Hello from Ayr! I am finally here!
I arrived yesterday to amazing weather, and wouldn't you know it's drizzly today. Go figure, Mike only had 1 rainy day before I arrived. I hope that it's better weather in New England, that would be a fair trade!
Mike picked me up at the airport and I was SO TIRED. I had about enough energy to eat the lunch he had prepared and view the gorgeous flowers he arranged for me (awww) before sleeping the beautiful afternoon away. I know I wasn't supposed to nap to get over my jet lag, but come on, I have nothing else to do, really!!
When Mike got home from work, we walked the beach and went to find some dinner. We also checked out the West Kirk (old church turned into a bar) and watched a bit of Wimbledon.
Today I'm really excited to go on my first grocery store trip. I love grocery stores, for anyone that didn't know. LOVE them. I think I'll try Morrison's today.
Okay, that's it for now! I hope everyone is well!
DISCLAIMER: I am going to talk about gluten free options now. For those of you not interested, skip the GF sections of my blog posts. I'm preparing for my upcoming bestseller, Gluten Free Europe (how cool would that be?)
GF #1: The Treehouse
We ate here for dinner. It is related to the restaurant I ate in in April, Lido. They understood gluten and were willing to adapt anything.
GF #2: The West Kirk
FANTASTIC FIND! This pub is part of a chain called Wetherspoon. The menu has little icons by every item that marks if it is gluten free, nut free, vegetarian, etc. I can eat a whole bunch of things, and it's SO EASY!! PLUS (this note is especially for Andrea) they have Strongbow in tap. Super.Wetherspoon
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
60 hours
I just realized that I fly out in 60 hours!
Okay, here's the deep thoughts part coming up...
As I ponder this moment of transition, it occurs to me how lucky we are.
I am lucky because the part of me that worries about leaving mostly is because of all you wonderful family and friends that I will miss very much!
I am lucky because I get to take a leave of absence and know I can return (thanks APS)!
And of course I'm lucky because I have a super fantastic husband to spend 6 months with!
I re-wrote that line over and over and decided to go with less casual (like he's okay, I guess), but also less tragic (I've missed him sooo much)... You get the picture.
So, bottom line, now 59 hours. Geez I'm good at wasting time!
Okay, here's the deep thoughts part coming up...
As I ponder this moment of transition, it occurs to me how lucky we are.
I am lucky because the part of me that worries about leaving mostly is because of all you wonderful family and friends that I will miss very much!
I am lucky because I get to take a leave of absence and know I can return (thanks APS)!
And of course I'm lucky because I have a super fantastic husband to spend 6 months with!
I re-wrote that line over and over and decided to go with less casual (like he's okay, I guess), but also less tragic (I've missed him sooo much)... You get the picture.
So, bottom line, now 59 hours. Geez I'm good at wasting time!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Glasgow is sweet!
Went to Glasgow this weekend, and it is a really cool town. Very walkable, lots of cool architecture, nice downtown area (think Faneiul hall, but taller and older buildings). Right at the main square where there are giant monuments and stuff they had a giant crane and you could go bungee jumping. Unfortunately, the line was really long.
Anyways, I am walking around taking pictures like a super-tourist and there is this guy in the main square with blood all over his face and soaking his shirt. He was asking for the police (he didn't speak English) so I called 911 for him (which is 999 here). He had split his head open from above his ear to his eyebrow, it was gross. But we got him to the ambulance and he was fine.
So, the whole reason I came up to Glasgow was for the 'West End Festival', which is actually a collection of all these local festivals in the West End that happen for 3 weeks in June. There was a street festival, Gisbon St., with lots of artists (painters and photographers) and a bunch of save the world boths.
Then I went to the Kelvingrove park Mele, which is a big cultural event with lots of stages with dancing and music, and boths selling clothes and food. Kelvingrove park is this giant hilly park that is on the edge of Glasgow university.
After that I went to La Fete de la Musique, in Ashdown Lane. Ashdown lane is a totally cool little lane with a bunch of bars with beer gardens behind each one. This festival had musicians playing in the bars and on the street, throughout the day. There were a lot of acoutsic indie acts, some jazz, some more traditional Scottish music and at one point, a classical string quartet was playing outside. My favorite was a very awesome acoustic rendition of Michael Jackson's 'Black or White'. So I spent the afternoon having beers with a bunch of musicians as they rotated in and out of sets in all the bars.
All in all, Glasgow is sweet.
Lesson 4 - I just realized that the centerpiece on our table is a lovely vase filled with dried wheat stalks. Or in our household.... a POISON VASE.
Anyways, I am walking around taking pictures like a super-tourist and there is this guy in the main square with blood all over his face and soaking his shirt. He was asking for the police (he didn't speak English) so I called 911 for him (which is 999 here). He had split his head open from above his ear to his eyebrow, it was gross. But we got him to the ambulance and he was fine.
So, the whole reason I came up to Glasgow was for the 'West End Festival', which is actually a collection of all these local festivals in the West End that happen for 3 weeks in June. There was a street festival, Gisbon St., with lots of artists (painters and photographers) and a bunch of save the world boths.
Then I went to the Kelvingrove park Mele, which is a big cultural event with lots of stages with dancing and music, and boths selling clothes and food. Kelvingrove park is this giant hilly park that is on the edge of Glasgow university.
After that I went to La Fete de la Musique, in Ashdown Lane. Ashdown lane is a totally cool little lane with a bunch of bars with beer gardens behind each one. This festival had musicians playing in the bars and on the street, throughout the day. There were a lot of acoutsic indie acts, some jazz, some more traditional Scottish music and at one point, a classical string quartet was playing outside. My favorite was a very awesome acoustic rendition of Michael Jackson's 'Black or White'. So I spent the afternoon having beers with a bunch of musicians as they rotated in and out of sets in all the bars.
All in all, Glasgow is sweet.
Lesson 4 - I just realized that the centerpiece on our table is a lovely vase filled with dried wheat stalks. Or in our household.... a POISON VASE.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Pardon?
Well, I am learning the language of the Scots, here is a small sample:
a poke of crisps = a bag of chips, like Waverly's
Waverly's = Lay's
stones = a unit of measure to weigh fat people on 'The Biggest Loser', eg. "she weighs 24 stone, 13 pounds"
NEDs = Non-Educated Delinquints, I have been told they can be recognized by cans of Tennet's and bottles of Buckfast
Buckfast = a carbonated, caffinated wine, "its like drugs"
Indian food = what Scottish people eat
It has been a good week here. On Sunday I went for a drive and found a few castles and went outdoor climbing. Apparently, these areas of boulders and caves are shared by rock climbers (who climb them) and NEDs (who graffiti and smash bottles on them). The two groups did not seem to be very fond of eachother.
Still no internet at the house. Apparently, I need a bank account to get utilities and I need utility bills proving my address to get a bank account. They are very concerned I might be part of an international money laundering scheme.
I can't wait for Stephanie to arrive in 2 weeks. We have just booked our first two weekend excursions. Spain and Paris!!
I have a football (soccer) match (game) on Friday with some guys from work. By showing off my skills I can eliminate of any credibility I may have established in the past 2 weeks.
Lesson 2: Teenage Scottish guys really like me. They all want to know what its like in Miami.
Lesson 3: I need an umbrella.
a poke of crisps = a bag of chips, like Waverly's
Waverly's = Lay's
stones = a unit of measure to weigh fat people on 'The Biggest Loser', eg. "she weighs 24 stone, 13 pounds"
NEDs = Non-Educated Delinquints, I have been told they can be recognized by cans of Tennet's and bottles of Buckfast
Buckfast = a carbonated, caffinated wine, "its like drugs"
Indian food = what Scottish people eat
It has been a good week here. On Sunday I went for a drive and found a few castles and went outdoor climbing. Apparently, these areas of boulders and caves are shared by rock climbers (who climb them) and NEDs (who graffiti and smash bottles on them). The two groups did not seem to be very fond of eachother.
Still no internet at the house. Apparently, I need a bank account to get utilities and I need utility bills proving my address to get a bank account. They are very concerned I might be part of an international money laundering scheme.
I can't wait for Stephanie to arrive in 2 weeks. We have just booked our first two weekend excursions. Spain and Paris!!
I have a football (soccer) match (game) on Friday with some guys from work. By showing off my skills I can eliminate of any credibility I may have established in the past 2 weeks.
Lesson 2: Teenage Scottish guys really like me. They all want to know what its like in Miami.
Lesson 3: I need an umbrella.
Dundonald Castle
Dumbarton Castle
There are supposed to be 2 more pictures here, but apparently this website decided to stop working.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Gilligan's Island
...no phone, no lights, no motor car...
Well not really, just no internet and no iphone, but it feels like a big deal for me. I probably won't be able to post any pictures until I get internet in my house (which might be a bit).
SCOTLAND IS AWESOME. It is beautiful here. Our apartment is tiny but looks right over the river, and I can run down the beach from our front door. It is awesome, you can run on the beach surrounded by craggy islands on one side, green fields on the hills on your other side, and cliffs with ancient ruins on top in front of you.
The climbing gym in the old cathedral was really cool (it is right next to Ranger's Stadium). Unfortunately, I got extremely lost on my way there. Good directions were tough to come by.
I am starting to understand most people. The grocery store is probably the toughest thing to navigate, I may try and avoid it.
Lesson 1. - Scottish people like mayonaise and fried things for take out (that's all I have been eating so far)
Well not really, just no internet and no iphone, but it feels like a big deal for me. I probably won't be able to post any pictures until I get internet in my house (which might be a bit).
SCOTLAND IS AWESOME. It is beautiful here. Our apartment is tiny but looks right over the river, and I can run down the beach from our front door. It is awesome, you can run on the beach surrounded by craggy islands on one side, green fields on the hills on your other side, and cliffs with ancient ruins on top in front of you.
The climbing gym in the old cathedral was really cool (it is right next to Ranger's Stadium). Unfortunately, I got extremely lost on my way there. Good directions were tough to come by.
I am starting to understand most people. The grocery store is probably the toughest thing to navigate, I may try and avoid it.
Lesson 1. - Scottish people like mayonaise and fried things for take out (that's all I have been eating so far)
Monday, June 8, 2009
One down, one to go!
Mike is safely in Ayr. I can't wait to join him, 21 days to go! He spent part of his first weekend at the climbing facility in Glasgow- check it out!
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