Ode to a bacon roll

O bacon roll!
Each glad morning I rush to greet thee,
your crusty roll
your salty bacon.

O thou are not beautiful, o no!
But thou taste so divine,
that my love for thee
is blind.

My new home sweet home

In the midst of end-of-term madness and I have not had the energy or time to post, but here are some photos. I love it in my new flat and wake up every morning happy--and little bluebirds bring me my clothes in the morning. Scotland is magical, isn't it?

My Old Flat at Maclay Residences

I know many of you are expecting photos of my new flat. But unfortunately because of banks being silly and my landlord has yet to receive my deposit, I am still in my old place. I know many people wanted to see photos of that too, so thought we could do a little comparison. Before and after. Do pardon the mess. The top image is a view from my window (with train tracks cropped out).

Next is the room itself. Single bed on the right which is connected to the wall.

My tiny bathroom. But it is my very own! Shower on the left divided by very lightweight shower curtain that sticks to you when you are using it.

This the flat hallway. My door is the second you see on the left. The second door on the right is the kitchen. See below:

So you see, it is not terrible. Small, yes, but everything is new and generally works. However, for the price of my room, you can rent a whole 1 bedroom flat in the West End of Glasgow (the posh end--where I live) and be closer to uni...and shops...and pretty much everything. There are a lot of vacant lots around my current housing making the walk home at night a bit creepy.
Now hopefully in a few days, I will be able to post pics of my new flat and do a little comparison.

Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night

"Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot."

I celebrated my first distinctly British holiday on Thursday! Well, not really a holiday, but there were fireworks! No bonfires, alas. And I kept on hoping there was some song or ritual or something, but my British friends didn't know of any. Reading online (good ol' Wikipedia), I discovered that kids used to make an effigy of Guy and knock on doors asking for money--I guess to buy fireworks? And at the end of the day burn the effigy. And the light the fireworks. Here's a little more info on Fawkes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes

Now, according to the article attached below, Halloween has become more popular and more profitable. Strict regulations are part of the reason for the decline in popularity of bonfire night. Of course, Halloween in the States is not what it used to be either with everyone afraid of candy from strangers.

http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE5A43XE20091105?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=11604

Kinneil House and Blackness Castle and Rain

Here are some photos from an extracurricular trip on Saturday. Kinneil House is only open a few days a year to visitors, but the grounds are open all year round. In the 1930s, when this house was being torn down, they found Renaissance murals. This discovery saved the house from destruction! It is still a partial ruin, but a very compelling place. On the grounds are remnants of a medieval church and a Roman fortlet (I believe that means "mini-fort".) It looks sunny, but there had been a 10-minute squall that soaked everything.



After the house was a short drive to Blackness Castle. This is a very military building that was used up until the late-19th century. It is very Romantic in a Scottish-seaside-blustery sort of way. By the way, the coastline in this part of Scotland reminds me of those on the Puget Sound--well, perhaps a wee bit more rugged.


Today is a dreary, rainy day. I learned yesterday that the Scottish have about a dozen words for rain. I think I will try to track them all down. The one I learned yesterday was "shmer". Okay, I don't know if that is the correct spelling, but that is how it sounds. "Shmer" is that sort of misty rain that comes down and coats everything in wet without really forming raindrops.

Pies

No, I am not talkin' apple or cherry pies, but savoury ones: steak pie, mince pie, pork pie, Scotch pie, and curry chicken pie--and many more besides. I love going to the supermarket and just gazing on the infinite variety of them available. I have had the curry chicken pie and it is really, really delicious. (Hmmm, in fact, I would like one now.) And incredibly cheap. And, I am sure, incredibly unhealthy!


The other "flavour" I have had is steak pie. This I have only purchased at the local chip shop. Of course, you are obliged to order it with chips. And gravy. Oh, and salt and vinegar. I think this meal may literally be a "heart attack on a platter". But so satisfying on a cold, damp Scottish day! And the chip shop owners are so happy to help assuage your guilt--on the walls are posters proclaiming chips are "delicious and nutritious!" Seriously. Followed by little facts about how a serving of chips has more fiber than an average serving of brown rice. Just makes me smile. And shake my head in amazement.

Lifestyles of the Rich...and Dead

A big part of my course this term involves study trips to castles and historic homes. I loved to do this for fun before I was in school and now what a treat to "have" to do it. We started in the 16th century at Stirling Castle and next week will have made it to the early 19th-century at Abbotsford (Sir Walter Scott's home).

The first image is a group photo in front of Drumlanrig Castle. Home (still) to the Duke of Buccleuch (pronounced buh-CLUE. kind of.)


This is an image from Stirling Castle.




Getting the queen's view of the Great Hall at Stirling.





Can't take pictures inside, so make the most of shots on the front porch of Drumlanrig.



The last photos I have are from Dumfries House. This has been my favorite so far and not just because our tour started out with shortbread and coffee in front of the fire in the home's library.



That reminds me: I have to say I really love this British penchant for regular takings of tea and coffee. After an hour's ride on the University of Glasgow minibus to Stirling, the first thing we do is go to castle cafe (installed by Robert the Bruce--okay, just kidding) and have a coffee. When we have study sessions at a museum collection, we will often stop for half hour and head to the cafe for some coffee. And on Thursday, arriving at Dumfries, we are immediately ushered into the lovely library for tea or coffee and shortbread biscuits. And it is always with real cups and saucers and little proper tea spoons! No paper cups here. Really so civilized.

Long time no see

First off, my apologies for being unavailable. Things have really gotten busy here and the past week I have had a cold. :-( Although I have been busy, I have been taking photos. Stay tuned for many exciting pictures of food and historic buildings! As well as photos of my classmates (et moi) enjoying historic buildings!

The pic above is me in windy Edinburgh last Friday---I am apparently being attacked by some large handbags, but have no fear--no harm was done. I rustled 'em to the ground. I was in Edinburgh for an academic (yawn!) conference. Well, it was kind of interesting, especially because there were lots of tea breaks with tasty biscuits. The British like their tea breaks. I like their tea breaks too.

The Verdict

Well, I did it. For all those who wanted me to try them, I made my way to the corner shop and bravely bought a packet of Prawn Cocktail crisps. They were....drum roll, please....actually amazingly delicious! Not so much prawn-y (thank goodness!) as cocktail sauce-y. So a bit of savoury and a bit of sweet mixed with saltiness and crunchiness. I have to say, "Shrimp crisps, where have you been all my life?" Well, maybe not that, but they are by far my favorite flavour of crisp I've had here in the UK.

So folks the moral of the story is: don't knock it until you try it. I think that may be my theme with the rest of Scottish food and culture while I am here. And, hey, why not the rest of my life?

My post-graduate life

I have three courses this term:

1) My core decorative arts course meets on Mondays. Today, in addition to a lecture, we had a study session at the Burrell Collection. We got to look in-depth at characteristics of 16th and 17th-century oak furniture. Much more fun to do this in person with the object than just seeing slides. This Friday we have a day long field trip to Stirling Castle to learn more about Renaissance stuff.

2) Research Methods is my Tuesday lecture. Here we learn about how to do postgraduate research. Tomorrow the title of the lecture is "Library Skills". Pretty self-explanatory I think.

3) Wednesdays are The Authentic Artwork. This course I think will be really interesting. We are going to be talking about many things from the ethics of conservation to that big question "What is Art?".

Yes, I only have lectures three days of week, but the rest of the time I am reading. And soon I will need to start writing. I have made up color-coded timetables of each week and there is not much unused time. It's quite a change from working life, but I think all the hard work will reap great rewards!

My first (of many, I hope) whisky distillery visit

Auchentoshan is located a few miles outside of Glasgow and is accessible by train. It was a more eventful trip than I had planned, since I got lost on the way from the train station to the distillery. I tried to give myself up to the experience and managed to have a couple of serendipitous moments on my long, roundabout walk to the place. The sound of a piper and the sight of a church alerted me to a wedding! You can barely see the people in the picture, but it was so Scottish and picturesque I couldn't help myself to try to capture it.



I also ended up wandering along the Forth and Clyde Canal, which was very pretty. Especially pretty when the sun peeked from behind the clouds.



After a long walk and a taxi ride, I made it to the distillery. I found the tour really informative.



Auchentoshan is one of three surviving distilleries in the Lowlands. In 1604 a hefty tax was placed on whisky production, so everyone took their operations up into the Highlands to hide from the taxman. And over the years, the number of the few remaining Lowland distilleries dwindled to the three now. I also learned that the regions of Scotland produce different tasting whiskys. (Is the plural of 'whisky', 'whiskies'?) The Lowlands are known for sweeter whisky. The Islands for smoky. The Highlands for floral. And Speyside for a combination of sweet and floral--I think. The Islands are smoky, because they roast their barley over peat fires as there isn't enough wood available there.

Auchentoshan is special overall, because they triple-distill their whisky, which is a technique mostly used for Irish whiskeys. It is supposed to create a smoother flavor.



At the end of the tour, of course, is my favorite part: the tasting! They served us the 12-year-old and then I got a small taste of the Triple Wood. The Triple Wood is so called since they age it in two different bourbon barrels and then a sherry barrel. (Hmmm, I am not sure if in that order.) However the end result is a complex, flavorful whisky that finishes with the taste of bitter chocolate. Wow! Kind of opened my eyes--and tastebuds--to a whole new world of flavor. I had never tasted whisky like it. Can't wait for the next one!

Your Moment of Zen

Crisp Counter

I am fascinated with potato chips (aka crisps) here. They don't simply have potato chips coming in potato flavours...oh, no, in fact they rarely come in potato flavours. So I have been happily experimenting. I wanted to set up a widget so I could keep track of all the types I have tried, but alas, I cannot find one nor figure out how to make my own.

Here is an old-fashioned list with my tasting comments:

1) Bacon strips--these are crisps shaped, colored, and flavored like little strips of bacon. Very strange, but real bacon flavor!
2) Roast beef and onion crisps--at Marks & Spencers there was a choice of this flavor or Wiltshire Ham. I am glad I went with the beef...It was like Sunday roast! Without any of the nutrients.
3) Roast Chicken--a particularly bizarre idea to me, but a Scottish classmate of mine was singing its praises so I took the plunge. And they were very good! Tasted a lot like chicken.
4) Worcester Sauce--these have been my least favorite. They are reminiscent of salt & vinegar, but with an extra sourness I didn't like. But definitely worth the try.

One flavor I see everywhere that I have been afraid of is Scampi or Shrimp flavored. It just sounds too revolting. But in the name of science (and to share with family and friends the experience), I am willing to submit my tastebuds to this possible monstrosity. Look for future crisp updates!

Is it Glasgow Uni or...Hogwarts?

On Monday was my first little campus tour. It took us through the main building of the University of Glasgow. (Folks just call it "uni" here. Trying to get used to that.) This building was built in 1870 in the neo-Gothic style. The original university, called the "Old College", was in the East End of Glasgow since it opened in 1451. (Yep, that's right.) But apparently with all the industrialisation in the 19th-century, that area of the city had become almost uninhabitable...at least for ivory tower folks. So they moved everything to the lovely, green, undeveloped West End. Hence, the new-ish building.




It's a very impressive building and little did I know, until this tour, that it had a couple of courtyards. You step out from the building into a large green courtyard, which was totally unexpected for me and it absolutely, much to my chagrin,--as I was totally excited about this-- reminded me of Harry Potter and Hogwarts. To get to the second courtyard, there is an area called "The Cloisters" to be walked through. All very picturesque. Also, inside are several halls - as in large rooms--with lovely timbered, arched ceilings. One in particular, Bute Hall, is very nice and is used for graduations, as well as other events. And it does look just like a particularly fancy dining hall in Hogwarts. But with a real ceiling, of course.

Then on Wednesday was another treat. After a slide lecture on Glasgow architectural history, my department got to climb the tower. First, there is an elevator up to the sixth floor, then 225 steps of a winding, spiral stone staircase to the top. Many years the weather has been too poor to allow for a trip to the tower, but we have been very fortunate this year. The climb was pretty painful, but was worth the view from the top. Luckily I had my iPhone with me to take some pictures.

Pedal for Scotland (or How I Nearly Died Riding 51 Miles Yesterday)

Okay, I am exaggerating. I did not nearly die or even kind of come close to it. But this 51 mile bike ride between Glasgow and Edinburgh was quite painful at times. It was also exhilarating at other times. Slow, slow painful climbs up hills that seemed to go on forever and swish, swish fast flying descents on the other side. Overall, it was a really lovely ride and I enjoyed myself immensely. But, boy, was it exhausting. And today I have soreness where I didn't even know a person could be sore!


Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the scenery along the way, but it was incredible. Stone houses on hill tops and bare mountains near Glasgow. Then as we got closer to Edinburgh more stone buildings, but on softer rolling hills with trees.

I have an incredible sense of accomplishment by completing this. It was a challenge. I even got a little emotional at the finish line. I chose the photo of Erin and I at the finish that fitted how we felt: a bit run down. Unfortunately, we had forgotten to put on our medals


so we don't really have any proof that we finished, you'll just have to believe us. Oh, I know, I will take a pic of the medal now and include it.

Scotland!

(Okay, I know it is strange to have a cup of coffee as the image for an entry titled "Scotland!" But I just liked it so much--the image and the coffee.)

I have finally arrived. After a bit over 24 hours in Scotland, here are my first impressions.

People: Unbelievably nice and friendly. While shopkeepers are ringing you up, they will ask how your day has been--and really seem to want to know the answer! I've had this happen to me twice already. A mundane transaction becomes a nice chat. Last night I was at a little take-out place and the owner's baby started crying, she asked me to hold her while she prepared my food. (I was already playing with the baby to try to calm her down.) So I did! Then when dad arrived, we had a...nice chat.

Accent: Frequently indecipherable. If two Glaswegians are speaking to each other, it is a totally different language! Consonants disappear and it's all vowels. Otherwise, it can be absolutely charming and disarming.

Weather: Sunny and 68 today with the same forecast for tomorrow. I know this surely can't last so am trying to enjoy every minute of it.

City: Very nice what I have seen of it. Lots of trees! Lots of cool 19th-century buildings! Fairly clean and lots of shopping. I have been concentrating on crossing streets correctly. Since traffic runs on the opposite side to what I am used to, everytime I approach a street I think "look right, left, right". So far I have not been run over. Yay! And I even had my first experience driving on the "wrong side"--I rode my bike home from the rental shop and survived that as well.

And last but not least,

Food: Well, I haven't eaten anything terrible yet. Last night was moussaka at a Mediterranean place. That was good, if a little greasy. This morning was a great cup of decaf coffee, eggs scrambled with cheese and onion and a croissant. Tonight was a frozen shepherd's pie from Tesco's. Oh, and a BLT sandwich at Starbucks for lunch. Okay, not the healthiest, but I have not come across anything deep-fried yet!!

Tomorrow is the big Pedal for Scotland 50-mile ride between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Hopefully I will live to blog another day! (And not be too maimed from the ride.)

50K on the Rondje Haarlem*

So my sister and I are doing this 50-mile bike ride between Glasgow and Edinburgh on Sunday. When I signed up for it I was sure I would be super biker chick having biked to and from work all summer (which I didn't). I also thought "Oh, 50 miles isn't too bad", which I learned on Monday is not the case...at least for me. Oh, sure, it won't kill me, but the 30-mile ride we did on Monday showed me how out of shape I really am.

In spite of the sore bum and sunburn, it was a really lovely ride. We saw windmills and lots and lots of cows and sheep. (The photo is from our ride.) There were some horses and followed canals in wide open fields. We also rode by mansions and through incredibly picturesque villages. We had a nice picnic lunch in a place called Spaarndam. And perhaps the most lovely thing of all: it was not raining!

*The Rondje Haarlem is bicycle route that goes all around the outskirts of the city of Haarlem. http://www.rondjehaarlem.info/index_uk.php

On the fietspad

Today my sister, her fiance and I rode our bikes to the local pancake house called De Oase. Very fitting that a place you can eat Dutch pancakes and drink beer would be "The Oasis"! After lunch, my sister and I went on a hike in the nearby park. The pancake house is actually just outside the entrance. That is one of the wonderful things about Europe (at least I've found it in Northern Europe). One moment you can be doing something outdoorsy and athletic and the next you are setting yourself down for major carbohydrates and beer. Cheers!

My sister and I took a bike path (fietspad) home that goes through some park land which contains many old estates. I thought this would be a good spot to pose for a picture. Nice Dutch bike, nice Dutch architecture.

Saying Goodbye

I was so fortunate to have two going away parties before I left New York! The first was at my work. We had a bbq--with an actual grill in the backyard. Such a luxury in NYC. It was very fun, despite the fact we were stuck inside because of the rain.

The next party was my "surprise" party. It was held at St. Andrew's Restaurant, a Scottish place off of Times Square. It was very good and I liked the theme! Here are some photos: Okay, maybe not. I am trying to work with Flickr, but am having problems. And am still too jet-lagged to deal. So I am attaching one or two photos here. Thanks to David Weitzenhoffer for the photos.

Thanks to everyone for both of my parties! I felt very loved. I promise to be a better blogger soon.

Big storm destruction

I contribute to the Central Park Conservancy every year and received this email from them. There was a really big storm here on Tuesday and it caused major damage in the park. Please see link and donate if you want to:

http://www.centralparknyc.org/site/PageServer?pagename=stormdamage_appeal

Twenty-eight, fourteen, seven, four, one

Twenty-eight days until school starts
Fourteen more days until I fly out
Seven more days of work
Four more weekend days
One day that is not a weekend or a work day, but the day I get on a plane and fly to Europe.

One (God willing!!!) visa appointment
Two going-away parties (they love me, they really love me!)
Three days at a lake in the Catskills

This has kind of been how I have been breaking things down inside my brain lately.

Two more Mad Men episodes (The image is my "Mad Men" avatar--very Joan.)