skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Hiya! It's a blustery day here in Glasgow. A bit of sun, a bit of wind, a bit of rain....lovely, lovely day! We've been walking around the city today. We slept in (and for breakfast I had a tatty scone roll! YUMMMMMY! it's like a potato pancake and it's fried and put between a roll) I love it! After breakfast we walked to Victoria Rd where we took the train into Central station in city centre. Then after getting a coffee at Starbucks we walked our way up to Glasgow Cathedral.When I lived here I used to go up there a lot and sit on the steps in the crypt below and sketch the arches in the architecture. We walked up a hill nearby called the Necropolis (which has a massive old cemetary on the top) to look out over the cityscape. There are so really old gravestones and tombs and markers and celtic crosses....great photo opps. Then we walked back down to Buchanan street and now (after eating a bit of lunch) we're emailing at the internet cafe. Yesterday a funny thing happened after we left the internet cafe...as I was walking down Buchanan street I saw Alistair walking up it! HELLO! In a city as large as Glasgow is (bigger than Seattle!) and after being gone for 3 years...I actually see someone I know in the middle of city centre coming straight for me!!! Amazing!So we stood and talked for a wee bit. I was cracking up over that. We did a bit of shopping and then made our way back to Queens Park by train. The train system is my favored type of public transport.I know a lot of people who would rather take the bus...but I prefer the train...it's peaceful and Iike the sound of the train on the tracks. So we stood in Central Station and watched the large reader board to change, looking for the platform to be shown for our particular train (we took the Cathcart train which stops at Victoria Rd)...there are about 3 you can take in that direction, you just watch for the times and platforms. We walked back to Maggies thru Queens Park(it's a beautiful park, I've painted pictures of it). And then last night we went to a chippy for supper. I had a fried pizza with chips (yummy!) and then for dessert we tried the fried Mars bar (a Glasgow specialty)...it was really sweet! See here in Glasgow if it can be battered fried...they'll do it! So they take a Mars bar candy bar and dip it in a batter and then in it goes into the oil....YUM! it melts the chocolate and caramel and nugget. mmmmmmmmmm. We watched a little bit of tele last night too...some improv comedy show called "Mock the Week"...kind of like "Who's Line Is It Anyways"...but has to do with politics that have taken place in the news during the week. It was pretty funny...but you have to kind of understand the humor over here to get it. Tonight I have plans to meet friends at the Bean Scene Coffeehouse near Maggie's flat at half seven (7:30pm) for coffee and wee blather (chat). I think Carrie is coming and maybe Maggie and also Rose...and I hope some others like Amy C can come....but some people have a discipleship home group tonight...so if I don't see them tonight I'll see them on Sunday at church. I've been very blessed so far with being able to see friends...God has been good to me. Tomorrow my parents and I will leave Glasgow early by car to travel up into the highlands for a few days. So I may not be able to email for awhile...we'll see. We'll be going past Loch Lomond (hoping to stop at the wee town of Luss to have tea and scones) and then up to Glen Coe (a famous valley known for clan battles) and then up to Loch Ness and then to Inverness. We'll be staying in Inverness till Friday. We hope to tour to the battlesite of Culloden (a famous clan battle happened there) and then also over to Eileen Donan Castle (known for being in the movie The Highlander) and then over to the Isle of Skye (where the clan MacLeod has a castle called Dunvegan). We will then travel back down on Friday and stay in Oban overnight (a really beautiful town where ferries dock to head out to the Hebrides isles). We'll drive back to Glasgow on Saturday. It's great being back here in Glasgow...it is a bit surreal though...every so often I get a memory of my life here 3+years ago...and then I'm reminded that I don't live here, and I'm on holiday. It gives me mixed feelings. Well...I should probably close this coffeetalk...I must go use the toilet. Thank you all for your continued prayers. I send cuddles (hugs) to you. Cheers, Lisa
Hiya! Greetings from good ol Glesga, Scotland! I'm back..Wow! It's a bit hard to believe that I'm actually walking those streets that had become such a way of life for me...it's such a surreal experience to be back in the city I lived in for 9 months...after 3 years being gone so much has changed! It's all familiar...and yet it's different. But...let me back up...I have a bit more time to email today (sitting at the EasyInternet Cafe on St. Vincent St. in city center...it's a bit more expensive than I it used to be, right now at 3:30pm on Monday it's running at £2.50 for an hour)...anyways, so let me fill in some details of our trip since London (it's been quite a whirlwind and although I emailed from Edinburgh and from St. Andrew's I didn't have much chance to tell stories).... So...we headed out early on Thursday morning from London's Victoria Station Underground...had to ride the tube to King's Cross and then catch our Flying Scotsman train to Edinburgh. Riding the tube at peak commuter traffic time was quite the intense experience! The place was packed with people and when the trains arrived they flowed in and out of the cars like blood cells thru an artery. I have a funny story to tell about that...my parents and I were trying to keep track of each other, but when our train came I was pushed far away from them by so many people cramming in, I was almost left behind. I figured (in the split second I had to think) that if I couldn't make it on the train I would just wait for the next one and ride it to Kings Cross (hoping mom and dad would know to wait for me there)...but in that second mom (not being used to the system and the city and the fact we were in a foreign country) reached out suddenly thru the crowd and grabbed my arm pulling me up into the train car, squishing me into people and just then the doors were closing (which my back pack on my back would be crushed in the door) so I used all my force and pushed forward into the crowd once more, just making it by centimeters....(and by the way, I did all that with a Starbucks coffee in my hand and didn't spill a drop!!!! oh yeah, I'm good!!!!)...the adventure wasn't over because at the next stop I WAS THE DOOR for all the people in that car...so as the doors moved open I was shoved out onto the platform by a hord of London commuters....and had to make my way back onto the train thru the force of people in time for the doors to shut again!!!! And we had 3 more stops to go!!! OH MY GOODNESS!! Well...I survived. Quite an intense experience. We had a real lovely train ride up from London thru the north of England and into Scotland. We had originally thought we'd stop off in York but that same day was the Royal Ascot Horse Races (the Queen was there for the race) and the city was packed with people all dressed up in tophats and tails, fancy dresses and large hats. We decided not to stop cuz it would be just too busy there (especially with the Royals being there). So we kept on up to Edinburgh. When we arrived at the station in Edinburgh there was a bagpiper in full kilt playing Scotland the Brave (as if to say "Welcome to Scotland") it was brilliant! We took a black taxi cab to our B&B (mom and dad's first one!) and settled in that night. We really had a great time in Edinburgh...the B&B we stayed at was wonderful & friendly. The couple who owned the Ardenar Guest House cooked my dad a Scottish breakfast (eggs, toast, beans, sausage, bacon, tomato) and made us homemade scones and tablet (tablet is a type of fudge)...YUMMY! We enjoyed lovely quiet mornings drinking tea and looking out our window to the garden and listening to the birds sing...lovely! On Friday we took the bus into the city center and walked the Royal Mile and shopped and shopped and shopped. We went to Edinburgh Castle (and heard the 1pm canon go off right next to us). Oh....and on the way up to the castle I got my picture taken with a guy who was dressed like William Wallace...he flirted with me and showed me his arse (he had the Scottish flag tattooed on his bum!) we laughed and laughed and laughed! Oh...and Friday morning we took a taxi to the rental car place to pick up our car. MY DAD ROCKS! He has done wonderfully driving over here! I can't even imagine how it would be to drive on the left side in a stick shift and try to figure out all the different road signs, street signs, markings on the streets, and laws, plus watch out for other drivers and pedestrians and read the street signs on the buildings and go around the round a bouts....and my dad has done such a great job. We've had a few near misses but it's all been an adventure. We have angels watching over us! Saturday we drove to St. Andrew's on the coast (across the Firth of Forth). OHhhhhhhhhh...it is one of my favorite spots in Scotland. We meandered thru the cathedral ruins and old graveyard, we walked down to the pier and walked out to the very end (it's at the North Sea), we went to St. Andrew's Castle ruins...it was all so picturesque and so refreshing! AND we got to have coffee with Melanie and Marco at Costas. That was a treat to see old friends again. They live in Carnoustie which is up the coast a bit north. Afterwards we traveled to Anstruther ( a wee seaside town ) for famous fish n chips...and mom and dad danced together on the pier ( remember it is their 40th wedding anniversary) there was a wee place that was playing old Dean Martin songs and I guess "their song" was playing at the time...how romantic. Sunday we left from Edinburgh and traveled to Stirling by car (inland going west). We went to Stirling Castle and the William Wallace Monument (it's a very very tall tower, we climbed all the way up to the top to look out over the valley) and saw Wallace's claymore sword...it's HUGE!, and then we went to the Bannockburn Battle Field where Robert the Bruce fought the English. These are all historic sites for Scotland's freedom from English rule (back in the late 1200's early 1300's). We then traveled to Glasgow! Last night I got to see old friends...Carrie McGavin (we had coffee at her flat) Maggie (whom we're staying with in her flat) and Mark & Brenda Campbell (Mark was one of the students with me in the Harvest Ministry College when I lived here before). It was a night of surprises seeing old friends...having tea, talking for hours, catching up, and reminiscing. Wow! Today I took my parents around by train, by underground and by foot to see the old neighborhoods I lived in here in the city...my flat in Battlefield, my flat in Cessnock, the KOG on Parnie St., downtown Buchanan Street and Argyl st. We went to the Modern Art Museum too. It's all easy to get to with public transportation and good shoes! I am experiencing a lot of dejavu...a lot of surreal feelings...and a lot of emotions being back here. It's familiar but different...there are new shops and things that have been built, just when I think I remember something, it turns out a bit different...but it's all good. I'm enjoying being here and we will continue to sight see in the coming days. We'll be here thru Wed. morning and then we'll drive up to the Highlands past Loch Lomond thru Glencoe and up to Inverness for wed & thurs nights (we'll tour to Skye and Loch Ness) and then back down to Oban Friday night and then back to Glasgow on Saturday. We'll be in Glasgow till next week Tuesday. So there'll be lots of time to see friends and see the city and enjoy everything and go to the church and the KOG (that I used to work with). I wanted to email you and catch you up. I hope this has helped. I think my time is running out so I better close this. I'll email another day. I love you and thank you for your prayers...we're having a blast!!! Cheers, Lisa
I'M BACK IN BONNIE SCOTLAND AGAIN! Hiya! I must make this email real quick...I'm using a computer at a posh restaurant here in Edinburgh that we've eaten dinner at where they give free internet usage to diners (with a 15 min limit). So here we are (just eaten roast lamb and drank some red wine)...plus it's just down the street from are lovely B&B. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be back in Scotland...I cried today. We took the train up from London (very relaxing and enjoyable trip) and when we arrived at the station in Edinburgh there was a bagpiper in full traditional dress kilt playing Scotland the Brave...I'm HOME! That was a total God moment! In our room we had tea, scones, digestives, tablet & shortbread...and a lovely view of some beautiful gardens. We spent the afternoon walking the neighborhood we're staying in...popped into a wee shop for a Mars bar...and dad got his haircut in a barber shop for £7. Tomorrow we will take a bus to the Royal Mile to do shopping and to see Edinburgh Castle. I'm looking forward to it. It's Greaaaaaaaaaaat to be back! I'll email again as soon as I can...I send my love...oh and by the way...it's raining Scottish rain! WooHOO!!!! Cheers, Lisa
I had forgotten how much I missed commuting by train and the underground (fond memories)...of course, what I've noticed about the tube in London that is different than the underground in Glasgow is that it is a huge network of trains and tunnels and directions where Glasgow is basically just a loop and it not only travels underground but above ground too. Anyways...today we embarked on an adventure of riding the London underground to the Tower of London and then to St.Paul's Cathedral. We each purchased an all day ticket for £4.70 so we could ride it whenever and wherever throughout the day. Talk about getting your moneys worth of public transportation...we became pros today as we read schedules, passed our tickets thru the turnstyles, braved the rushhour foot traffic (and by the way...though I had experienced living in the huge cities of Seattle and Glasgow...I've never been in the midst of so many people going so many places in such a hurry all in the same space! Amazingly intense! we learned quickly to stay to the left (remember we're in the UK) when walking, but to the right when riding the escalators down down down down down underground and then up up up up again (so people could quickly pass by). It was standing room only in the cars and a rush of people (like blood thru an open artery) once the doors opened to the platform. Fun fun fun!!! I'm so amazed at how efficient the trains are here. Boggles my mind! We had a wonderful time at the Tower of London....did the guided tour, saw the Crown Jewels (did you know that the diamond on Queen Elizabeth II scepter is the largest diamond in the world?), we had a bite to eat at the cafe and...used the toilets. Funny isn't it...we used the toilets at the Tower of London (yes, I know it's a normal function one performs...but it seemed so...common in such a historic and important place). Oh...another funny thing was there were these large ravens on the gardens...and they strutted along as if they were part of the Royal Guards...making noise, pecking the stone walls and staring at us. Eeery actually. Reminded me of the Edgar Allen Poe poem. Rap Rap Rapping on my chamber door..... Our next stop was St. Paul's Cathedral. Absolutely spectacular inside...so ornate and beautiful. It was so nice to just sit and look up viewing the beautiful paintings all over the ceilings. Prince Charles and Princess Diana got married there...and I had a moment of "oh my goodness...I'm walking where Princess Di walked!" *gasp! We strolled thru the crypt reading names of those buried underneath....and came upon a gift shop and a cafe...called "The Crypt Cafe"...that cracked me up and I had to take a picture of the sign (even though I wasn't supposed to have my camera in the Cathedral). Oh...funny story...you guys know that I'm a confirmed Episcopalian, so being in this most famous Anglican church (where the Anglican church was founded by King Henry the VIII), was such a blessing to me. It was nearing 4:30pm, the organ music was beginning to play and I was strolling past the alter area back back back along a side corrider (it was an open way to the public...but apparently only during certain times) and I was just caught up in all of the splendor of all the ornate columns and stuff, which brought me to the actual inner altar area (which is enclosed from the rest of the altar area)...the door was open so I kept walking on in (which it was okay...it was a path behind the altar where they have a memorial for fallen American soldiers from WWII) but knowing me, stuff has to happen...and just as I was rounding the other side of the altar a black robed priest came up to me and motioned for me to go back the way I came (as I saw another priest close the huge inner sanctum doors)...OH MY GOODNESS! I was being booted out of the Holy of Holies in St. Paul's Cathedral! I ROCK!!!! Anyways, so that's my stories for today.We rode the tube all the way back again and now we're getting ready to go to another pub for dinner...The St. George. Oh...and last night we went to a pub called The Victoria (we had roast chicken, roasted potatoes, peas & carrots, Yorkshire pudding, and ale) YUM! I wonder what English cuisine we'll eat tonight? Oh...tomorrow we will be traveling by train up to York to look around and then continue on by train up into BONNIE SCOTLAND! We'll stop in Edinburgh (where we'll be staying for 3 nights). Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh...I can't wait to see Scotland once again! So next email will be from the wee land of bagpipes! Bless you! Thanks for you prayers...and I'll keep you posted as much as I can. Cheers, Lisa
Okay...so it's about 5:00pm on Tuesday the 14th...it's been a lovely day in London and I thought I'd pop an email to you and tell some stories of my time here so far...since I have the FREE internet usage here! Like my "I MADE IT TO LONDON" email said...we arrived safely, made our way thru immigrations (which was painless) and then embarked on a crash course in taking public transport in London (first by bus, then by the underground train...or "the tube" as they call it) and then by foot to our B&B near Victoria Station area. This is actually my first time staying in a B&B (this one is more like a small hotel cuz they put fruit and snacks in your room but don't serve an actual breakfast)...it's a lovely place and in a great location. It is located on a street with rows of hotels and B&B's (but they are all connected as one long building...it's very typical in the UK). I'm instantly reminded of the flats I lived in when I was in Glasgow (the decor of designed carpet and textured wall paper that is painted over with bright colors, high ceilings with decorative moldings, snub (sp?) locks at chest hight on the doors, and the toilet room has the tinyiest sink in the world...well, close to what Carrie & Andrew have in their flat in Glasgow!) It feels so familiar and that has made me very comfortable and relaxed. I'm still finding that I'm making mistakes with the language (you laugh...but there are different words and phrases that we in the States don't use...and I'm having to remember things)...like today my mom and I got up really early and went for a brisk walk at 6:30am and we popped round to the nearest Starbucks (yes they have them everywhere in the big cities here too!) I purchased our coffees and the barista asked me if it was "sit in" or " take away" (instead of "for here" or "to go")...I stumbled (could be from it being WAY TOO EARLY FOR ME TO BE WALKING AND TALKING ANYWAYS) and I replied without thinking "to go"...she immediately corrected me and repeated "take away?" YES! thank you. I laughed inside...Ohhhh Lisa, it will come back...just be patient. It's wild to think that the customs here had become a way of life for me when I lived in Scotland 3 years ago...and now I've totally readjusted to living back in my own culture and now that I'm back here I am finding that I've forgotten a lot. Anyways, on to what we've done so far. Last night we went to a pub just round the corner called The Shakespeare. We had fish n chips and mushy peas and pints of lager. My parents and I toasted our first night here together...it was a great way to start out. ...although I don't like mushy peas (we ate a lot of them at HMC in Glasgow) but my mom rather liked them. Today we got up early so we could catch the BIG BUS London Tour Bus (which is a great way to see the city...cuz you can hop on hop off within a 24 hour time period so you can enjoy the sites but still catch the bus to continue on. We did it all...we got to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace (amazing! regal! astoundingly brilliant!), we got to see Picadilly Circus (where we stopped at the Tourist info to figure out where to get our Heritage Passes validated), we ate sandwiches & Walkers crisps for lunch sitting on the steps in Trafalgar Square (the perfect vantage point for people watching), we browsed thru the National Gallery (oh my goodness...Monet, Van Gogh, Seurat, Cezanne, etc, etc, etc, all for FREE! overwhelming...absolutely overwhelming with rooms and rooms of famous paintings from all eras up thru 1900s). Then we went to the Houses of Parliament where Big Ben towers into the sky and mom made a phonecall to the States in one of the famous red phone boxes (from a calling card I bought at a wee shop with a little old man from Pakistan running it, that sells sweets and magazines and newspapers and stuff (a very familiar thing here in the UK!). One of the funnest parts of the day was JUST strolling by the River Thames and purchasing some wee sketches of London from a street vendor for £1!!! Speaking of the £ (British pound)...one almost pays double the dollar for the pound. Expensive!!! much more than it was when I lived over here 3 years ago.BUT regardless...we're having fun and not worrying about expense...at least not yet. The bus took us past St. Paul's Cathedral, over the Tower Bridge, and past the Tower of London (which we plan to go back to those sights and spend some time at tomorrow). Tomorrow we'll sightsee by taking the tube. As to what else we'll do...we'll see how it goes. We figure we also will have a couple days in London on the tail end of our trip...so if we miss something and want to see it still , we can do so on our return. We're having so much fun...taking loads of pictures...taking our time...talking to people...and just relaxing. This morning when my mom and I took our walk to go get some breakfast (Cornish Pasties...yum!) I encountered smells and sounds as we walked along the streets that I remember as familiar to my experience living in the UK (funny how that is, isn't it? i mean...the UK just looks and smells and sounds and feels different than the US). Anyways, I felt at home and made me think that the UK is still "IN" my heart!! I've been enjoying all the little things and being that this trip has just begun...I know that I'll have loads more experiences to embrace and enjoy. Oh...and today the bus driver called me "luv"....and I smiled inside. I've missed it over here. Well, thats all for now...we'll go to a pub tonight for dinner and then it's a new day tomorrow. I send my love to you! Cheers, Lisa
I'M HERE! OH MY GOODNESS! My parents and I made it safely to London. It is now 3pm UK time on a very sunny London Monday afternoon the 13th. It took me a bit to get back in the swing of things using public transport but it's all coming back to me. After going thru immigrations at Heathrow we had to take a bus to Hatton Cross Underground Station where we could then ride the tube into Victoria Station(switching trains at Hammersmith). It was only a brisk walk down the street to our B&B at Cherry Court Hotel. We are having fun! We'll be here 3 nights before we head up to Scotland. Tonight I think we're going to take a night tour of the city in a double decker bus and tomorrow we'll start hitting all the sights. Thank you for your prayers and I will keep emailing as I am able. We have free internet access here at this B&B.Oh...and funny thing to remember when riding the trains or the tube..."mind the gap" Bless you! Cheers, Lisa
