And now for something completely different...

OK, the title of this post is totally misleading, because I am going to share with you another fantastic Scottish castle, which isn't very different at all from my regular programming... but there is something unique about this particular castle

I mentioned in a previous post that on our weekend out of Edinburgh we visited a castle named Doune. Back in 1975, Doune was a film location for a certain funny little movie. One that I am sure many of you have seen...

but maybe you'd recognize it better if we approached from the side...

just like the noble knights of the round table.

Or, maybe best if we "run away!"

Need another hint? Here, watch this: my directorial skills are nearly as good as Matt's delivery-

What...? You didn't get it from that reenactment?? Fine... here's the real deal-

Surely you know what movie it is by now! Unfortunately for us, that exact wall was the only part of the castle that was closed to visitors (they are taking away concrete bits so that water can escape the stone instead of causing the wall to crumble from the inside out, so I guess that's more important than us climbing on top and yelling poorly memorized taunts at one another in horrible french accents). We did get this wee view from an upstairs window!

Good thing there were other parts of the castle used in the film where we could play about! Like this stone staircase leading from the courtyard into the kitchen tower...

the same one stormed by brave Sir Lancelot as he massacres a wedding party rescues a captured bride-to-be...

Which has been fabulously recreated with Legos!

lego source

But if you insist, have a watch of the real scene (but don't blame me if it takes you 15 minutes to read this blog post!)

I took a photo of this view...

...out of this window.

We played about the great hall (one of the best preserved in Scotland for its age) but it looked different without myriad dancing knights,

And the kitchen, while amazing, was sadly (for Matt) temptress-free!

And according to the very funny and informative audio tour (narrated by Terry Jones) the huge stone oven, large enough to roast an ox on a spit,

was where the ladies made a bed for young Sir Galahad.

But just like there are lots of great scenes from the movie that are not filmed at Doune (like when King Arthur fights the Black Knight!), there are tons of interesting historical bits to the castle that have nothing to do with Monty Python.

\This stone, part of the frame to the huge window in the kitchen, shows the marks of where the cooks sharpened their knives nearly 800 years ago.

And the chamber where we found this fireplace was used to entertain and house the fanciest of guests (I wish the fire had been going that day, as it was a bit drafty in the castle. And sitting on stone, fireplae or not, is a quick way to get even colder!)

We broke a few rules, but only a tiny bit... cheeky naughty tourists! 

We checked out the loo- a most comfotable room, really. It had a window for ventillation and a vent to allow in heat from the adjacent room. It even had a little nook in the wall that would have had strips of linen or bits of moss to use to ... you know. 

And from the loo, you have this view- That is the river Teith, and one local said that when soldiers were called to protect the region, they were to come 'armed to the Teith'.

Of course we climbed stairs. Lots and lots of circular stone stairs! If I had a shilling for every old stair I've climbed in the last few months I'd have... well, nothing really, since nobody uses shillings anymore. But you get what I mean. Exploring historic sites = stairs!

So there you have it. Doune Castle... really quite magical.

After our visit, we rode off into the sunset,

and had ourselves a pint!

And just in case it's not utterly clear, the movie filmed at Doune Castle was Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Go rent it, you know you want to see it again!

Fair thee well... and Happy Christmas Eve!!!!

Snow Ball 2012

As I walked home from work last night, I passed the large and modern Omni Movie Theatre. It has a few steps in front of it, and at the base of the steps is a metal strip, that is about 3 or 4 inches wide and 15 or 20 feet long. It has holes in it, so I figure it functions as some sort of drain. Fascinating, right? I promise, I have a point. Anyway, as I am walking home last night, during a break in the snow/rain that had fallen off-and-on throughout the day, I pass the theatre and notice that a man is purposefully sliding on this metal strip just for kicks, like a outdoor and icy version of Tom Cruise's famous move in Risky Business. I can't help but watch this guy and I see that he is well into his 50s. He is nicely dress, in fact part of the reason he's getting so much distance on his slides is because he is wearing fancy dress shoes-- probably some slick-soled thing made in Italy and deliberately not intended for such Northernly activities as walking in slush and ice. I watch him the whole time it takes me to walk past the theatre, which is about a minute, and I'm smiling the whole time, because without knowing anything else about him I know that I like his style. He's not too old to have a silly good time.

And neither are we!

So, because we are not too old to be silly (and enjoy things that might be intended for a younger demographic) and because Matt is Best Husband of the Year... we attended Snow Ball, 2012. What is Snow Ball 2012, you ask? It's an amazing night of music, dancing, eating, drinking, giving, laughing, singing, and general rocking out. Oh, and it's all about Harry Potter. Everything. The decor, the food, the music-- especially the music! 

The Ball was held at Teviot Row House (which I have mentioned on this blog before) and the room was festive with tartan, lights and all sorts of house banners...

We drank bubbly drinks and ate cake... sugary goodness in the form of Hogwarts, Hagrid's hut and the the Black Lake (complete with Giant Squid tentacles).

One of the opening acts, Siriusly Hazza P, was cute and girly and rock-a-riffic... (OK, I apologize for that word). their last song was for Fawks, and the MC of the night, the man who put the whole thing together, donned phoenix feathers (and a kilt) and pantomimed the great bird.


And in case you're wondering, that in the background, is the Scottish flag, with the Hogwarts crest in the middle...

And a secret guest graced the stage before the main act... half of Draco and the Malfoys (and The Remus Lupins). He was totally geeky-cute-to-the-max. And he played "My Dad is Rich, You're Dad is Dead", which we all know is a modern-day classic. (and yes, that is the Elder Wand waving about in the foreground!)

Wands at the ready...

...for Harry and the Potters! Brothers, Potter aficionados, and  founders of Wizard Rock!

And they really do rock out. I didn't take much video (too busy dancing about) but I had to capture this one... Wizard's Chess is a little on the tame side compared to some of their other tunes, but its super cute  and it's about Christmas!
(Watch here, or if you want a bigger screen, choose to view it on YouTube. For some reason, Blogger won't let me show it any larger.)

Paul DeGeorge, Harry from Harry and the Potters, took some time before (and after) the show to have a little chat with me and Matt. I told him that we saw them play in Los Angeles years ago...twice.

Here's younger brother Joe DeGeorge (also Harry, from Harry and the Potters) rocking out (*note the metal fingers in the foreground. yeah.)

The guy from Draco and the Malfoys played drums for Harry and the Potters (I think he has also toured with the Violent Femmes... )

Blurry pictures of over-the-head and behind-the-back rocking.

And toward the end of the night, in some impromptu show of togetherness, everyone in the audience held hands and swayed back and forth to the music. That's the thing about Potter fans... there is always a ton of love at these things ( I know... it sounds cheesy) but overall, I think the Potter books attract a kind of person who believes in the main theme of the book: That love is the greatest magic of all.

awwww.

Camera play on Arthur's Seat

Oh, Happy Day! I just got some good news, and Matt and I just have a wonderfully fun and productive weekend- full of dining with friends, sipping Prosecco, kitty cuddles, impulse response sweeps, hiking up Arthur's Seat, family Skype dates, brunching at French bistros, grocery shopping, and laser tag (a few of those activities only involved one of us, I'll let you sort out which).

 So all is happy and wonderful here! And I'm about to go take in some Christmas pretties about the city (they are already starting to decorate!) and pick up my reserved copy of The Casual Vacancy from the central library... so the day is going to get even better!

But before I go, I want to share a few pictures from our hike up Arthur's Seat. We took soooo many, and I'll post far more than I ought to here (my brother always suggests that I 'edit' more and only post the very best, but I can't choose! I want to show them all!) Yesterday was so clear and crisp and the views were amazing... and it was the perfect time to play around with all the different settings on my camera. (I was going to write a bit about the geology and history of Arthur's Seat, but instead you can just look at the pictures. If you're interested, I've included a few links at the end that share all you need to know about the dormant volcano in the middle of Edinburgh.)

On the way to Arthur's seat... 

...we passed under the most vibrant trees!

seriously charming trees...

 and we passed by your average 12th century abbey 

and Royal Palace... you know, just a normal day in Edinburgh.

Until we finally arrived at the foot of our destination! Arthur's Seat.

A quick stop before our climb ;)

and up we go!

It's steep and rocky!

and a little other worldly! (and I found an awesome "foliage" setting on my camera. I took about 15 pictures of these plants)

including several close ups...

others were inspired to paint lovely vistas

and we kept climbing up and up ("why'd you use the flash?")

until, we reached the top

we got a unique view of the castle

And Matt said, you go over there and I'll stay here and take your picture. So that's what we did. 

After the climb, I was warm enough to take off my jacket! And I sat there a bit, just hanging out with the birds.

...high above my city!

Then I said to Matt, You jump and I'll take some pictures where it looks like you are flying above the city. The first one turned out...OK

The second was a bit better...

But the third one... it was unbeatable! 

Then I started using the miniature setting and snapped this strange little gem

but it's hard to make that setting work when there are people in the shot.

So I went back to my regular setting. I think this should be Matt's new Facebook profile picture and I told him so.

I went up to two girls and said, would you mind taking a picture of us? And they didn't mind. 

Back to mini!!!

Oooh! Then I told Matt to put out his hand and make it seem like he was holding up the Castle. I wish I could make the Castle stand out more... (When am I going to learn Photoshop?!) But look at that fancy edge blur I did in iPhoto! 

Heading down. We saw the Palace from above.

And Matt helped me get through some muddy patches.

Then he said, let me have the camera, and I gave it to him, and he took this picture. And then he said, you should make this your next Facebook profile picture. And I just might.

Then I asked him to try to take a picture of the two of us. He took 3. This was the best one. 

See? It was such a fun day! I'm guessing that only blood relatives made it through all these pictures (and their incredibly exciting explanations). But, if you got this far through the post, you definitely earned those links I promised. So go here and here to read about all about Arthur's Seat.