Scotland - Day 3-Falkirk

Okay, what the hell is up with the whole urban planning thing over here???? It's like you have to walk EVERYWHERE! I mean I'm okay with a brisk stroll every now and then, but it's like they had no other plans....just walking. Everywhere you go, you have to park a mile away, and then when you get to the spots, it's like something out of some twisted psychotic Denise Richards workout video. "Here, welcome to the monument, you have to climb the two hundred and sixty steps to get to the top and view it....-oh oh, but that's after you take the 1 mile and a half sloping path at a 65 degree angle that winds around the cliff that we're on....oh c'mon and buck up...just think of the cardio workout you're getting. What? No we don't have any defribilators. Why?"

So Sunday, I decide to light out for Stirling to visit the castle, and battleground and Wallace monument. Pop into the the little Corsa (that's the car I have, think of a Geo Metro merged with a Plymouth Roadster.) and light off for Stirling. In my head I can see visions of warrior poets charging the fields at Bannockburn, and hear a Scottish brogue speak, "I shall tell you of William Wallace..." Having finally figured out what to do in the damn roundabouts, I'm set.

And I'm driving, pleasant day. It's about 11:30am so there's still plenty of sunlight. And I notice Falkirk's on the way. So I figure, I'll pop off over there, and see what memorials they have. Not Scotland's not like the US where we have things like street signs (I'll come back to that), but they do have pretty good directions for the monuments. Unfortunately they don't have a description of what the monuments are. So I'm heading to Falkirk and they keep having signs for the "Falkirk Wheel", which I've never heard off, but okay. Maybe it's like the round table or some ancient celtic ceremonial piece. So I follow the signs (because it would be too much to put the distance on them) and finally get to the parking lot....which is like 5 miles from the damn thing...okay it was more like .5, but it was on an incline!

The Falkirk Wheel, it turns out, is a marvel of engineering. It's the latest in modern canal connection. Instead of having a boat go through a series of locks with spillways and water levels, the Wheel simply rotates the ship from one level to another on the "Wheel". It's pretty fascinating and a big attraction. I enjoyed watching it go for awhile and then upon leaving got to watch as a boat was let through the mini canal I had crossed on my way in. There's a manual opening bridge that a person opens up to let boats travel through. I also got some good pictures of swans swimming and looking for food.

And then it was back into the car, disappointed at not finding any kind of a battlefield memorial, but satiated by the magic that is the Falkirk Wheel.

DAY 2 -Evening

Saturday night's gonna be alright, gonna be, it's gonna be alright now baby...it is if I can get out this damn bed.

Into the second day without Red Bull, and I can feel its effects. Low energy, hard to concentrate, what are all these people talking about? It's when you don't drink the stuff that you suffer.

Finally was able to drag myself out of the nap phase about a 1/2 hour before I'm supposed to meet Colm and Lauren. Lauren's friends Phil and Susanna are joining us too. Head out to a place called (of all things) the Brass Monkey...I was just hoping they wouldn't be playing the Beastie Boys when I got there.....

Found Lauren and Co. in the back room and proceeded to try Stella, another Scottish Lager. Quite good and tasty. Colm showed up and we began to trade stories, jokes and whimsical comments. It was interesting sitting in this pub with these friends. One of the things you come increasing cognizant of is that, just like in MN or the South, you're often the only Black person in the room, difference is here no one says anything about it...instead you can tell they notice you're American, but again, to their credit, no one says anything about it. More interesting is that to these friends, it didn't matter and that's the kind of world it's good to be a part of. I mean look at the times that we're in, that a Black man can come to Scotland to trace his heritage and no one bats an eye....

The do spit takes instead.

So then Lauren and I decide to head out for dinner, everyone else has someplace they need to be. She's really hungry (mentions this a couple of time during drinking, and then apologizes for mentioning it) and it really excited about skipping the pizza joint she'd plan to take us to, and hitting her favorite Indian restaurant.

I mean REALLY excited...

and really hungry....

And we get there, she's practically dancing in the streets.....and it's vegetarian.

ALL vegetarian....

And I look at her and remember her saying how hungry she was, and I look at the menu, and it's all vegetarian....and I'm struggling with this one of those monkeys working with the block puzzle. I know these things fit together, I just can't seem to connect them....

really hungry...vegetarian restaurant.

Lauren eats meat, she's not a vegetarian. She's lactose intolerant, but not a vegetarian. I've got a number of friends who have become vegetarians and fooled themselves into believing that all those vegetables and cheese curds are satiating, but not generally meat eaters. So I'm trying to figure out where the joke is...and there isn't any...or maybe that's the joke, but she's entirely serious. So I'm trying to figure out where I'm going to go to get a real meal after this when the waiter comes....oh well, I think, I'll try and fill up on bread.

~Later~

Okay, I've got to admit the food was good....not the kind of things you do to fix "really hungry" but good nonetheless. If I was ever going to try and believe that twigs, berries and granola satisfied me. I'd go there.

Dropped Lauren off (funny, you couldn't even notice any weight distribution when she got out, will try and encourage her to eat real food more often) and headed back to the Hotel Ceilidh-Donia (such a lovely place, such a lovely place), where it turned out the owner and some friends (in addition to other people in the bar) were having a pint and invited me to join them. Nobody would let me by a round unfortunately, but we had a rousing good time...and that's a story for another time....

Scotland - Day 2

I slept on it and yeah, I'm not leaving.

Slept on it a lot actually, didn't make it out the bed until 11:30am....but since we're six hours ahead, I got up early by Mpls time.

Made it out of bed, SSSed and wondered off into the town. Got a haggis stromboli from a little place, and then headed out to the Pentland Hills. Actually, I just got in the car and started driving and ended up there, but it was nice all the same. With no place particular to be, I just figured I'd drive around and find out where I find things interesting and ended up on a road with these constant big signs with a camera icon (black outline of what looked to be an old Polaroid), so I'm thinking this must be the way to the "Camera Obscura" which is in town....found out later that those are the traffic signs to let you know that police cameras are active. Luckily I wasn't speeding.

Followed the road for awhile heading towards this large hill which I assume had the "Camera Obscura" on it. When I arrived, I discovered it to be more of a farm and historical monument. Located at this site was the remains of Castle Law and an earth house...or more appropriately just the earth house, which is essentially an ancient form of cellar where food and such would have been stored under ground. The land was quite pretty though, and the Scottish Army trains on the grounds so at least it gets a lot of use.

More later after some rest.....

DAY 1 -Evening

Okay so I got settled in, and wandered out and about. Found a little pub and got something to eat. On the one hand it's nice that no one bothers you, on the other it seems really lonely and sad.

Had a steak pie and a pint of McEwans and then wandered off into the night. The city is incredible...great stone buildings that you can feel the history in them as you walk by....reach out a hand and touch them and the sensory input is almost too much to bear.

Wandered around the city waiting to meet Lauren. Went down in the Meadows, and around the streets. Hit a few pubs with Lauren...you can't kick a rock in this town without hitting at least three.....and that's why I'm not going back! Ha-HA! I'll just have my clothes mailed to me and live in Edinburgh!

Maybe I should get some sleep before I make this decision....

Scotland - Day 1

Well, I am in Scotland, ancestral homeland that it is, delving into the wonderful trip that I shall have.

Plane ride was not bad, the couple I was sitting next to, moved and I ended up with a whole row to myself. Don't know what I would have done, otherwise, who sits in these seats? Twiggy? I mean, I know I'm no small man, but my shoulders aren't fat. Shouldn't they be able to fit into the seat? Instead I start off like some Aero-Luge athlete with my hands and arms at their side...can a brother get an arm rest?

So I spent the flight sleeping and watching the Bourne Supremecy, which I'd brought with me.....and thank God for that! I mean the movie on the flight was Planes, Trains and Automobiles....what is that like 20 years ago...what about something at least from the 90s? Then they moved int0 television with reruns of Fraiser and som sitcom about a female vicar....what's humorous about that????

So we land, I collect my luggage. Head through customs, get my bags, and just about to leave the airport (going through the "nothing to declare" line) when I get profiled by the transit agents. Now, I'm the only black guy on the flight and I'm in a suit, so I can only assume that either they thought I was a terrorist or an American (many are really pissed off at our country believe it or not). Given my demeanor, I'd have to go with the latter. Thanks a lot W!

So he asks me the standards of where I'm coming from, how long I'm going to be in the country, etc. Yada Yada, but then he starts getting more and more detailed....where was I staying, why was I staying at different hotels, who made the reservations, would I be open to new experiences in a foreign land with man in authority.....okay I made the last one up, but he was thinking it! You should have seen the way that he was checking me out!

Then I had a tremendous amount of fun time trying to get to the hotel, discerning the streets over here, they don't have signs on the corner, but rather on buildings that are on corners....sporadically! And sometimes they just change names, right in a block, similar to LaSalle/Blaisdell, but at least we have big signs announcing the change, not just "oh I'm an innocent foreigner driving along...huh, what the hell happen to the street???? It just changed na--it just did it again!!!" Spent an hour and a half driving around the same square mile trying to find things. I am convinced it's a plot by the Scottish Government to get back at me for W!

Well, that's it for now. I'll sign back in tomorrow with details of tonights excursions.

The beginning

Many people ask, "who is this man, this fearless champion of justice, who struggles against great odds for the good of the common man? Who is he?".....

Well, not really, not a LOT of people, but some, yes some do. You betcha.

Okay, it was actually just one homeless guy on the corner who couldn't understand the amount of money I was giving him, but that's a start.

Who am I? Well, not a lot of people care, primarily because they don't know who the heck I am and how it relates to them. They've never met me, so why should they be concerned with my delusional ranting.....

But I digress.

And so, I begin this blog to do what everyone who creates one of these does....make a desperate plea for attention and acceptance in an increasingly cruel world that allows Farscape to go off the air, but Family Matters to run for like 10 seasons....whatupwidat????

So if you're bored, or desperate for entertainment or just trying to see what other fevered brains create...read on.