Scotland - August 2013

Having been in London for a month, i decided to take a short weekend trip to Scotland during the month of August. As it turned out, August was perfect timing, thanks to the summer fringe festival in Edinburgh.

This picture, as you can see gives you an idea of how colorful and vibrant the festival is. There's so much happening everywhere but unfortunately there's only so much you can do in two days. 

This is a lady with a hula hoop dressed and painted in white. There was also a headless man, an alien, a statue man and hell boy round the corner. 

The buildings in Edinburgh are quite magnificent with a lot of character. I'm no expert in architecture but i believe there's a lot of goth influence in these structures. Take a look for yourself.

 

I realized that my trip to Scotland would be incomplete if i didn't mark my presence at a whiskey distillery. So i went to one of the oldest ones setup by Blair Athol who sell their single malt to Bell's. This one in particular was 45 years old! I also bought a 11 year old single malt for my land lady that we drank for Christmas that year.

Scotland is full of historically significant monuments that have been carefully preserved over all these years. This is the Dunkeld Cathedral tucked away in a small town. Its partly in ruins but has been restored and kept open for visitors like me.

This was another hauntingly beautiful building.

The summer fringe festival brings a lot of amazing talent from all over the wold to Edinburgh. I was very lucky to have witnessed these gentlemen perform at a local pub on one of the evenings. Crooning to some good old rock music over a chilled mug of Scottish Ale.

And this of course is the Edinburgh castle. You could buy a recorded tour guide of the castle (comes with a pair of headphones) which i found out was a very efficient way getting to know the castle. Needless to say, its lovely inside with a pretty impressive display of artillery. There's also the Prison of war, Officers quarters, Royal quarters, the Royal Scots regimental museum and a Soldiers dog cemetery. I found the last one very touching.

The Scottish highlands are breathtakingly beautiful and serene. Although i did it in 2 days as part of an organized coach tour, if i could do it again, i'd drive down on my own because i like to pause every now and then to take it all in. Sometimes when you're surrounded by so much beauty, it can get a little overwhelming.

This is a quaint little town called Callander on the way from Edinburgh to the Highlands where we stopped for lunch.

Imagine driving through this!

Aren't these picture perfect post cards!

The Scottish highland Coos (not cows).

This is Glencoe. Apparently the most romantic Glen in Scotland. Known for the Massacre of Glencoe in the 16th century.

This is Loch Ness. Home to Nessie (the Loch Ness monster) and also one of the deepest lochs in the Scottish highlands.

This is the lovely little village of Inverness where we lodged overnight drinking a very rare Scottish single malt. All that green just makes everything so serene and peaceful. Oh and the fresh air!

This is the Culloden battlefield. Our tour guide did a very good job of taking us back in time explaining the Jacobite rising in the 17th century.

On our way back to Edinburgh, we stopped by a couple of other monuments of historic significance. One of which was the Ruthven barracks. Of course they lay in ruins but you can still pretty much picture people living there with a cattle shed, a bakehouse, a brew house and a toilet. And don't miss the backdrop!

I believe these were barley fields. The hay rolls looked so very pretty glistening in the evening sun. 

I cannot resist taking pictures of sunsets. They're my favorite part of the day. That's the romantic in me speaking! This one's on our way back to Edinburgh over the Queensferry bridge.

We took a different route on our way back and were lucky there was no rain. There were so many beautiful captures, i couldn't possibly put them all up here. But if you're ever in the UK and have a little time on your hands, you have to absolutely visit Scotland provided you like being outdoors. It's easily one of the most beautiful countries I've ever seen.

London - 2013-2014

For an introvert like me, moving to a new place even for a little while can be a bit of a dilemma. The prospect of a new adventure is exciting but the thought of being alone in an unfamiliar territory is also petrifying.

The best part about being in London was that i never felt alone. Unless you choose to isolate yourself, the city always feels like it has its arms wide open to embrace you no matter where you come from. Like one of my friends very aptly put it, London is like a big canvas of different cultures stitched together. Being an Indian, i absolutely love how the people of London embrace different cultures. They want to know about your country, your traditions, your beliefs and culture. And most people i spoke to in London either have already visited India or have it on their bucket lists. 

So here goes. This is just a glimpse of some of the things i saw & experienced in London. It doesn't come anywhere close to describing the sentiment and gratitude i have for the people of London and the city itself.

This is Kate. She was my landlady during my stay in London at Oxford Gardens, Ladbroke Grove. She's an amazingly strong person! I think she's definitely been a big reason why my stay was so thoroughly enjoyable. We had our lovers spats but there's nothing that can fix Kate's tantrums like a good glass of wine. 

That's her beautiful garden and then there's my cozy little room.

There's so many things to do in London on your own, that even for someone like me who's most comfortable sitting at home reading, i was out on most weekends. I would get on the circle line and once i'm in, decide where i want to get off. Once i get off, I take my phone out to look the place up and Google would recommend places of significance in that area. Or i would just get out of the station and walk around with my camera and headphones. 

Below is a man selling antique cameras on Portobello road. You'll find a lot of people selling antiques and really cool London memorabilia here. It gets really busy in summer and feels like a carnival with all the graffiti and music playing on weekends. There's also a pretty awesome frozen yogurt place where i was very loyal customer since i lived close by. 

The below shot is of one of my favourite parks in London, Regents Park. My Sunday morning running track. My afternoon siesta space. My reading hideout. My asylum for solitude. I've seen it change through all seasons and its stunning through it all but it's never as colourful and vibrant as it is in Autumn. It's easily one of the most beautiful things I've seen in London!

And this was taken right after winter in the month of March. 

Of course there are other parks that are just as stunning but being a little further away from where i stayed,  i wasn't a frequent visitor. The one below is a shot from Hyde Park in summer.

There were people cycling, playing football, skating, hula hooping, juggling, napping, reading, eating, drinking....you name it. Summer in itself is like a festival here. People love being outside. All that green that surrounds you is so calming and peaceful, it makes you forget all your worried for a little while.

And this is from Richmond Park on one of the sunnier days during winter. The trees are still bare and the grass still dry, but there was this magnificent eeriness to the vast open spaces.

If you're in Richmond, you have to watch the sun go down from Richmond hill - if sunsets are your thing of course.

The below shot is a random click in Piccadily Circus. The yellow cab really caught my attention. Along with the curving building in the background.  

If you're interested in theatre, this would be a good place to start.

And of course your visit to London would be incomplete if you didn't see the London bridge. This was again taken on a gloriously sunny day with a short shower spell. The London skyline is forever changing. You can see the construction happening in the background.

And this is the magnificent Tower of London, also sometimes known as the White Tower sitting by the side of river Thames. Its historically very significant and showcases the 11th century military architecture.

This is a shot from the beautiful Kew gardens being lit up for Christmas. It was hauntingly beautiful! I couldn't get any decent shots thanks to my frozen hands. As cold as the night was, the colourful hues that were used to light these trees up would warm anyone's heart.

The London skyline at night is just as mesmerizing as it is in daylight. 

This was one of the stalls in South Bank on Christmas Eve. Its so festive, cheerful and joyous around Christmas time. You have to try really hard to be sad. Even when its so cold outside, everyone was out that evening, greeting everyone and making their last minute purchases.

And this is a man hard at work and he had quite a captivated audience.

Although i was miles away from home, me and Kate made ourselves some lovely Christmas lunch and invited a friend over to help us finish it. This is Kate and Maria having a laugh after our hearty Christmas lunch!

Another place you get a beautiful view of the London skyline is Greenwich. It also has the Greenwich royal observatory located on top of Greenwich park overlooking Thames and is best known for its location of the Prime Meridian. This was a particularly rainy slushy day but that didn't deter my friend from keeping his promise of showing me Greenwich. Another thing about the people of London. People don't necessarily stay indoors if it rains here because it bloody rains all the time! 

Greenwich also has the historically significant sea vessel Cutty Sark that was built in Bombay for the East India Company. It now serves as a museum and also has a restaurant on deck.

Also in Greenwich is the Royal Naval college that was built by Sir Christopher Wren, the famed architect who also designed St Paul's cathedral.

Another highlight of my London trip was Baker Street, home to one of the world's most renowned detective, Mr Holmes! And I'm not the only one. I always see hoards of people queuing up to get inside the museum. Yes, yes we know he's a fictional character but we're in awe of him nevertheless!

This ladies and gentleman, is the official address of Mr. Sherlock Holmes. 221B, Baker street.

Everything inside, from the carpets to the windows, doors, chairs, tables, drawers, shelves, book cases, fire place, mirrors, wall clocks, even the attic is so antique, its precious!  I absolutely loved this red chair right outside the entrance to the stairway. Even if you're not a fan of Mr. Holmes but if you like antiques, this should be on your to do list. 

I don't know if you'll find as many museums anywhere else as you will in London! I loved spending my time in some of these museums. National history museum, British museum, V&A museum, Science museum are the ones I've seen. 

Apart from what's inside, i realized that the museum building architecture in itself is a marvel. These are pictures of the National History museum. Take a look for yourself! Isn't it magnificent? This beautiful Gothic Victorian architecture is what pulls people in.

The other very significant feature of London for me of course was the Tube - London Underground. For outsiders like me, its the convenience of hopping on and off the tube to anywhere within London that made it so easy for me to see as much as i did.

This is a shot of the underground tunnel to the V&A museum. I bought an interesting book on the history of London Underground. I can't wait to start reading it.

And this is a shot of the subway escalator on a late Saturday evening. Subways are never this empty. Especially in central London. Trains and stations during office hours usually get very crowded. Many a times, they don't let trains stop at stations if the stations are over crowded.

And this is a shot of my usual ride to work every morning from Ladbroke Grove to Kings Cross. On this particular day of course i was heading the other direction to catch a movie. 

I miss being in London terribly. I miss the crowded pavements. I miss my colleagues at work. I miss Kate. I miss my runs in Regents park. I miss the cheap eating joints. I miss the subway rides. I miss the obscure liberating independence. I even miss the rain! I've had such a lovely experience the 10 months i was there, i can't wait to go back again. 

Thank you London!