Friday Feb 15
Bangers and Mash Dinner
I emerged from my room to go over to Rebecca and Lorna's for a meal of bangers and mash (sausages and mashed potatoes). I had never eaten sausage before but the whole meal was very tasty and filling. It was a small crowd, just Rebecca, Lorna, Anna, Kennedy, Adrienne and I. I also got to meet Tim, Rebecca's boyfriend who was visiting. Lorna eventually left to pick up her grandparents at the airport, they were visiting for the weekend. They're all so lucky to be close enough to visit so easily! It was a nice night. We spent the night in just talking and hanging out. Rebecca and Tim also broke out a cheese platter and grapes. So classy!
Saturday Feb 16
A Beach and a Castle!
Today, Adrienne, Kennedy and I went to Ayr, a small town south of Glasgow. It's a coastal town and we heard of a castle nearby. So we took a 10:00am train from Glasgow Central and about an hour later we were in Ayr. Along the way we had passed the Glasgow Preswick airport and many green rolling hills dotted with sheep :) Ayr was an adorable historical town. We walked around a bit not knowing where to go first. We stumbled across the Tourist Information Center and decided to just accept we were out of our element! We really wanted to see the castle and we found out it was about a 45 minute bus ride out of Ayr. So there would be no walking there! So we grabbed a bus schedule as reference and decided to catch a glimpse of the ocean.
Along the way we took some pictures of some things of interest. We got really funny looks by all the passersby. Apparently they don't get a whole lot of tourist/art students with big bulky cameras. Ayr definitely seems like a small town where everyone knows everyone else. Ultimately, Adrienne and her iPhone saved the day once again! Fortunately, with her role as navigator we made it to the shoreline. We were all giddy, the ocean! I think we all could be happily referred to as beach bums. We took our time walking down the beach, just reveling in the sea air and the sound of the waves. We walked in the direction of some lovely cliffs we wanted to explore but we realized it was just too far to walk. Instead we decided to focus our immediate efforts in getting to Culzean Castle.
With Google Maps leading the way we made our 20 minute walk to the nearest bus stop on the appropriate route. It was a bit of a walk (after our one around town and the beach) but we also knew we'd be sitting on the bus for awhile so there would be time to rest. We found our stop and we waited for the bus. 15 minutes after it's due time it decided to show up (reminds me of Philly buses!). Glasgow buses cost £1.85 for a flat-rate anywhere in the city. So we expected it to be under £2, I personally though it would be like £1.50 figuring it was a small town, not big city Glasgow. Instead we get on the bus and are told it's £3.40 to our stop! Very unexpected, so we found ourselves scrambling for change. We got it worked out and made our way to some seats.
We got dropped off at our stop and it was a 15 minute walk up the castle grounds itself. Lots of walking! But it would prove worth it! We were in awe at the first part we saw which turned out to only be the visitor center! It looked like an old mission building of some sort. After admiring the view of the ocean, and appreciating how much ground we covered on the bus we walked to the castle itself. It was beautiful. There was a castle, a clock tower, garden and greenhouse. Unfortunately we weren't allowed inside the castle but there was plenty to see from the outside. There was also a sign for a swan lake and the Eisenhower Apartments which we never quite found. Apparently, the Eisenhower Apartment was given to Dwight D. Eisenhower in recognition of his role of Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces during WWII. Very cool! After taking our leisurely walk around the castle grounds we started to make our way back to Ayr via bus. Next, we needed to find some food!
The Visitor Center
The Castle
View from the Castle Wall
(we were looking at the same peninsula from the beach in Ayr....the other side. It would have been a LONG walk!)
The Clocktower
The Gardens
For dinner we chose this nice historical tavern in Ayr called, "Tam O'Shanter". It's actually the restaurant of an inn that was established in 1749. A nice little place, though they warned us they were out of a couple things on the menu. So Adrienne ordered the Haggis & Chicken Pie and Kennedy ordered a Shrimp & Mushroom Pasta. I ordered the Lasagna, but when they told me they were out I chose my more adventurous choice, the Cajun Chicken Crepe. Adrienne & Kennedy got tomato soup to start and generously shared the accompanying bread with me, we were all so hungry! We hadn't gotten lunch and we'd been walking all day. I don't even like tomato soup but after trying a sip of Adrienne's I could agree with them both that it was the best tomato soup any of us had ever tasted. Our food came and it was all so delicious! My crepe was fantastic, though I had to get used to the spiciness. Throughout our meal, the elderly man at the next table would talk to us occasionally. He realized we weren't Scottish and asked where we were from. He was very difficult to understand due to his accent, but we had also seen him have a few drinks. It was a bit awkward. A waiter helped him out of the restaurant, I believe partly because of his age and also his current drunken state. It was certainly an experience encountering him!
After an overall enjoyable meal, we sat talking as Adrienne and Kennedy sipped their beers. Around us, employees of the restaurant were putting the chairs on tables and cleaning the place up for the night. It couldn't have been later than 6pm but we could take a hint. It's always a bit tricky figuring out how to pay here so we made our way to the front of the restaurant. The bill was already printed so there would be no paying separately by card. Since I just got water to drink I didn't meet the £10 minimum for paying by card. So after a bit of fumbling, we all managed to pay with cash for our items on the bill. Our waitress had been pleasant all night but now she had an attitude. We're not sure if she was frustrated with our fumbling to pay the bill or the fact we were the last ones to leave the restaurant. Oh well! Can't worry about it now, but it was a shame to end of a foul note after such a great experience there.
We made our way back to the train station, our train was at the platform about 15 minutes early so we just got on and made ourselves comfortable. We had the train car to ourselves and we were ready to get some sleep. After a glorious 5 mins of silence, a group of 20/30 year-olds came on the train with bottles and bottles of booze. Very bizarre, nothing like that happens at home or is "allowed" to happen at home. But they didn't even hide it when the guy came to check tickets. I guess that's allowed here? I think we all managed to doze despite the noise, we were THAT tired.
Walking home on Sauchiehall Street, we heard something I found really encouraging. I could hear a man speaking on a mic and I was worried about what he could be saying. We walked closer and I saw a sign that read something like "Jesus Christ is Lord", sadly this, even as a Christian, sparked fear in me. Too often these "street preachers" stand on their soapboxes and preach only fire and brimstone and all the audience burning in hell as sinners. That kind of preaching gives Christians a bad name. That's what I expected so I braced myself. However this guy was preaching grace that he himself needed and received and was explaining how that forgiveness he received was due to Christ's sacrifice. It was encouraging that someone was telling the true story, hell is in the scripture but it certainly isn't the focus of the scripture. I'm so grateful for this man and I walked home with a smile on my face.
No comments:
Post a Comment