There is a Model of a Cloned Sheep

Saturday in Edinburgh started deliciously. My host said that we HAD to go to a little cafe called Urban Angel (PS - I just pulled up that website and few seconds later thought there was a bird in my kitchen No, it's just the sound for the site) because of its awesome French toast and hot chocolate. That's enough to convince me, so we went. It also gave me an excuse to walk through New Town, a famously well-planned Georgian area. As it turns out Urban Angel sources as much of their food as they can, using local providers and organic options for their more exotic ingredients. The French toast and its accompanying exotic topping (MAPLE SYRUP!!!! No maple trees in the British Isles, so this was a treat) were not to die for, but at least worth fainting for. It was so good I got my picture outside.

If I hadn't gotten enough sustainable and artisan food already, we went over to Castle Market (a farmers' market in the shadows of the Castle). Since it was Scotland, there were a lot of beef, cheese, lamb, and woolen products. It was a fun little market. Next, I went through an area called Grassmarket in Old Town. It's a more homely and intimate version of a shopping street, and in the main square at the end, they used to hang people. Uplifting! There were free tours (where they would try to rope you into extended, unfree tours) all through the square, so I picked up on the death theme and the significance of the pub The Last Drop. Grassmarket leads you back towards St. Giles' Cathedral. Since my host's friend who was with us is a grad student in Biblical Studies, he had something sweet to show us.

The asphalt underneath a van? That's not sweet! But when you realize that this car park used to the be church gardens, it has the potential to be more interesting. The yellowish square above the numbers is where the headstone of John Knox was before the asphaltation of the gardens. The founder of Presbyterianism is buried there. Nice little find that I wouldn't have seen without knowing a graduate student in theology.

Feeling my roots (however small) as a Scotsman, I wanted to go to the Scottish Museum. I could see the relics of my great (x a few dozen) grandparents! Inside there were a several very interesting pieces, like an ancient harp and charts showing the migration and historical homes of clans. I began to learn that Scotland was very similar to Ireland, except Scotland is more ambivalent towards England (since, essentially, Scotland conquered England instead of the other way around - in my reductionist estimation). There were a lot of exhibits for the entertainment of the children/immature college students. There were small catapults, agility games, and other energy wasters. There was a rotating model of the first cloned sheep, Dolly as well. That hurts my brain to think about - a model of a clone. There was a big section on industrialisation and distilling, mirroring 2 important aspects of Scottish culture - blackened buildings and scotch.

Lunch was the next topic. I got pigeon salad. Pigeon is delicious, by the way. We were very close to where JK Rowling wrote most of the first Harry Potter books, the Elephant House, so we stopped by and looked. The seat where she supposedly sat while writing it looked out on the Castle on a hill, and I suspect that's the idea behind something in HP.

We played some Cranium back at the flat for a few hours after that, realizing that despite the wicked darkness, it was only like 7 PM. I ended up walking around the city for a while, learning that everything closes at about 6 PM on Saturdays. There were a lot of pretty windows decorated for Christmas at the fancy department stores like Harvey Nichols. I found some dinner at the classy dinner chain Pizza Express (Milano in Ireland) and then, more importantly, found a deep fried Mars bar on the way back. Good Idea, Alex.

I ended the night here, and that essentially ended my trip in Edinburgh. On Sunday morning, I found some breakfast and hopped a train to Glasgow. The countryside in Scotland is very pretty, although not as green as Ireland. One little town we stopped at had a dramatic castle upon a hill. Below was a huge Tesco grocery store (think Wal-Mart). I assume that the castle was still armed to defend against the evil that is Tesco.

Once in Glasgow, I walked through the main shopping street, Buchnan St. I was looking for a warmer coat for the rest of the semester, and since everything is cheaper when you're not in Dublin (or so I thought until I went to Copenhagen), I figured I'd use my afternoon to find one. I found none. The main square in Glasgow was blocked off for a private Christmas light lighting ceremony, so unfortunately I couldn't admire it. I ended up at the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art. It was a fairly small gallery, but with some really cool art - especially optical art. The lines and designs messed with my eyes and bounced around the canvas as I stared.

I found the closest chipper, tried getting a king rib again, and failed. I got some fish and chips and went to the train station to get to the airport. I was flying back to Dublin from the discount airport of Glasgow - I think only Ryanair uses it. My flight was at 6:30 AM on Monday, but no buses could get me there early enough, so I decided to spend the night. I was reassured by the website Sleeping in Airports that Glasgow Prestwick Airport had benches without arm rests, providing for good sleep. I ended up getting about 4 hours of sleep, playing on the internet a lot, and pacing the whole 100 yards of the airport. Yes it was that small. I made it home safely on Monday morning, without having been scammed, killed, or raped by Couch Surfing or sleeping in an airport. Oh yea, and I had a wonderful time in a wonderful city - Edinburgh. It was a place I might be able to live someday.