February Adventures: Part I

Hello world! Today, Sandra didn’t feel like writing the blog so I convinced her to let me write the blog while she cleans my room. Fair trade, right? So this time around we get to write the blog my way!

As ever, let’s start with the words of the week (American: Scottish)!  Plaster: Band-Aid, “J”: “Ji” (As in rhymes with eye), Factorizing: Factoring, and that’s all I can think of.

So, it seems like it’s been a month since we last blogged, and that’s a long time so sorry for the wait! We’ve been fairly busy though, as we visited Loch Ness last weekend and Sandra’s friend Kaylie came to visit us this weekend. The weekend before that we spent just walking around the city. It was a fairly uneventful weekend then, as we just wandered around and found where some nice convenient places are like a Hallmark store and I managed to find a comic book store too, so I guess that was a pretty big success. Other than our most recent trip and this weekend’s visits (which I will give more details on later) it’s kind of been same ol’ same ol’. Piping is fun, we’re learning a lot. My lecturer has been out for three weeks and his substitute was quite good, under his tutelage I’ve nearly even caught up to Sandra’s mad chanter skills! We’ve begun to play a few little songs, like Deck The Halls and I’m supposed to try and learn Auld Lang Syne but I can’t quite get it. We’ve also learned about Piobaireachd! I know, it looks like a funny word, phonetically spelt it’s Pibroch. It’s a style of song for bagpiping that’s played in competition and can last from 7-28 minutes! We also have been trying to learn a song called Going Home by ear and that’s proving to be both fun and difficult. All in all, our lecturer Finlay of The Finlay McDonald Band fame is quite a good teacher and the class is pretty fun. He’s also organizing a trip to one of the Highland Games in May for the class which should be an experience, too.

He also wants us to keep going to gigs, I can’t remember what he calls them. But going to a pub to listen to bagpipe music. He even told us he would be going to a pub called Bappity Bowsters yesterday to listen to some music, and Sandra and I planned to go but decided not to last minute, it’s kind of awkward to go and listen to music when you don’t really know what to order, and I’m not interested in going to drink so it woulda been weird. Going to have lunch or dinner is one thing, but it might have been weird to go just to enjoy a nice refreshing Coca Cola. So we decided to explore Buchanan Street first, and I found another comic book store! Another great success!

Now though, I’m being told I need to move on to “ranting about Inverness,” and boy will it be a rant. It cost us 55 pounds to go on this trip, which was a pretty decent deal considering all they offered, but it ended up being a huge disaster. We left Uni at 8 o’clock, a little after because no one is on time here, and headed off. We used Google Maps earlier in the week to know how long it would take to get there, and it’s about a 3.5 hour bus ride, and we figured 4 if we take the scenic route. We got there at 4. We made three stops on the way, and each one was equally frustrating. Our first stop was in a town called Perth. A nice place, had a shopping mall, an art gallery, a nice looking church. It would have been nice to spend a half hour there to look around. But it was POURING. And they gave us an hour and a half to explore. In the rain. It wasn’t quite lunch time, and they said this was a bathroom break and the next stop would be for lunch. So we wandered in the rain for a little over an hour, found a book store, took pictures of the city hall. It woulda been pleasant if it wasn’t raining, but it was raining, and cold, and boring, and a disaster. So we try to go on the bus a little early, we got there about 15 minutes early, figured we would wait on the bus, and the drivers weren’t there. Eventually they did come after we waited in the rain, and then after waiting ON the bus soaking wet for another 15-20 minutes for our trip organizer to arrive (because he got lost) we set off again.

Our next stop was in Pitlochry, which was even smaller than Perth with even less to do and even worse weather as now we had rain, colder temperatures and snow/slush on the ground. When we got there, we found we had a half hour to explore, and that and I quote “the only thing to see here is a dam and a fish ladder.” Well, that would have been great if it wasn’t the middle of winter when no fish would be out! And then after visiting it, there was no time to grab anything to eat so we went back to bus, and having been fooled twice, the bus drivers were still not early, and we still waited in the rain. When we finally got on the bus we waited again and set off late again. By now, Sandra and I are NOT happy campers, but we’re optimistic happy campers as we did come on this trip to go to Inverness and Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle which were still yet to come!

But, before we could get to Inverness, we had one more stop, at the ski resort Aviemore. There, Sandra went to use a public toilet, which they make you pay like 30 pence  for, and only take exact change. Now, as the story has been told to me, she did not have exact change, and then while looking for it, the guy working the counter next to the turnstile to get in just told her to go and not worry about it. So she went, and then ran as fast as she could when she left because she didn’t know if she’d have to pay for it when she got back out or not. Then we finally got subway for lunch, because the Fish & Chips shop had a 20 minute wait and we only had 30 minutes to visit this creepy doll-house village. Here wasn’t too bad, it was set in the mountains and  if it wasn’t so darn creepy it would have been pleasant because the sun had finally come out! We got back on the bus, did more waiting, and then left for Inverness finally!

On the ride there, they passed around a sign-up sheet for rooms in the hostel. Now, as per normal paper-passing rules, the paper was to go down the right hand side of the bus where it started, get to the end of that aisle, be passed left, and continue up the left in a giant U. But of course, even paper-passing protocol was not followed on this trip, and thus we had a hostel debacle. Just before the paper was to be passed back to us, the kid in front of us, who was a Canadian whose name will be left out in case he happens upon this blog, and he was horribly annoying and ignorantly insensitive. He actually brought up the topic of Tiananmen Square to the Chinese girl sitting next to him by saying “Yeah, remember that student protest in china? It wasn’t too long ago… they like brought in tanks and stuff?” Yeah, he was a complete fool. And he passed the paper to the left! And so it got to everyone but us. But then somehow Sandra managed to snag the paper before we got to Inverness and signed us up for one of the only double rooms on there, so we wrote down our room number and were pleased that the trip seemed to be looking up, phew!

When we get to Inverness, we all unload and go to the lobby of the hostel, where our trip organizer Hojatt begins to call out numbers for check-in, only we were apparently the only ones who wrote down our room number, as no one was listening/caring/coming up to get their keys. So then he had to start calling out names, which was even worse as he couldn’t even pronounce them. Luckily our room number was near the top of the list, so we got our keys quickly and left to drop off our stuff before our adventures in Inverness ( Sandra was even applauded by Hojatt for remembering the room number, but really, why the heck wouldn’t you???).

After dropping off our stuff, we grabbed a map from the hostel reception and set off for an exploration! Only to quickly realize everything had closed at 3:30 and we got there at 4. Castles, Cathedrals, a Museum, a Battlefield, all of these great attractions, and because of people not showing up on time, and visiting places that seemed just foolish, we missed visiting essentially everything there is to see in Inverness. And so, we resorted to just walking around all evening, exploring the new city we were in. It was pleasant, Inverness means “The Mouth of the River Ness” in Gaelic, so it was a town seated on the river that leads right in to Loch Ness, and there were castles and cathedrals and it was pleasant, but it could have been even better if we got to see what we came to see. But, we didn’t get discouraged, we had a McDonald’s dinner (because everything was too expensive and I don’t eat chili which is what Hojatt was so kindly making us for dinner for free at the hostel), and set to bed semi-early while everyone else went out clubbing – the only reason they came to Inverness it seemed like.

Then, in the morning, we went down for breakfast, where half of our group wasn’t awake and the other half was disorganized and eating another group’s food, checked out, and loaded on the bus, thinking this new day would bring better luck! Not quite. Our first stop was The Nessie Center, an exhibition center with lots to see and do regarding Loch Ness and more specifically the monster that resides in the waters. We were given two options, to watch a presentation lasting a half hour at the exhibition center or explore the surrounding area, but whatever you did, you had to be back on the bus in a half hour. So, being forced to choose one or the other, Sandra and I saw the presentation on Nessie, and it was very interesting. Did you know that you can fit the entire world’s population three times over in Loch Ness? It was huge! After finishing the presentation, we snapped some quick pictures on our way back to the bus and then after waiting again, set off for Urquhart Castle!

Urquhart Castle was incredible, the ruins of a castle sitting right on Loch Ness, a huge gift shop, another presentation to see, and we had one hour to look at it. We had more time in the pouring rain in boring ol’ Perth, than here! Heck, the total time we spent waiting for other people on the bus was more time than we had here! But, we decided it was best not to complain and to just use the time as wisely as we could. This though, was when we realized that we had definitely gone on the trip with the wrong kind of people. Because as we are marveling at the size of the trebuchet just outside the castle walls, members of our group ran across the grass and down the hill, tearing off their clothes as they did to jump in Loch Ness. Sigh. But anyway, we set out to explore the castle and it was magnificent! We may or may not have grabbed a little piece of it for my Aunt Susie, as requested. If you haven’t a Facebook and therefore haven’t looked at the pictures yet, click the links on the right side for Scotland Album 2, they should be available for everyone to look through and you’ll see how incredible the castle and the Loch really is.

After exploring the castle and getting some souvenirs, we went back to the bus and sat on there to continue waiting. Only this time, we had to have waited a solid half hour, at least, for them to round everyone up. Time that could have been spent exploring the castle, and that was pretty much the last straw when it came to our patience for this trip. We will most likely go back in order to do this trip right, but at that point we had given up and just wanted to get home – sadly, there was more left!

On the way back, we took the scenic route again through the mountainous highlands, and Sandra got some pretty amazing photos of the mountains, including Ben Nevis the highest peak in Britain, from the bus. We stopped at a monument for the Commandos of the British army in WWII, (which involved pushing Asians, who feel the need to take pictures in front of everything they see, out of the way). And then we stopped for lunch in Fort Williams, another town that is literally a parking lot and a road and not much else. But we had lunch in the gift shoppy area next to the bus and it was good, and then loaded back on the bus after our hour long visit there, and as always we waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. Until finally, after an hour and a half of waiting, we left with one of the buses about half full, because people had gotten lost in this tiny town, partly because of their own stupidity and partly because we are dropped off in these places with no directions. So, we left without half of the people from the second bus and set off, but of course after waiting all that time, we found them at the bus stop a quarter mile from where we parked and set off again.

We made one more stop, and I don’t even remember where, but because of all the delays, the main toilet facilities were closed, as with almost everything at this time of day, and so 80 girls had to use 2 toilets in about 15 minutes – yeah, not gonna happen. So more delays. Finally when we got back, Sandra and I vowed over pinky promises not to go on another weekend trip with ISoc again. A day trip, maybe. But relying on so many people with different agendas and everything to be on the same page for an entire weekend, when they are going to these things for different reasons than us, it doesn’t work.

Now here are some *exclusive* pictures, not posted on facebook, especially for our dedicated readers (and we realize that most of you are related to us and feel a familial obligation, but you’re special too). Enjoy!

FUMAR

Named so because Tom refuses to admit that the word is ‘fulmar’, not ‘fumar’. On to words of the week (American: Scottish)! Ketchup: Tomato sauce. Curb: Kerb. rappelling: abseiling. Out of breath: Out of puff!

And so we realize our blogs are getting further and further apart, but that’s only because we’ve been busier! (Check the links on the right for the pictures if you don’t believe it!) On Thursday, Tom made another friend, he makes at least one each day (we haven’t figured out why). After his class, he was leaving to meet Sandra when all of a sudden, he heard someone yell his name from behind! It was the girl he had met and she chased him down to invite him to a church event, and said Sandra could come too. So we decided to go as long as it fit into the schedule because we had a piping lecture that night and were planning a feast of Chinese proportions! But it ended up working out, and the church event, which was Crescendo, was awesome. It was basically a showcasing of talents, everything from songs to poetry to stand-up. (And Tom went inside of a church without any lightning! )

Oh, and speaking of Piping! We each had our first lessons last week and our second lessons this week! And we are… well.. we’re not really that bad, really. We’re learning. The chanter is weird for both of us, Tom because it’s a foreign object and Sandra because it’s not a clarinet. We both discovered with have issues with overactive saliva glands, and have to dry out our reeds during our practices. They’re little plastic oboe reeds that go inside the instrument. It’s pretty neat. We can both play a (distorted) scale and we’re working on some gracenotes! Because really, bagpipe music is all about the gracenotes. Oh! And Tom’s been assigned to learn “Deck the Halls” this week and Sandra will probably attempt it also.

What else have we done?! Well, besides learning that Chinese food containers make awesome free Tupperware, we’ve explored the greater Glasgow and beyond! Early on Saturday morning, we decided to venture out down the street and across the River Clyde to go to the Glasgow Science Centre. It was a fun walk there and the Science Centre itself was a blast! (Until it was overrun by wee children with inattentive parents.) But it had a lot of neat exhibits and experiments and brain teasers (we successfully completed the 3-D tetris cube!). They also had a game called “Mind Ball” where you used your brain waves to move a ball into the opponent’s goal, the more relaxed you were, the better your chances of moving the ball. It went on for far too long until Tom won, finally. We saw a show called “Fantastic Forces” which was pretty class, and we also visited the Planetarium (which Sandra has never been to), which was awesome and beautiful, and only slightly dizzying. We also had lunch at the Science Centre, which was surprisingly decently priced. They boasted the best hot dogs around, and Tom did end up rating them an 8/10 overall.

Speaking of food, after we left the Science Centre, we took a long walk, looping around the river. We found a lovely restaurant with Tom’s mom’s name in it! Frankie and Benny’s New York Italian Restaurant and Bar! We decided we will return there for lunch someday. It’s funny how you can find little pieces of home even without looking for them. But anyway, we really liked the restaurant, both ordering fantastic calzones. 

After dinner, we had to find our way back to the Science Centre in the dark with no map or directions. We succeeded and we were early to see ”Tron: Legacy” that evening in 3-D on one of the largest IMAX screens in the UK. We also discovered Maltesers. Does anyone know how to say that? They’re fantastic, you all should import some. Okay, so after Tron we walked home by the light of the streetlamps and collapsed into bed. Only then we had to get up the next morning to go on our second adventure of the weekend: St Andrews!

 We left in the early morning, around 8:20 to be exact and made our way to Uni. We then were on a bus by 9 and ready to go. We stopped at some wee town along the way and that was awkward but provided a much-needed toilet break. Two hours later, we arrived at St Andrews! A beautiful wee town right on the North Sea (see pictures in albums). We wandered around at first, looking for the essentials, a toilet and food. Come to find out, in these nice touristy towns they charge you a whole 30 pence to use the toilet! What a rip off. Anywho, after that nice discovery, Tom made a new discovery: Bangers and Mash. Now, we passed a pub with a poster in the window proclaiming that it had “The Best Bangers and Mash in Scotland”. And according to Tom, it was true. Also, a Full English Breakfast, for anyone that’s wondering, is also quite good. So our first pub experience was a success! (And no, we didn’t have alcohol.)

We then explored St Andrews, wandering through the ruins of a castle (it was as awesome as it sounds, check out the photos by clicking the links to the right). We walked up on towers that were still left standing looking out over the sea. We crouched our way through the mine and countermine. We took a ton of pictures and just marveled at the granduer of the castle for a bit before stepping down to the water. The sea was cold and salty, but the beach was beautiful and Sandra got her feet wet, quite on accident. Tom didn’t because he was standing on a rock. Yay for him.

We then ventured to the ruins of the cathedral, which was absolutely massive. We wandered through the biggest cemetary we’d ever seen, noting the names on the tombstones and staring in wonder at the dates, which ranged from 1500 (or earlier) to 2008. We walked around the ruins of the actual cathedral building for awhile, standing atop the remains of columns that were five feet wide. The sheer size of it all was incredible. There isn’t much to top seeing that. So, we finished off our day with a walk out onto a very long pier, a trip to an office store, a bag of lemon curd and oatflake Scottish shortbread cookies, and a long bus ride home.

And now, we have purchased tickets to Loch Ness (Feb 19-20), have a brand new pot and pan (thank you UK ebay), and Tom is lighting yogurt on fire and feeding Sandra “Peanut butter surprise” sandwiches (turns out the surprises is a cookie, yay!). Have a good week people, survive the snow! (And for you eight people who may follow us outside of the NY, enjoy your FL/TX/UK? weather!)