Saturday, January 19, 2008

Walk About

Toby and I headed out fairly early today to see the sites here in Aberdeen - some that I had already seen and some that I had not seen. We started with white coffee at McDonalds and a sausage-egg mcmuffin. I know that sounds un-Scottish, but we were both wanting good coffee that we did not have to pay big pounds for. We did a little shopping since Toby's coat has fallen on rough times - now not only does it not zip, one of the buttons popped off (too many pints at the ole pub for Hub).


First on our sight-seeing tour was the Maritime Museum which I had already seen, but Toby had not. Part of the museum is in an old church and part of it is in the Provost Ross House. From there we went to the Provost Skene House which I had seen earlier. Toby was impressed with it. I took this picture of the tower and the sun dial. Since the sun was shining bright today, it was a perfect day for walking. We headed down to the beach area where there were lots of parks and things for family entertainment. I loved the beach area. It would have been great in warmer weather. People were out walking their dogs and having a great time. This windsurfer seemed a bit crazy.








Next we walked to Old Aberdeen which apparently was not part of new Aberdeen until the 1800's. Here we saw Kings College. Aberdeen seemed to be quite the place for education way back when. We saw lots of other old buildings including the Church of Scotland Cathedral Church of St. Machar. It was a beautiful old building - these graveyards fascinate me. By this time our legs were falling off and our bottoms were dragging, but we climbed up one more road called Tillydrone. The walls on either side of the narrow roadway were over my head. Here is this wonderful old tree which had broken through the rock wall lining the road. I should have made Toby stand by the wall to show that it was close to five feet tall - then you would have a better idea how large the tree was. At the end of Tillydrone, was a little park overlooking the Don River and Wallace Tower House which had nothing to do with William Wallace, but was just an example of a tower house.
It was a long way back to the hotel. We stopped at a pub to rest and have a pint of Stella (Toby got a lighter brew just for me). When we got closer to the hotel, we stopped for a sandwich and soup. I had tuna and red onion sandwich while Toby had a cheese and tomato sandwich, and we both had potato soup - it was delicious 'cause we were starving. We picked out a dessert to bring home, made a pot of tea and put our tootsies up for a rest. I'm sure we will be in bed early tonight, but it as a beautiful day in Scotland.

11 comments:

mornin'lady said...

If we're taking votes today, I love the picture of the tree, not sure why but trees just fascinate me!!
It's so cold here today, looking at the huge buildings makes me wonder, wouldn't they be very drafty in cold weather? They are truly beautiful.

Jo Castillo said...

It is cold here today for us so I'm glad to go on a walk about with you. :) Nice photos.

Anonymous said...

Great photos. I would say take lots but i know you are. I want to paint Scotland.

Chris said...

Your photos and narration make me really want to visit the place!! Glad you are having fun! C

Becky G said...

I love the tree, too! And the sundial is cool!

Anonymous said...

In viewing the tree I was wondering if it could talk (you know like the old tree in a disney movie I forget which movie that was) I loved the tree!!! I know Toby is having to work but I'm almost getting a honeymoon feeling from your days!! Keep posting...I've been sharing your post with people that don't even know you (Erin's boyfriend's parents stayed with us this weekend) They loved your trip!!! Thanks so much for sharing with us!!!

Bag Blog said...

Toby and I are practicing for our "empty nest syndrome" - probably explains the honeymoon feeling. It could just be Scotland is kind of romantic.

I got more tree pictures today - everyone seems to love them. Plus, TFNP has been working his magic on the old tree picture. I will post it soon.

Towanda said...

Wonderful wonderful pictures every day...thank you for sharing them with us, Lou ... I can't pick a favorite ... now I want to visit Scotland too.

Actually I think McDonald's McMuffin sounds very Scottish! :-)

Bag Blog said...

McDonalds McMuffin - I guess that does sound Scottish - lol!

Buck said...

Wonderful pics, indeed. And such a lovely day! Those sorts of days tend to be a bit rare in that part of the world in winter.

re: graveyards. Dunno about the Scots, but the English let their graveyards go "back to nature," with the exception of churchyard grave sites...which are always immaculately tended. It may sound a bit strange, but since you mentioned it, TSMP and I were fascinated with graveyards while we were in England. Especially the ones that had been in place for literally hundreds upon hundreds of years...dating back to the 1300s or so. Most of the tombstones in the oldest sections were illegible, the elements having worn away the inscriptions. Not to mention being completely overgrown with vegetation...trees, bushes, etc.

The last time TSMP and I were in London we shot several rolls of film in one of London's oldest graveyards. But alas, those pictures seem to have gone missing. I've asked SN2 to dive back into the collection of boxes he's saving for me...to search for the missing stuff. We'll see if they're there...or if they're truly gone.

Anonymous said...

I remain pea green with envy at your trip! The pics are gorgeous - all that history, all those castles in place for hundreds of years.