Wednesday, January 09, 2008

First Day


Here are some photos of
Aberdeen. The first one is a statue of William Wallace watching for the English. The second is one of the many churches that have been converted into a restaurant. The third is a plaza area near the harbor. One of the little shops happens to be an art store.
The day started off with a bit of sunshine, but quickly became overcast. Although the day was cold, it was not windy which seems to be the case most of the time. I found the Aberdeen Art Gallery and spent a large amount of time there. The main focus was on Scottish artists which I found very interesting, but the gallery did have some famous impressionists - you know how I love that. There were several times when I thought I was going to fall asleep on my feet, but Toby had warned me not to sleep during the day so that I could sleep through the night. I kept moving.

I walked until I thought my legs might fall off. I found two art stores and another small gallery. I found a couple of modern shopping malls. I seemed to be close to a school because there were lots of students in uniform - blazers and slacks or plaid skirts. Several students were wearing camouflage military outfits. Since it was around lunchtime, the students must have been off for lunch. I saw lots of interesting places to eat or drink (or both). There are pubs, everywhere. There are also several casinos. It is amazing how many churches have been converted into bars, casinos, restaurants, etc. It started sprinkling and seemed to be getting colder, which was not too bad. I made it back to the hotel where I used the lobby computer to read a few blogs and warm up. Although I tried to read some blogs, I was so sleepy, I could hardly focus. Once back in our suite, it was difficult not to take a nap, but I held on.

When Toby got home, he took me out to eat pizza at a rather fancy pizza place. It was more like real Italian pizza rather than American pizza - very tasty. It was raining pretty hard when we started back to the hotel. Of course, we forgot the umbrella, and I was fairly wet. We both managed to stay awake until 9:30. I slept through the night. This morning, I packed our bags and moved to another suite. This one has internet access and is larger. It already seems more comfortable.

The Scottish people seem very friendly. The two cleaning ladies who came to my suite yesterday were real characters - teasing each other and me. I had made the bed, but they teased me that it was "not done proper" and laughed. They talked about the American presidential race. It seems that they do not like Hillary. I said that Hillary was no Margaret Thatcher. The snorted and said, "Certainly not!" Now that I have moved to a new suite, I don't think they will be my cleaning ladies which is really too bad. I think I could have been big buddies with them.
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9 comments:

inpassing said...

Glad you got a new suite. Will it be roomy enough for when Grandma and Jesse come to visit? Is it always that rainy in Scotland? Thanks for letting me tour Scotland through your eyes because I'm quite sure I'll never venture across the Pond.

Anonymous said...

Ok so I'm already having trouble with the days not matching up LOL. When I got on line this morning I was confused...Guess I'm not a very good traveler!!! Kep sending us pic. It reallly is fun to travel through your eyes. It is relaxing to me to see new things...gives me a break from the cost tracking reports that I'm having to run at work. Tell Toby I learned what a "querry" (don't know how to spell it) report is. Can't run one yet but at least I know what one is. (can't spell it either, but I'll work on that) So be our eyes Lou and let us walk through Scotland. And I forgot to tell you Blaine did give the ring...polish the silver.

The Friendly Neighborhood Piper said...

Hey MamaLou,

I just remembered something i forgot to tell you. If you see a particularly beautiful picture and can't get it all in one picture, take a slightly overlapping panorama and i can put it together for you with my photo program. Just send me the pic's and i'll put them together and send'em back. Don't shrink'em, the resolution is better if you don't.

Anyway, just a cheap way to get you to send me more pics of the motherland.

The Friendly Neighborhood Piper said...

" particularly beautiful picture"

oops, i meant "scene"

Buck said...

Ah. Great pics, and thank you. (More is always better, of course!)

The pics reinforce my perception of Scotland at this time of year...cold, wet, and rainy. "Wet and rainy" isn't redundant...the mist can get you just as wet as rain, as I'm sure you're discovering, Lou.

Good news about your new quarters. It wouldn't do to have to live a couple of weeks in a space you don't like...and without net access, as well.

Bag Blog said...

Buck, So far my times out walking the town have not been wet other than with Toby the other night when it was raining. The wind was up yesterday morning, but not too bad later in the afternoon. It is much like my time in NYC.

TFNP, I may take you up on that. With my old camera, I used to do that quite often, and just put them together physically to show the whole scene.

The Friendly Neighborhood Piper said...

The program when done correctly is seamless, just beautiful. I'll have to show you the pic i took of the Grand Canyon and pieced it together, its quite professional looking!

Towanda said...

Really nice pictures. They convey a sense of the atmosphere of the city. I'd love to go there.

When you say the days are cold, how cold is that? From some of the pictures it looks bonechilling. Do they get a lot of snow or mostly rain?

Bag Blog said...

Towanda, so far it has just been rain. The wind has been what is really chilly.