Och, bonny Scotland!

[ithika]

Whoo we've made it to a new (sort of) country.
I say (sort of) because TECHNICALLY England and Scotland and Wales are all <I>Britain</i> or the UK I suppose, and not actually separate countries. Which I never knew! I always thought Scotland was still fiercely independent. It's a pity that they're not any more, really.

We've been driving about for the past week-and-a-few-days in an awesome, awesome van. It's not quite a combie but if you remember the Tarago vans... mini busses ? Anyway. It's one of them converted into a camper van and it is painted wtih PAC MAN all over it. Yes.
It's a Wicked Camper, which is actually an Australian company. Yep.

So far we have seen SO MANY awesome things, but I am having trouble with this retarded keyboard so I'll just make a list for now:

- HMS Victory ( <3 )
- Henry VIII's Mary Rose and Queen Victoria's HMS Warrior, an Ironclad
- Cambridge University!
- Canterbury Cathedral!
- Nottingham! (The town is kind of sucky tbqh)
- SHERWOOD FOREST (so much love)
- the Major Oak, a 700-1000 year old tree of Robin Hood fame
- Many, many awesome castles and a Medieval manor house
- Hadrian's Wall! <3

We have actually done so much more than this list suggests. It's exciting. I've been keeping a paper-journal so at the least you will have the joy of suffering through my rambling in more detail when I get home.

So now I'm off to explore Edinburgh!

 

Have I mentioned that there is Nandos here in England / Scottland? Yeah. It's EXPENSOR here though. £20 for two people. But the soft drinks are bottomless!

Comments

[grahame.livejournal.com]

Woo, HMS Victory. Earlier this year I had a free weekend on a work trip, and had to choose between Paris and Portsmouth. Chose Paris, but it was close!

[bloodied-aura.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I probably would have chosen Paris, too - there's a lot more to do in Paris than there is in Portsmouth. But the Victory is well worth a trip to Portsmouth one day, if you get another chance. :D

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

Go to Stirling Castle!! It is heeeeeaps better than Edinburgh Castle, and quite close by!

[bloodied-aura.livejournal.com]

Omgee! It was awesome. :D
I liked how they whitewashed it.
Stirling castle had a lot of interesting stuff happening to it, too. They were doing *wiggles fingers* research stuff in one of the buildings while I was there. Which meant to go in. But I didn't mind, because it was HISTORY IN THE MAKING!
Or unveiling. I guess.

When you went did you see the "Och we've been a-murderin' a wee bonnie Unicorn" tapestry? It was the most disturbing thing I've seen in a tapestry. The first one is a happy little Unicorn, gambolling in a woodland meadow, surrounded by woodland creatures, purifying the stream with it's magical horn. In the background, there is a group of scary men with spears and stuff in the background.

The next tapestry, is THE SCARY MEN STABBING THE UNICORN, and there are dogs HANGING FROM ITS THROAT BY THEIR JAWS.
In the next scene within that tapestry, the unicorn is DEAD, and it's slung over the back of a horse. And the men are chatting happily to themselves.

The final tapestry (so far!) is of the unicorn, somehow resurrected, inside a tiny pen, looking really sad and also bleeding profusely.

It is quite messed up.
(Apparently it's an allegory for the life of Christ or something. I dunno, Unicorns are way cooler)

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it!

Yeah! They'd only done about three or four of the tapestries when we were there - are they finished now, or did you go see them weaving them? :)

[bloodied-aura.livejournal.com]

Haha, neither! They still have a few to go, and we forgot to see them making them! :(
We watched a dvd on how Tweed is traditionally made on the Isle of Lewis (which is also Harris island or something?)...that's kind of the same... Right...?