been updated, and things are going really well here. Four days till my birthday!! How exciting!!!!
I love it here, but today, because of my numb hands, freezing head and basically frigid room, I miss home.
In this post, let me recap on some of the people I've met so that the names are familiar:
John - He's from Glasgow, and is all-around just really hilarious. It's impossible not to laugh with him, and he's just so incredibly nice. Easily one of my new favorite people
Ross - Lives next door to John and is from somewhere in the UK. He has great taste in books and movies (including Labyrinth!) and has a wicked sense of humor.
Elian - One of the girls in Matt's dorm, she's really sweet and funny and I'm really glad I'm starting to get to know her. She's from Elgin, Scotland.
Vijay - Is the Hindu monk I mentioned earlier. He's fun to talk to because we can get into pretty good discussions.
Joanna - Also from somewhere in the UK, also in Matt's dorm, she's really cool and funny.
Daniel - Half Spanish, half Chinese, speaks American English but has never been to America. He's quite fun.
Jake - He's from California and is in my Art History class. We may travel with him over Spring Break this year.
Becca - From NewMexico, she's really fun! I love her laugh.
Tara - Becca's roomie and also from New Mexico.
Pablo - One of the many fun Spanish people I've met. He and the two Spanish girls Noellia, and Athada (sp) always cook dinner at the same time as me and Matt. Athada's birthday is on mine! She will also be 21.
Gosh, there's so many other people but I'm getting tired of typing them all, and I have to go grocery shopping in half an hour. I suppose I should just say that I'm met tons of people and I like them all...basically.
Oh, and my little sent me a card and magazine! She's the best!
-A-
PS: for a link to part of a video I took on my camera of Rattlesnake Remedy and a bluesy-rock song, click here: http://www.yousendit.com
Thursday, February 8, 2007
snow
Last night when Matt and I walked to Sainsbury's to buy groceries for dinner, it was bitterly cold. (I'll just go on a tangent here to mention that steak, aspargus, onions, and mushrooms cost us under $10, so it was a $5 meal each, very nice I must say). Anyway, when we were leaving we saw that it was pouring snow.
It was night, so the sky was completely black, and the snow was so beautiful and clear against it, and coming down heavily. Not only that, but it was sticking. The ground was covered, as were cars and benches. It was so exciting! It nearly never snows here and it's supposed to snow all weekend!
I don't remember being this excited about snow as a kid - well, not past the first snowfall of the year anyway, or snow days - but here, it's always welcome. It makes me remember being a kid. It makes me want hot cocoa, heavy sweaters, and a good book. I at least had cocoa when we got home.
Walking home I didn't even feel the cold, it was so pretty. I took some photos this morning but most of it had melted. And there were flowers blooming! Who ever heard of flowers blooming after snow?! But so pretty!
Day after it snows
Flowers poke their bright heads out
To welcome the sun
(Haikus are fun.)
Anyway, I think I'll continue to enjoy the good mood snow puts me in. It's always great to look for an excuse to love the weather here.
I will upload photos after my class tonight.
-A-
It was night, so the sky was completely black, and the snow was so beautiful and clear against it, and coming down heavily. Not only that, but it was sticking. The ground was covered, as were cars and benches. It was so exciting! It nearly never snows here and it's supposed to snow all weekend!
I don't remember being this excited about snow as a kid - well, not past the first snowfall of the year anyway, or snow days - but here, it's always welcome. It makes me remember being a kid. It makes me want hot cocoa, heavy sweaters, and a good book. I at least had cocoa when we got home.
Walking home I didn't even feel the cold, it was so pretty. I took some photos this morning but most of it had melted. And there were flowers blooming! Who ever heard of flowers blooming after snow?! But so pretty!
Day after it snows
Flowers poke their bright heads out
To welcome the sun
(Haikus are fun.)
Anyway, I think I'll continue to enjoy the good mood snow puts me in. It's always great to look for an excuse to love the weather here.
I will upload photos after my class tonight.
-A-
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Glasgow and Glengoyne
This weekend, Kim, Matt and I went with the ISC (International Student Center) to Glasgow and Glengoyne. Glasgow is another city in Scotland, much larger than Edinburgh. When we were going, I asked Joanna and Vijay how big it was.
It's a big city.
Is it like New York?
They cracked up. "It's like a EUROPEAN big city!" Basically, you can tell that it's bigger and more modern than Edinburgh, but it's still fairly small. Smaller than London, even. But it was busier than Edinburgh, for sure.
Anyway, an hour bus ride brought us to Glengoyne Distillery, where Glengoyne scotch whiskey is made. And oh my goodness, is that place neat! First of all, it smelled divine, like baking bread and honey. Really that's the smell of fermentation. We all go to taste a dram (wee bit) of their signature 10-year old single malt whiskey, which smelled so delicious but really burned going down. We watched a video on how the type of water (what rocks it comes from, if it's hard or soft, etc) and type of barley all add into the special taste of the spirit. Even the shape and size of the stills ends up affecting the taste!
Then, we took a tour, seeing the natural waterfall which fuels the heating, cooling, fermenting, etc of the whiskey. We got to see the fermentation process, where each barrel holds 19 thousand litres of "weak beer" (or something that looks like porridge and bubbles at the top). At the end, we saw the gift shop. Matt bought a tiny bottle of 21-year old single malt (all Glengoyne makes is single malt) and Kim bought a glass.
We learned that:
After lunch, we went to the Museum of Modern Art, and then to the Cathedral. It's a gothic cathedral, something like the only one left in Scotland or something (Jake is an architecture admirer and told me but I forgot, oops). Anyway, it was gorgeous. Over a hill behind it you could see an old cemetary, and inside the stained glass was just beautiful. We got there just at closing, so we took a brief tour, took photos, and left. Then we headed back to Buchannan to take more photos (including one of a busker, which reminded me of London freshman year) and then back to the bus.
That evening, I was so tired, I basically passed out with the light on.
Over all it was a fun trip, and we do plan on going to Glasgow again when we will have more time to look around. It was a lot colder there than it's been here, but it's starting to cool down here again, too. No more 50s and mild, it seems; we're in for a week of low-30s.
Photos have been updated!
Also, I turned in my first ever paper! ...and then realized I had forgotten the bibliography. They're very picky about plaigarism here, so I need to rectify that. Oops.
Happy Super Bowl Sunday! We're watching here, at 11pm to about 5am, but I don't plan on seeing the end of it.
-A-
It's a big city.
Is it like New York?
They cracked up. "It's like a EUROPEAN big city!" Basically, you can tell that it's bigger and more modern than Edinburgh, but it's still fairly small. Smaller than London, even. But it was busier than Edinburgh, for sure.
Anyway, an hour bus ride brought us to Glengoyne Distillery, where Glengoyne scotch whiskey is made. And oh my goodness, is that place neat! First of all, it smelled divine, like baking bread and honey. Really that's the smell of fermentation. We all go to taste a dram (wee bit) of their signature 10-year old single malt whiskey, which smelled so delicious but really burned going down. We watched a video on how the type of water (what rocks it comes from, if it's hard or soft, etc) and type of barley all add into the special taste of the spirit. Even the shape and size of the stills ends up affecting the taste!
Then, we took a tour, seeing the natural waterfall which fuels the heating, cooling, fermenting, etc of the whiskey. We got to see the fermentation process, where each barrel holds 19 thousand litres of "weak beer" (or something that looks like porridge and bubbles at the top). At the end, we saw the gift shop. Matt bought a tiny bottle of 21-year old single malt (all Glengoyne makes is single malt) and Kim bought a glass.
We learned that:
- single malt whiskey is "the best" but mixed whiskeys, like Johnny Walker, just mean that multiple single malts go into them
- "Scotch" is just whiskey made, distilled, and bottled in Scotland
- "single cask" whiskeys are the MOST rare; they are stored in a cask for its first use and therefore take on most of the flavor of the wood
- 3 years and 1 day of storing time makes the spirit legal whiskey, not a day shorter.
- A 36 year whiskey is about 400 lbs to buy a bottle of. Older whiskeys are VERY RARE because so much evaporates over time.
- Single cask 36 year whiskey is probably the best there is
- The color of the spirit comes from the aging process
After lunch, we went to the Museum of Modern Art, and then to the Cathedral. It's a gothic cathedral, something like the only one left in Scotland or something (Jake is an architecture admirer and told me but I forgot, oops). Anyway, it was gorgeous. Over a hill behind it you could see an old cemetary, and inside the stained glass was just beautiful. We got there just at closing, so we took a brief tour, took photos, and left. Then we headed back to Buchannan to take more photos (including one of a busker, which reminded me of London freshman year) and then back to the bus.
That evening, I was so tired, I basically passed out with the light on.
Over all it was a fun trip, and we do plan on going to Glasgow again when we will have more time to look around. It was a lot colder there than it's been here, but it's starting to cool down here again, too. No more 50s and mild, it seems; we're in for a week of low-30s.
Photos have been updated!
Also, I turned in my first ever paper! ...and then realized I had forgotten the bibliography. They're very picky about plaigarism here, so I need to rectify that. Oops.
Happy Super Bowl Sunday! We're watching here, at 11pm to about 5am, but I don't plan on seeing the end of it.
-A-
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