Monday, 30 September 2013

Cottages in Aberdeen

I love cottages. Aberdeen has no shortage! I love finding these little gems on my daily walk with Sebastian. They give me a little something to dream about. I imagine the insides looking just like Kate Winslet's cottage in The Holiday.

Come take a little walk with me and see what special homes are here in Aberdeen.

 
 
 






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Monday, 23 September 2013

St Machar's Catherdral

 
 
I have a thing for cathedrals. No matter where in the world you go, you can see that people took great care to build the best places to worship their God. It is evidence seeing as this particular building has been here since 1282. Yet, a church has been on this site since the sixth century. Whoa. I can't even comprehend that kind of history!!

As legend has it, St Machar was commanded to find a spot where the river curved in the shape of a Shepard's crook. Legend also say that when William Wallace was hung and dismembered in 1305, his body parts were sent to different parts of Scotland. His left arms is said to be in one of the walls at St. Machar's! We won't know for a long time yet if that is true.

Inside there is a notable heraldic oak ceiling with coats of arms if European monarch's and Scottish nobles and bishops. The Charter Room and bell tower are not normally open to the public, but they were open to the public for Door's Open Day! We weren't permitted to take photograph's but the room was filled with documents. Very old documents. The preservation of history in this country always amazes me.

Upon entering St Machar's we were greeted by smiling volunteer's and flute music being played from near the altar. It totally added to the ambiance! We got a little mini tour and told all these fun facts.

Have a look at St Machar's Cathedral!







Tuesday, 17 September 2013

Kings College Chapel


Saturday was Door's Open Day for Aberdeen City. I love these weekends each fall. We've been able to see many things over the years. All for free. I love that Scotland makes its history accessible to people. Not every historic site participates in the event each year but there is always something worth seeing.

We started our weekend off with a trip to Aberdeen University's King's College Chapel. It was founded in 1500 and the chapel is the oldest surviving building. It boasts the finest surviving pre-Reformation interior in Scotland. It is in immaculate condition. We got there just in time for the tour and we got to know all the quirky things about the chapel. Such as, most midevil bishops chose to be buried with a lot of pomp and circumstance, but William Elphinstone was simply buried beneath a paving stone at the foot of the chancel step. The stained glass windows were each made by a different artist, one of which declared it the worst window he ever made. Ha! The chapel has been everything from a library to storage. Yet none of the interior was ever changed. It was brought back into use as a church when students from the college were showing up to the local chapel drunk and disorderly and University President wanted to stop annoying the towns people. So, they brought Kings College Chapel back into use as a chapel.

Such fun facts! We had a great time looking and learning. Sebastian was having a blast at all the stuff to look at. I finally had to take him out so we wouldn't bother the other patron's. Sebastian is generally pretty quiet in public but he was jumping around a lot he was so excited. Still not saying a word, but I could tell people were getting distracted by his excitement.

Take a look at this fantastic chapel at Aberdeen University!


 
 
 
 

Thursday, 5 September 2013

Things to Love and Dislike Living in Scotland {part 2}

 
Week after week new people are finding this blog due to this post I wrote almost a year and a half ago. It seems that you all want to know what there is to love and dislike about living in Scotland! I'm happy to oblige with another post! Let's get this party started.

Things to Love::

01. The weather. I know, I know! I'm a contradiction! But, let me explain. We stay pretty mild around here. Mild winters, mild summers. Not too shabby. Once you're used to it  you can really thrive here.

02. There is a little bit of everything in Scotland. From the quiet and beautiful scenery of the highlands to the bustling cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. Let's not forget that we're an island. We have beaches and a sea view! There is something for everyone.

03. The people! The Scots are famous for being welcoming. Just open your mouth and they'll want to talk. They'll want to know your story and tell you they've been to Florida ;)


Things to Dislike::

01. Cost of living is crazy compared with the USA. I stopped converting pounds to dollars a long time ago. It got depressing. Sales tax {VAT} is 20%!!! I don't even have any words for that. It is included in the purchase price so you don't notice so much, but still. Everything is so much more expensive.

02. Smoking. I'm not going to lie. Scotland, you smell like an ashtray. Glasgow especially {well, only the bigger cities really...}. I can't even believe this is still a thing. My old neighbour below me smokes and it entered right into my kitchen window. It gets me all kinds of mad.

03. Clothes shopping is all trendy. I don't mind trendy but where are the classic pieces for people who aren't into every trend that blows into this country? Not to mention I can't find any pants that aren't of the skinny variety. I'm a plus size girl. Skinny jeans don't do me any favours. It gets ridiculous trying to shop and I can't find a single thing that I like.

I'll do these posts from time to time to help you get a sense of what life is like here. The good and the bad.

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