Aug 11 - last day Petland Hills

that was no "hill." Definitely mountain climbing on the last day. Not a lot of sounds happening in the way of music on this day. A few odd things did happen to us on our adventure though. Every time the bus turned a corner it sounded like a bandsaw turned on in the back of the bus, and we got to witness the better part of an arrest while sitting at a red light. The climb up the Petland Hills was rough, but well worth it for the scenery, Arthur's Seat seemed to get smaller in the distance the more we climbed.

After Petland mountain climbing, Kerry, Alex, Katie and I hopped off the bus at Princess Street and hit the Walter Scott Monument. It has about 40 more steps than the Wallace monument and not nearly the walking space. If you thought it was cramped on the Wallace Monument, don't go up the Scott monument. The stairs narrowed so much at the top that we had to turn sideways to get our shoulders through the doorway. There is very little space to walk around at the top of the monument, but it is a great view of the city.

This is a view of the Princess Street gardens from the top of the tower.

After we all had dinner together, we thought we'd head back to the Halls, pack a little bit and try to catch the lights show up on Arthur's Seat. We weren't really sure if we actually saw the lights show. We saw something, but we were on the wrong side of the Craggs to really get a good look at anything. We were able to see the Edinburgh Castle from this side though, during a Tattoo performance for that night.

 Kerry snagged a few Canadian flags from the lobby of our residence hall. We both had a hard time coming down from Arthur's Seat that night,  but two years ago we never thought we'd be back again so knock on wood for a third alumni trip in a few more years.

It is not often in Scotland that you don't hear bagpipes playing somewhere off in the distance. We may be sensitized to it, being Edinboro students but it doesn't have the same feel hearing them on campus as when you hear them in Scotland. They sound like they are supposed to be there, innate. 

this video doesn't really belong in this post but I wanted to end with some bagpipes soo go with it.

Aug 10 - Glasgow

In the morning we visited the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, which is super cool. Most of my pictures are devoted to the floating heads exhibit, which is my favorite part of the gallery

Before we walked over to the Cathedral, some bands were practicing for the piping festival. I think this group was from Canada, I can't tell if they are waiving at me in the video orrrr telling me to get away. Either way, I captured a little bit of their practice

On the drive to and fro Glasgow, I caught some naptime and listened to a little Fun. on my iPod. The frontman used to be a member of a band I really enjoy called The Format, who described themselves as "desert pop." The sounds are very similar among the two bands, still poppy but not total crap. I enjoy them.

That evening, we went to the Three (Free) Sisters to catch a free comedy show. The show pretty good, but I got lost and seperated from everyone for about 20 minutes, so I bought another beer and walked around to people watch while hoping I'd bump into my friends in the chaos. The bar was playing a lot of Beyonce dance music including some "Single Ladies" and taking it back with "Bootylicious"

Aug 9 - ARRAN

Another day of frequent traveling to get to the destination. The ride to the ferry alone was just about 2 hours, I put on some more nap time music and listened to instrumental covers of popular songs by Maxence Cyrin (the video is on the creepy side, but the music is great an cover of "Where Is My Mind" by the Pixies). By the time I got through that album, we were only halfway to the ferry, so I put on some Birdie. She also has a few covers on her album, in particular her cover of James Taylor's Fire and Rain. By the time I got through the Birdie album, it was time to board the ferry. I don't remember much apart from the sound of the turbines on the ferry because as soon as we sat down, I was Out Cold. I know Katie was too because Kerry so kindly took a video of her snoring with her mouth hanging open, good friend. 

When we finally got to Arran, we went to the distillery for a minute so we could all purchase some Arran Gold. We were able to drive around the island for a little bit, and see some of the sights of the Highlands, and smack our heads off the roof of the bus on that tell tale bump

Katie in front of the distillery while we wait for everyone else to buy their booze of choice to smuggle back to the states!

While driving around the island, we stop at Lochranza castle ruins right on the water (well when it's high tide)

 

After Dr. Thompson sees that Jake scaled the wall to take some pictures, he gets up there himself to see the view

...but who's really going to kick us out for breaking the rules in an abandoned castle

the ferry was running late, so we all kind of just lounged anywhere we could find some room and took in the sun. When we were finally on the ferry and moving, some seagulls were flying in the draft from the ferry boat, they were a little hard to snap a picture of - they kept flying off every time we put a lens up like they knew what we were doing.

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Aug 8 - Midnight at the Boars Head

Another open day on the trip. We returned to the Zoo Southside venue to see the Fine Chisel's second show they were putting on for the festival called Midnight at the Boars Head. This performance was spoken all in Shakespeare's words, not necessarily one singe work of Shakespeare, but a story and plot they put together themselves. It was a little hard to follow, but it was a lot of fun to watch, and even be a part of. Again, they come in high, break your heart again in the middle, and end on a high note (giving us poppers, silly string and balloons)...I fell victim to silly string in the face by a reviewer for the Fringe. The Fine Chisel as a group are a ton of fun to watch. Their performance sucks you in and the music just amplifies it. The group includes a fiddle player/tin flute/whistle player (plays both), acoustic guitar, mandolin player who also played what I can only describe as a wooden box drum, I haven't seen anything like it before, but it was a very good sound that was cohesive with their sound. The members are 3 guys and one girl who said they just threw these shows together for the Fringe. They have one more show they are putting on for the festival but it doesn't start until the 19th, so we are missing it. We kind of became their groupies this week, they recognized us from their first show we went to and we were able to chat with the box drum player after the show and get on the mailing list. They do not have any recordings yet, but we are hoping they put some out after the Festival. 

Aug 7 - Glencoe

Another looooong bus ride, getting up towards the highlands. I put on some Johhny Cash Live at Folsom Prison for this ride. I needed a change from some of the usual stuff I had been listening to. It was too monotonous, Johnny Cash never fails.

We walked up the lane to see the Massacre Monument for the 38 members of the MacDonald clan who were killed

We weren't in Glencoe very long, but long enough for Kerry to jump into the water and flop around a little bit

We walked back the road a little ways along the stream that cut through the back of the town. 

 It would have been cool to be able to stay longer and hike around some of the mountain trials in Glencoe, but we headed off to Oban to see some more sights.

 Oban is a gorgeous little port town we were able to wander around in for a few hours. We trekked up a street that had to be on a 90 degree incline to reach the "castle" at the top. There was a great view of the town and the water and ample grass for napping in the courtyard in the middle.

 Since it was so nice out that day, and we had about 2 hours to kill, the four of us parked it in the grass and actually got a little sunburnt at the top of that hill in the castle. 

Aug 6- Fine Chisel cont

street performance of the Fine Chisel on the Mile

Aug 6 - first encounter with Fine Chisel Theatre

This was our first open day on the trip. Alex, Kerry, Katie and myself trekked up the Royal Mile to the Camera Obscura, which I was really skeptical about, but turned out to be pretty cool and totally worth the 9 pounds we had to pay for it. Apparently there are only a few of these "Camera Obscura's" in the world, and one of them is at the top of this building in Edinburgh. It allows you to see all around the city, though some building owners caught on and built their windows too small for the camera to see into them. The image is reflected into a sort of big bowl in a small room on the roof and the guides show us (and the children in the room) how to pick up the people on the street with a notecard, shake them around, and put them back down on the street. They said we could try, but I refrained (reluctantly). 

View from the top of Camera Obscura. We were able to look through binoculars and see all around the city

There was a photobooth in C.O. that allowed you to morph your face with the person who was just in before you. Kerry and I tried it because people always ask us if we are sisters. It was eerie how little the picture changed and how it perfectly morphed our faces together. Too creepy.

We had to hop into the Ames room and see what it would feel like if I were bigger than Kerry for once.

It was weird. I've never been taller than anyone.

On our way back down the Mile, we stopped to do some souvenir shopping and discovered The Fine Chisel Theatre playing outside one of the shops. We stood for a good 20 minutes watching them perform and grabbed some flyers for their shows. They have an English/folky feel, very fun. We went to their performance later on that day and it was fantastic. We didn't realize that they were all in character when we first walked in, may have made fools of ourselves (just another day). The performance was sort of an acting musical. The story really sucked you in and I know at one point we were all feeling it pretty deeply. They lift you up, slam you down and then end on a high note. They were great fun, we even went back for another one of their shows a few nights later. After doing a little research and reading their blog, I think the first show is based on a real life experience of one of the members losing his father a few months before. Hard stuff, but they made a pretty poignant short performance out of it. 

Aug 5- ST ANDREWS

The happiest place on earth, in my head. St. Andrew's is one of my top 2 favorite places in all of Scotland (the first is Abbotsford, Sir Walter Scott's home that we didn't get to visit this time)

gardens at Abbotsford...I digress.

St. Andrew's is at least a 2 hour drive, so this gave me some time to nap. I put some mellow music on my iPod and wedged myself into the coach bus seat to try and sleep. I listened to the Coldplay X&Y album, again...lights will guide you home and ignite your bones and I will try to fix you. Coldplay is my guilty pleasure music. They have some sort of stigma attached to them but I think they're reputable. I also played a compilation album called Dark Was The Night . It has a lot of different alternative artists and groups on it, a lot of different sounds on one album. 

Before we made it to the golf course we went through the Melrose Abbey. What is left of the cathedral still stands with the cemetery around it. After walking through the Abbey, we made our way down to the castle ruins that overlook the sea. This time we were able to climb down to the mines that were dug by the attackers/counter attackers of the castle. This was not open last time we visited the castle so we ventured down to check it out, very cramped, very damp, but still pretty cool. People were smaller back then, so it might have been easier for me to maneuver through the mine than it was for Kerry.

On our way to the golf course, we passed a Community Council Bandstand playing in the park.

St. Andrew's was fantastic, as usual. I'm sure a picture will surface on facebook soon of me attempting to jump the canal by the 18th whole. I do not recommend this to others, almost didn't make it. 

Made our way down to the beach real quick so we could pick up some sea shells...some of us got too adventurous. 

On our way home from St. Andrew's we stopped in Queensferry to see the bridges and walk through the town quickly. This image captures Kerry eating the Queensferry bridge. I also purchased a picture of the Rolling Stones standing in front of this bridge just across the street from the restaurant the coach was in front of. 

Aug 4 - MILITARY TATTOO

During the day we visited Rossyln Chapel and the Scottish National Gallery on Princess Street. Not much in the way of music happening during the day, but the scenery was beautiful at Rosslyn. Since the last time we had been there, they added the new welcome center and cafe with a patio overlooking the beautiful hills

During this visit, we had a chance to walk down to the ruins of the Castle just down the road. We didn't even know they existed last night. It was beautiful out this day and we got some nice senior pictures over the valley. 

There was a care takers home over looking this scene. Sounds like a hard life.

No photos were allowed in the Scottish National Gallery, but I did get yelled at for drinking water in the Scottish exhibit. We were able to see works from Robert Burns (who I thought was just a writer).

Finally, in the evening we get to see the Military Tattoo (and all sit together, which for 20 of us is pretty hard to do). The Military Tattoo is never not good, but I felt that they really stepped up their game this year. I was continually surprised by the performances, really impressed with the Australians this year incorporating some ACDC, I can dig it.

Pay particular attention the guy in the lower right hand corner. He was gettin really into it. Pretend like you can't hear my commentary in the background.

My favorite Tattoo performance came from the Swiss drummers. They really turned it out with the LED lights on the drums. It was very cool to watch and there's somethin about a snare drum that just gets you pumped.

Of course it wouldn't be the Tattoo without the traditional Scottish dancers, Bagpipers and the Lone Piper.

Aug 3 - First Day of the Fringe

Today marks the first day of the Festive Fringe, this means the Mile will be chaos. Even more so than the previous day. But before we venture up and take part in the general frivolity of the Fringe, we take our train to Linlithgow and Stirling to see a few castles. When we arrive at Linlithgow castle we see that our tour guides are two adorable kids whose names are now escaping me. Nevertheless, they were dressed in period costumes and led us on a tour through Linlithgow castle, where Mary Queen of Scots was born.

precious moments.

After Linlithgow, we hoped another train to Stirling castle, where my favorite part was unfortunately closed, sort of. I still ran back to the gardens for a moment before we had to hop on the coach and grabbed a few pictures

On the train ride back to Edinburgh, our table (Kerry, Alex, Katie and myself) all drifted into a coma-like sleep state, slack jawed and snoring. I do wish I had a picture to document that moment. 

Later on that evening on the Mile, we stumbled upon some sort of strange step-dance crew in Huntington Square while on our way into the Tron. They were all dressed in street clothes/old band uniforms. Four were tap dancing to their other members music playing behind them. The ensemble included a tuba, snare drum, trumpet and a sort of rapping vocalist. They were very exciting and contemporary, interacting with the crowd.

While eating dinner at the Tron, we got sucked into the track events of the Olympics and listened to some classic hits of the 80s, 90s, and today. I recall hearing some Barenaked Ladies and some Wham!  Classics. While we were enjoying our meal we witnessed a public fight in Huntington Square. It ended as quickly as it started when the police swarmed in out of nowhere to break it up. The excitement never ends on the Mile.

While we were walking back into Pollock Halls that night we were fortunate enough to hear a little bit of live music leaking out of the bowling club across the street, someone breaking it down to "Stupid Cupid."

Aug 2- Royal Mile (day 1)

A preview day of the Fringe Festival today. Performers allllll over the Mile. Crowded, but not nearly as bad as it will get when the Festival really kicks off later in the week. We hear the Scottish bagpipes virtually everywhere, the appropriate background music to the entire trip. We saw a variety of performers along the mile, many guitar players.

While eating lunch at Garfunkles along the Mile, Kerry and I (and other diners) were serenaded by a two man band, playing a guitar and a banjo. Please excuse my poor camera work, some of the videos may be sideways. I'm not a talented filmmaker, my apologies.

Drifting away from the common guitar sound down the Mile, we passed a saxophone player.

While you're walking down the Royal Mile, you are constantly bombarded with the cries of the poor souls who got stuck handing out flyers for performances. Papers are shoved in our faces, coupled with the rehearsed schpiel for whatever the people are trying to get us to attend. Some of them are worthwhile...others fall on deaf ears...as they should. 

At the end of the Royal Mile we find the Holyrood Palace. While we make our way through, we listen to the sounds of the prerecorded tour through our headphones (which at least one of us will almost surely get lice from). Most of the time, the audiotour is a monotone voice of the past, but occasionally we walk into a room so splendid that it deserves it's own entrance music, usually a classical style, maybe a bagpipe here and there. 

A view from the gardens at Holyrood Palace (keep off the grass)

Archers competing on the lawn, winner gets a free dinner.

Aug 1 - the arrival

This particular day is a bit of a blur, as we arrived in Scotland at 8am local time and dove straight into a tour and hike. I don't really recall hearing any local sounds that day in terms of music, though I did listen to my iPod while on the plane. In between sleeping/watching in-flight movies, I vaguely recall listening to some Jack's Mannequin, and The Decemberists, switching around every so often when I regained consciousness on the crowded plane. As for the sounds of the plane, I was frequently awoken by the "fasten seatbelts" chime and "help" button tone. For some visual reminders of the first day:

 Kerry and I decided to take the road less traveled, so to speak, and climb up the rough side of Arthur's Seat. As she blazed a trail, I clung to the rocks for dear life, hoping it didn't start to rain on our way up. 

As seen in this Tim Tebow tribute cameo, the climb was well worth the risk.