Geez. I am terrible at keeping up with this blog! Let me see how well I can cram the last week into another in a long line of brief posts.
Saturday last was Day 28. This was a fun day. Clint, Sarah, Suzy, Shri and I got up and caught a train to Stirling. We visited Stirling Castle, which was home to several Scottish kings, including James IV and V, and was also the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots. It is also near Bannockburn Battlefield and the William Wallace monument. We happened to be there on the last day of a traditonal dance conference, so we got to sit in Queen Anne's Garden and watch bagpipers and dancers from Scotland perform. The castle offered beautiful views of the surrounding countryside, which was a nice change after being in the concrete jungle of the big city. After being on Man for so long, I was spoiled by the beautiful scenery we were constantly surrounded by. Being in Glasgow and Edinburgh (or even Belfast and Dublin for that matter) doesn't really compare in that sense. After the castle we went to the William Wallace monument so Clint could have guy time. We wandered back into town and found a little Italian place for dinner, which was quite good. Then it was another train ride back to Glasgow.
Sunday last was Day 29. I was supposed to head into Edinburgh to cheer on Beth, Shri, and Lauren, who had foolishly entered a "hill race" as part of the Highland Games. It turned out that the hill they ran was actually Arthur's Seat, which is about 2,000 feet high, almost a mountain...Well, the weather turned out to be pretty gloomy and rainy in Glasgow, so I assumed it would be there too, and sadly, I wussed out. Clint, Suzy and I stayed in town and did some exploring. We had tea at the Willow Tea Room, famous for being designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, then we walked to Glasgow Cathedral. Then it was off to the Islay Inn for our last Sunday Roast of the trip. A group from the seminar met up with us there, and we visited for a bit.
Monday was Day 30. We had a double session of class at the University of Glasgow to wrap up Beowulf and start Sir Gawain. It was Shri's last official night of fun with the group, so we really blew it out. Beth, Shri, Clint, Sarah, Suzy, Charlie and I had a wonderful dinner at Konaki, a little Greek spot in the nieghborhood. Then all the ladies went back to the dorm to dress up for the night (we haven't exactly been at our prettiest on this trip, so it was a nice treat). We met up with another group of seminarians at the Islay for some live, local music for a bit, then we headed to the Ben Nevis, a little whisky bar in the neighborhood. Then Shri, Suzy, Charlie and I took a taxi to the City Centre and hit up a few other bars. We stayed out way too late, got some greasy Chinese food to take home, then we drank one last bottle of red wine in the kitchen before turning in.
Tuesday was Day 31. We had a wonderful guest lecturer, Katherine Lowe, who talked about Beowulf. After lunch we met Katherine and her colleague Deborah, an art historian, in the university library to look at three beautiful illuminated manuscripts. The first was a devotional book that had several owners, one being Sir Tomas More; the second was a practical book written by a surgeon who specialized in anal fistula, which had some really humorous and horrifying illustrations; and the third was a gorgeous guide on falconry owned by French King Philip. I was completely jealous of the art historian whose job it is to work with these books, and many others in the collection, on a daily basis. That was supposed to be my job, darnit! Anyway...for Shri's very last dinner, Clint, Sarah, Beth, Lauren, Shri, Earl, Jan and I went to the Mussel Inn. After that, we relaxed at the dorm and spent quality time with Shri while she packed up. We were still pretty pooped from the night before.
Wednesday was Day 32. We had our last official class meeting at the University of Glasgow to finish up Gawain. Beth and I grabbed some lunch to go from Starving Marvin's, then we basically hung around the dorms, visiting with folks and working on our paper proposals for the seminar. Clint, Sarah, Suzy, and had dinner at the Mother India Cafe, then we stopped by the Islay for a glass of whisky. The rest of the evening was spent doing research, discussing with Clint and Charlie, and typing up my paper proposal. It was a quiet night.
Thursday was Day 33. It was our last day to have the whole group together, so I was feeling a bit sentimental. We took our last train to Edinburgh in the morning. Beth, Suzy, Emmanuel, Clint, Sarah and I took a cab Rosslyn Chapel when we arrived. It was a wet and cold morning, but the chapel was absolutely stunning. It was under a canopy of scaffolding, and has been for twelve years now, which you could climb and walk around. That was pretty cool; we were actually walking around at the level of the buttressing and spires of the building. Inside, the chapel has been restored already, but no photography was allowed. It was the most intricately decorated building I have ever seen; it was truly incredible. Our tour guide told us that they went from 30,000 visitors a year to 200,000 after the DaVinci Code came out in 2006. Sheesh! You could aslo see the damage left where the film crew had placed the star of David above the lintel of the stairs going down to the crypt and then pulled it off. We walked into Rosslyn after that and had lunch at the sweetest little country pub, then cabbed back into Edinburgh. The group split up for a bit; Beth and I went into the National Library again, then spent a lovely long time lounging in th eplaza outside the National Gallery, listening to street performers. The whole group met up at 4:00 at the Royal Overseas League for our last meeting/dinner. It was really nice; everyone was all dressed up and we presented our paper proposals before dinner. After dinner, the group split up again and said our final farewells; sad. Beth, Suzy, Emmanuel, Clint, Sarah, Christine, Wendy, Charlie and I stayed in the bar for a while at the club watching the sunset, then we headed over to the bar at the Caledonian for Pimm's cups before heading to the train station for home. It was a really nice goodbye to the group and to Edinburgh.
Today is Friday, Day 34. This is my last day as part of the group. Most everyone is gone now; just a few stragglers left, and by Sunday, all will be gone either home or on other adventures. It has been a very low-key day. Got up, had my last breakfast at Montgomery's with Beth, then did laundry. I packed my bags up, grabbed some lunch at the Sugar Qube with Beth, then taxied over to Central Station to print out my train tickets for tomorrow morning to meet up with Josh and Blake in London. We've made dinner reservation at the Neighbourhood Bar, the first place we ate when we arrived here, to celebrate my birthday a few days early. After that I'll be off to bed and out of here. SADNESS!
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