Sun & North Berwick

Summer decided to make an appearance here in Scotland so Stacie and I seized the chance to get outside. According to local sources, summer here can be a bit of a flirt. We jumped the train to the little town of North Berwick (pronounced Barrik...your guess is as good as mine). Walking to Waverly Station we enjoyed the greenery and blooming flowers in Princes Street Gardens, we also stopped to admire the castle. You just don't get used to walking around town in the shadow of a medieval castle!

Edinburgh Castle

All aboard to N. Berwick

Every summer my family spends a week on the Oregon Coast and North Berwick reminded me of the little towns we frequent. Shops, eateries, cafes and more shops lined the old streets that were teaming with people. Stacie and I both love the sea salt smell in the air of coastal towns and North Berwick didn't let us down.

Bass rock in the N. Sea

People enjoying sand and sun!

Stacie and I both have a weak spot for unhealthy food and Scotland is known for deep fried delicacies (oxymoron?). We visited a local fish 'n chips shop, known as a chippy, on a friends recommendation. We left full, happy and greasy...success!

Local chippy serving up happiness!

-Kyle

Rosslyn Chapel

This weekend, Kyle & I set out on another adventure in Edinburgh and went to visit Rosslyn Chapel. Rosslyn Chapel is on the outskirts of Edinburgh and was founded in the mid-15th century. It's situated in the quaint little town of, you guessed it, Rosslyn. It is also featured in the recent film, 'The Da Vinci Code'. I didn't actually know that until we went there, but Kyle & I promptly went home last night and rented it and sure enough it's true!

Outside the grounds of the chapel is a large cemetery and a path leading to the ruins of Rosslyn Castle.

Footpath to the Castle ruins

Rosslyn Castle ruins- destroyed during the War in the 16th century

The Chapel is in much better condition than the Castle, although it is under restoration for the next year and a half. Due to large levels of dampness inside the Chapel, a "steel umbrella" has been erected over-top the Chapel to protect it from all the lovely rain that Edinburgh gets each year. This 'umbrella' is helping to dry the church out from the damage the dampness is causing. You aren't allowed to take photographs inside the Chapel, but it was incredibly impressive. It is best known for it's extensive stone carvings.

Kyle outside of Rosslyn chapel

Flying Buttresses

One of my favorite carvings inside the Chapel is called a 'green man'. Green men are carvings of men with leaves or greenery growing out of them. Rosslyn Chapel has over 110 green men mixed into their carvings. The Chapel also contains 213 boxes that are protruding from pillars which are known as the 'musical boxes'. It is believed, by some, that the intricate carvings on the boxes represent musical notes and have been translated into a musical score. Another interesting carving is a depiction of the crop maize. At the time of the Chapel's construction, Columbus had not 'discovered' America, thus it is intriguing that there are carvings of maize in the Chapel (since it does not grow in Europe). Some speculate that this is evidence that others may have discovered America before Columbus. Who knows, but interesting none the less!

In the movie 'The Da Vinci Code' Rosslyn Chapel is credited with containing the records of Jesus' blood line and at one point the Holy Grail. This of course is not true- or is it? However, the Chapel is owned (and always has been) by a private family, the Sinclair's, and therefore no one actually knows what is stored in the underground area of the Chapel. The family has not allowed anyone to view the family vaults. They did allow the Chapel restorers to do a 'depth' test to see how deep the vaults were and they were able to see images of bodies of knights buried in their armor underneath the floor, which is as deep as the Chapel is tall. You certainly can't say that Scotland doesn't have it's history!

-Stacie

Beer & Blossoms

"And since the day I left Milwaukee
Lynchburg, Bordeaux, France
Been makin a fool out of folks
just like you
and helpin white people dance
I am medicine and I am poison
I can help you up or make you fall
you had some of the best times
you'll never remember with me
Alcohol"

Last Friday Stacie and I were watching a movie when we were disturbed by an odd sound emanating from the corner of the den. Much to our surprise we turned to find our innocent (we thought) Deacon finishing off a beer I'd mistakenly placed on the floor. Take a look at the incriminating photos below.

So engrossed, he doesn't realize he's on camera

In dog years he's technically 28, so have at it big fella!

Spring has finally sprung, in fits and spurts anyway, here in Edinburgh. For many of our faithful blog followers you'll know our Sunday's consist only of Church, reading and a nap. We mixed it up this weekend with a nice walk to take in the blossoming colors around our neighborhood. Stacie snapped these just around the corner from our flat.

Hedges and cherry blossoms

Pink blooms on climbing ivy

If it's Deacon's debauchery or the return of color to Edinburgh, there's always something to keep us entertained.

-Kyle & Stacie

Say what?

It's funny how Americans and Brits speak the same language, 'English', but it doesn't mean that we actually speak the same language. We've complied a little quiz to test your knowledge of the fluidly interchangeable English language. Take a look at our list below and see if you can figure out how these words are used by our kin across the pond.

British English words:

1. Muppet
2. Kit
3. Biscuit
4. Fizzy Juice
5. Brolly
6. Jelly
7. Hob
8. Bobble
9. Cheese Toastie
10. Bap
11. Sequestration
12. Fairy Lights
13. Fringe
14. Ginger
15. Train Tracks
16. Ice Lolly
17. Nappy

So how did you get on? Check your answers below:

1. Idiot
2. Stuff
3. Cookie
4. Soda
5. Umbrella
6. Jello
   
7. Stove top
8. Hair-tie
9. Grilled Cheese sandwich
10. Bread Roll
11. Bankruptcy
12. Christmas lights
13. Bangs
14. Redhead
15. Braces
16. Popsicle
17. Diaper

There's your crash course in dealing with the quirky differences between British and American English.

-Stacie & Kyle

Glaswegian for the day...

On Saturday, Kyle & I made our first trip to Glasgow. Glasgow is only 50 minutes west of Edinburgh and is the largest city in Scotland. We figured we should give it a look, or as the Scots say "suck and see".

The weather was typical Scotland, cloudy one minute, sunny the next. No rain though so we were happy! Glasgow is mostly known for it's shopping and dining- as opposed to Edinburgh which is more known for it's cultural heritage. Since Kyle & I love to shop and eat, we were not disappointed with our experience!

A main street in Glasgow

One of the stores we went in had a 'Snoopy Sno-cone machine'. I used to have one of these when I was 'wee' and was super-excited to see one in Scotland! Of course, I made Kyle pose while I took a picture.

Kyle & the Snoopy Sno-cone Machine

Like most big cities, Glasgow also has a large city park named 'Kelvingrove Park'. We ventured over to the park once we were done with our shopping (can you ever be done?) and had eaten lunch at our new favorite restaurant here 'Wagamamas'. The park was really beautiful and the sun was shining- it actually felt like spring!

Enjoying some sunshine

A pond in the park

A meadow in Kelvingrove

We really enjoyed exploring Glasgow and thought it was a nice city. I must say however that I am biased towards Edinburgh and it's ancient architecture and castles, but Glasgow was a nice.

-Stacie

A wee hike

This past weekend Kyle & I went on a hike (or as they call it here "hill walk") near our flat. We hopped on the local bus and road it out to an area of Edinburgh called the Pentlands.

That's Edinburgh off in the distance

Deacon lead the way as we explored

A flowering Scottish weed (so we were told).

My favorite part of the hike was the baby sheep.

Along with a lovely hike, another thing the Pentlands has to offer is the longest artificial ski slope in Europe. Exciting stuff!

The ski slope

Just like in Seattle- you have to seize a sunny day when you have one!

-Stacie