Travel diary

Time for a change

2011-06-01T20:57:00.000+01:00

http://mansies.posterous.com/

OK, it's time for a move. Blogger is too cumbersome to cope with lots of photos so I've migrated over to Posterous. The old posts from here have been transferred over and some news ones already added. Happy reading :)

Weekend

2011-05-16T13:26:00.001+01:00

I made vague plans to go to Fife on Saturday - but it didn't eventuate. Instead I went into town for a haircut, nothing drastic. I then had a nice lunch at a nearby restaurant David Bann, followed by a stroll through some art galleries. I popped into the Fruit Market gallery for a look at a Dali they have on display, The metamorphosis on Narcissus. Then over to the National Gallery to have another look at Van Gogh's Ochard in blossom and Seurat's La Luzerne, Saint-Denis. Beautiful works. Topped off with a spot of shopping.

Sunday was lazy day. Torrential rain was forecast so I hung about inside reading and playing computer games. All very relaxing :)

I won!

2011-05-01T13:39:00.000+01:00

I won a royal wedding sick from an online store. What a winner :)

Saturday park and shade seeking

2011-05-01T13:29:00.000+01:00

Wilhelminapark

I had planned to do some shopping on Saturday morning so I could fill up my pack before checking out of the hotel. However, virtually all the shops were closed and the few that opened didn't do so until after 12:00. Instead I went for a leisurely stroll to a park, buying some supplies for a picnic along the way. I had a nice few hours lying in the sun getting redder and redder until I eventually came home with a beetroot face. It's so easy to forget about the sun when you're not used to it. There were a few groups of people about, also opting for a gentler option.

After the park I wandered back into town to see what was happening. Everything it seemed. The stages were all busy again, there was a carnival with rides for children, the markets were still going strong, and the canals were hectic with party boats all trying to drown each other's music out. It was a great spectacle from shore, but I wouldn't have wanted to be kayaking amidst all that!

I had a great holiday in Utrecht and was sad to go. It was really relaxing, just what I needed. I'm dead keen to explore the Netherlands some more. I may go to Rotterdam later in the summer and then trip around from there and do some cycling.

Friday evening markets and music

2011-05-01T13:11:00.001+01:00

From about 6pm on Friday several blocks of town were designated traffic free for a 24hr market. I understand it's the one day a year stall holders needn't pay tax, so everyone clears out their attic and sets up a stall. Some have trestle tables, while others just spread an old sheet on the ground. You can buy anything. Kids were selling old toys and books, there were old clothes and electronics, exercise machines, CDs. I only saw one copy of The Da Vinci code, but two copies of the same Bert and Ernie LP. People who had crafts or art to sell were at at, with preserves and painting etc. I saw people with five bags worth of goodies they'd bought themselves. There were only a few stalls that looked like they were off the back of a truck.

There didn't seem to be any licensing laws. People had bulk bought cans of Heineken and were then selling it on. And little kiddies sat around with buckets of ice and coke cans for 50 cents.

There were some inventive ideas too. One guy was standing behind a stand made of chicken wire selling people the chance to throw eggs at him. Icky. While another bunch had a ramp with toys cars going down. You won a prize if you could hit the car with a mallet. Of course there were buskers too. Not just professional sounding one, but any kid taking a few music lessons was out strumming two chords. Good on em!

There were also stages set up through out the city for bands and djs which went on 'til past my bedtime.

The whole place had a really nice community atmosphere. There were no intimidating rowdy drunks, just people of all ages having fun. Some had dragged couches onto the footpath and just sat drinking and eating as people walked by, watching the spectacle.

Friday afternoon - kayaking the canals

2011-05-01T12:48:00.000+01:00

I hired a kayak to explore the canals. I was a bit nervous at first. A few big tourist boats passed by, so I pulled over completely to let them pass. I must have looked a bit silly allowing so much room to pass. Then I heard a really loud boat behind me and started to get worried, as I tried to pull over I crashed into the back of a barge, and as the loud boat passed it was only a peddle boat with two guys in it. I got a bit more assertive after that. And when I remembered how to stop and turn, well then I was virtually a pro.

I was a beautifully sunny and warm day - not the rain and thunder storms that had been forecast. It was really quite different seeing the city from the water. And Dutch people are so friendly, just smiling and waving hello as you go by. I spent and hour and half paddling about. I had been thinking of going again on the Saturday to explore a different route, but I found out later Saturday was not the day for kayaks on the canal ...

April 30, Saturday, is the Queen's birthday in the Netherlands - the largest national holiday of the year. But it really starts on Friday evening. Everyone wears orange - hats, wigs, bandannas, clothes, crowns. I got a free bandanna and shopping bag handed out so I looked the part in a conservative way.

Friday morning - Reitveld-Schroeder Huis

2011-05-01T12:35:00.000+01:00

Reitveld-Schroeder Huis

Centraal Museum

Friday morning I borrowed a bike from the Centraal Musem and cycled to the Reitveld-Schroeder huis, about 15 minutes if you know where you are going and are a competent cyclist. I was pretty nervous about being knocked over or riding into a small child, but bikes generally get the right of way and people seem to be keenly aware of them, so no disasters at all.

The house is fascinating. I never thought when I was an undergrad that I would actually get to visit it! Unfortunately you can't take photos inside. It wasn't built for longevity and is pretty rickety and fragile. The downstairs is pretty standard in terms of layout, to keep the building inspectors happy. Upstairs was described as an attic on the plans, so free from any restrictions. It's an open plan living space with sliding walls to section off rooms as needed. So radical for 1924. There's such clever uses of space and light. It was so great to see it in person.

After cycling back to the museum and having an early lunch at the cafe, I had a look around the museum where they have some of his creations. I think the beach buggy is my favourite.

Thursday in Utrecht

2011-05-01T12:14:00.000+01:00

Transporting kegs to pubs along the quayside

Museum Speelklok

House boats

Deer in public park

Der Ster windmill

Thursday was all about wandering around to see what I happened across. In the morning I explored the old town streets more thoroughly, walking along the various canals. I went to a recommended cafe for tea and cheesecake. In the afternoon I visited the Speelklok museum, a museum of mechanical instruments, eg. clocks and music boxes that play themselves, through to the massive fairground and dance hall contraptions. It was really interesting. I had tried to go to the sewage museum, but it closed at the beginning of the year.

After the museum I took a walk across the train tracks out of the old town. I came across this beautiful windmill. I think it's a cafe by day, but it was after 5pm when I came across it. Right next to it is a children's park with farm animals.

Further along, and a few canals over there's a larger public park. The animals here are a bit larger, with a collection of deer for people to look at.

For dinner I wanted to go to an Indonesian restaurant I'd read about, but when I found it, it looked a bit bar like so I pressed on. I ended up at a Thai place where I had a delicious meal, and it was quiet enough to read.

Utrecht

2011-05-01T11:40:00.003+01:00

Utrecht city centre

Frites

I headed off to Utecht on Wednesday morning. I had a flight to Schipol (near Amsterdam), then a train ride to Utrecht itself 9about 30 mins), arriving at the hotel around 3pm. I roamed the streets a bit and bought some fries with mayonnaise for dinner.

Oudegracht

Apparently Utrecht is the only city in the Netherlands that has quayside restaurants and bars. There's also homes at water level; you can see people sitting on chairs outside their front door right next to the water while the city throngs up above them.

Beach weather

2011-04-26T21:34:00.000+01:00

A few Saturday's back I had a nice afternoon lazying on the beach. It was cool enough to wear jeans, but warm enough for jandals. During Scottish summers you can see people wearing jackets and jeans next to others in shorts and t-shirts, it's a funny juxtaposition. I did manage to get a little sun burnt on one side of my face, but I figure that's because I have such a Scottish tan!

Anyhow, I'm off on another holiday tomorrow - to Utrecht for a few days. I was hoping to get away from the Royal wedding hoopla, and we got a day off work for the occasion. The Dutch Queen's day is on Saturday with markets all night starting at 6pm on Friday. I think there's lots of street entertainment, etc. I'm looking particularly forward to seeing the Reitveld-Schroder House. I will endeavour to update promptly on my return!

Stirling Castle and Bridge of Allen

2011-04-26T21:25:00.000+01:00

Bridge of Allen

Stirling

Stirling Castle

Jacobite wares

We've had a few weekends of sunny, even warm, weather lately. The other week I went up to Stirling and a small town a few minutes north called Bridge of Allen. At Bridge of Allen I had a wander along the main street and looked at the glass shop. I bought a picnic lunch from the deli, including a Bundaberg!

After eating lunch next to the river I headed back down the line to Stirling for a look around. The farmer's market was on with people bustling about. I then headed up the hill to the castle. I got a membership for Historic Scotland for xmas so have been enjoying free entry to castles about the place.

I really like Stirling Castle, in part because Stirling itself is such a nice town, but it seems more vibrant than Edinburgh with lots of events and restoration projects. There were some Jacobites showing off a collection of their wares; I'm sure I heard them speaking with American accents! There's also a project to replicate the series of tapestries that used to hang in the great hall in the 1600s. Four are finished and you can watch weavers working on the remaining ones.

Hot cross buns

2011-03-27T18:23:00.001+01:00

I made some cannonballs last weekend, so I tried to redeem myself with another attempt at hot cross buns today. This batch came out delicious! Mind you I put a lot more effort into them. The recipe I used was far too bland, so I tweaked it a bit. I've learnt that citrus peel is essential. I soaked the fruit overnight in liqueur too. And don't skimp on the spices. I don't have any apricot jam for the glaze, so used rhubarb and ginger - yum!

The clocks changed today - very pleased. I made it through the Scottish winter! Trophy please.

Aberdour

2011-03-27T18:14:00.002+01:00

Aberdour Castle

Inside dovecote

Silver Sands

High Street

Last weekend I went to Aberdour. There's castle ruins next to the train station, which I had a look around. there's also a small beach called Silver Sands. Not much else to see here though. I did get quite cold so that may well have influenced my opinion. There's a walkway right along the coast of Fife, part of which runs through Abderdour. I think in summer I'll do some of the walkway and see the small towns that way. This wasn't really worth the trip on its own.

In other news I went to a lecture at the university for international women's day. It was ok, but I think the person speaking pitched it way too low for the audience that was there. I felt quite disappointed and frustrated by it. Afterwards I went for dinner with a friend from work to a place called Hendersons. Allegedly it was the first vegetarian restaurant in the UK. I had some vegetarian lasagna which was very tasty.

I also arranged to go to a friend's place for afternoon tea recently. I baked some delicious banana and lemon cupcakes, but then the afternoon tea was cancelled. The colleagues at work were very pleased to get the cupcakes instead.

My visa came through this week too. I'd been expecting it to takes months, but it was only a three week wait. Now I have my passport back I'm thinking up all sorts of plans. The Netherlands and Belgium are still top of the list.

Polish classes are going well. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, but my pronunciation is pretty bad. I still get flustered and go bright red. I need to practice so much more!

Tantallon Castle

2011-03-27T17:57:00.000+01:00

After watching P in the ironman I was feeling inspired to get out and about. I caught the train out to North Berwick. It was a bit cold still, so I didn't go for a walk on the beach. Instead I walked to Tantallon Castle, formerly belonging to the Douglas Earls of Angus. It's about one hour's walk away, and sits on top a cliff over looking the firth, with views out to bass rock. It's in ruins, but there's lots of stairs to climb up and down, with great views out to sea and over the surrounding land.

Water of Leith

2011-02-26T17:54:00.000Z

There's a canal running through Edinburgh called the Water of Leith. I've walked the length of it before, but today I started in Stockbridge and just had a gentle stroll to Dean. There's some interesting sculptures along the way. In the 17th century there were 11 mills in the area, so there's a few features using mills stones.

It's a very pleasant walk, and today was beautiful - up around 9 degrees, with some sun shining through too. Dean village is a charming part of Edinburgh with pretty little cobbed streets and very old looking buildings. At Dean village there is the Dean Gallery, and across the road the Gallery of Modern Art. I just had a look around the Dean Gallery today. It's 20th century art - lots of Margritte and de Chirico, even a Man Ray. The gallery is in a very impressive old building in beautiful grounds.


Dean Gallery


The stairwell project - Richard Wright

I saw an exhibition of photographs by August Sander, a German photographer working in the first half of the 20th century. There were absolutely stunning. His approach seems so modern; really crisp and natural - nothing like the stoic old photographs I expect to see from that era.

Stockbridge

2011-02-26T17:39:00.000Z

I went to the suburb of Stockbridge this afternoon. It's pretty similar to Portobello, with that village feel to it. However Stockbridge is a bit more trendy, and a little less retired. There's a French patisserie I've been meaning to check out. They only have about four tables, so I had my delicious cake to go. It was apple in creme anglaise with a caramel topping. All absolutely silky smooth. The base was crunchy and delicious, with bits of caramel chips around the edges. Yum!

Oh dear

2011-02-26T17:28:00.000Z

Lobby of the apartment building

National Gallery

2011-02-13T20:49:00.000Z

Yesterday I finally got around to taking in the National Gallery. It's comprised of two buildings in a square, linked by an underpass, with a cafe and shop too. The first building had collections of contemporary work, with a strong focus on sculpture. There was some great pieces. I was quite taken with the table pictured above, and a series of small water colours from Elgin.

I had a look at the shop and considered the cafe, but there were queues. Instead I went to a nearby tea shop for a lovely lunch of sandwiches (with obligatory chips), cake and tea. It was really nice, but crowded out.

After lunch I headed back to the second building to take in some old European masters. There was an exhibition of French drawing which was intriguing but I was most excited by the Rembrandt self portrait shown above and an absolutely fantastic Van Gogh. The gallery has some real gems in the collection. I'll need a few more visits to really work my way around them all.

Craigmiller Castle

2011-02-13T20:38:00.000Z

I had a bit of a stink start to the year with three weeks worth of flu, which really knocked me back. I did finally managed to get out and about two weekends back with a trip to Craigmiller Castle. The flatmate gave me a membership to Historic Scotland for xmas, so I got free entry.

Mary Queen of Scots used to spend time here. It's on the other side of Arthur's Seat. You can see Edinburgh Castle from there, but not the palace. I think it gave people some privacy for political goings on.
It's smaller than I was expecting of a castle, but it used to have more levels to it. The wooden floors/ceilings are now gone. The accompanying reading material makes much of the 'nooks and crannies', tee hee, makes me think of "alcoves" in In Bruges.
I think all the little spaces are due to various modernising renovations over the years, with the shift from large open living spaces to smaller, more private rooms. And toilets too - how modern.
There's surrounding grounds that were used for hunting, and an outline of a fish pond in the shape of a P.
Mary's French ladies were housed nearby in an area called Little France. It was interesting to finally find out the source of the name!

Torchlight procession

2011-02-13T20:09:00.000Z

I've been meaning to publish this post for awhile, finally I managed to upload the video.

New Year's is pretty busy in Edinburgh. The celebrations begin on 30th December with a tochlight procession through Edinburgh to the top of Calton Hill, where an effigy is set on fire. This year it was a viking ship. The bonfire is followed by some pipers and fireworks. There was a lot going on elsewhere, with carnivals and concerts and a ceilidh. I just went to the torchlight procession and watched a bit of the bonfire. The mc said 20,000 had turned out for the procession - that's massive, the procession snaked all the way from St Giles on the Royal Mile up to Calton Hill. I think most people didn't even get to the top of the hill for the bonfire.

On New Years I stayed in and watched a political thriller on DVD, pausing for a bit to watch the fireworks over Musselburgh. All very sedate!

Xmas

2011-01-03T13:24:00.000Z

I had a relaxing xmas break. I don't think any snow fell on the day, but there was still a bit about. I got up early to open a large pile of presents (thank you everyone) and a call to NZ. It was a pretty lazy time - lots of tv/movies and yum food. I made myself a delicious pavlova which disappeared quickly, as did the creme caramel made with the yolks.

On the 25th I went to a friend's place out west of Edinburgh. It was a bit of a mission finding it in the dark, but we had a nice evening. I made a plate of cinnamon oysters and got yet more presents. We had a vegetarian winter xmas, with nut roast next to the fire. Some more of their friends dropped by after dinner for a drink. It was all very sedate and pleasant.

The middle of winter is yet to feel like xmas to me though. There were one or two times in the summer when there was a christmasy feel in the air - but definitely not in the winter!

Boxing day was games at F and K's place. We played Tikal, fresh out of the box. There was only time for one game before other, non-gaming guests arrived, but it was quite interesting to play. Dinner was very laid back, cheese and pate and crackers. Just perfect for boxing day!

Autumn

2010-11-28T17:42:00.000Z

View from the window

Portobello Beach

Walk to the supermarket

Fox!

The snow arrived last night. The previous day had just been a taster. There's a good few inches on the ground, and it's still autumn!

I saw a fox on the railway tracks when I was walking back from the store, but you'll need to squint to see it in the picture.

Food market

2010-11-27T18:04:00.000Z

Meatballs and couscous

Pastries

Chocolate

Nougat

Sausages

Cheese

Dried fruit

View back to the castle

Sweet treats

After my pit stop for tea and cake I made my way back to the centre of town to investigate the market I spied from the castle. It was mostly food, with a few stalls selling random things like coffee mugs and soap. I bought a few treats for dessert then headed home. It was quite chilly and the sun sets at around 4.15 at the moment - slippers were calling!

Edinburgh castle

2010-11-27T17:52:00.000Z

St Cuthbert's Church

Princess Street, including xmas ferris wheel

Princess Street gardens

View to Arthur's Seat

St Andrew's Day is coming up soon, Monday I think. Each year for St Andrew's Day Historic Scotland provides free access to many (all?) of their properties - including Edinburgh Castle. After living here for more than four years I thought it was about time I took a look. It was really interesting to look around, although quite crowded. I had a fairly long wait in the cold for a look at the Stone of Destiny, on which Scottish monarchs were once crowned, and the Scottish royals jewels - very pretty.

It was a clear sky so there were beautiful views over the city to Fife. The light dusting of snow over everything just made it look all the more grand.

There was beef stew on sale which smelt delicious, but I headed out to a cafe in a converted church for a spot of tea and slice of berry cheesecake.

German markets are back

2010-11-27T17:28:00.002Z

The German markets are back in town. There was a ceremony on Thursday night with the turning on of xmas lights in the city. I'd completely forgotten about it until I saw it on the news. I took a look today on my way to the castle. I stopped in for lunch - a rostbratwurst and some donuts drowned in melted nutella.

Cool card

2010-11-26T20:18:00.000Z

This is the card F made for me - board game fans will appreciate it!

Graduation

2010-11-26T20:17:00.002Z

McEwan Hall, Edinburgh University

Afternoon tea at the Carlton

The snow storms held off Edinburgh today, although it was pretty darn cold - knocking on 3 degrees. After a lie in this morning I went for a leisurely stroll along the beach and had some delicious pancakes drenched in maple syrup.

The graduation ceremony was at 3pm, witnessed by friends A and F. It was held in McEwan Hall, built in 1895. It's very nice inside, my camera was just a bit too patu to get some good shots!

It was a very quick ceremony compared to the previous ones, only an hour long. I had the official photos taken before hand, so as soon as it was done I handed back the robe and we headed down to the Carlton for afternoon tea. All very civilised! And I am now a Master of science :)

I took some cupcakes to work yesterday to celebrate and received a nice card and many congratulations, which was lovely. My flatmate even gave me a card and present.

Theatre

2010-11-07T17:37:00.000Z

Last I went to see a performance of The importance of being Earnest at the Lyceum theatre. I made a bit of a day of it, starting with lunch at the Gourmet burger kitchen - yum - and some christmas shopping. The play itself was really great. The music and costumes gave it a Jeeves and Wooster feel. The sets were well done, and the butler gave everyone a bit of a laugh between set changes and the actor was undressed and redressed to play a different character in front of a screen hiding the set change.

This weekend I was out and about on Saturday - to the library, christmas shopping, went to the farmer's market. The day started out lovely - blue sky, sunshine. By about 2pm it was so dark, like the sun was about to set, then the rain came crashing down. I got absolutely drenched on the way to the supermarket. I made myself delicious vege soup and fruit crumble for dinner. It's just that time of year!

I also got word that I passed my degree. I was a bit disappointed with the grade for my dissertation, but everyone else has been so celebratory about it, that I getting over the disappointment. My graduation's in two weeks - then I'll be a master of the sciences :)

Six hours in Amsterdam

2010-11-07T17:24:00.000Z

Hermitage

Market

Making my way back from Rome, I had a stop over of several hours in Amsterdam. The airport is only 15-20 minutes by train form the city centre, so I left my bag at the airport and went exploring. I went to the Hermitage. The museum is just across the canal from where I stayed last year. It's a lovely old building, that used to be a poor house and then old folks home. They were showing an exhibition on Alexander the Great, which was really interesting. There's also a section on the history of the building, and the main Hermitage in St Petersberg.

There's markets nearby, so I had a bit of a look around - nothing to tempt me though. I find Amsterdam such an appealing city, I had a great time just wandering around the streets. There's some wonderful vintage shops, but I was on a bit of a budget. I did do some shopping, but it was at the very low end of the spectrum - chocolates and nougat.

There were hoards of Swedes in town for a football game. They were terribly well behaved which I found quite shocking, but my flatmate assures me it's just that the Brits have a bit of a monopoly on poor behaviour!

I tried some the famous fries with mayonnaise - very nice. And stopped in a pancake house for a pancake covered with caramel sauce, also very nice.

I really like the feel of Amsterdam, and am now planning to take a holiday in spring to explore a bit more of the Netherlands, maybe even get down to Belgium since my plan last spring was scuppered by the volcano.

Rome - day two

2010-11-07T17:00:00.000Z

Lunch

Church supplies

Pantheon

St Paul's

On day two we had a later start.It was much colder and raining, so we opted for a sightseeing bus, whizzing past the big sites. We had lunch at a little restaurant - pasta, pizza and risotto - of course! Some lovely chocolate cake topped it off. The overload of food was placated with a gentle stroll around the block. We stumbled across a shop selling priestly and church supplies. I'd just assumed all that stuff was mail order only. They were selling travel kits with small crucifixes and miniature bottles for holy water for the priest on the go.

The pantheon was the first stop on the itinerary. You can't really take a picture of the outside as, like most things in Rome, it's massive. There's a few pictures of the interior. The hole in the roof is uncovered, so the floor gets wet when it rains, hence the cordon.

The next stop was Vatican city. There were huge crowds queuing to get in. I hate to think what it's like during the peak tourist seasons. As we weren't going inside, there wasn't really much to see. We walked around the columns, took some photos, looked at the shops. I sent a postcard from there, with Vatican city postage stamps.

The parents had an absurdly early flight, so we tried to have an early dinner. This proved a bit of a problem, as the restaurants near the hotel weren't opening until 7.30. We opted for what turned out to be microwaved frozen pasta at a local bar. The McD's across the road would have been tastier! Ah well, when in Rome!

Further comments on Rome

2010-11-07T16:43:00.000Z

Trevi fountain

Fountain in Piazza Navona

After exploring the Appian Way, we walked up to the basilica of San Giovanni - massive, it's about the size of an entire block of buildings. From the basilica we caught the trusty metro in search of the Trevi fountain. At the fountain we bought a picnic of pizza slices and drinks, and sat on the church steps watching the crowd. Dessert was crepes, eaten on the walk from the Trevi fountain to Piazza Navona for a look around. It was dark by now, so no decent pictures sorry.

Appian Way

2010-10-16T15:14:00.001+01:00

On the metro

Appian way

Circus

Pistachio

Olive trees

Gladiator school

After a hectic journey across Rome I arrived at the hotel at around 6.30pm to meet up with the parents. We went to a local restaurant for a leisurely dinner of several courses.

We spent Sunday walking the Appian Way, one of the major roads of the Roman empire. There's a diverse mixture of ancient ruins and residential buildings, interspersed with small cafes. The circus was the most interesting for me, followed by the house pictured above. It was built in 1945 using various bits of ruins obtained from round about, so there's bits of vases and flooring tiles stuck into the walls of the building. It felt rather Victorian in approach.

We stopped at a cafe for tea and cannoli, even better than the one in Naples. We also visited some of the catacombs and made our way to the entry gate at the far end of the road.

Amsterdam

2010-10-16T14:13:00.000+01:00

Febo

Hotel

Ann Frank's house

On the way to Rome I had one night in Amsterdam. I got to the hotal at 8pm and then just spent the evening wandering about. I came across a Febo shop - a fastfood place with vending machines. I couldn't make out what was inside the croquette I was eating - curried mushrooms?? Creamed sauerkraut?? I also has some fries with mayonaise, a Dutch standard. It was really good.

In the morning I went looking for Ann Frank's house. I planned to get there at 9am to beat the crowd, but I got quite lost. I found it by 10am, but the crowd was down the block by then and I didn't have time to wait. I'll make a point of going next time I'm in Amsterdam now that I know how to find it.

Croissant in a can

2010-10-16T13:49:00.000+01:00

I found this product at the supermarket - it's tinned croissant dough. It has perforated cuts so you can break off triangles and roll them into croissants. It's a bit of a fun novelty, but the dough was too sweet for me. It worked better with the chocolate.

Glasgow

2010-09-19T14:11:00.001+01:00

I caught the train back to Glasgow and had a wander about. It seems so much more vibrant than Edinburgh. There's buskers and demonstrators up and down the main shopping areas, and massive crowds, but people are a bit more affable in Glasgow.

I went to Wagamama for some Japanese. I'd been once before with cousin J and it had been a pleasant meal. This time I ordered a vegetarian curry. It was ok, but it tasted suspiciously Indian. But, apple juice with a hint of lime is a winner.

I just realised this week that September 12 is the anniversary of my arrival in the UK. Four years already! I'll make a pavlova to celebrate.

My trip to Amsterdam/Rome is coming up in October - off to see the parents. It'll be a nice reunion, I haven't seen them since xmas 2007. I have stop-overs in Amsterdam both ways as there's no direct flights between Edinburgh and Rome, (or not with an airline I'd fly with). I'm looking forward to a little bit of shopping in Amsterdam.

I've also enrolled in a beginner Polish course. I've been wanting to learn for awhile, but I didn't get very far teaching myself. Hopefully formal classes will make it sink in a bit better.

Burrell Collection, Glasgow

2010-09-19T14:03:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I went to see the Burrell collection. It's displyed in a purpose built building in Pollok Country Park, about 10 mins by train from central Glasgow. The collection was donated to the city by a wealthy chap in the shipping industry. The collection includes an array of paintings, furniture, tapastries, ceramics and armour. The collection was really interesting. I saw Rodin's The thinker, some Degas and some Greek black figure vases.

The park itself is really nice. There's a few paddocks set aside for highland cattle to graze in, picnic areas and a children's playground, sports field and some ancient ruins.

Train

2010-09-19T13:55:00.000+01:00

Sorrento shops

2010-09-19T13:39:00.000+01:00

Lemons are very much the key motif for souvenirs. Lemoncello, lemon soap, lemon candy, lemon magnets, lemon aprons ... Pictures made from inlaid wood are also common. I bought a nice sailing picture for father's day - hopefully NZ customs don't incinerate it!

I also bought some pretty scarves for myself. They were cheap, 2 euros, but I've been getting some nice comments on them. (It's getting into scarf weather!) I also found a beautiful pashmina for my grandmother and a cute souvenir shift for E's birthday - yes it has lemons on it.

By about 11.30, I picked up my bag and caught the bus to the airport. It arrived earlier than I needed to, but the airport's seem pretty relaxed about check-in times in Italy. The flight was delayed significantly due to strikes in France, so I arrived at Milan around 7.30. I stayed at a nearby airport hotel as the flight was early the next morning. It didn't seem worthwhile going into the city just for dinner and a sleep. The hotel restaurant had the best meal of the trip. Beautiful cannaloni and the silkiest pannacotta.They put my efforts to shame!

Sorrento city

2010-09-19T13:23:00.000+01:00

I had a morning to fill in before my flight to Milan, so wandered about taking photos and buying a few souvenirs. The town was slightly less hectic. There were some obvious tour groups, but I think the mania in the evenings must be due to the mass of tourists that use Sorrento as a base to then go exploring elsewhere during the day.

There's a couple of ravines running through the town. One leads down to the wharf where the ferries are. Getting to the ferries involves descending down 200 steps from the main square, and then a walk down a narrow paved road.

The other ravine has roads running around it, but is filled with vegetation and the ruins of a building. It looked quite serene down there, it's a shame there wasn't any access.

The main square and road get closed to traffic (but not scooters) during the evening. They look a bit sparse in these pictures, but at night they're packed out.

Beach

2010-09-19T13:08:00.000+01:00

Monday was beach day. I went back to the beach I'd been to on Saturday - the one set amongst the ruins of an old Roman villa.This was by far the best day of the holiday - laying in the sun, swimming, eating a picnic.The beach was very busy and there were no annoying people trying to talk to me. It was the holiday I'd been wanting to have.

After the beach, I walked down the hill back to Sorrento. It's a fairly treacherous walk; no footpaths and crazy drivers on narrow roads. But I made i!

Dinner in Sorrento

2010-09-19T12:58:00.000+01:00

After the trip to Naples, I went out to dinner. I ended up at the same restaurant I went to a few nights earlier, with the garden terrace. I had some canneloni, apparently the dish was invented at this very restaurant, and topped it off with some profiteroles doused in chocolate sauce. So much for avoiding the carbs!

Neopolian pastries

2010-09-19T12:53:00.000+01:00

After the museum I wandered about the streets hoping that things might pick up a bit in the afternoon. I bought a delicious custard pastry and had lunch at a Chinese restaurant. I know! It wasn't even very good, I just wanted a break from all the carbs I'd been eating.

I got a bit frustrated with the heat and having no idea what to see or do, so I caught the train back to Sorrento at around 3.30 or 4.00. It's about an hour or so by train between the two.

The bottom pastry is a cannoli, oft referred to on The Sopranos. It was a dense pastry, cooked until quite dark, lined with a thick layer of chocolate and filled with a thick, sugary cream. You really need a cup of tea to get it down!

Archaeology museum

2010-09-19T12:47:00.000+01:00

The museum provided respite from the heat outside and an interesting collection.The ground floor had many ancient Roman sculptures, while the next floor up had rooms of ancient coins and some old accounting manuscripts.There was also a range of material taken from Pompeii after the remains were discovered. It would have been great to see all the wall decorations in situ in Pompeii, but at least they've made it to a museum rather than private homes.

Naples

2010-09-19T12:39:00.001+01:00

On the Sunday I ummed and ahhed about where to go. I was interested in seeing one of the small towns like Amalfi or Positano, but felt like I should see Naples too. It crossed my mind that things might not be open on a Sunday, so thought Naples a better option as it surely would be more likely to be open.

I caught the ferry across the bay. It was a pleasant enough ride, and the weather was great. As we got closer to the city though, the sea was full of litter and dead fish. At first I thought it might be extra catch that fishermen threw overboard, but I don't think they would have been fishing on a Sunday morning. Maybe it was down to pollution? Yuck.

Anyway, from the ferry terminal I made my way to one of the main shopping streets and square. Everything was closed :( It wasn't quite as extreme as Germany, there were some bars and food places open. But even the tourist info was closed so I couldn't ask for advice on where to go. I managed to find the archaeology museum, which was open, so had a look around in there.

I was surprised with how tired the city looks. I now there's nicer areas I didn't go to, but I was really surprised by how densely packed it is and the peeling paint work. Quite fittingly, there's lemon trees lining the streets!

Bagno della Regina Giovanna

2010-09-14T22:33:00.000+01:00

After the visit to Herculaneum, I headed for the beach. The majority of the coast line in high cliffs dropping straight down to the sea. Where there are beaches, they're mostly taken up by restaurants and hotels. There is one public beach a short bus ride from Sorrento. It's set against the ruins of a Roman villa. I had a nice afternoon lazying in the sun eating pizza, bar the pesky Italian guy who wouldn't leave me alone. I took to wearing a ring on my left hand after that!

The top picture is looking across the bay to Vesuvius. Looks like Rangitoto right?!

Herculaneum

2010-09-14T22:24:00.000+01:00

Just further up the coast from Pompeii are the ruins of Herculaneum. Unlike Pompeii which was covered in ash, Herculaneum was covered with mud from the eruption. This meant that the town was much better preserved, hence the brilliant colours all over the walls.

It's much smaller, so far less daunting to wander about. There's even an underground bath with marble pools and seating. At Pompeii I'd been intrigued by the marble benches with holes in them, thinking they were communal toilets but at Herculaneum I learnt they were cafes. The holes were where large pots filled with food were kept. I had to get a photo in an ancient Roman cafe!

Vesuvius

2010-09-14T22:05:00.000+01:00

From Pompeii I caught a bus to a car park part way up Mt Vesuvius. It was an hour long drive through the narrowest, winding road. It makes the roads in Coromandel look like highways. I don't think I'd walk on those roads, let alone drive them! The bus stops just short of the top, it's about 800m to walk to the top.

The rain held off throughout most of the day, but the clouds hung around. This had a negative impact on my panoramic views, but it was still lovely. I didn't buy anything from the souvenir shop at the top, but I did bring myself back a small rock - there's plenty to spare!

Back in Sorrento for the evening I went out for dinner to a restaurant with a terraced garden (mosquito territory) where I tried gnocchi alla sorrentina - gnocchi in a tomato sauce with mozzarella. It was really good. I made a poor version of it myself on the weekend.

Pompeii

2010-09-14T21:48:00.000+01:00

I woke up to rain on my first morning in Sorrento - bought a picnic lunch and caught the train up the coast to Pompeii. The ruins are extensive. It requires a good few hours to get around, and in the midst of summer must be such hard work. By September the temperatures were down to about 30, but it was still tough going. I wasn't used to the heat, and there were a lot of tour groups packing the place out. People seem to become oblivious to anyone else when they're in a group! A simple excuse-me got no reaction from anyone. Hummrph.

I gave Pompeii a good effort. I saw most of the things I wanted to see. I was surprised by the lack of greenery, so took pictures of the few gardens there are - thus my pictures are very misleading. I'd been expecting to see the iconic plaster casts of people scattered about the place but I only saw four on display in cabinets. There were however, lots of stray dogs. I got a bit anxious later when I developed itchy bites trying to work out if I had fleas or mosquito bites.

It was a bit surreal sitting amongst the ruins eating my lunch with all the tourist hoards going past; despite the mass of people visiting and the bright sunshine Pompeii has a rather eerie feel to it.

Sorrento

2010-09-08T18:14:00.000+01:00

I flew into Naples airport then caught a bus to Sorrento; the journey's just over an hour long. I arrived at around 7.30pm and the place was manic. I wondered what I'd done - I'd been expecting a quiet little seaside town. There are officially different towns in the region, but along the coast they just all merge into one mass of densly populated land. And the town of Sorrento itself was jam packed with tourists and souvenir shops. It was difficult to imagine how the citizens manage to live with that degree of tourism.

The pictures above were taken during the day, when many tourists are off looking at other sights. Sorrento is itself a destination for people staying elsewhere, but the evenings are when it get's crazy packed out. And this was at the end of the summer!

Como, Italy

2010-09-08T18:01:00.000+01:00

There's no direct flights from Edinburgh to Naples so I chose to go through Milan on my way south. The flight times weren't so great so I had a night to spend in the vicinity of Milan. I took the chance to head up to Lake Como for the night, and the catch a train at midday the next day back to the airport for my flight to Naples.

Como's quite a small town, surrounded by steep hills. There's lots of little towns dotted around the lake and the town of Como seems to be the base from which people go exploring.

On the evening I arrived I went for a stroll around the lake front and ate some dessert I bought (tiramasu and fruit). I then found a restaurant in a square where I had a nice dinner of seafood and pasta to the sound of early 90s power ballads. I was reading DFW's 'Consider the lobster' - when I placed my order the waiter told me I should have ordered the lobster, or at least considered it. Haha - got tip that kind of humour :)

In the morning I meandered about. I went to a basilica and a park with the yellow villa pictured above. There was also a market just outside the city walls, but nothing particularly inspiring was on offer. It was around 20 degrees which was such a pleasant change from Edinburgh. This was a great start to the holiday, and I wished I could have spent more time in the region.

O for awesome

2010-08-21T20:51:00.000+01:00

I couldn't hold back - I opened my presents two weeks early - fantastic treats from D. Cheers man. I'm going to take the bag to Sorrento and wear it with pride! The yummy treats are already being devoured! I really miss all the Asian stores in Auckland.

Done, done, done!

2010-08-21T20:24:00.002+01:00

Handed in the dissertation yesterday - "Framing violence: a critical discussion on domestic violence policy in Aotearoa/New Zealand". It's taking awhile for it to sink in. Maybe when I take all the library books back and put all the articles in the recycling bin it'll feel more like it's done. I won't hear back unitl late October/early November.But I do know graduation's on November 26.

In celebration I deleted the alarm on my ipod that's been waking me up at 7.30 every weekend for so long. This morning I slept in until really late. I was planning to make a banana loaf, but the flatmate threw my bananas away, pikelets instead.

I then went to the shopping centre and bought a skirt. I also took the opportunity to remind myself why I don't eat takeaways in Scotland. I ordered some fried noodles from a takeaway place. While I was waiting a guy ordered fried noodles with onions and ... curry sauce. Jokes aye?! The girl at the counter didn't even react. When I got my noodles there was nothing Chinese about them - they were cooked in curry powder. What the ...???

I also started my new job this week - at the Education College. I'm working half the week there, cataloguing a new collection, and then half the week at the main library cataloguing music. The collection at the Education College is really interesting, school textbooks used in Scotland from way back until 1975.

Beach games

2010-08-01T14:17:00.001+01:00

The latest piece of beach art. Great aye! It's just down from the two amusement arcades on the beach front.

Presents

2010-08-01T12:47:00.000+01:00

Family - you have a lot to live up to. This is a splendid display of parcel wrapping technique. There were coos of awe as it was brought into the room.

Holidays

2010-07-23T14:33:00.002+01:00

The recent guests made me quite jealous of their grand tour. I'd been thinking Spain or Portugal sounds nice, but was unsure where to go to bypass all the drunk Brits misbehaving. A casual conversation with colleagues help me make up my mind, settling instead for the Amalfi coast in Italy. Once the dissertation is out of the way, I'm going for some sun and archaeology!

Aerial assault course

2010-07-20T16:59:00.000+01:00

The forecast was for torrential rain again on Monday, so we went to an indoor climbing centre. We didn't book anything before going, so were only able to do the 5 story aerial assault course. You step out off a ledge and slide down on a zip wire to an obstacle course dangling from the ceiling. Terrifying and awesome. It finished with another zoom along the wire to a ramp at the end, as demonstrated by S.

Today's Tuesday; I saw the intrepid travellers off at the airport this morning. Very sad to see them go. They've been good company, and have made me want to pack in the dastardly dissertation and go off wandering!

Dumbarton

2010-07-20T16:37:00.000+01:00

I forgot to say in the earlier post that after the highland games we went for a boat cruise on Loch Lomond, then caught the train down to Dumbarton to look for Grandma's old house. I don't think we succeeded, but it was nice to look around. There's a castle on a rock there, which is quite impressive.

S left us at the games to go walking in the local area and came back with some good suggestions for walks to do later and tales of Scots serenading her in the forest.

Jupiter Artland

2010-07-20T16:01:00.000+01:00

On Sunday L and I took a trip out to Jupiter Artland, a sculpture park on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Torrential rain had been forecast for the entire week, but we managed to get some sunshine on Sunday, which makes a massive difference when walking through gardens.

We had lunch at the cafe there, then went for a meander through the grounds. There's some new pieces since my last visit with J, but my favourites are still the Goldworthy's. It's so nice being out of the city, the air smells so good and there's no noise from traffic at all. We had a really nice day there.

On the way back to the flat we got off in Portobello for an ice cream, then walked along the promenade. I made tortillas for dinner, and S and T made apple crumble, yum.

Highland games - caber toss

2010-07-18T21:44:00.000+01:00

Highland games - dancing

2010-07-18T20:10:00.000+01:00

Highland games - mechanical bull

2010-07-18T20:00:00.000+01:00

The Highland games were held in Balloch, on the shores of Loch Lomond. It's a beautiful part of Scotland. We got up early and caught the train across to Glasgow, then another up to Balloch. The games have a mixture of events invlolving sport, dancing and pipe bands. There were also a range of carnival type attractions, of which the mechanical bull was one.

Not much happened on Friday

2010-07-18T19:53:00.000+01:00

Friday was the lazy day, due to the trauma of Thursday's soaking. We walked down to Musselburgh for ice cream and beach toys in the afternoon. After a hasty dinner we went to the cinema to see the new Leonardo film, Inception. Very enjoyable.

Scottish museum

2010-07-18T19:51:00.000+01:00

We went to the National Library's exhibition on golf and publishing before heading to the Scottish museum for the afternoon. We had every intention of then going to South Queensferry to walk around to Cramond, but we got seperated at the museum and then caught in a torrential downpour outside. With drenched clothes we headed back to the flat for some soup and bread.

Glasgow

2010-07-18T19:46:00.000+01:00

On Wednesday the squatters moved in. We went to Glasgow in the afternoon. Had lunch at a Chinese restaurant, did some shopping and shot the cover for our gangsta rap album.

Arthur's seat

2010-07-18T19:41:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday evening we went for a stroll to Arthur's seat and around the crags. It was meant to be a bit of a walk before dinner. We ended up walking for four hours, whew. The views over Edinburgh are just lovely, and no trip to the city would be complete without the hike.

It was then topped off with some pizza and cake.

Camera obscura

2010-07-13T13:24:00.000+01:00

I met the troupe after work to go to Camera obscura. I'd heard it was really good, but I wasn't quite sure what it was. There's a presentation with the actual camera obscura - think periscope with mirrors - then lots of oprical illusions. The thermal image is pretty cool. There was also a spinning votex which had us all staggering.

We then went for some sausages and mash at a local diner. S was brave enough to order the haggis, which we all sampled. It's pretty much like a soft mince.

The dinner was pretty generous, so we walked it off with a hike down to the Sheeps heid inn where we enjoyed some Pimms.

The weather was meant to be rubbish, but it's been quite reasonable. The others are finding the temperatures a bit tough though. I've been farming out hoodies and jackets.

Sunset on Portobello beach

2010-07-13T13:06:00.000+01:00

The guests arrived on Sunday afternoon. I met them at the station then we walked to the hostel - about 7 minutes, but it's really far if you're squashed under a massive pack.

We had a wander about town, then caught the bus out to my place.Had some chicken burgers for dinner, then a walk on the beach. The sun sets around 10 or 10.30 at the moment. I thought it was odd that there's slot machines at the beach, but the others were astounded!

Time for a change

2010-07-04T16:40:00.000+01:00

Thought I'd spruce it up a bit, plus I was annoyed by the amount of white space around the text. It looks nice right!?

I'm planning on getting some hard study in this week before the guests arrive on Sunday. I have a busy itinerary planned for their stay.

The study's coming along. The due date's closing in (August 20), when I think of how few weekends that is left I start to get a bit panicky. I'll definately be using up some annual leave for a final burst near the end.

Film festival

2010-06-27T13:03:00.003+01:00

The film festival has been on this past week or so. I tried to go to a film every day, but it didn't work out quite like that.

I saw Boy last Friday - thoroughly enjoyed it, made me quite homesick though. It was interesting seeing which bits non-Kiwi audiences laughed. They though Billy-T's weather lady was hilarious - which it is, but I guess they wouldn't have had any of that nostalgia seeing it.

Saturday was a documentary called The people vs George Lucas - all about fandom, asking some interesting questions about who owns and controls culture. It was a really entertaining watch. I recommend it.

Sunday I don't remember, but Monday was an enjoyable film called Lucky, about Americans who've won the lottery. It was fascinating seeing how people coped (or didn't) and the kinds of reactions they experienced from people around them.

Tuesday night, R was over from NZ so we went out for a nice dinner and catch up. Big ups to A from work for recommending David Bann - lovely vegetarian restaurant.

I also went to see two feature films, The Runaways (about the band) and Henry of Navarre (about Henry of Navarre). They were both ok. I wasn't annoyed that I'd paid to see them, but I wouldn't really recommend them.

Thursday night was a literary salon, presented by Canon Gate publishers. It was alright, the massive highlight and draw card for me was Nick Cave reading from his novel. I would have preferred just a reading from him without the other stuff. I also got a copy of the book Sum by David Eagleman - thoroughly enjoying it. I'd heard of it and thought it sounded like most definitely not my thing, but it's a really lovely book.

Friday night I was meant to go to another film, but had an exhausting week, plus the stress of study and handing in an absolute stinker of a chapter. Instead I went to bed at 5.30 and woke up again the next morning. I just couldn't hack it!

Yesterday I finished a complete overall of the offending chapter, and with a new lightness in my heart traipsed off to see a documentary called A small act. It was a really sweet story about someone who'd donated money to a child in Kenya to complete secondary school and the massive impact it had on the rest of his life. A really uplifting, positive film. I recommend this one too.

Today is the last day of the festival, the 'best of the fest'. The highlights of the festival have been chosen and it's everyone last chance to see the things they missed out on so far. I'm going to see 22 bullets. French thriller? I'm there!!!!

Golden kiwifruit

2010-06-14T20:41:00.000+01:00

Joy of joys - Asda sell golden kiwifruit. I was so delighted to see these at the supermarket. I thought I wouldn't get to eat them again until I was back down south. And they only cost £1.33. They were sooooo delicious, I'm going back to empty the shelf.

In other news, the film festival starts this week. I bought one ticket for each day, so quite restrained. Then today I received an email notice from the festival saying that Nick Cave will be making an appearance!!!!! So exciting, I booked a ticket straight away. I think I can see an early movie and then jog to his venue.

The dissertation's chugging along. I feel like I've been squandering time and need to really focus hard. The theory is so interesting and I keep getting distracted and reading more on things I shouldn't be delving into for this project. I did get one response to my emails asking for interviews. I'm fearing the study may have a fairly limited scope!

Natalie Merchant concert

2010-05-27T18:36:00.000+01:00

O for awesome.

Edinburgh marathon

2010-05-25T19:55:00.000+01:00

I felt blissfully lazy as I lay in bed watching the Edinburgh marathon runners go by on Sunday morning. We had beautiful weather over the weekend, reaching as high as 25 degrees. The beach was pretty busy, especially on Saturday. I had some study to do, but managed a few walks along the promenade.

Tomorrow I'm off to a Natalie Merchant concert - looking very forward to it.

Random stuff

2010-05-25T19:41:00.001+01:00

I feel like I didn't take many photos of random things on this trip. Here's some snails for sale in the grocery store.

Worryingly moldy ceiling in the subway. There were cracks up the walls too.

Interesting window grates in Montmartre.

Decidedly unofficial looking rugby shirts.

Last night in Paris

2010-05-25T19:28:00.001+01:00

Cousin J had told me the Eiffel tower was especially impressive at night, so I walked along the Seine in the evening. It was really busy when I got to the base. The elevators were operating taking people up, but it was too crowded for me. I just walked about and took some pics. There's people everywhere selling cheesy souvenirs, like Eiffel tower key rings and glow in the dark stuff.

Centre Pompidou

2010-05-25T19:23:00.000+01:00

I tried going to the Pompidou Centre earlier in the week, but was feeling rotten. I had a look through the stores then headed off. On the Friday I thought I spend the evening looking around, but unfortunately it closes at 9pm, so I missed out altogether. This was pretty disappointing, so I went for a wander instead.

Bercy village

2010-05-25T19:17:00.000+01:00

On Friday I went in search of Chinatown. I'd read that it was like walking into a Chinese city. I was expecting something like you see in American movies of the Chinatown in New York. Alas no, it was more like Paris, with sundry Asian restaurants and a few shops. The architecture was just the same as elsewhere, not like walking through Hong Kong at all! I was a bit disappointed, but I went to a Thai restaurant for lunch and had a nice meal. The menu was in Thai and French, so I had some difficulty working it out. I ended up with a beef salad and pad thai, which was very tasty.

I then walked to Bercy village, stopping for an opera on the way. I like that cakes from the bakery ("boulangerie") are wrapped like gifts. The opera was in a pyramid this time.

Bercy is a shopping area within Paris, not a village on its own, like Parnell village is not really a village. There's a nice tranquil park, with ducklings swimming in the ponds.The shopping area is just next to the park, through pretty stone archways. There was a foodie/kitchen store there. I bought myself a madeleine tray and julienne slice as souvenirs.

Deyrolle and pagoda

2010-05-17T21:54:00.001+01:00

On the Friday morning I had two things I really wanted to see - the Japanese pagoda and Deyrolle taxidermy shop.The pagoda is part of a cinema, which was closed, so I just took a picture through the gate. It's a quiet little sanctuary, just off a busy street.

I got a bit lost, ending up back at Grande Epicurie, so just had to do some more shopping - for others of course. I got some cute little mini macarons and a donut shaped like a pretzel.

I eventually got back on track to find Deyrolle. It's a shop selling stuffed animals, bugs, butterflies etc., and gardening equipment. It's just fascinating, like a museum, but with some humour mixed in. There's a massive display of wild cats, water buffalo, a polar bear. Just amazing. I highly recommend it for anyone going to Paris.

Thursday night

2010-05-17T21:41:00.000+01:00

In the evening I went on the hunt for a highly recommended falafel place. Found it eventually, next to a fantastic Jewish bakery. I had delicious falafels and cheesecake for dinner. I took a walk around the nearby Places de Vosges, a pretty sqaure with beautiful arched walkways, before heading to Sacre Coeur to get some night shots of the city. It all took a bit long for me, so I ended up leaving before it got really dark.

Lunch at the Louvre

2010-05-17T21:34:00.000+01:00

I bought a picnic lunch and sat outside the Louvre to eat. Nobody else seemed particularly phased to see guys walking around with machine guns.

Anyway, I took a few photos then went wandering. I was keen to get hold of a particular art magazine I can't find in Edinburgh. I tried the Palais du Tokyo shop, which was out, so then tried the Pompadieu Centre. They didn't have it either, but I had a good browse through the book store and gift shop. I bought a cup of tea and brownie at the cafe there for 9 euros, and no it wasn't spectacular. Jeeesh. I was planning on going though the gallery, but was feeling rotten so I headed back to the hotel for a bit of a sit down.

Pere Lachaise cemetery - some more pictures

2010-05-17T21:23:00.000+01:00

Pere Lachaise cemetery

2010-05-17T21:21:00.002+01:00

Given the first few days were so cold, I bought myself a hoodie to keep warm on Thursday. I also did a spot of shopping, picking up a b'day pressie for the bruv.

I then headed out to Pere Lachaise cemetery. There's lots of famous folk buried here, at the top is a picture of Oscar Wilde's grave, follwed by Gericault and Jim Morrison. The other's are not famous, but quite interesting don't you think?

The cemetery is massive, and takes a good half day to get around. I had a look at the ones I was most interested in and then took a bit of a meander before giving in to the cold and going for lunch.

Eeck

2010-05-17T21:07:00.000+01:00

In Scotland I tend to feel like I'm on the taller, skinner side of the spectrum. In France, not so much. Which is why I found it so surprising to find this in France, rather than Scotland. Heck is all I can say.

Versailles town

2010-05-17T20:58:00.000+01:00

It's not just a palace. There's a busy town around the palace too. It was a freezing cold day, and I did my best to enjoy walking around the grounds of the palace, but at 10 degrees, I needed to sit down somewhere with a hot drink.

I went for a walk through the town and came across a market. Nearby was the main shopping area so I stopped in a place for a drink, before buying a chocolate eclair for the train ride back to Paris.

After a few days of walking around in the cold and rain with wet feet, I was starting to feel sick with a temperature and sore throat, so had an early night. I think I had madelines and cheese balls for dinner?!

Crowds at Versailles

2010-05-17T20:48:00.000+01:00

I got an audio guide to listen to on the way around the main palace, but it was so crowded and people with the audio guides tend to bunch together around the same things. I gave up on the audio guide and just wandered about. My colleague told me this morning that the room in the bottom picture is where the treaty of Versailles was signed. Should've paid more attention at the time!

Details from Versailles

2010-05-17T20:44:00.000+01:00

It was a bit tricky trying to take a photograph of this place - it's so huge, especially the grounds. So here are some highlights.

Versailles

2010-05-15T20:01:00.000+01:00

The palace at Versailles is a 40 minute train ride out of Paris. It's massive. Only part of it is open to viewing, but there's three palaces in the complex, and gardens that go on forever.

It was still really cold, and a little rainy, so I didn't stay as long as I would have on a warm sunny day.

Tuesday night

2010-05-15T19:52:00.000+01:00

After having no luck at the Palais du Tokyo, I went to La grande epicurie, a supermarket size delicatessen. I had dinner of rice and beef there, then went next door to the large department store Bon marche. I'm not so excited by big department stores, but there was a photography exhibition on the top floor which was interesting.

Palais du Tokyo

2010-05-15T19:46:00.000+01:00

I tried going to the Palais du Tokyo, a contemporary art gallery, but the exhibitions were closed that evening. I went to the bookstore though, and bought myself a great book on making boxes.

New hotel

2010-05-15T19:43:00.000+01:00

Because of the volcanic delay, I had to change my hotel bookings. I managed to get a good last minute discount on a hotel which turned out to be a great choice - good location, nice breakfast, pleasant staff.

Tuesday

2010-05-15T19:38:00.000+01:00

The first full day was pretty miserable weether wise, and really cold. My cute shirts and cardigans weren't really up to it, making it rather cold and unpleasant to wander about.

I went shopping for clothes and things, trying my best to stay in doors. I did get myself some nice treats, my bag was a few kg heavier on the way back. I stopped for some pistachio and raspberry cake, which I ate whilst cowering under an alcove at the Louvre.

Made it to Paris ...

2010-05-15T19:27:00.000+01:00

After a delay due to the volcano, I managed to make it to Paris. I stayed one night in a cheesy little hotel with mirrors all around the walls, but it did have a gold lift!

It was raining in the evening, so I just went to the large department stores for a wander, and had some delicious noodles in the food hall of one of them.

Spring

2010-04-05T13:34:00.001+01:00

We had a ferocious storm last Tuesday and Wednesday. There was snow throughout Scotland, causing major disruptions. Several colleagues weren't able to make it into work. There wasn't any snow where I stay, but the wind and rain were fierce. Just walking 10 minutes from the train to home was a major mission. Then suddenly it was beautiful blue skies again, providing a lovely photo opportunity.

We also had the clocks change the previous weekend, so it's getting lighter in the evenings. It makes such a massive difference. It would feel like spring if it weren't for the snow and the completely flattened daffodils!

There's not much else to report. Last weekend I went out and about. I went to the cinema to see Crazy heart which was quite enjoyable. I had to listen to Ryan Adams all the way home. There's also an exhibition in St Andrew's square of wildlife photography. I think it's part of a science festival. The pictures were pretty impressive.

I worked on Good Friday and again today as public holidays have been merged with annual leave. So I get more annual leave days, but the former public holidays are standard work days now. It's ok if you don't have to work a customer service job. More than half the staff have come in today so they can take time off on other days. I did eat some hot cross buns for easter, but have been fairly good at staying away from the chocolate.

Although, I ordered a new bag from the kiwi shop in London and was quite tempted to get some NZ treats - perhaps some cameo cremes. But I managed to hold back!

One month until I got to France and Belgium!!

Theatre

2010-03-25T20:32:00.000Z

I went to the theatre a few weeks back to see a play. I thoroughly enjoyed it - it had lots of laughs and great characters. I tend to forget how much better it is seeing a live show.

Natalie Merchant was in Glasgow last month for the Cetic Connections festival, a massive festival of Celtic music. Unfortunately I was too slow to get a ticket which I was disappointed about. But she's playing in Edinburgh in May so I've managed to get a good ticket at the front for that. Something to look very forward to.

In other news I have written the first chapter for my dissertation! It'll need revision, but YAY. In celebration I made some delicious scones. The recipe is from Australian Masterchef - far superior to the Edmonds one, although I feel unpatriotic saying it.

Ephemera

2010-03-04T20:03:00.001Z

I thought you might be interested in a sample of my ephemera collection. It was all found in various library books. Some are slips from publishers or libraries, but I think I like the cheque from 1978 best. My colleague was in fits of hysterics trying to explain the pink punch card to me, I think the memories of the absurd computers set her off. Apparently the IT people wore white coats like lab technicians. It contains a bibliographic record in binary code. I'm still a little unclear how how it actually works.

I've been working on the Russian literature so have been learning the alphabet. Some words become recognisable - but I have no idea how to pronounce them! I'm really enjoying the challenge though. When I eventually get to Russia for a holiday I'll at least be able to read street signs.

The study's ticking along. I've spent a lot of time feeling quite intimidated by the dissertation, but I think over this past two weeks it's been coming into perspective. I've decided to look at the impact feminists have had on domestic violence policy in New Zealand. It's a really interesting topic and now that I have an idea of how it'll be structured it's starting to feel manageable.

In other news I booked a holiday to Paris and Brussels. After chatting with colleagues about the best route to take, I decided to fly to Paris for a few days then train up to Brussels. The trip is in May, so have a few months of anticipation to enjoy.

I've been a total study nerd since the Christmas break. I had some good catch ups with friend over that time, but since then I've been pretty darn dull, hence the lack of updates. On Tuesday after work I went to the cinema to see the new Juenet film which I enjoyed. And on Saturday I'm taking a study break to see a play, which I'm looking forward to. It's had very good reviews and is written by the same person that wrote the film In Bruges (the inspiration for my May holiday!)

Xmas at the beach

2009-12-24T19:37:00.001Z

Out the window

2009-12-24T19:23:00.004Z

Oh la la

2009-12-23T17:38:00.000Z

We had serious snow overnight. It took me 2 hours to get to work this morning as there were hardly any buses available and everyone was driving very cautiously. It was all very pretty.

Snow

2009-12-19T16:33:00.000Z

We had snow fall starting on Thursday morning. There wasn't much yesterday, but we had more again this afternoon. Snow is forcast for the next few days. It's pretty cold, 1 degree at the moment and down to -5 overnight. Brrrr.

This picture was taken looking over the square outside work.

Sunday afternoon

2009-11-14T18:29:00.001Z

I spent the afternoon wandering about. I kept stumbling across areas that looked like major tourist destinantions that I had no idea about. I guess we just based our trip around our own interests. I found a Madam Toussads wax museum with a queue along the block, who knew there was one in Amsterdam?

I was quite taken with the architecture, both becuase so much of it was very attarctive, but also because of the water situation. There's canals running throughout the city, which I think is the cause of all the wonky buildings. Some of them are so bow legged I think they're only still standing because they have neighbours to lean on. Also interesting in the low level of the buldings, like in picture two, with doors almost at water level. Pretty scary with global warming and sea levels rising.

There's a variety of food stalls in the shopping areas. I had a large waffle smothered in hot pink icing. Sickly sweet, but perfectly edible! There was also a herring stall. I saw a guy buy a bread roll filled with a fish fillet and other stuff, maybe onions?

I had a 5 o'clock flight back to Edinburgh. It only takes and hour and ten minutes to get there, so it was a a fairly easy return trip.

Floating flower market

2009-11-14T18:17:00.000Z

I was a little disappointed with the floating flower market, I was expecting people in boats to be punting up and down the canals selling bouquets. It was still interesting to have a wander about. There were some fresh flowers, but mostly bulbs for sale, and small cactuses. The market is located just off one of the main shopping streets, so it was fairly busy.