London – 21-24 March
We landed in London after what amazingly enough felt like a short flight from San Francisco that included flying over northern Canada, the tip of Greenland, then just south of Iceland, before coming down between Scotland and Ireland as the sun rose. Touching down at 6am local time, the temperature was unfortunately frigid – literally!
We spent 3 nights in London and a good amount of time on buses and the tube to the most central and popular spots in London, which run along the river Thames that cuts the city in half running east to west, or maybe west to east, but you get the idea. The best sites are north of the river with south London supposedly more rough and tumble and residential.London is now officially the most expensive European city and it definitely felt that way. $6 beers, $9 cheeseburgers, $30 to see the Tower of London. Luckily the great museums are all free, and we hit many of them – the best for us being the National Gallery which has entire rooms filled with Rembrandts, Rubens, Rafaels, a couple of Vermeers, and my favorites from the Flemish painter Jan Van Eyck.
Our favorite thing to do was catch a double decker bus and sit upstairs in front and sight-see that way. The main reason was to keep warm but it also granted a great perspective on buildings, people, etc.
Highlight: Dazed and confused on our first night from 11 hours of travel and 28 hours without sleep, we crashed almost literally at a local pub in the trendy Carnaby Street area sitting outside in the bracing cold (the smoking laws in public places don’t go into effect until July and pubs are currently just a dense airless fog of smoke). Two older guys from Essex were sitting next to us and we struck up conversation. To toast our first day of the year’s travels, they bought us beers and a shot of whiskey (to warm us up to Scotland where we would be heading next). It was a wonderful gesture and a great way to inaugurate our travels. It also helped our wallets out!
Codicote (outside of London) 24-26 March
We spent two nights visiting an old friend of M’s and her husband and son. It was a nice break from the big city. Nikki and Andy and their son Archie were very generous with their time as we sucked up their entire weekend visiting St. Albans, ordering take away (take out) Bangladeshy-Indian food, etc.Highlight: Going to a local ‘pints and poems’ event in this little town. The evening featured locals (mostly would-be actors and dramatic types in their 40’s and up) reciting some of their favorite poems and also some songs with acoustic guitar including one of my fave’s “Wild Mountain Thyme” that features a great Scottish melody ‘will ye go lassie go’.
Edinburgh, Scotland 26-30 March
This city is absolutely stunning even when dreary and overcast. The centerpiece of the town is Edinburgh Castle that sits on an extinct volcano and is visible from nearly all parts of town. Luckily M and I found a reasonable hotel that was in the ‘old town/west end’ and literally we could walk out the door and down the street and boom – there it was!We stayed a bit longer than planned due to a cheaper airfare to our next destination of Morocco – but it worked out great. Each day we’d pile on all of our warm clothes and trek around the old town and the ‘Royal Mile’, gazing at ancient buildings as if looking back to the 17th century. The Scots here are incredibly friendly and we found that even the convenience store attendants went out of their way to comment on the weather or just say hi. We did a ton of walking as usual for us and rarely took a bus. Venturing out to Leith one night we hit the “local-est” looking pub we could find and walked in for a pint. On cue, everyone stopped drinking and gazed towards us, and if I am not mistaken the dart just released by an older gentlemen froze in mid-air. After a good five seconds of uncomfortable silence, life in the pub resumed and we walked up to buy a pint. From there, we sat and spoke with a few of the regulars including the older dart-throwing gent. It was hilarious as we could really only understand about 60% of what they said and more often than not just smiled and laughed when they would finish their garbled mess. As if in a movie, they tried to sell us on the merits of eating haggis as well. Hmm, let’s see pork organs...wrapped in intestine...and mixed with oats… Oats?!!?! Couldn't of seen that extra ingredient coming from a mile away, but if you say so. After a few polite moments, we respectfully declined. They remained genuinely puzzled as to why we would turn down such a delicacy.
Highlight: Taking the bus to nearby Dunfermline, just north of Edinburgh and across the Firth of Forth, to see the town where my musical hero, Stuart Adamson, lived for most of his life, before he unfortunately committed suicide in 2001. The town of Dunfermline has a great older section where the bus dropped us – and where I had arranged to meet a local guy who shares the same respect for Stuart and his incredible talent. Allan “Smid” Smith met us at the bottom of Glen Gates at the 7 Kings pub and we spent the night chatting about Stuart and his bands; the Skids and Big Country. Smid knew Stuart personally for years and it was just phenomenal and moving for me to hear about Stuart’s beginnings in music and also just share a pint with someone as passionate (borderline obsessed). Really, this was a dream come true for me. I’d wanted to visit Dunfermline since 1983 when I first heard Big Country. Smid also showed us Stuart’s old house right near the old Abbey at the end of the evening, before we said goodbye and took the late bus back to Edinburgh.Fort William, Scotland 30 March – 01 April
Despite the high cost of everything, we splurged and took the train 4 hours from Edinburgh through Glasgow and up the west highlands of Fort William to see more of the less inhabited and beautiful landscapes of the Scottish highlands. It was well worth it for both of us. The train alone was a stunning experience as it cuts through parts of the highlands where there are no roads.From Fort William, a small seaside town, one can easily hike in the valleys below Ben Nevis; the highest point in the UK at 4,400 feet. We had no intention of hiking it though as it’s covered in snow and can often have sub-arctic temperatures at the top (um, no thanks!). The main valley of Glen Nevis is flat and easy to walk and we had plenty of time to stop and each lunch one beautiful sunny day, as well as stop for me to draw, and for M to read and watch nearby highland cattle with curiosity. Looking like a cross between a cow and a sheep dog, with strands of hair running down over their eyes and faces, it isn’t hard to see why.
The next day we walked again in beautiful sunny weather over to the north side of the loch that Fort William looks upon. The little towns just to the north are really nothing more than a few suburban houses with kids playing football (soccer) in any patches of grass they can find. But with what appeared to be the first really good weather of the season, everyone was out strolling and chatting. It was touching to see the small town vibe in full display where everyone knows each other and shares a genuine interest in one another. With Ben Nevis looming behind us, it was a truly idyllic setting.
Edinburgh, Scotland 01-03 April
Back for a few days to ‘wait’ for our flights to Morocco. The highlight was walking up to Calton Hill where there’s a killer view of old and new town Edinburgh, the Firth of Forth and nearby coastline. We stopped for the afternoon and holed up on the sunny and wind-protected side of a statue so that I could draw a nearby tower for a few hours. It was a stunning day and we both could understand full well why this is such a great town full of history, beautiful buildings, and friendly people. I’d definitely add it to the list of ‘places I could live’.
Next: Morocco 03-17 April…
