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.

Autumn!

Autumn is in full swing here in Edinburgh. The air is crisp, and the days are getting shorter. The change in seasons, both dramatic and subtle, is fascinating to me.  In Los Angeles, autumn comes and goes without much notice. 

So here are a few pictures of the seasonal cheer. This first one is from the shop at the Royal Botanical Gardens. They have a whole corner dedicated to wreaths, garland and ornaments made from dried fruits and spices. It smelled heavenly.

Here's a close up- If I had loads of disposable income, I'd buy enough to deck the whole house out with citrusy-cinnamon goodness, but I've had to significantly cut my 2012 garland budget to accommodate the financial strain of moving overseas. I thought I'd try to make it, but I am afraid I would just end up with several dozen half rotten oranges on a string... Maybe I'll go back to the Royal Botanical Garden's shop and buy a mini ornament or something, so I can enjoy the smell without the hefty price tag! 

Outside, the leaves on the trees have all started to change into shades of yellow and fiery orange...

and then fall, leaving the branches sparse. I imagine, in a few weeks, they'll be naked.

It is perfect soup weather. I enjoyed this delicious bowl of vegetarian Harira soup from Ecos, a little Moroccan cafe down the street from my flat. The combination of tomato, cinnamon, lemon and chickpeas makes for a very hearty and satisfying autumn meal.

And, of course, it is the season for apples! A couple of gal pals and I went to an apple festival last weekend. I was picturing apple crafts and apple cider, apples in pies and covered in caramel, apples in buckets for kids of bob for... you know, a proper celebration of the crisp sweet fruit we all love! Instead, there were two plastic tables, one with a variety of apples displayed with tags telling names and origins, the other table had a few paper plates of sliced apples to sample. It was fairly underwhelming, but also very sweet. And the older ladies that tended the tables know their apples! I think my friends and I all liked the Golden Pippin best. Not only does it have the cutest name, it was also the smallest and the crispiest of the bunch.

And as a autumnal treat for the boys, I got them a toy turkey. It makes gobbling sounds whenever it is touched, which is quite entertaining for them when they are swatting at it, but can startle the pants off of you when you accidentally lay down on it ;)

Truth be told, this toy is not intended for autumn... it is a Christmas toy. I guess turkeys are a 'symbol' for Christmas here in the same way they are for Thanksgiving in the US. But, since our kitties are still quite American, I thought they ought to get their turkey early.

Autumn also means Halloween, but that will get a post of its own (since I believe Edinburgh is the most Halloweenie place I've ever been! I mean, it can feel spooky here in the middle of June, so I can't wait until Samhaim!) but there are also other holidays and festivals that mark the season. Last night, Matthew and I were snug in our flat and heard a series of loud booms! From outside our window, we saw this happening on top of Calton Hill-

The burning the effigies of demons on top of Calton Hill, Dushurra festival 

It was the burning of effigies for the Indian Dushurra Festival. It was amazing! What is it about burning things in the night on top a hill that is so exciting?! The effigies didn't make the loud booming noises though, that was the accompanying fire works display. I tried to record a bit from our bedroom window...

So, I'd say that autumn is off to a great start! I hope you are all enjoying the season as well!

Inspired living

Fun in the Firth of Forth

Yesterday, we ventured out on to the Firth of Forth, to see, among other things, the engineering marvel that is the Forth Rail Bridge. Built in the 1880, this bridge is one of the longest and oldest of its kind, and is the first major use of steel in the UK. It is also bright red, and coming from Northern California, I have an affinity for red bridges!

This proves that we were, indeed there...

And this shows, that we did not just admire it from the shore, but we sailed under it...

This bridge is for trains only...

So, in the 1960s they built the Forth Road Bridge. It is not bright red...

The two bridges are quite near one another.

But we didn't just sail around to see bridges, we were heading to an island...

At first, I thought it was this one, but we sailed right on by it.

And instead we sailed to this one. The island of Inchcolm, which, in this photo doesn't look like much, but is brimming with historical significance- from the ancient times, to the middle ages, to the Renaissance, to World War II...

Mostly due to this structure:

In case you don't want to follow the link, but you still want to know about the Abbey:

"Inchcolm Abbey was founded in the 12th century during the episcopate of Gregoir, Bishop of Dunkeld. Later tradition placed it back in the reign of King Alexander I of Scotland (1107–24), who probably had some involvement in the island. He was apparently washed ashore there after a shipwreck in 1123, and took shelter in a hermit's hovel. The Abbey was first used as a priory by Augustinian canons regular, becoming a full abbey in 1235. The island was attacked by the English from 1296 onwards, and the Abbey was abandoned after the Scottish Reformation in 1560. 

Inchcolm Abbey has the most complete surviving remains of any Scottish monastic house. The cloisters, chapter house, warming house, and refectory are all complete, and most of the remaining claustral buildings survive in a largely complete state. The least well-preserved part of the complex is the monastic church. The ruins are cared for by Historic Scotland."

We explored the Abbey thoroughly. Crouching to pass under arches and doorways,

Peaking through windows-

Or down into holes.

Posing for pictures together,

and alone.

We watched this handsome guy play in the waves-

And we peaked through nooks and crannies.

We climbed spiral stairs,

And took in the views-

 We thought about all that went on within these walls so many years ago-

And read the messages those people left behind. In the Warming House there are three legible sentences on the wall, written in Latin. They state:
It is foolish to fear what cannot be avoided.
The safest thing to fear is nothing but God.
Conscience overcomes whatever evil the tongue has composed.

We saw where the monks took their meals in silence.

We admired parts the parts of the Abbey that did not stay intact.

And dreamed about taking it on as a little fixer upper...

We walked over Holy ground,

And then decided to get high-

By climbing to the top of the tower.

 Where there were lovely views,

But it was quite windy...

The stairs were s-t-e-e-p.

and narrow.

We got back down to ground level.

And maybe went underground for a bit-

We explored the rest of the island, gathering feathers and looking for machine guns.

Matt wanted to go down there. Where it was steep, muddy and full of brambles. He did,

I didn't. I took pictures of autumnal island plants instead.

Matt found a bunker. Or some other war-related structure. Behind him is the city of Edinburgh. Our city.

We walked on the beach,

looking for shells and washed-ashore treasures (which we did not find, however, there are an alarming number of sunken sea vessels surrounding this island, one of which is the Cunard cruise liner,  RMS Campania so perhaps it is worth another look!)

It was a lovely day. A day of fun and exploration, climbing and tunneling, and history of long ago...and not so long ago.