On the Bonny Bonny Banks of Loch Lomond

Guess where we are?  Staying at the Old Rectory Inn where the establishment obviously loves  plaid.

This tartan runs from the front door, all the way up the stairs into the hall.  Don't you just love it?

Marty has chosen to take a week's vacation between plant visits, so we have headed west, and are on the outer banks of the Trossachs, not too far from Loch Lomond.  My friend started singing the ballad in the Family History Center last week, and I still have it stuck in my head.  (Thanks, Sharon!)

The weather is horrid, and we are hoping that it at leasts stops raining so that we can get out and explore the area.  Actually, it would be nice if the fog would lift so that we could actually SEE the area!

In any event, Marty worked half the day (here in Scotland, the majority of  people only work half days on Friday....it took Marty quite awhile to get used to that idea), then he swung by Inverkeithing to pick me up.  I had taken the train to join our "Steeler Nation" B&B friend whom we met on our last trip.  We went to Mass, and said the Divine Mercy Chaplet, then headed back to the B&B where I had a delightful conversation with the proprietors before heading off with Marty.  It was  a terrific start to the day.

Along the way to Callander, where we are staying, we stopped in Dublane to see the magnificent Cathedral that has stood there since the early 13th century.

We weren't sure if we could go inside because we could see that the lights were shining, and we could hear the pipe organ bellowing.  But once through the door, we were greeted by an extremely friendly man named Howard, who assured us that we could walk around at our leisure.

We were surprised to see this Pictish cross from the 9th century.

Can you believe the details in this aged stone?

The church pews had some very interesting carvings:

Here you see an angel in the choir area.

a bunny

and a camel.

I have no idea of the significance of these carvings, but they are all carved from Scottish oak.

We were ambling along, admiring the beauty of this immense Cathedral when Howard suddenly appeared and began to give us a private tour of the place.  He opened a large wooden door , and encouraged us to walk up the round turret to the second story to get the view from that point.

It was certainly breathtaking.

Behind me were beautiful Stained Glass windows that represented the Root of Jesse

Inside the church stands this beautiful stone pillar, placed in the church in March 2000.

The stone pillar stands to honor 16 children who were massacred by a gunman on March 13, 1996 at the Primary school in Dunblane.

An entire first grade class was lost that day, along with the teacher, and the gunman himself.  This story was hard to fathom with the recent events in Connecticut so fresh in my mind.

How could something so tragic, and so similar,  have happened without my having heard of it?  The stone's inscriptions touched my heart.

By this time, Howard had caught up with us again, and he was showing us all of the old keys that he used to lock up the place.  Then, he mentioned that there were some graves under the pews.

He pointed to one in particular, and began to tell us the story of how a man had come from America in search of his relatives.  He had given Howard the names, and Howard retrieved the registry, and found that the family was buried in the church, under the pew.   So, they moved the pew so that the man could take photos of the family graves.  Now, how is that for genealogy accommodation?

Howard went on to tell us that the next year, the man's grandfather came, and the year after that, another family member came.  (Perhaps they should have relocated the pew!)

The Church registers are held in this building across the street from the church.

Outside of the building there is a sign that says, "you are welcome to use our toilets".  Believe me, you don't see that too many places!!

Howard was a real gem, and a genealogy lover's dream.  So, if you know anyone who has roots from Dunblane, send them this way.  Howard would love to give them a hand!

Until tomorrow........

Innovation At Its Best

The day began as it had ended yesterday:  cold, windy and rainy.  The perfect day for museum touring! So I boarded the bus for Edinburgh with the Scottish Portrait Museum as my goal.

But, at the last minute, I decided to make a little detour and head towards St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral.  It had been on my list of "must sees", and this seemed the perfect time to check it out.   I no sooner walked up the steps and headed towards the side entrance when I noticed a young woman, with a large microphone in her hand, heading towards me.

She was alone, and I was nearly at the entrance, and the next thing I knew, she stuck the microphone in my face, introduced herself as being from Channel 4 news, and began asking me my opinion on the recent resignation of the local Cardinal.  Now, how was that for a surprise?

Luckily, I was up to date on the scandal, and I briefly answered her questions, told her that I was from the United States, and that I was really looking forward to going inside and visiting the church.  I didn't notice any television cameras, so I don't imagine that I'll be famous at the end of the day....or that I'll be on any type of hit list, for that matter.   Well, at least let's hope not!

You might wonder why this cathedral is so special.  Well, it holds the National Shrine to St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland.  Legend has it that the relics of this saint were brought to Scotland in the middle of the first century. They were originally held in the Abbey in the town of St. Andrews, further up the coast of Fife.  The reformation resulted in the destruction of the Abbey, which still stands in ruins.  As a result, St. Mary's Cathedral now houses the National Shrine to this beloved saint.

The icon above the altar features St. Andrew holding a scroll which states "We have found the Messiah" in Latin, Gaelic and English. It was donated in 2004 to the Cathedral.

If you'd like to take a tour of the church from home, you can see inside via this webcam:  http://www.stmaryscathedral.co.uk/panorama/index.html

Lovely, don't you think?

I managed to escape with no sign of the news reporter, and I headed to the Scottish Portrait Museum.
 The ongoing tram construction made it nearly impossible to get a good photo of the beautiful exterior facade, but I managed to capture the entrance.

Most of the museums in Edinburgh have free admission, and this was no exception.  So imagine my surprise when a friendly man in plaid pants and a navy sweater opened the door to welcome me inside!  How often does that happen for free?

Walking through the front door was, in itself, a memorable experience.   A statue of Robert Burns, the famous poet, stands in the bottom floor of the vestibule which stands 3 stories high.

The columns that you see next to the statue, support a wall that is painted with significant men and women in Scottish history.  It is best viewed from the upstairs balcony.

Isn't the detail magnificent?  The mural extends along all four sides of the balcony.

This photo, taken from one of the galleries, shows a guard watching me take the photo.

Not to worry....I had asked if photos were permitted prior to taking this.

Now, you would have thought that all of this gold-gilded beauty would have awed me so much that the galleries of paintings and portraits would have paled in comparison.

But, the very first gallery that I entered was brimming with famous Scottish scientists! How could I help but get excited!

There was John Napier, mathematician; James Clerk Maxwell, a physicist who discovered electromagnetism and who influenced the work of Albert Einstein; Alexander Graham Bell (we all know what he did),  Sir William Ramsey, discoverer of the Noble Gases and their placing in the Periodic Table of Elements;

William Thompson (Baron Kelvin), whose work establishing the value of absolute zero led to the "Kelvin" scale;  Sir Robert Watson, who pioneered radar for the use of aircraft detection during World War II.

And then there were the not so familiar names of John Macintyre, who developed electrical equipment for x-rays to be used in hospitals and Prof Ian Donald who introduced the use of ultrasound in obstetrics.

Sir James Dewar, who researched Liquid gas and invented the Dewar flask.  He was the first to collect Liquid hydrogen in one of his flasks, but he never sought a patent, and as a result a German company manufactured his creation with the trade name of Thermos. (He was definitely ripped off!)

The most recent addition to these famous Scotsman is Professor Peter Higgs. He is a theoretical physicist known for the particle named after him:  the Higgs boson.

Lady Lucina McKay has painted Higgs with particles whirling around in space, supposedly reflecting the clashes of atoms at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva.

As recently as July 2012, scientists in Geneva reported strong indications of the presence of this new particle.  My younger brother, Steve, is quite familiar with this phenomenon, as he has been working with this scientific community for years.  

I wonder if we were of Scottish descent if HIS painting would be on this wall?   

Well, enough of this scientific stuff.  Here's something that I know that all of you  blog readers will appreciate.

Did you know that Dolly the sheep was cloned in Scotland?  Some of you probably remember me mentioning this sometime in a past visit.  

But, do you know just how the name "Dolly" was picked for this famous sheep?  I certainly did not.

It appears that she was named after "the buxom country and western singer"........ Dolly Parton. 

Did you know that?   Do you want to know why?  

Sure you do.

Apparently Dolly was derived from a mammary gland cell.  Really.....you've got to love that Scottish sense of humor.

I managed to drag myself away from the innovation room to peruse the other galleries in the building.  I was surprised to find portraits that had been painted in 1537. 

The layout of the portraits was quite unique, as each room displayed a particular family tree, and the portraits of those people on the tree were hung around the room.    Touring this museum was more than just admiring paintings.  It was definitely set up to help the observer  picture Scottish history through time.  Quite ingenious!

I will admit, that although the museum was really quite fascinating, I can only handle so  many portraits and paintings before my head starts to spin.  So, I decided to call it a day, board the train, and make my way back to the B&B. 

When I opened the door to the room, I couldn't help but burst out laughing at what awaited me:

That was probably the best artistic work of the day!

Mr. Rhino, what do ya know?

He's only got ONE big horn on the tip of his nose.  What kind of rhino is he?  Well.....he's an Indian One-Horned Rhino, of course.

So, guess where my adventures took me to today?  To the Edinburgh Zoo.  I have often thought of going to this zoo, especially when  I read that it held the largest Penguin colony in all of Europe.  But, the zoo location doesn't fall on a train line, so traveling there was a wee bit more complicated.  And, I had presumed that it was a bit more in the country, and more difficult to get to.

But I was wrong.  It is actually off the main road from Edinburgh City Center to the Airport, located, believe it or not, in a residential neighborhood.

And the Airlink bus actually stops right out front. And it's kind of hard to miss with this sign standing along the side of the highway.

So, I purchased a round trip ticket to the Haymarket Train Station where I was able to board the Airlink bus for much less money than I had anticipated.  But the entrance to the zoo took care of any unexpected surplus.  Let's just say that admission is a bit pricey.

When I purchased my ticket, the young lady asked if I would be interested in viewing the Giant Pandas because there was an open viewing in 10 minutes.  I hadn't planned on seeing them, because the zoo webpage stated that viewing needed to be arranged prior to the visit, and one needed a printed ticket to see them.  Well, as it turns out, there were plenty of openings today (probably because the weather turned for the worse), and since there was no extra charge, why not go see them?

I was surprised that we could get so close to them.  And this guy wasn't the least bit disturbed by anyone in the room. He was just busy munching away on bamboo, while across the way......

Tian Tian (which translates "Sweetie"), was taking a little nap. 

Yang Guang (Sunshine) just kept on eating, obviously not the least bit interested in sleeping.  I had to chuckle when I heard an older woman complaining about the sleeping panda.  She  stated that she would have really been upset if they had both been sleeping after she reserved her tickets to see them!  Her husband went on to say that there should have been a disclaimer printed on the ticket.

But, the Panda viewing was FREE.  And it's not like the proprietors can keep the animals awake for viewing!  In fact, it was obviously siesta time while I was there because many of the animals were either sleeping.....or hiding from the cold, which I found to be rather amusing since it is cold and rainy most of the time in Edinburgh.

The rhinos were snoozing away....

until one of the zoo employees decided it was time for them to wake up, which is when I snapped the photo at the top.

The pygmy hippos were off in dreamland.

And all 3 of the Koalas were sound asleep on tree limbs.  Luckily, this little thing was snuggled up near the front, so I could capture a photo.

 I even went back to see if the Koalas had awoken before I left, and they were all in the exact same position as when I had left!

But, although many of the animals were MIA, or too far off in the distance to see, some were out and about, and even willing to pose for me.

Here you see a Chinese Goral who appears to be as interested in me as I was in it.

The meer cats were scurrying about:

And this Rockhopper Penguin puffed himself out for me when he saw my camera.

The entertaining thing about Rockhopper penguins is that they do just that. Hop on rocks.

I had a grand time watching them hop from one rock to another.  And that one penguin that looks like he's teetering on the edge, ended up sliding down the rock, quite by accident.  But he caught himself before tumbling off the edge and hopped to safety.

There was another penguin hangout, with a different species,  near the Panda house.

But, as it turned out, visitors were not permitted in the display area because the zoo personnel are doing renovations. So, I had to zoom in to take this photo.

And, if you're wondering just what happened to this "largest" Penguin colony in Europe, as I did..... it turns out that many of the Penguins have been on "Holiday", as I was told.  Some went to Belfast and some to Denmark, and they are due to return in a week, and there will be a grand display on March 17. Hmmm.....I wonder if the Belfast vacationers picked up any Irish jigs to perform, since that is St. Patrick's Day?  In any event, I was told to stay clear of the place that day, as it will be a real "Zoo"! Imagine that!

The animals weren't the only entertainment in the place.  I found this "tongue" bench to be amusing.

And, then there was the Monkey bench.

Gotta love that Scottish sense of humor!

Ahhh....before I finish my zoo story, let me show you the "Spectacular" Hilltop view from the zoo.

It's supposedly one of the best views in the city surrounds......on a clear day, of course.  But that wasn't happening today.

And, with the cold weather and my calf muscle still complaining, I decided that it was time to make it a day and begin the return trip to the B&B.  

Before leaving, I questioned an attendant regarding catching the Airlink bus back to Haymarket Train Station.  He told me that the Airlink doesn't always stop, and that I just might need to flag the driver down.  Really?  Did I need that kind of stress? Did I want to jump into the street and wave my arms to get his attention?  Reluctantly, I mentally prepared myself for the challenge.

As I headed down the ramp towards the bus stop, an Airlink bus approached, and when the driver spotted me, he stopped and let me in.  

Whew!  What a relief!  And, despite some confusion at the train station, I managed to get back to the B&B without too much difficulty.  How lucky was that?

Gallivanting in Dunfermline

Greetings!  You are gazing upon a photo of the Auld Mill House Hotel & Restaurant on the outskirts of Dunfermline.  Yes, Marty is once again in Scotland, and with only a little over a week at home, he decided that he would like my company on this trip.  How could I resist that offer?

I booked a flight in early February and began the arduous task of finding a room for the two of us.  You'd think that would be easy enough, but believe me when I tell you, it can be quite a challenge.  And I have an e-mail box filled with declines that will prove it!

"Why?", you may ask.  Well, tonight it became quite obvious to me, when we were having a delightful conversation with an engineer from Newcastle, England about his working on a site nearby.  Apparently many industries in the area are contracting out people from other countries.  And they all need a place to stay, which is why I have such difficulty finding rooms in the off season. (Or in any season, for that matter.)   My suspicions were confirmed when three oriental men came walking in with computers on their back, ready to check in for the night.  I felt lucky that I had managed to book this place!

We arrived far earlier than expected due to an early landing, no Passport Control Queues, quick luggage retrieval, easy car pick up, and negligible traffic due to the early hour.  In fact, we showed up at exactly 8:25 a.m., much to the surprise of the people who own this place.

We really could have shown up later, had we taken our time and not rushed our way through the airport.  (That would be in reference to my better half.  I would have actually enjoyed having time to catch my breath rather than hustling through the building after only a couple hours of sleep.)  But,  I suppose old habits die hard with some.

 The proprietors here were quite friendly, had the room serviced and made us some terrific porridge.  Slow cooked, as Alan, the owner explained.....  "none of that quick stuff at this place", he assured me.  Actually, cooking the porridge was probably the slowest event of the day for us!

And it was fabulous!  I can see why Goldilocks raided the 3 Bear's stash of the stuff.  Wait!  Was Goldilocks Scottish?  Actually, it wouldn't surprise me if she was!

After breakfast, we were shown our room, which is really quite cute.

Note the fancy towel structures on each bed.  They kind of look like Bishop's hats, don't you think?
I find it interesting that the room comes with a standard size bath towel, and an extra large bath towel, but no washcloth or hand towel.

At this stage of the game, I know to pack my own washcloth.  But what I forgot to pack this time was shampoo.  I forgot that some places seem to think that body wash should suffice for the hair and the body.  I honestly gave it a try today....and, believe me....there is a huge difference.  So, I decided to make it my mission to find a store nearby and buy some shampoo.

Generally, when I travel with Marty, I try to find a place near a train station so that I can easily seek out interesting places to visit while  he is working.  Let's face it.....I've found some pretty awesome sights here on my adventures.  Well....at least I've found them interesting.

So, when I headed out from the hotel this afternoon, the first thing that I did was check out the nearby train station.  It's actually not far from the hotel, but you have to stick to the roads to get there, and so, that makes it a bit longer of a walk.  But, it really is quite convenient.

You can see the hotel roof from the Train Station ramp here.  The only problem with this particular station is that it is unmanned, making the adventure a wee bit more challenging, but not impossible.

After reading through the timetables that are posted outside, I headed back down to the street in search for some sort of store where I could satisfy my mission for soft, clean hair.

I noticed some people jogging through a park, and I decided that I would take a walk along a bike trail to see where it led.

The path was filled with birds chirping and fluttering around.  I spotted what looked like a black capped chickadee, but he had a very yellow belly.  There were goldfinches, and something that looked like an Indigo bunting.  I was having a grand time enjoying the rare sunshine and the singing birds.

But, do you know what my problem is?  I never seem to know when I should just give it up and turn around.  I seem to think that the end of the path will be just around the corner.....kind of like those dunes that we walked along the Oregon coast that never seemed to end.

Well, let's face it, I knew that this bike trail would have to eventually end....and it did.  But was there an Asda?  A Pharmacy?  Anyplace where I could buy a bottle of shampoo?

Nope....not a sign of one nearby.  I passed a cemetery with an old stone wall on one side with a retired Stadium of some sort on the other side of the path.  I passed a parking lot filled with cars, which made me wonder just where those folks were, if there weren't any stores nearby.

But, I kept on going.....and I was lost, for sure, without a map.  But not worried for a minute, because I had been to Dunfermline before, and  knew that it was a big place, but eventually I had to find something familiar.

That's when I spotted this sign:

Piggies Lane was pretty much nothing more but a little side street, but I felt compelled to take a photo. And, when I turned around, this is what I saw:

Now, how was that for luck?  The sign boasted a "you are here" sticker that helped me get my bearings.  I hadn't been on this side of town, but I had been on High Street, and I knew that there were many shops where I could find the source of my quest.

I decided to jaunt across the road to walk along the park, and, suddenly, my right calf decided that it was not happy.  Out of the blue, I had an unbelievable cramp in the back of my leg and I could barely make it across the street.  This is the same leg where my achilles tendon had ruptured years ago, and the peritoneal tendons had torn last year, so, needless to say, I was a bit concerned about what potential damage had suddenly occurred.  After all, I wasn't doing anything crazy. 

But, my foot still worked, so that seemed like a positive sign, and I decided to just take it easy and walk a bit slower and make it my new mission to figure out where the nearest train station was so that I could just take the train back to the hotel.  Obviously, I made it back without incident since I'm able to write this blog so you can stop worrying now.

In the meantime, my adventures took me past Carnegie Hall

 Across the street was St. Margaret's Roman Catholic Church:

If you recall, St. Margaret was Queen Margaret, married to Malcolm III at Dunfermline Abbey, who was instrumental in helping so many pilgrims visit St. Andrews.

I headed down a set of steps, and was surprised to find these beautiful leaf motifs in the concrete.

The road led me straight to small store, sort of like a pharmacy, where I easily (and inexpensively) purchased a bottle of shampoo.  (My hair will be happy now....and so will I!)

I headed out the door, turned the corner, and spotted a yarn and fabric store that I just couldn't resist walking into.

The ladies were so friendly, and I ended up buying this:

Doesn't look like much, does it?  But wait until you see what it will become:

Pretty cool, don't you think?   Well, at least I thought it was.

The store was just a few building from the information center, so I popped inside, had a wonderful conversation with the attendant who was from Poland.  She loaded me up with brochures and, more importantly, a map where she highlighted the route to the train station.

Lucky for me the station was downhill.  And, when I disembarked at the next stop, that was all downhill as well.  So, I managed to make it back to the hotel, with my mission accomplished:  a bottle of shampoo, plus a few other unplanned items.

And, when Marty returned from work, we went to the bar for dinner, where he enjoyed Scottish Steak Pie with a Bellhaven Best.

He doesn't even look tired, does he?