Babaganoush--Day 27

I just like that word. And we had some tonight at the Iraqi meal! It was quite wonderful. Our appetizers were pita bread with hummus and eggplant dip, a nice Iraqi salad, and some delicious cheese. My main course was a thick, flavorful eggplant stew chock full of onions and peppers. I got a large portion of saffron long-grain rice with it, too. Dessert was a wonderful selection of baklava and other filo dough delicacies followed by a small but strong cup of tea. I'm feeling a bit under the weather right now (just a touch of a British cold, quite inevitable), so the tea made me feel a little better.

What I loved most about going to dinner tonight was walking through Hyde Park on the way to get there. It was a stunningly sunny evening, and everything looked beautiful. This is the only snapshot I managed to take. There are many, many more acres to Hyde Park than are shown here. I really want to go back to I can see the statue of Peter Pan and wander through Kensington Gardens. My friends and I also want to picnic here on a nice sunny fall day when all the trees are aglow in their reds, golds, oranges, and browns. The area around the north end of Hyde Park is full of interesting monuments and statues, such as Marble Arch, a horse head, and the Jelly Babies (which is actually a kind of candy, but I don't think these statues are supposed to represent candy).

Beautiful Hyde Park on a sunny evening! What a treat to take the scenic route to the restaurant.

A horse-head statue.

The Jelly Babies!

Marble Arch.

Anyway, I got a lot more information about Scotland today. We leave at 6:30 AM on Thursday (OUCH!), and it will take us most of the day to get to Glasgow. However, we will be making a few stops that will add time, including a morning and afternoon break, lunch break, and a short visit to the Lake District. My art history professor tells us that the drive up will be absolutely beautiful if we have decent weather. Thursday is just traveling, so when we get to Glasgow, we will go straight to our hotel (the Premier Inn on Argyle Street) for dinner and call it a night. On Friday, we will be touring Glasgow by coach in the morning and then visiting the Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow in the afternoon to hear Margaret McDonald speak to us. She is one of the premier art history scholars in the world. Later in the fall, there will be a symposium at the Smithsonian Institute in DC strictly in her honor. She will show us original illuminated manuscripts and Whistler scrapbook samples, something even graduate students in the arts rarely see. Friday evening will be free to explore Glasgow on our own. Saturday is our tour of Edinburgh with a walk to Edinburgh Castle. After lunch on Saturday will be a walking tour of the Royal Mile, a famous strip of shops and restaurants where J.K. Rowling penned the first few lines of the Harry Potter series. Sunday is a trip to Loch Lomond (does Brigadoon ring a bell?) and then the Glasgow School of Art. Sunday evening is another block of free time. And Monday is another travel day where I will be up early, so that's going to be fun.

I'm telling you all this because I don't think I will have my computer with me. It's one less thing I need to lug around with me. I will write a lot about each day when I return, so don't worry! And I will take many pictures so you can enjoy Scotland, too! I am so very excited for this trip! I'm ready for the rugged Scottish way of life and the warmth of the Scottish people. Tomorrow is my history presentation and exam, so please wish me luck on that.