This was a great bookshop in Edinburgh. I ended up buying two things: a book on 1920s popular science and a page of interesting Victorian portraits.
After eating at the Elephant House cafe, I ran into this sign outside of a random shop in Edinburgh. It made me giggle.
The Elephant House - Edinburgh
It’s such a lovely cafe… I had to go back a second time.
< http://news.stv.tv/scotland/north/286006-icy-conditions-cause-havoc-for-motorists/ >
Come gather in my lungs Scottish wind
Belt out your blackest poems as the sea around you sings
When that drone takes to the air a single note to raise my hair
Carry songs beyond my lungs cold Scottish winds
- Frightened Rabbit, “Scottish Wind”
Frightened Rabbit - “Scottish Winds”
I just reserved a bed at an Edinburgh hostel for my last night in Scotland. *tear*
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
- A.A. Milne
I was thoroughly distracted in one of my lectures today by the sound of bagpipes. Only in Scotland!
Taken on Saturday, 19th November at Mackie’s Farm in the Aberdeenshire countryside.
This past Friday and Saturday, I attended the Arcadia (my study abroad program) Life of Mind Event: Diversity of Energy. It was centered around the fact that Aberdeen is known as the Energy Capital of Europe (who knew, right?). We explored the diversity of the Scottish energy sector, with emphasis placed on Aberdeen’s connections to the North Sea. The University of Aberdeen is known internationally for its degrees concerning the oil industry and renewable energy.
On Friday, 18th November, I attended a lecture by Professor Gordon M. Walkden entitled “Energy - Catch 22 and Counting” at the University of Aberdeen. It was mainly about the various global challenges relating to energy. I didn’t learn much, and it was pretty dull. Next, I went on a tour of Old Aberdeen, which was once a borough dating back to the late Middle Ages (and now houses the university). This was really interesting! I learned a lot about the history of the things I pass by everyday on my way to lectures. The tour guide gave me a metal pin of the Scottish flag at the end, which was pretty cool (he picked on me as an example for one of his stories - people of the Middle Ages could be pretty cruel and barbaric).
On Saturday, 19th November, we visited the Aberdeen Maritime Museum, located on Aberdeen’s scenic harbour. There is such a rich history between the Aberdeen community and the sea. This museum is the only place where you can view displays on the North Sea oil and gas industry. After the museum, we had a break for lunch - a group of us went out for fish and chips. After lunch, we departed for Mackie’s Farm and Wind Turbine. As soon as we arrived, we were greeted with free ice cream! I had chocolate, and it was fantastic. As we toured the farm, we had the opportunity to see their dairy cows and the machines that they use to automatically milk them. It was really neat. On the way out, I saw a glimpse of a dead calf (I’m guessing it was a stillborn), which was pretty depressing. Their farm is situated in the Aberdeenshire countryside (about a 45 minute drive from the university), and, walking to one of their wind turbines, I got to take pretty pictures of the sunset in the countryside. (The sun typically starts to set at approximately 15:30 here.) The view was breathtaking. Mackie’s also makes crisps, and we were given some for our ride back (I tried the haggis-flavoued ones, and they were actually pretty tasty). Lastly, we toured Aberdeen Harbour and Footdee (a wee fishing village in Aberdeen). The boats looked magical sitting on the harbour with their lights on in the dark.
Smile, you’re in Aberdeen!
Bumper stickers on a door in Footdee (a wee fishing village in Aberdeen).
