26.10.2010 En Paris!

We were in Paris this weekend! Cees-Jan had a work-thing all week, so it was a good occasion for Iwona to come along for a few days and see Paris for the first time (!). And it didn't disappoint. There is so much to see and do that two days is nothing, but it made us want to come back for more.
Of course, when in Paris it is difficult to get past the obligatory Eiffel Tower shots and to picture something interesting, so we're not even going to try :)

We didn't just look at it (the Eiffel Tower), we also climbed it. And we are proud to say that we took all 760 steps up to the second level! You'd think it helps living on the fourth floor in a tenament flat, but really, that helps only the first 60 steps and then there are 700 more. But at least we could catch our breath on the first level and enjoy the amazing views over Paris. The other thing to beat was that nagging feeling of vertigo when through the tower's metal framework, you see the comforting solid ground below you moving ever further and further away. But we managed nonetheless!  

If the climb wasn't breathtaking enough, there's always the views! It wasn't the warmest day (we were greeted by snow flakes when we arrived on Friday night) but the sun was out and Paris looked beautiful from 115m above ground. The view here is towards Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur, which we would visit the next day.  

Paris is a great place to make artistic photos of pretty subjects. But of course Iwona needed to stick her cheeky head in there...

The next day we climbed up Montmartre to visit the Sacre Coeur, the Montmartre Cemetery and have a sneaky peak at the Moulin Rouge. But first it was time for a typical French breakfast. We went to a small bakery called Coquelicot which had been recommended to us by Philippe, Cees-Jan's colleague in Paris. It was so popular that there were three queues: one out on the street for the bakery itself, a short one for people with reservations for breakfast, and a longer one for poor hungry souls like us. But we were lucky and got a table within ten minutes. In case you are wondering: that's a bowl of caffee-au-lait Parisien style! As you can see, it made someone very happy!

This is only a snapshot of our time in Paris, more photos can be found at Cees-Jan's Picasa site

10.10.2010 Eva-Maria and Ivo visit

Cees-Jan's sister Eva-Maria and her husband Ivo came to visit this weekend. They had been to Edinburgh before, so we tried to show them some things they had not seen before. And where better than where we haven't before ourselves? We started with the Greyfriars Kirkyard, famous not only for its Bobby but also for James Hutton, the father of modern geology. We didn't find his grave though, as it wasn't marked on the map!
As you can see, autumn is slowly leaving its mark.


Next stop was the National Art Gallery in Princes Street gardens (always magnificent!) and then we went on to the Dean Gallery to see the 'Another World' exhibition about Surrealism. On the way we made a short stop in Dean Village, always a good photo op!
The exhibition was great, with some very weird, interesting and occasionally rather disturbing pieces...you'd have to go see it for yourself really. Ceci n'est pas une pipe, is all we can say!


The next day we planned to do a little tour into the hills, but unfortunately the weather didn't fully co-operate, with low-hanging clouds blocking most of our views. Nevertheless, it was still beautiful. We did the same tour as we had planned with CJ's parents last winter and at least this time we didn't have to go back halfway because of snow drifts!

And even without seeing the tops Eva-Maria and Ivo were still impressed with the mountains, you don't see them like this in Holland! We couldn't really enjoy the fresh mountain air to much though, as the cold breeze through the glen made it a wee bit too nippy for us.

Final stop was the Dawyk Botanic Garden on the way to Peebles. A nice place to walk around and relax and take in the beautiful scenery and autumn colours.

For more pictures of this weekend, visit CJ's Picasa site.

12.09.10 Roslin Glen and Rosslyn Chapel

It had been almost a year since we visited Rosslyn Chapel, so we figured it was time to go back (and because our free membership would soon run out...). But we had been told there it is nice walking in the area, so we checked our guide book and indeed there was a recommended hike through the Roslin Glen. So off we went!
The walk starts close to the remains of Rosslyn Castle, former home to the family St. Clair who still owns the chapel. Part of the castle is still intact and can actually be rented as holiday accomodation. Now that sounds pretty exciting!

The Roslin Glen is a valley carved out deeply in sandstone with a pretty little creek at the bottom (called the North Esk). The path went up and down and was pretty muddy, but eventually we descended all the way to water level. The path gets very narrow in places.
And yes, it really is called Roslin Glen, after Roslin village, in which sits Rosslyn Chapel...bit of a spelling oddity! Thats said, on the Ordance Survey map it is called Roslin Chapel. Confusing.

 Iwona serves as the perfect scale marker for these impressive cliffs! It's a wonder the trees on top are still standing. There's a number of small caves in the cliffs as well, one of them called Wallace's Cave according the guide book, but any connection to Wallace himself is supposedly unclear, although he was involved in the Battle of Roslin Glen in 1303 when the Scots beat the English army during the Independence battles.

Further up the path went back to the top of the valley again, and the views down to the bottom were not for the faint of heart! Needless to stay Iwona stayed well clear, whereas Cees-Jan couldn't resist the tempation to shuffle closer to get an even better view.
A very rewarding walk and the highlight was still to come!

At the end of the walk there was Rosslyn Chapel waiting for us in all her glory. We were thrilled to see that the roof canope had finaly been taken off, and even better, the scaffolding inside had been removed so we could finally see the roof and the windows in all their glory.
Coincidentally, the BBC broadcasted an interesting documentary about the architectural history of the chapel a few days after we went; if you missed it you might just be able to find it on iPlayer. Recommended!

11.09.2010 National Museum of Scotland

We went to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh today, which is right in the centre of town near George IV bridge. The building is a very interesting piece of modern architecture attached to an older Georgian building and also houses the popular Tower restaurant. We were hugely impressed with the collection and could not believe how large it is and also, like many museums in Scotland, it is entirely free!
The museum's scope is very broad, it starts with Scotland's geographical history (including lots of rocks, yay!), there are whole floors dedicated to Roman history, early people and  industrial revolution, and there are interactive displays for kids, and let's not forget Dolly the sheep and even a Formula 1 car! Clearly too much to see in one visit.

The highlight for us, and the main reason for going before we knew how great the rest of the museum is, was the exhibition of the Lewis chessmen. The chessmen are amazingly beautiful fist-sized figures carved out of walrus ivory that were discovered in the 1830s on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. They were probably made in Viking Norway around the year 1200 AD, but no one knows for sure and they are unique in the world. The detailed carvings and their expressions are very enchanting, we just couldn't stop looking at them!

Another unique set of items in the museum are the little coffins which were discovered on in a cave on Arthur's Seat around the same time as the Lewis chessmen. Each coffin contains a little carved wooden figure dressed in clothes. How they got there and why is still a mystery, a popular idea is that they represent the victims of Burk and Hare - the two chaps who killed innocent visitors of their inn in order to sell the bodies for use in anatomy classes in the medical science department!

On top of all that (literally!) is the roof terrace with great views of Edinburgh's skyline, and because it is in the centre you feel really close to all the peaks and spires. If not for the contents the museum is worth a visit just for the views!

04.09.2010 Trossachs, Ben A'an

This weekend we ventured out a little further than normal, to Loch Achray in the Trossachs north of Glasgow, and therefore stayed overnight in a bed and breakfast called Glenbruach House. It was quite the treat: a beautiful Victorian mansion that could equally well be a National Trust property as a haunted house in a Halloween movie. And very reasonably priced. But if you want to experience it yourself you have to be quick as the owners have unfortunately put it up for sale after 17 years of service!
But first we hiked up to Ben A'an, the rather daunting looking peak on the photo (you can't see it but you can imagine Iwona's face...)







In fact, it turned out to be a pretty reasonable climb, which was probably why it seemed like every Scot, his wife and kids, the dog and sometimes grandma made their way up the mountain that afternoon! There was the occasional little scramble though. The views got more stunning the higher we got; it really is a stunningly beautiful part of the country.












Iwona enjoying a sandwich after we made it to the top. I can assure you, she was a lot more cheerful than she seems but it's hard to look pretty when you are chewing a baguette!

The lake you see here is Loch Katrine, of which you have fantastic views from the top of Ben A'an. It famously was the hide-out of Rob Roy MacGregor in the early 1700s, whose story was later immortalised by Sir Walter Scott and the occasional cheesy movie. Its tumultuous past is difficult to imagine and in stark contrast with the tranquility of the lake as it is now!






Since we don't have that many pictures of the two of us on the blog, here's one to show that Cees-Jan was also there. In shorts no less - see, Scotland isn't so bad in September.











The next day we made a boat trip on Loch Katrine with the old steamboat "Sir Walter Scott". It still has the original steam engine and was assembled in five parts which were carried over the mountains to the Loch where it was put together. An amazing effort considering it started sailing in 1900!
It sails to the little village of Stronachlachar, from which you can bike back along the lake shore, and there were many cyclists with their bikes on board. The views of the lake were stunning so we may bring our own bikes next time!