Some bonus photos.

I'm waiting for my cab to arrive to take me to Glasgow International, and I don't even want to talk about how much it is going to cost me. I didn't realize public transportation ended by 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve, so I had to do it. :(


SO, I'm going to lighten the mood with some bonus photographs. Merry X-mas! This is me being a little sad about my execution at the museum of the old Clink prison in London. I ain't no Mary Queen of Scots, bitch! Step off!







Classic Eiffel Tower shot in Paris:

In Florence, an awesome statue of Perseus holding the head of Medusa:

The Coliseum in Rome:

Back to Greece! Ruins of the Temple of Apollo, where the ancient oracle at Delphi was once located:

Posing with Adam on the ruins of the Temple of Cronus and Rhea in Athens. They were the parents of Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Hestia, Hades, and Poseidon. I'm obviously Rhea--Rhea loved Nalgene bottles.

Adam and I (were we on a honeymoon?) on the causeway leading to Monemvasia in the Peloponnese. Can you believe that HUGE chunk of rock behind us had a TOWN at the top? We hiked up and were rewarded with amazing views.

And last but clearly not least, I found my way into a kilt before it was too late! Do I look fierce?

END OF THE BONUS ROUND! To Berlin I go...

Christmas Time!!!!!!

To my lovely loyalists at Jon the Scot:

I know I let you down with not posting enough and essentially leaving out pictures from the majority of my semester and my wonderful travels. But I am a perfectionist and can't half-ass entries, so a ton got left out--most of it, in fact. You will all have to meet up with me upon my return to the states, and I can tell you everything and show you pictures if I have my laptop nearby. This has to be brief because I am about to head to Glasgow for a flight to Berlin tomorrow, but here are some things that happened this semester that I neglected to post:

* Daytrip to St. Andrews. Although I lost (and later recovered) my camera on this trip, it was worth it. The ruins of the cathedral, the coastline, the castle, the historically rich campus, sigh. I'll let this picture do the talking:

* Daytrip to Castle Campbell. By far this is the most impressive castle I have visited in Scotland in terms of aesthetic appeal and location. This was a shot from the top:

* Weekend in London sponsored by the UIUC Study Abroad Office. We saw a lot of great stuff, but overall, London doesn't tickle my fancy like Scotland does. It's impressive but not in the way I'm interested in being impressed when I'm in Britain. I want medieval ruins and scenic walks and towns that have a distinct personality; London is too much like NYC in that it's wonderful in its hugeness, but by extension, it just can't have the same kind of local flavor as a smaller city such as Glasgow. Maybe I'm rambling and I'd actually love London if I stayed there longer; I just got an impression that it's an international center more than anything. Cool in its own way. I got to meet some cool UIUC kids studying abroad as well, I saw the typical tourist hotspots, I got to see Samantha from Sex in the City perform in a play, and I spent a lot of time with Brett, who was there from Nottingham. This was important to me because we had a lot to talk about, and it felt like we were best friends again, which is more than I would have hoped for after our separation. We basically cleared the air and had an awesome time talking about what we're doing now and how we feel about our new relationships. Very therapeutic. Photos:

At some hall in London with a lot of art and sweet mirrors for pretentious pics like this one:

Jon admiring Big Ben:

Prime Meridian line in Greenwich. I'm standing in both hemispheres.

* Weekend in Edinburgh with Ali, Mike, and Adam (and Yvonne for the first part). We spent a depressing amount of money on an Italian buffet (but you can be damn sure I ate until I almost fainted), went out on the town for some drinks and a wonderful game of "Never Have I Ever." The following day, we checked out the international market and ice skating rink, ate some CHEAP Scottish breakfast while watching hippies play music and give away food for "Buy Nothing Day," and I watched Mike and Adam drink (thrifty time!) at a pub while some Scottish guy--of course--wanted to fight me because my bored, wandering eye looked in his general direction for half a second. People disgust me way too often, and Scottish people are no exception. Then Mike, Adam, and I met up with Mike's flatmate Cameron (also the greatest Scottish guy I have met here) for a rugby match between Scotland and Australia at the Edinburgh stadium. Mike and I had a good time trying to yell over to Cameron to figure out how the hell rugby works. It just seems like a big free-for-all sometimes, but it was awesome to be a part of that atmosphere. Scotland lost. Whatever. Mike has some pics from the game:

Stadium shot:

Rugby in action:

Aren't we wild and crazy fans? From left to right: Cameron, Adam and me. Close-ups make me angry, but I'm smiling anyway.

* Extended weekend in Ireland with Yvonne! We saw a ton of cool stuff and stayed with Yv's friend Amy, who is studying for the year at Trinity College in Dublin. In Dublin we went out to some pubs (including one that I think was owned by a communist), toured the Guinness factory with Yvonne's friend Nhu (who is at Oxford this year studying philosophy), walked by Dublin Castle (but it's only a pseudo-castle so we didn't pay to go inside), toured the National Gallery as part of Amy's art class trip, had unbelievable crepes and coffee at a hip cafe, checked out St. Patrick's Cathedral, and watched a brilliant traditional Irish dance performance. Oh, I also got an Irish coffee, but alcohol in Dublin is unreasonably priced. Still, it was good, but a little heavy on the whiskey. I had a wonderful time with Yvonne and her friends, as I always do. Outside of Dublin, Yv and I took a daytrip to Howth, which is a cool seaside town that has cliffs we hiked to near Howth Castle. We also did a trip to Cork, where we took a bus to Blarney Castle and kissed the stone! Ohhhh, I'm so sad that I'm not doing any of these experiences justice by running through them so quickly. Maybe I will go back and document them (lol, don't believe me).

* Fall break trip! Yv, Lindsay, Stephen (president of the Wildwatchers group here and a politically astute Canadian), and I joined Marta and Ali in Paris for a few days. I have to say, Paris exceeded my expectations in a major way. Napoleon's tomb and the Louvre (Mona Lisa what what) were two of my personal favorites out of all the sights. Then it was on to Venice, and then Florence, and finally Rome via the Eurail. All were great places, of course, but Venice gets about 6000 times more appealing at night. It's so romantic there that I kind of just wanted to propose to anyone who would accept. Rome was great considering all of the amazing things you can see there, but as a city itself, meh. However, it has so many amazing things to see on a sight-by-sight level, so it's a great destination for tourists. We had more gelato than was necessary, but that's how it works in Italy, and I was overwhelmed by the Sistine Chapel. I also was a kid in a candy store when we walked through the Roman ruins. Wowwwwwww. Other great Roman sights we saw: the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain (amazing atmosphere), the Spanish steps, other parts of the Vatican Museum outside of the Sistine Chapel, the Pantheon (lame), and St. Peter's Basilica. They have a few preserved popes encased in the basilica, which I find kind of creepy. Strike me down, I guess. (Please don't, Opus Dei). Our hostel in Rome was in a sketchy part of town, but anything to save a euro, right? We actually slept in the owner's extra bedroom because they fucked up our reservations. I slept between Yv and Lindsay in a double bed and basically ended up in an "S" position that made my back feel extra special. More to say on this week-long trip, but suffice it to say that we saw a ton of amazing things.

* Now to my final and favorite trip with members the Scotland gang: GREECE! Mike, Adam, and I took a nine-day trip to Greece, and it was the best vacation I have ever taken in my entire life. I have decided that Greece is nothing short of the best country on the planet. The ancient ruins and countryside are awe-inspiring, the weather is great even in the winter, the people are friendly and often beautiful, the food is delicious and cheap (1 euro for vegetarian pitas!!!) , and the oranges and tomatoes are for some reason better here than anywhere else. Not a huge fan of Greek coffee, but that didn't stop me from drinking it most days. There were too many stray dogs and smokers in Athens, but overall the city is first-rate and probably my favorite in Europe since they cleaned it up for the Olympics in 2004. I could dig living there for a few months, I've decided. I promise to come back to this blog for a separate entry on it, because it deserves one, but here is a taste of Athens' best: the Acropolis!

Good note to end on, I'd say. I am off to Berlin for Christmas and New Year's Eve, where Brian will join me. Then onward to southern Spain and Madrid and finally a few days in Scotland before I come back to the states to see all of you!!! I miss you all, and have a wonderful Christmas!

Back with a vengeance!

OK, so here is a photo fest from the Stirling University daytrip to the Trossachs National Park. The Trossachs = a small woodland glen in the Stirling council area of Scotland. This was quite a while ago, but I'm catching up, so back off, k?

The group of almost 30 students started out at Doune Castle, but I missed it because the bus left without me! Mike, the guy supervising our trip, thought I was already on the bus and told the tour guide/driver -- a young Scottish guy by the name of Jamie MacDonald, who works for a Scottish tour company called MacBackpackers -- to take off while I was still running from my flat to the circle drive where we were supposed to meet. When I got there, I recall being confused, angry, and sad. But Lindsay soon came to my rescue as she told the supervisor that they forgot me, and he called me to say that Jamie would be coming back to campus to pick me up and bring me to the group at the castle. I didn't care that I was going to miss the castle fun; there are about 60 million castles in Scotland, and at least they came back to get me at all. So I got to enjoy a fun chat with Jamie, who had some pretty awesome Celtic (I think? There were bagpipes) music on and who was wearing a kilt. We talked about the fact that my mom's side of the family has ties to the MacDonald clan in Scotland, so we're probably 700th cousins or something. He can only trace back his own history to 1818, so who knows where our ancestral paths cross, but as a side note, he did say that the MacDonald men are quite handsome. Judge for yourself -- I think he gets bumped up 1.5 points for the kilt -- although this is quite a fuzzy picture:

He was a very entertaining guide. Clan MacDonald all the way!

So the first part of the tour that I really got to see was a weird guy showing off his sheepdog. It was an adorable dog, and a crowd gathered to watch it take commands from its master and boss some sheep around -- it was more captivating that my description indicates. Regena got a great pic of the action:

My pic is worse, but I don't care! You still have to look at it so that I feel like an active participant in my own travels:

The dog was adorable, in my opinion.

So then we drove past the historic Lake of Menteith. That's right, bitches -- the lake of my ancestors. The Monteiths/Menteiths are a sept of the Graham clan, an Anglo-Norman family of the early 12th century. Mike kept making a big deal out of the fact that I'm a Monteith and that this was my namesake lake; I think he was kind of sucking up because he felt bad that he left without me that morning. Still, the attention was nice, and it made me feel like I was seeing something personally significant. Now, I have a picture of this lake that I took from the moving bus, but I'm going to be a big boy right now and accept that it's a piece of shit. So, this is a much better photograph of the Lake of Menteith, taken from the Wikipedia entry on the lake:

Here's the story: The Lake of Menteith, or, until the 20th century, the Loch of Menteith, is often thought of as the only body of water in Scotland that is referred to as a lake. (Actually, there are two other small artificial bodies of water known as lakes: Pressmennan Lake and the Lake of the Hirsel.) All other major bodies of water in Scotland are known as lochs. The are a number of small islands in the lake. The clan seat of the Grahams of Menteith is on the island of Inchtalla. On the largest, Inchmahome, is Inchmahome Priory, an ancient Augustinian monastery. The priory served as refuge to Mary Queen of Scots in 1547. She was only four years old at the time, when Henry VIII was carrying out a series of military raids -- known collectively as the "rough wooing" -- designed to force the infant Mary into a marriage with his son. Henry VIII, you suck, and you couldn't find her because she was hiding on an island in the lake of my ancient people! Hahahaha, nice try, fatass/wife-killer. Am I too defensive of Scotland?

Then we headed to Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, where I posed by a waterfall. I'm wearing the hood because it was raining, not because I thought it was fashionable:

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On to Loch Katrine for a stroll along the pier. Loch Katrine is the lake of Sir Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake. Oil-fired vessels are not permitted to sail its waters due to the danger of pollution to the drinking water of Glasgow. Instead, a wood-burning, steam-powered boat named the S.S. Sir Walter Scott offers local tourist transport. Here I am in front of it, with a HUGE umbrella that I reluctantly purchased because I could no longer handle the downpour. I think I'm laughing at the size of the umbrella here -- you should have seen that mofo fully opened:

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And another shot with more of the lake in the background:

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Regena and I got back on the bus and talked to Jamie for a while. He made us hot chocolate. I loved this tour and the fact that he really seems to get into his job, which is showing off Scotland's finest spots to the masses. Some more scenic driving took place, and we ended up at the Kilmahog Woolen Mill, the residence of Hamish, the Hairy Coo (or Highland Bull, if you prefer). Since Mike still felt guilty, he gave me a carrot to feed Hamish. Hamish almost ate my hand, but it was fun. Watch as I offer sustenance to one of the greatest Highland creatures:

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We were also taken to the grave of Robert Roy MacGregor -- or Rob Roy, as you may know him -- in Balquhidder. WIKIPEDIA: Rob Roy was a famous Scottish folk hero and outlaw of the early 18th century, and he is sometimes known as the Scottish Robin Hood. Rob Roy was a well-known and respected cattleman -- he borrowed a large sum of money to increase his own cattle herd, but due to the deception of his chief herder, who was entrusted with the money to bring the cattle back, Rob Roy lost his money and cattle, and defaulted on his loan. As a result, he was branded an outlaw, and his wife and family were evicted from their house at Inversnaid, which was then burned down. After his principal creditor, James Graham, 1st Duke of Montrose, seized his lands, Rob Roy warred with the duke until 1722, when Rob Roy was forced to surrender. Later imprisoned, he was finally pardoned in 1727 by King George I, who was influenced by Daniel Defoe's fictionalized account of Rob Roy's life called Highland Rogue, which made Rob Roy a legend. The publication of Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott in 1817 further added to his fame and fleshed out his biography. William Wordsworth wrote a poem called "Rob Roy's Grave" during a visit to Scotland. Adaptations of his story have also been told in film, most notably the 1995 flick Rob Roy starring Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange. Picture time -- the first one is blurry because I had to resize it and I suck at photo editing:

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We did a little hike on a trail behind the graveyard, where there was a decent mini-waterfall. We also stopped by Loch Lomond, which has the largest surface area of the lochs. The wretched weather made the view relatively lame:

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We saw some more lochs, and I got some chips (fries) at a lochside diner. As I devoured them on the bus with ketchup and "brown sauce" (not a particularly big fan of this steak sauce cousin), a few people noted that they could smell them and that they were jealous. Is this a hint that I should offer a few up? Perhaps, but I was grumpy about the rain and only shared with Regena and Lindsay. Regena made me laugh pretty hard when she had a few of them and then self-consciously said something along the lines of: "I'm not trying to be like, 'CAN I HAVE A CHIP AURRRRR!'" Her impression sounded like Chris Farley in the Gap Girls skit when he has some of their fries and then turns into a monster. Gap Girls: "Aren't you on a diet?" "Yeah, save some for us." Chris Farley: "LAY OFF ME I'M STARVING!!" The box of chips seemed to last for ages, and I remember savoring them as we drove in the rain to our final destination, some Roman ruins that would make for a pretty bad photograph because they're kind of non-existent.

Jamie told a good story about Hadrian's Wall: it was a stone and turf fortification built by the Roman Empire across the width of Great Britain to prevent military raids by the tribes of (what is now) Scotland to the north, to provide peaceful conditions in the Roman province of Britannia to the south, to physically mark the frontier of the Empire, and to separate the unruly Selgovae tribe in the north from the Brigantes in the south and discourage them from uniting. In other words, the ancient inhabitants of Scotland were so unruly that they convinced the Romans not to annex the region to their massive empire. I love it! The more I hear, the more I love.

Finally, it is important to mention that near the end of the tour, Jamie poured all of us whiskey --- good Scottish whiskey -- to mark the end of a wonderful trip. It was the kind that you can really only sip as it fills your mouth and throat with intense warmth. Slanjiva! (Gaelic for cheers, or something) Regena and I with Lindsay in the background:

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And there you have it! A great day trip.

Brief post: Mary Queen of Scots 101

This is such an unbelievable waste of time, but I LOVE procrastinating and have to set the record straight on Mary, Queen of Scots. Jomarie, she's not the bad one who murdered all the Protestants!

That was "Bloody Mary," Queen Mary I of England, who is remembered for returning England from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism. In the process, she had almost three hundred religious dissenters executed, leading to the nickname Bloody Mary. The two queens are sometimes confused, unfortunately. Scottish Mary is much prettier and less evil.

Wikipedia, lend me your hand! This is Mary, Queen of Scots:



** Mary I of Scotland (Mary Stuart, popularly known as Mary, Queen of Scots) was the Queen of Scotland from 1542-1567. She also sat as Queen Consort of France for a year. Because of her tragic life, she is one of the best-known Scottish monarchs. Vivacious, pretty, and clever (according to contemporary accounts), Mary had a promising childhood. Mary, being a devout Roman Catholic, was regarded with suspicion by many of her subjects as well as by Queen Elizabeth I of Protestant England, who was her father's cousin. Scotland was torn between Catholic and Protestant factions, and Protestant reformer John Knox preached against Mary, condemning her for hearing Mass, dancing, dressing too elaborately, and many other things, real and imagined.
Did you hear that? She danced! What a fucking bitch, right? Ugh.

** Then psycho Henry VIII tried to force Scotland to have Mary wedded to his son, so the English tried to invade Edinburgh and kidnap Mary, but she was hidden in the secret chambers of Stirling Castle. You can see pics of this castle in a previous post. When the Scots suffered a bitter defeat to the English, Marie de Guise, fearful for her daughter, sent her temporarily to Inchmahome Priory. This priory is on an insland in the Lake of Menteith. Menteith and Monteith are associated with the same clan, so this means that my ancestors helped save Mary from the bloody English! And so I love her, and that's that.

** Under the ordinary laws of succession, Mary was also next in line to the English throne after her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, who was childless. In the eyes of many Catholics Elizabeth was illegitimate, making Mary the true heir. Mary eventually became a liability that Elizabeth could no longer tolerate. She spent years and years in captivity. Elizabeth did ask Mary's final custodian, Amias Paulet, if he would contrive some accident to remove Mary. He refused on the grounds that he would not allow such "a stain on his posterity." Mary was implicated in several plots to assassinate Elizabeth, raise the Catholic North of England, and put herself on the throne, possibly with French or Spanish help.

** Mary denied the accusations and was spirited in her defense. One of her more memorable comments from her trial was, "Remember Gentlemen the Theatre of history is wider than the Realm of England." She drew attention to the fact that she was denied the opportunity of reviewing the evidence or her papers that had been removed from her, that she had been denied access to legal counsel and that she had never been an English subject and thus could not be convicted of treason. The extent to which the plot was created by Sir Francis Walsingham and the English Secret Services will always remain open to conjecture. Mary was ultimately convicted of treason, and was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle.

** She spent the last hours of her life in prayer and also writing letters and her will. She expressed a request that her servants should be released. At her execution she removed a black cloak to reveal a deep red dress - the Liturgical colour of martyrdom in the Catholic Church. Though Mary Stuart has not been canonised by the Catholic Church, many consider her a martyr, and there are relics of her. Her prayer book was long shown in France.

** American actress Scarlett Johansson will play Mary in a film scheduled to begin production by the end of summer 2007.

And there you have it. MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS WHAT WHAT??

Extravaganza Part 2

OK, so by necessity (it's late as all fuck), this post will be shorter.

These are pictures from the hike the Wildwatchers group took through the hills by Callander. Wikipedia: Callander lies on the eastern fringe of the Trossachs, itself is a small woodland glen in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It lies between Ben An to the north and Ben Venue to the south, with Loch Katrine to the west and Loch Achray to the east. However, the name is used generally to refer to the wider area of wooded glens and braes with quiet lochs, lying to the east of Ben Lomond. Whatever. We hiked there and it was purdy. Before the hike began, I bought a delicious hummus and roasted vegetables sandwich from the sweetest lady in downtown Callander. She talked to me about being a vegetarian and how it's easier nowadays with all of the different options. I also talked to Stephen, the Wildwatchers president, about being a vegetarian (he is too), and I met Ali, my Spanish friend and one of my favorite people ever now, during this day trip. She's from Malaga, close to Granada, where Sabrina is right now! Big trip what what? Anyway, we downed the sandwiches and began our ascent. Pictures...

See the lake in the background?

I believe this is Melanie and me ascending.

We had some great views from the top:

A cairn at the top:

Wild blueberries! Lindsay and I ate some, then I almost started crying when this guy Dan was like, yeah you don't want to eat those... I survived and they were tasty.

Lindsay took this one (and a few others I've posted). I wish I had her skills.

I made a wish, of course.

With Lindsay by a waterfall:

We took a brief rest on the bridge by the waterfall. But the hike must go on...

A lot of shrooms on our walk. They were EVERYWHERE!

We ended up being on the wrong side of the river and had to cross it to get to our destination. The current was fairly strong, actually, and you can see me crossing with caution. I was protecting my camera.

We got a little lost -- again -- on the way back and found ourselves on a farm, basically. Here's proof:

And the hike ended. What a day! We celebrated our accomplishment at a fish and chips restaurant in downtown Callander. I had a veggie burger, and Lindsay and I defended Nalgene bottles in one of the mose bizarre debates ever with two aggressive German girls. Then we headed back to Stirling and I recall being exhausted for the rest of the evening.