Quick update so Laura doesn't eat me...

Day 8, 2/9/09 – Stonehaven, Johnshaven, Dundee

Today we went to Dunnottar Castle (Dun-OT-ar), which is where they filmed the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet. My sister says it also has Helena Bonahm-Carter, which means I must see it soon. The castle itself wasn’t particularly spectacular, other than this depressing chamber where the held political prisoners (Whigs/ in miserable conditions, but the location of the castle itself is stunning. It’s on a rock outcropping that juts up right on the beach. It’s a great defensive position, but I hate to think of the people and horses who had to haul the castle stones up there. Anyway, the pictures are going to be fabulous, so watch for them. We then went to Johnshaven to go to the Starfish Studio, which has handmade items made from all over Scotland. I got a gorgeous necklace with a painting of a tree on it (terrible description, I know), as well as gifts for several of you lucky folks. We then headed down to Dundee with little drama, though we were sad to find that a museum of Pictish stones was closed when we tried to visit. We had a bit of trouble finding a B&B, but ended up with this amazing elderly but very active couple. They are so incredibly nice and accommodating – if you are ever in Dundee, try to book the Ash Villa Guest House, and it’s only £19 per person per night. OH MY GOSH. I almost forgot to tell you about our dinner. It was with no doubt the best meal I have ever had. We went to this tiny French restaurant near Castle Street called Bon Appetite. There was a little bit of a wait, since we came in right after a party of 12 or so, but it was SO worth it. Everything there is made by hand – no microwaves. I had guinea fowl in a creamy mustard-based sauce with potatoes and grapes; okay, I don’t even like mustard, but I could have kept eating this dish all night. It was gorgeous. For dessert, I had a crème brûlée made with really vanilla beans. My sister and I agree, if we were rich, we would hire these people as our personal chefs.

Day 9, 3/9/09 – Dundee

We decided to stay in Dundee another night, which allows us to do LAUNDRY. Yay! Today it actually started to rain, not a particularly harsh rain, but continuously. We stopped in H&M before heading to Glamis (Glahms, soft ‘a’, no ‘i’). This place seriously looks like a Disney fairy castle. No pictures were allowed inside, as it is where Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was born in 1900. In other news, I’ve been working on a cross-stitching project for Aunt Meg and I finished my first Westie on it! We then went to Fisherman’s Tavern (what else is there to do when it rains but visit indoor castles and eat?) where I had a very spicy chili (the food is generally bland here, but when the say spicy, the usually mean SPICY) and a delicious sticky toffee pudding – possibly my new favorite dessert.

Day 10, 4/9/09 – Dundee, St. Andrews, Perth

We passed by the HM Frigate Unicorn today (in case I haven’t mentioned this before, they LOVE unicorns here). It’s normally a museum, but it was closed, probably due to the rain. It was built in 1824 and is the oldest British ship still afloat – because it never saw action, being replaced by steam ships soon after it was built. Not as majestic as the Dauntless or as sleek as the Interceptor, but a real ship, which I suppose counts for something… Following that, we headed to St. Andrews in order to see its cathedral and castle. The Cathedral is massive, but I was more impressed with the Pictish stone collection they had in their museum. I also got more gifts here… St. Andrews Castle, just down the road and around the corner, had amazing ocean views, as well as an interesting history with the Protestant Reformation. Cardinal Beaton, head guy at the castle, had George Wishart burned on the stake, so in response some Protestants took the castle and killed him in 1546. The Earl of Arran (not Protestant) then put the castle under siege but didn’t directly attack it, as his son was inside the castle. Instead, he built a tunnel that was supposed to destabilize the outer wall of the castle and collapse it. The Protestants built a counter-mine guided only by the sound of the other camp’s digging (not surprisingly, they had 3 false starts) and just managed to barge in on and foil the Earl’s plot. You could actually climb through the mines, starting at the narrow and roughly-made counter-mine and heading towards the Earl’s far more dignified mine (they actually put in steps). The entrance had an “Enter at your own risk” sign… Finally, we headed to Perth

Day 11, 5/9/09 – Perth, Glasgow

There was a Perth Open Studios event starting today where, as the name suggests, local artists in Perthshire open up their studios for the public to come in and see them work. We went to Boo Vake (pronounced bùth bheag… yeah, I don’t know how to say that either) which had a bunch of cute, random little things. We also went to the Tayberry Gallery, which had a bunch of cute, expensive things. We headed off to Glasgow (Glaz-go, no ‘w’ sound, people!) and to a bookshop that supposedly had cats… no cats, but in the car park there was an adorable dog named Jake. Then, the absolute highlight of my day: the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum had a Doctor Who Exhibition!!!!!!!!!! They had TONS of costumes from the new seasons, including THE sneakers. They even had a FULL SIZE TARDIS (well, at least on the outside, we weren’t allowed in…) as well as Cybermen and Daleks. They even had a Weeping Angel! I took so many pictures! I got a DELICIOUS poster of 10, with glasses on, to hang on my wall. I don’t care if my roomie thinks I’m a dork, I love it.

Day 12, 6/9/09 – Glasgow, Edinburgh

Today we went to the Barras, what was supposed to be a huge flea market deal, but it turned out to be a bad version of Ventura’s swap meet. Disappointing, but oh well. We then went to the Glasgow Cathedral where I confirmed that I have very little interest in old religious sites that are still being used for services. Perhaps because I have little interest in religion? We then went to the Necropolis, where they have a bunch of tombs/crypts. I thought I would like it, but instead I was exasperated. For one, I think it’s pathetic that people who are obsessed with vampires hang out there at night, and two, I really have a hard time understanding my mother’s obsessions with graveyards. It’s just… Someone we didn’t know died a long time ago. Someone else we didn’t know put up a pretty stone where the other person is buried. Why do we care? Sigh. After that, we headed over to the St. Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life. Yeah, this was turning out to be a great day for me. I mean, a lot of the idols were pretty, but the museum becomes so much less cool when you realize that most of the statues were brought here as a result of colonization and the raiding of temples to suppress the pagans and steal their gold. We then went to Edinburgh (Ed-in-burr-ah, NO G) where we ate at the pub called Shakespeare’s. Alas, the menu was not in iambic pentameter.