The Ancestral Homeland

I tried writing this one a few times and just ended up deleting large sections of jokes about barf on the sidewalks (for those of you who don't know, the Scottish often like to drink until they vomit on the streets). Since I did not want to revert to bodily fluid jokes, it has taken me a little while longer to come up with something to write about Scotland and Edinburgh.

Lambs? They are much nicer than barf, but we drove past them so fast on the train that we could not stop to hug them.
Kilts? We saw a few, but we were turned off by the "Braveheart" street performer who insisted on showing off his junk to the tourists.
Trainspotting? We did not see Renton, Spud or Sick Boy, but I did see some guy who looked like Begbie and I crossed the street.

I was actually more than impressed by Edinburgh, or should I say, Eddy. It was much older than I though it was going to be. Really old. It's given me a better appreciation of the history of the UK in general. I kind of picture Manny as nothing more than a farm back when Eddy was one of the great capitals of Europe. You can feel that it was quite an important city at one time. Now....maybe a little touristy in parts (especially the shops) but really nice to stroll and just stare at the buildings and easily imagine the past.

We were supposed to head to Glasgow and visit my old friend Bryan from high school, but it fell through so it was only a one-stop trip north. Again, such an easy train ride to Edinburgh. I am really, really going to get used to travelling like this. We live about five minutes from the main train station too. Get on it Harper. What ever happened to the idea of Cascadia Obama?

On a very off topic note---one of the most enjoyable and funniest movies I have seen in years deals with travelling north. It's a French movie called Bienvienue chez les Ch'tis, or Welcome to the Sticks. If you can find it at the video store or borrow it from one of your ten-thousand Swedish friends, do so. Also, Waltz with Bashir--which we also watched recently--blew our minds.

Back to the Scotland. We stayed in Eddy with Martin and Heidi, who we met at the beer hall in Salzburg (see previous Canadian Mancunian issues). They are studying at the university and graciously invited us to join them for the weekend. They had a fantastic place just off South Bridge, almost right in the middle of town. It was great. We arrived and they took us on a tour of the city.

This is Greyfriars Bobby. Bobby's owner died and the dog came to his grave everyday for 14 years. That's commitment. I was quite sad there was no stories of Scottish cats with the same type of dedication and heroism. Maybe there will be in Ireland?

We went down the hill to Grassmarket and had a bite to eat at a pub. I have no pictures, but it was a really cool, old-school pub. Heather, Heidi, and Martin had the Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties. I did not. I should have. Haggis is really good!! Really! I think it would have been better with some gravy all over it. I just didn't think about what I was eating and concentrated on the taste. It was really, really good. I can't imagine I would ever eat it canned and not fresh, but it's really nothing to be scared of. Trust me too, I was scared. I didn't like the neeps though. I got a yummy meat pie. It had a mile high puff pastry top on it. Sooooo buttery and good.

With bellies full we walked up to Edinburgh Castle, down the Royal Mile, and over to New Town. I'm kind of bummed that I found out too late and didn't get to see it, but my Mom told me that my great uncle's name is on the WW1 memorial at the castle.

New town was built in the early 1800s, I think. I just really enjoyed calling a section of a city that is older than my country's government 'new town'. It was built because of the population and filth that had encompassed the old town (within the city/castle walls). The old town is maybe a square mile and in the 1800s it had 57,000 people living there. And Vancouver thinks it has an inflated market.

We stopped for a few pints at cool new town pub (I had a really nice Scotch--MmMMM) and just continued walking around the rest of the day looking at the royal residence, new Scottish Parliament and Arthur's Seat.

We had a really nice dinner of Indian tapas....what a great idea--Indian Tapas!

The next day, we went out for a fine Scottish breakfast of Porridge!! Gross, right? Nope--foiled again. It wasn't my favorite thing, but I think that is because Heather ate all of the Cinnamon, bananas, and honey off the top and I just had straight porridge. My Scottish smoked salmon and cream cheese was good too!

We ended up walking around the Greyfriars graveyard (where the dog is buried). It was really creepy and fun. The graves ranged from 1550 to 1830'ish.

Later on in the day we met up with Heidi and went on an underground history tour of the vaults of Edinburgh. It was mostly worth it. The vaults were really creepy and stinky with a good tour guide, but it wasn't that long or extensive. The tour guide did have a really thick accent and I very much enjoyed everytime she said, "The people had no money and were very puuuuuuurrrrrr".

These are the vaults that were built inside the South Bridge. They were originally used for storage, then as apartments. No thanks--I'll choose new town.

I really liked all of the chimneys around too. There are soooo many of them popping out of everything!

We had dinner at the pub in the university and played the quiz night with Heidi's friend and fellow canuck. We got fourth, but didn't cheat. Youth today, with all those smart phones---Right, I'm sure you knew the Tim Burton movie that stars Helena Bonham Carter as the title character. Sure you did. Stupid iphones. Anyway, it was quite fun and we won a package of candy.

On the way to the train station the next morning we just happened upon the wickedest store in all of the UK...Walker Slater. Seriously--my new favorite store in the entire world. I could have dropped so much money there and ended up with a full tweed and wool wardrobe. I ended up only getting a pair of tweed pants, angora scarf, and wool socks. Getting prepped for next winter!! Oh yeah, my pants were 65 pounds off--that's like 106 bucks off! Ha!

Anyway, it was another great time in a really cool city with nice people. When are we going to have a bad time? If we keep it up though, we are going to end up puuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrr.

Blast-er from the Past-er

One of the worst jobs I could imagine--tanning leather in Morocco. Either that, or handing out Lyca Phone Cards in Manny.

Mallorqui Cats!

Oh no--last ones! I better get it together.....

Paul up top, Marion on the bottom.

Off to nowhere next weekend! Yayyy! I might try and go golfing if the weather holds.

Later peeps,

CC

I Didn't See Will and Kate, But Still Not A Disapointment

Heather and I love NYC and have held it in stratospherical regard since last year. Well, welcome to second place New York. London takes the cake (and the eccles too). Not only is London full of amazement and charisma, but it is easy. We just walked from neighborhood to neighborhood....oh, there is the British Museum....oh, there is an entire street of guitar shops....oh, there is St. Paul's Cathedral....oh, oh, oh! Was it my own ignorance that I didn't know so much awesomeness could be contained in a city?

We took the train down from Manny and were in central London within two hours. Two Freakin Hours! Soooooo easy and pretty cheap too. It cost us 50 pounds each return (around $80). Part of the problem with a city so big is remembering all of the different neighborhood names. We stayed with Sarah and Ralph, friends from SFU who are studying and working in London for the year too. I'm not sure where they lived, but we walked there from King's Cross Station and it close. Russell Square? Anyway, it was awesome. We arrived and went out for a pint before dinner in Soho--my favorite.

Thanks to Kim Duff (all hail the mighty Duff) who supplied us not only with wicked restaurant intel, but with a 50 pound off coupon (that's right--50 pounds!). The restaurant was called Sketch (click for the link) and it was really deluxe. Heather and I were saying that it's just the type of restaurant that you would think is in London. The walls were all projected animations that change monthly.

The mains were good, the starters even better (the best risotto I have ever had), but the real stars were the bathrooms. I wish I had more pictures. You leave the main dining room, then walk up a double stairway--the men's are illuminated in blue, the ladies in pink (lame)--and they are all individual egg-pods with toilets in them. They each have their own personality too. The one I went in cheered when I flushed and the one Heather went in had airline announcements playing and shuttered a little with turbulence.

Again, thanks to Duff, the bill was quite reasonable. We headed off and walked back to Sarah and Ralph's place for a nightcap and good night's sleep.

The next day Sarah and Ralph played tour guides and took us to see the major sights of the Southbank. My stupid photos are out of order (aaahhhh blogstrations--I forgot how much I missed loathe you) so I will just have to list them. 

The Gerkin--I don't know what the real name is, but it's is the coolest skyscraper I have ever seen.

Heather and Tower Bridge. It was really strange to see these iconic places in real life. I've been to 'famous' places before, but these are ultra-familiar......maybe it's because of the colonialism. Maybe it's just because I watched the new Sherlock Holmes two weeks ago too. Jude Law was quite enjoyable as Watson.

St. Paul's Cathedral--We didn't go in. Didn't even stop. This was from the bus. Same as Heather and Tower Bridge. She just jumped out really quick. Unfortunately, she didn't make it back on the bus in time and we are looking for her. Heather: If you see this blog--please call me!

Some apartments that I would really like to live in. I think Madonna lives here. They back the Thames and are the old shipping/storage warehouses. Some are called things like 'rice house' or 'java house'. They even kept all the old bridges and trusses. They now have tables and are the balconies for the apartments.

A crazy sculpture that will give me nightmares. It's a steam engine sailboat with spears for sails.

We stopped to explore this market that Sarah had been meaning to go to called Borough Market. A very good stop. It has been going on since the 13th century and it was delicious. There was food everywhere!!! Cheese, meats, pastries from everywhere in Europe and North Africa. It was soooo good. Heather and Sarah got some Thai green curry that was cooked on this giant paella-like shield. They even had a wall of fresh, dead rabbits. I didn't buy one.

Chowin' Down'

Heather and the Globe Theater. Not the original that Willy played in, but re-created in the same location and to the original specs. It might also be titled "Heather and The Super Soft Ice Cream Truck."

 

The eye! The eye! We didn't ride it this time, but might when we go back in 30 years.

So cool. I mean me, not Big Ben and Parliament. My future is so bright, I gotta wear shades....even when it is completely overcast and grey. Hey, the sun never sets on cool right? Ok...that's enough. I'm a dork.

I wonder how much all that gold is worth now?

Tube Time. They go down a lot further than I imagined they would. The escalators always reminded me of scenes from American Werewolf in London. We did not see any werewolves. I did see at least two Americans though. They were loud.

It was really great for Sarah and Ralph to take us out and show us the town. We later had some pints at the Lamb (not the Lamb and something, just the Lamb. Wicked) and questioned if we walked too much in the day.

The next day we left to a hotel for one night and then headed out to meet our friend Nick from Kelowna, who just happened to be in London on business for a couple of days! We went over to East London for Brick Lane and Spitlefields Market. We met up with Nick, his sister Rachel and friend Matt. Unfortunately, this is the only picture we have of them. Yes......they are our friends, not just Londoners on the street.

We went with Nick, Matt, and Rachel to have some pints at the Ten Bells, a super cool pub with a dark history. The last victim of Jack the Ripper worked at the Ten Bells and they think he drank there too. We split with the gang and headed off on our own stopping at Covent Gardens (boooooo! Waste of time) and Picadilly Gardens.

We went to a restaurant called the Saltyard for dinner. Again, super delicious. We made reservations for 9:00 being cosmopolitan. We showed up at the restaurant at 7:30 famished and begging to get in. They took pity on our small-town stomachs and sat us in the chef's table! It was spanish tapas done very, very well. MMMMMMMMM.

We stayed at the Marble Arch Mariott in London. It is a crap building, but the rooms were nice. It would be a lot better in the summer because of it's proximity to Hyde Park. We woke up and it was pouring, so we went for a nice Lebanese breakfast and waited it out. It passed and we hit the park!

And rented bikes!! We had them for an hour. 2 pounds each. Sweet!

 

The original Speaker's Corner is in the park--not from Muchmusic--it was given to the commoners as a place where they could speak out about anything without reprisal. It was Sunday morning and just after the Japanese earthquake, so there was a whole lot of Apocalyptic smattering.

The park was really nice. There were a number of football games going on and it was very 'used,' which is nice. I made a video of it and should have it in the future.

What can I say? Loved, loved, loved, London. I would go back in a second.

Blast-er from the Past-er

From the land of floatistan where I built the biggest driftwood fire ever seen. Looks like the eye of Sauron!

Mallorqui Cats!

Is it rude to call this guy Adolf? I think so. Let's say Chaplin then.

Off to my ancestral land of Scots this weekend! Later!! CC

A Weekend in Manny

Back to the grindstone, getting these posts done every Monday morning. I received quite a few dissapointed emails on Monday when there was no blog to start the week off. My apologies it took so long. There are only so many hours of free Internet the library Gods giveth.

Heather came back from NYC on Wednesday with tales of great adventure and culinary delights. She had a good conference and met some nice colleagues. The jetlag wasn't too bad, but she certainly had many hours of REM-time sleep. I just dreamt about olives.

The first bit below is actually old. This is a video I made wayyyyy back in January on a bus ride through our old 'hood of Chorlton. It's not the most exciting, but I added a good song and it gives a nice view of where we were living (and it was sunny!).

We had a nice weekend just hanging around Manny. Both of us found it strange how it feels like our home now. When we returned from our journeys last week we felt a sense of relief being back in our space and around our tiny furniture, which isn't actually ours. We also decided this weekend to do no errands or shopping. Fantastic!

We started off on Saturday by hitting the Nexus Art Cafe for a quick sandwich. Delicious and cheap. Heather's was quite a bit better than mine (cranberry, bacon, and brie vs. feta, olives, spinach, and hummus) but it was nice space. They are open on the weekends from 11pm til 6am---what would the Lords of Vancouver licencing think of that? The horror.

I think this is the back end of city hall. Heather liked the bridge.

We walked over to the Museum of Science and Technology (MOSI) in Castlefield. It, like the Art Gallery, cost quite a bit to get in (free!!). It is a large museum covering five old warehouses. Overall, I enjoyed it, but there were a number of exhibits that were 'kid' only---and there were a lot of kids there. But, if you weaved your way through the bunch you got a real sense of the history of Manny. That history is, of course, that it was dirty. One display had a quote from some visitor to Manchester at the start of the 19th century. It said, "Manchester excels at filthiness."

The MOSI sure lets you imagine how dirty it was- the one exhibit we particularly liked was the re-constructed turn of the century sewer system.

They even had rat actors!

There was also a room of looms with still functioning machines. They turned them on and told really horrible stories of children, as young as five, getting sucked into the rafters and losing limbs and getting half of their scalps ripped off. Thank goodness for the Royal Commission enacting the 'No Under Nine' Act of 1833.

I asked one of the staff how they felt about working in a place surrounded by such a grim history. She didn't reply to me. Must be hard on them.

Here is one of the looms.  I think it was making ManU and Chelsea scarves.

I enjoyed the gigantic engines too. There was a whole room of them pumping away.

Afterwards we went for a pint at The Britons Protection, a fantastic old-school pub. It felt like we were just having a drink in our living room (except with a fireplace). Very cosy.

On Sunday we took the bus out to the New Smithfield Market. It's the wholesale warehouse for all of the fresh produce, fish, and meat for the restaurants in the city. On Sundays they have a big 'car boot' sale where everyone brings their crap and tries to pawn it off on the unknowing. We thought it would be fun, but little did we know just how enjoyable it would be.

The 'car boot' sale was lame. It was professional 'junkers' selling junk. I did see a cool beer mirror that I wanted, but I would be sad that I couldn't transport it back to Canada so I didn't buy it. If you were in the market for jogging pants though, it was the place for you! All of the produce stalls were closed down and taken over by more junk sellers---old vacuums, mobile cases, eyeglasses--all crap.

We walked through the whole thing, then heard this guy yelling and a bunch of people gathered around a big truck. It was like a mini semi-truck that was open on the side and it was full of meat. This guy had a microphone and was yelling out and grabbing blocks of meat like there was no tomorrow. It was a meat auction!!!!

We watched for a bit while they sold four legs of lamb for a 10'er and a bunch of lamb chops for a 5'er, then got in the fray for some peppered steaks. The video isn't that great, but man was it ever fun and did we get a deal! All that for a 10 pounds! Was he born to be an auctioneer with a name like Tony Mallet?

We walked around the market a bit more and just couldn't help but go back to the meat man. We went back for chicken and ended up with 24 top sirloin steaks for a 20'er. It's really good meat too! We ended up with 36 steaks for 30 pounds.

Soooo much fun. I want to go back and get more meat, but now we are set for the next four months. If anyone wants to come over for a steak, you are invited!!

We ended the weekend with a yummy Japanese dinner out with our friend Felicia. Our number one missed luxury about Vancouver is Japanese food and sushi. No doubt.

Blast-er from the Past-er

A big hole. Hey, who doesn't love asbestos?

Mallorqui Cats!

Yes, still no new Manny cats, but these beauties should suffice.

I'll call her Sleeping Beauty.

Hmmmm....Maybe Jungle Jim? Yup.

Off to London this weekend. Sooooo excited! Later!
CC