Sunday, November 29, 2009

Rooms with a View




As we prepare to leave Aberdeen we thought it would be appropriate to share the views we have been enjoying for the last two months.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Dunnotar Castle

Only from a castle window can you get a view THIS spectacular!
Freaky light effect in the castle.
The castle on the cliffs.

Stonehaven



On our way to Dunnotar Castle we stopped at Stonehaven a village just south of Aberdeen.  We saw this hardy soul in the bay and then were very impressed to see him actually catch a wave, it was a very cold day.

Arthur's Seat and views of Edinburgh

Another canon.

Steph and Peter kindly took us on a drive to Arthur's Seat and to a vantage point overlooking the city of Edinburgh.  We then had a great afternoon tea in the cafe under the art gallery and saw the outdoor skating rink being set up for the Christmas season.

The Holy Island and Lindisfarne

The road to the Holy Island that is totally impassable at high tide.



I know I have a thing for stained glass windows.
Inside the church at Lindisfarne.
The old priory, first set up in the 7th century.
More of the priory.
A boat shed, literally.
The fortress on the Holy Island.  Seth didn't join us for this adventure into history across the Scottish border into England.  Instead he went to the local swimming pool at Dunbar that featured a waterslide and wave machine, can't think why.

Rugby

Da Boys
Richard with the crowd in the background.
Jenny keeping warm with a beanie under her hoodie.
Yes we were there to see Scotland beat the Wallabies for the first time in 27 years, typical.
The fireworks were good though.
The magic moment was when the crowd spontaneously burst into song during the game.  The low point, besides the loss, was when the crowd sang "and I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more etc." at the end of the match.

The Elephant House


We returned to Edinburgh to visit our friends Steph, Peter and Fionn.  On the way we stumbled upon The Elephant House which is a cafe where J. K. Rowling wrote much of her Harry Potter books.  We ate soups, burgers and pizza there.