This Hart's in the Lowlands*--Day 29 (Thursday, Sep 29)

*The title is a reference to a song called "My Heart's in the Highlands.

Anyway, as you can tell, I am back from Scotland and so excited to share everything with you! I will post about each day separately as if they were happening one at a time so I can preserve their authenticity. So, without further ado, I give you...SCOTLAND! (Except for this side note: The posts have been dated so you can keep track of what happened on which day.)

While I did NOT like getting up at 5:30 this morning nor spending most of the day in the coach, I was really glad when we finally got to Glasgow around 6:30, and I was happy to be in Scotland. The drive actually wasn't too bad. The English countryside is truly beautiful--lots of rolling green hills with cows and sheep grazing peacefully in pastures separated by hedges or old stone walls (the stone walls were more common in Scotland). I can see why so many great writers and artists hail from England. One thing I thought was really interesting was that sheep and cows are often kept in the same enclosure. Also, there are many varieties of cows, and farmers often keep more than one kind together. And not surprisingly, they are quite a bit smaller than American cows. The drive was also beautiful because it was very sunny, and the trees here are just beginning to change color, so we got a little bit of an early fall show.

Our bus driver was a man named John, but he told us to call him Jacques because all his friends did. He cheered us up with a little Scottish humor in the morning that kind of made up for the early start. I just loved hearing his accent!

I noticed on the drive up that as we got further from large cities, the signs started to use metric less and the English system more. Specifically, the road signs started out in meters and ended up in yards and feet. I'm guessing this has to do with the fact that London is an international, modern city, while smaller cities outside of it are more secluded and traditional, so they would naturally favor the English system. Sometimes I wish the US would get with the program (or should I say "programme"?) and switch to metric because it seems like we are the only country in the world that doesn't use it extensively. Luckily, I am a science student, so we use metric all the time. :)

At lunchtime, we stopped in the Lake District in northern England, the home of Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter, specifically in the town of Kendal. High on a hill in Kendal sit the ruins of Catherine Parr's (King Henry VIII's last wife) family castle. Kendal and the whole Lake District are situated in these large hills, often termed the Cumbrian Mountains (though they are not quite mountains in the true sense). I thought they were very beautiful, and I'm sure you would have thought so, too. My friends and I had lunch at a cute little cafe in Kendal called Charlie's, where I had parsnip soup with croutons, some tea, a wheat roll, and a salad. It was quite filling and good for my cold (which I am currently getting over). Kendal was a really nice place to stop, and we all want to come back for lunch again on Monday.

A street in Kendal.

A hill in the Cumbrian Mountains.

Another view of the Cumbrian Mountains. I particularly liked the red plants growing on the side of the hills--not something you see in the States.

A valley in the Cumbrian Mountains. I thought it was a nice effect with two hills on either side of this small depression with a view of more hills and low spots in the distance. There's just so much space in the shot.

 Finally, we reached Scotland. Glasgow was the farthest north I had ever been--55 degrees north latitude. As we were driving, we saw some horses, and they were much shaggier and stockier than horses in the United States. I am guessing this has to do with adapting to cold weather (plants in cold climates are often stunted, too). The landscape is dominated by Scottish pines (the only native pine tree to Scotland) dotting hillsides on which the remains of old Scottish stone houses stand. It was so picturesque and quaint I could hardly stand it!

The only sensible thing to do when something is so charming you "can hardly stand it" is, of course, photograph it. Hello, Scotland!

I was pretty much exhausted by the time we got to the hotel. Glasgow reminded me a lot of the Quad Cities because it is industrial and on a river (the Clyde in this case). Anyway, we got our room key and ventured upstairs to unpack before dinner. Our room was great! We had so much space, and the beds were so comfortable (plus, I got TWO pillows so I could prop myself up--great for my cold!). It was nice to feel catered to for a change. Dinner was sort of late (around 8 PM), but it was really good. I had a salad to start followed by Mediterranean risotto. I know, it sounds like a bad idea way up north, but it was actually delicious! I accompanied my meal with some fizzy orange juice. Dessert was a so-so apple caramel crumble. I must say I was really looking forward to it, and it did not at all meet my expectations. After dinner, we retired to our room to watch some British TV before bed. It was kind of funny but quite crass. We think of the British as so polite, but they are much more crude than Americans (they have less censorship than we do, but they also have CCTV in constant operation EVERYWHERE--go figure). I drank a cup of tea in bed and then went to sleep, knowing the next day would be very busy.

Our hotel room. Now, if only I could combine this with our kitchen in Chelsea...