Feaman/Kenmore/Aberfeldy

Leaving the city behind, we ventured into the foothills of the Highlands. We even had a rainbow to welcome us!

I think we made out better in the house swap with Micah's dad who drove to Edinburgh to spend a few days in the city, and we took the car into the country for some quiet relaxation. Mr. Stanbridge's cottage is an old traditional stone house with lovely gardens all around (he is a professional gardener/landscaper).


From the cottage looking past some of the gardens and the little apple orchard, you can see Loch Tay down the hill. They own several acres including a section of waterfront beach on the Tay.

Eben, Moss, and I climbed Blair Drummon which is a hill that overlooks Loch Tay and the surrounding area. When we set out, it was sunny and warm but you could see the clouds gathering in the distance. Most people would be upset about this, but we were unphased since we had our waterproof gear. It was very neat to watch the storm approach over the loch.

Once the rain was upon us, just as we watched it roll in, we watched the sun break through and work its way back to us.

By the time we were walking back, everything was sunny and bright green again.

Moss loves their old stone pier on the loch. He could run and jump after sticks all day! It was really fun to have a dog for about a week, and he loved every minute of our adventuring.

We visited the Scottish Crannog Centre which is a full scale model of a traditional, Iron Age Scottish dwelling. It's built on the loch and you can have a tour inside and learn about what life was like for Iron Age Scots. The scale of the place is amazing and they made every attempt to rebuild the structure as accurately as possible. Since no true crannog exsists today, they've learned everything they know from underwater archeology.

They also taught us Iron Age methods of creating round wooden disks using a foot pedal, some rope and a flexible branch (don't forget the lovely Iron Age safety goggles).

We learned (in theory) how to make fire, although none of us were successful.

After my exhausting go at fire making, I opted to grind some wheat into flour. This was a remarkably 'easy' task as compared to the strain and coordination required for making a tiny ember of fire. Although to be fair, I did only make about a teaspoon of flour.

If Eben, Micah, and I had to survive on the skills we learned that day, we'd be cold and hungry, but have lots of round wooden disks and rocks with holes in them (a skill we were all able to master).

Next we climbed Taymouth Hill which offered views of Taymouth Castle and the surrounding valley.

At the top of most large peaks, there are cairns consisting of large piles of rocks and sometimes wood.

You can't help but feel accomplished reaching your destination and spotting the cairn.

Hikers will contribute a stone to the pile when they visit the peak to add to the structure.

Cairns also serve as shelter from the high winds on the exposed hills.

Once at the cairn, you sit back, have a snack and some water, and enjoy the view.

Good times!

North Berwick

One of my 'to dos' for our trip was to see puffins. Based on what I read online this wasn't going to happen based on their migratory patterns. This made me sad because I've always wanted to see puffins. I know you can see puffins in Maine, but for whatever reason, I've not seen them there. Internet aside, Micah told me I could see puffins in North Berwick on Bass Rock. He worked half a day and then we were on our way to North Berwick which lies on the coast where the Firth of Fourth joins with the North Sea.

Bass Rock is not too far off shore, but it is a sufficient distance to be a wonderful roosting spot for lots of coastal birds. The rock surface isn't actually grey, those are birds (and bird poo). You can't tell from the photo really, but it looked like there was also a hoovering swarm above the rock as well. (There's also a lighthouse there).

We went to the Scottish Sea Bird Centre to sort out what time we could get a boat to view the island, but when we asked the woman, she told us the puffins had already left. There were still pleanty of birds to see on the rock, but we decided that 40 pounds was a bit steep not to see any puffins, so we opted to play on the coastal rocks.

It was a bit overcast and misty, but it was nice to get out of the city and climb on the rocks.

After our picnic lunch, we spotted the North Berwick Law and decided that we should do a bit of hill climbing. The surrounding area was very flat except for this large hill jutting up behind the town.

Aparently there was a clear path up the hill, but we somehow missed it. We essentially climbed the back face straight up. I wish the photo could convey the verticallity!

Bass Rock once more from atop the North Berwick Law.

Edinburgh Once More

We spent an afternoon at the Royal Botanic Gardens

It was a lovely day for a wander through some gardens. It was sprinkling when we arrived so we went to the Glass Houses first.

One of my favorites (call me odd) was that the moss in one of the houses was beginning its mating ritual. Look at all the little sporophytes!!!

Another highlight was the Juan Fernandez Fern for obvious reasons!

The only part of ginger I have ever seen are the roots in the grocery store, but apparently this is what the rest looks like.

Eben’s favorite was this plant with flowers that look like tiny hands. He thought they would fit right in with the likes of Dr. Seuss perhaps in The Lorax. We never did sort out what plant it was...


That night at 10pm we went on a ghost tour. Neither of us took any photos because, to be honest, we were a bit too freaked out by the whole thing. There are a series of underground streets and chambers that were sealed up over two hundred years ago and the only way to check them out is to attend one of these tours. You can of course go during the day, and I’m sure it’s a bit tamer for the kids. We started out walking through a section of the old city above ground. The tour guide painted a picture of Edinburgh in the Middle Ages. NOT a pretty picture! Lots of filth with sewage being pitched out windows onto the streets (and the homeless) running down to North Loch the city's source of drinking water (it was so foul that there was a crust on the loch that a grown man could walk across). Not to mention the bubonic plague causing large black pus filled sacs all over the bodies of the afflicted. Then there were the witch trials and the horrible things done to those women (one of which was being thrown, so that the crust broke, into the sewage filled loch to find out if you sank or floated). He told us about the prisons where a healthy young man would die within 7 months of incarceration because of the conditions (if they survived the torture). We then went underground to the chambers where the poor and homeless would flee and live in complete darkness and more filth. Apparently, these spaces are now haunted by some of those unfortunate people that died there. Some from ‘natural’ causes, others who were cooked during a huge fire in the city above that heated the stone walls and essentially created an oven. It was after this incident that the streets and cambers were sealed off. They were not discovered until the 1920s. It was all really interesting, but on the depressing side. We also saw about 50 different torture devices that had all been used on someone over 200 years ago. What I found scarier than the stories of the ghosts was being in the space where these things actually transpired, no matter how long ago. It was troubling, but full of great history. I used to think that it would be fun to live during the Middle Ages and maybe if you were royalty it was, but I’ll have to rethink that one!

Edinburgh (Part 1)

My first day in was a bit of a wash. Despite feeling energetic upon my arrival, I crashed pretty quickly. The most exciting thing I did was take a walk around the free chip-and-putt course in the Meadows, which is a really nice park in Micah's neighborhood. I could not keep myself awake to see Eben. He arrived from Manchester after I was in bed.

The next day was beautiful, and we were up and out.

We climbed Arthur's Seat which overlooks the city and the Firth of Fourth, a river on its way to the sea.

I was very excited to find thistle growing along the path to the top.

There are two natural high points in the city. The first is Arthur's Seat; the other is the volcanic plug which Edinburgh Castle sits upon (in the center on the green hill), so we had great views from our high vantage point.


The seat was covered in holes and little dried up poos, which meant there were bunnies lurking about....

I caught sight of only one in a clearing in the low shrubs, but judging from the ground, dawn and dusk must be pretty fluffy experiences.

The woman I sat next to on the plane told me a fantastic place to get lunch was at the mosque. I was promised yummy curries for very cheap. Unfortunately, the mosque was not marked on any of our maps, so we took advantage of our bird's eye view and spotted what looked like it could be the minaret of a mosque. We made note of a couple of churches around it, and set off down the hill into the streets. I was very psyched when the building we thought to be the mosque actually was! We wandered around the back of the mosque to a tented area labeled 'Mosque Kitchen' and had ourselves a fantastic lunch! I was so hungry that I failed to take any photos, sorry!

With full happy bellies, we ventured downtown through the old city.

We wandered through the Princes Street Gardens and to the Walter Scott Monument. We climbed the narrow twisting stairwells to the top and had another look at the city with 360 degree views.


Arthur's Seat and the old city from the top of the Scott Memorial.

Edinburgh Castle growing out of the rocks!

That evening we met up with Eben's friend Ian (who enjoys quoting Sean Connery in the proper accent). Ian had run a half marathon the day before and still came to visit us in Edinburgh from Glasgow. We had some tea together and walked around downtown while Ian taught us interesting things about Scotland and Edinburgh while he and Eben caught up. Ian was very nice and very good at giving Eben a hard time!

Micah would like to share now too (he's speaking as me):

Micah is the best guy EVER! Eben constantly smells of poop, and my nose has expelled approximately 6 litres of snot today already.

I just want to reiterate how awesome Micah is.

Now I'm here!

Micah and I are lounging around.  It's nice not to be in transit any more.  He's going to cook me a 'proper English fry up' for breakfast.  My first flight went well.  They actually put me on an earlier flight since my original was delayed till 8 (which is when I was supposed to be leaving Newark), so I caught the 2:05 flight at 4:30.  Hannah certainly made a mess of the airports!  It was probably one of the bumpiest rides I've ever had.  It felt like we were falling out of the sky a few times (slightly nerve-racking).  Now I can say I've flown in a hurricane (technically I think it was a tropical storm by the time I was in it).  Apart from some delays in Newark, everything went smoothly on the second leg.  I probably slept only an hour and a half the whole time though, so I'm betting once 2 or 3 rolls around I'm going to melt into a sleepy mush.  I did get to watch The Visitor on the plane which I've really been wanting to see and was pleased; I recommend it!!!  It's about a Conn professor, but that has little to do with the plot of the movie.  He's a widower and has to go to New York for a conference.  He and his late wife had a condo there which he hadn't been to in quite some time.  When he arrives, he finds a couple living there.  It's from the same director that did the Station Agent (another good one!) and the producers of Sideways.  Well anyway, I'm done playing movie critic!  I'm here in Edinburgh, the city looks so cool, I'm eager to go exploring!

And I'm off!

Scotland here I come! I am flying to Edinburgh tomorrow as long as Hurricane Hannah doesn't have her way. Eben is in Manchester England right now at a conference, and he's going to meet me in Edinburgh on Sunday. We're going to be traveling all around the country for two weeks: Edinburgh to see Micah, Loch Tay, Nethy Bridge in the Highlands, Macduff and Banff on the coast, Dundee to see Simon and Eva, and maybe St. Andrews.

We will hopefully be doing lots of hiking and camping. That's the very loose plan anyway. Everyone has been so fabulous giving me early birthday presents for the trip.

Eben got me a multi-day backpack and camelbak and headlamp.

My parents got me new fantastic pair of binoculars since my old pair was stolen when my apartment got broken into last year. Papa also let me borrow his compass, gators, and self-powered flash light.

Eben's parents gave me a gift certificate for REI where I got a fabulous jewel tone midweight thermal shirt and a lighter weight silk layering shirt. As my friend Leah's mother, an avid hiker, says 'cotton kills'!

I treated myself too. I got a Gortex rain shell and new FABULOUS hiking boots!!!!

I am so excited! Eben was hoping to finish his thesis before we left and unfortunately that has yet to happen, but it doesn't matter! We're going to have a fantastic time and I'm going to have lots of pictures to share. Have a lovely two weeks, I know I will!

Successful Cooking Experiments!

Eben has been working really hard finishing his thesis, which means working through the weekend as well. My way of helping is to cook lots of yummy foods. Last Sunday I really wanted to do some baking. I knew I wanted to do something chocolate and I'd never made a multilayer cake, so the answer seemed quite simple.

I cut the parchment paper for the pans which proved challenging at first (left pan), then I figured it out (right). I felt pretty good going into the baking since I was able to figure out my first challenge. Although I was thinking that if this pattern continued, I would end up with one great layer and one layer sub par.

The batter was VERY runny, which worried me. Also note the light dusting of cocoa powder on pretty much everything. I am not a neat or clean baker!

Before the oven.

After the oven. All was going quite smoothly!

Once the cakes were cool it was time for frosting! What goes better with chocolate cake then chocolate frosting? If you ask me, nothing!

Again I was very nervous, this time about moving the layers, but this went off without a hitch too!

I didn't have any nerves about frosting the cake, that's just fun.

With the cake successfully complete (I DID IT!), it was time to make dinner. Since Sunday was a day of firsts, I wanted to try cooking shrimp. Shrimp has always been something I get only when I dine out, but I wanted to master it at home too. Eben doesn't eat shrimp so I went all out and made coconut curry shrimp (he doesn't like coconut either)!

Despite the fish man telling me that the shrimp were de-veined and peeled, the smaller under 'vein' was still there, so I had to remove that because who (besides Mobi) wants to eat poo?

I sauteed the onion, ginger, garlic, and curry paste.

Once all the rest was soft, in went the shrimp. I LOVE that the heat causes the proteins in the shrimp to turn from clear/grey to coral! Science is cool.

Stirred in the coconut milk and added some scallions and plopped it on some brown rice. Sugar snap peas seemed an appropriate side. It was really good! *pats self on back*

Eben had the ginger and pinko encrusted wild salmon that I made the night before with some brown rice and a green pepper.

I called a bunch of friends throughout the day inviting them over for cake, but since no one was in town, I had no takers. Seems sad really; to bake a cake and have no one to eat it.... as a small consolation they all were pretty disappointed that they weren't around. After having dinner, Eben allowed himself a cake break.

We packed up two slices and some milk and went to the park near our house.

After a long day in the kitchen, it was a treat to get outside and actually spend some time together without Eben's computer lurking in the next room. We played one game of cribbage (which Eben won with some pretty amazing hands! Not one of his hands was worth less than 6!). A tasty break if I do say so myself!