Amsterdam Museums & Wilco Show!

Today was a ton of fun - I will not lie, weather makes a big difference while touring! We got up, walked around a bit and then hit the Rijksmuseum for a look at the Dutch masters - primarily Rembrandt. From there, the next stop was the Van Gogh Museum for a look at the most comprehensive collection of Van Gogh's work in one place. Both were fun and a nice contrast to one another.

We ate something here and there, and then went by the Paradiso, the venue hosting the Wilco show we came to Amsterdam (primarily) to see. We both love Wilco, as most everyone knows, and when we got to the venue, we decided to line up since we were ready for a rest anyhow. I went off and got some Falafel sandwiches to go, and we waited until the doors opened...and got front row center against the stage!! It was a standing show, as the band prefers, and so we were right there. Jill had a goal of getting an autographed setlist, and I wanted to meet the band - front row was a bonus. We did get some great shots, Jill especially (she is much smarter with a camera than I am...)

The show was great, and indeed, we did get a copy of the setlist. Outside after the show, there were a small group of people waiting so we joined them...mostly Americans. It paid off! We got to meet Jeff Tweedy, got autographs & photos to boot! He was so cool and quite sweet actually - very genuine. It's a risk, in my mind, to meet your heroes - they become real people and can be disappointing (can't we all?); but in this case, he was exactly as I'd hoped. He chatted us up, was interested and engaged, and seemed happy to be there, just like us :) It's rare you get to personally thank a musician for the art he makes - we took the opportunity!

















The museums; some shots around Amsterdam; and the Wilco show!

Edinburgh ---> Amsterdam!

We were definitely done with Edinburgh...it just wasn't as exciting as we'd hoped. That said, we agreed that it was a great starting off point: Slow, easy, and we could nap and adjust to the time change without feeling like we were missing critical sights/experiences. We certainly had fun - Glasgow, oddly enough, was the highlight from our perspective - and if we were to go again, we'd stay there for sure.

Our last day started out a little rough...I had a horrible cold and took Tylenol PM and set the alarm incorrectly. We woke up at 10:30 a.m. (!!!) and had to be out of our B&B ASAP. So, we missed our last big Scottish breakfast (which I never did get a photo of!) and had to throw all our stuff in our bags and basically get out of our room. Not a relaxing way to start the day, though we survived. Breakfast took the form of a good espresso and pastry at a nearby Italian place. Then we took a walk through the amazing Valvona & Crolla grocery, located in our neighborhood...and made a purchase or two. Finally, we walked down the pedestrian-friendly Rose Street before heading out of town.

Getting to Amsterdam was relatively uneventful. Both of us had before stayed at Mae's B&B, so we opted to go with the known quantity and stay there for the three nights we were to be in Amsterdam. First off - we both LOVE Amsterdam and were reminded of how much within the first evening. Perhaps it was the contrast to somewhat-stuffy Edinburgh, but we felt right at home. That, coupled with a far-improved weather scene, made our initial acclimation quite pleasant! We went out for a walk, grabbed dinner, and then headed for a coffeeshop visit and a walk through the red-light district (which, by the way, I found to be way safer feeling at night than on my last visit, when I wandered through during the day).























Jill saying farewell to the Scotty at our B&B, Lola; Our breakfast today - followed by a picture of a picture of what would have been our breakfast, had we been up on time; Foodie shots by Jenn (note the Mimolette!); Cold, brisk Edinburgh; A kid-friendly restaurant ;) ; Off to AMS; Dinner, coffeeshop, munchie...

Glasgow - Wow!

This morning, we headed out around 9:30 to catch a train to Glasgow. When we arrived at Waverly Train Station, we found that Prince Charles and Camilla were about to arrive. After grabbing out tickets, we checked the time for our train and boom! There were Charles & Camilla hopping off the Royal Train. They came around and chatted with a few people in the crowd and we were a stone's throw away. It was so random, but cool to see them live and in person!

Next up, we took the 50-minute train to Glasgow, arriving at the Queen Street Station. We weren't out of the train station 5 minutes when we were both like, "whoa! now this is a cool town!" and lamented not staying in Glasgow and day-tripping to Edinburgh. The energy, vibe and overall feeling of Glasgow is much more our speed. There were lots of different types of people, whereas Edinburgh felt much more homogeneous. Further, it is the financial capital of Scotland, so there were a lot of P.I.B.'s ("People-In-Black") - the stock exchange and major banks are headquartered there. What's funny is somehow we got it in our heads that Glasgow was a super-industrial, gritty, blue-collar town; boy, we were off-base on that - lots of interesting-looking people...as well as the 'pretty people.'

We started out by heading to The Lighthouse - a building designed by Charles Rennie Macintosh, who is kind of akin to Gaudi in Barcelona here in Glasgow. You can do a tour of just the houses, buildings and whatnot that he designed. We visited the Six Cities Design Festival exhibit in Glasgow, as well (housed at The Lighthouse), and then looked at some of the other exhibits. This venue also got me excited to go back to the Pompidou in Paris - Jill didn't make it there on her first trip to Paris, and the displays in Glasgow reminded me of a mini-Pomp. Lot's of modern, mixed media, 3-D art and design works.

From there we attempted to go to one of the main attractions - the Glasgow School of Art - designed and founded by C.R. Macintosh = but found them closed for 1 week for repairs :( So, we ate our Marks & Spencer grab-and-go lunch on the school's steps, and then went on to see a historical site: The Tentement House. This house was inhabited by a woman from 1911 - 1965, and then she was hospitalized for 10 years and the contents remained untouched. It wasn't a slum or anything like that - just a historical perspective on life through the two World Wars, and general lower-middle-class lifestyle of the time.

Glasgow offered up a really amazing Whiskey bar that was a destination - The Pot Still. Frank Murphy, our bartender, was well-versed in the 300+ whiskeys and based on Jill's love of Maker's Mark, and her dislike of super-peety flavors, he offered up 5 different whiskeys for her to smell, and from that she selected one. I also tried one that was a little sweeter (he helped me too, based on my overall dislike for whiskey, bourbon, scotch..) and after trying it, I wimped out and Jill had to finish mine too. She had hoped to try a second one from her lot...but, alas, after those two, (and the one that she sampled at a different pub) a good walk was in order. Frank was extremely helpful and better than any tour we could've gone on; further, the Secretary of the local Whiskey club had popped in to confirm this evening's tasting, so the three of them talked a lot about the process of making the different varieties of malt whiskey (what we call Scotch) in Scotland.

















Charles & Camilla, oh my!; Glasgow, way more colorful and fun to look at than Edinburgh! Shots of the whiskey bar experience, Jill being schooled by the bartender and the secretary of the local Whiskey Society who had popped in; condiment bowl for Julie :) ; a few shots from the Tenement House; various shots from the design-focused Lighthouse (including a Jill-self-portrait which she was quite pleased with); finally, a little graffiti...what a sad little sack!

Edinburgh - Art!

Did I mention yet that the weather here is shit? Well, let's just say Scotland is...COLD. Holy man, it has been really chilly! Either windy, rainy, or just plain chilly - or, at those special times, all three! We have wished for gloves more than once. Not to be like those silly people who come to Seattle and complain about rain in June...but, well, ok, I guess I am one of them.

Anyhow, today we walked to the city center and visited the National Gallery of Scotland. While it doesn't have tons of famous works, it does feature enough to wet your whistle for the National Gallery in London (can't wait!!! and Jill's never been, so it will be really exciting for her!) and also for The Orsay in Paris. It combined works by Raphael & Rembrandt to Monet & Degas (not adjacent to one another, of course...). Their special exhibit was of particular interest to Jill (who takes drawing classes), but ended up being fascinating to me too. It showed drawings that acted as studies for actual works in the museum = so you could see a sketch or drawing and below it, a recreation of the resulting work. It was so interesting to see the layers of work that went into these complex paintings, and the resulting changes that show up in the final work.

Next up we checked out the Six Cities Design Festival happening across Scotland over the past month. We saw a cool exhibit called "Living in Motion" that spoke to mobile living through the years, and how design advances have created vehicles and objects that have multiple uses or that take up small spaces. They also had a hands-on exhibit called "Claystation" where you were to create a building or something that signified what you would change about Edinburgh. We just opted to make little sculptures - Jill, a foot, to represent all the walking she's doing here - and me, well, I made a little mini-plate of Bangers and Mash (did you know I love food?). Though, Jill felt it looked a little like two pieces of poo -literally - but that plate took a long time! At one point, she said, "Making art is way more fun than looking at art..." and it was a nice change from being tourists and just looking at stuff - not to complain, part of what likely inspired us was having just seen a bunch of noteworthy art - but it is really fun to clear your mind by being creative.

We again...well, napped. I know, I know "don't do that" I know! But, we both set out to not only travel on this trip - but also have a bit of R&R. So, we relaxed and rested...and then headed out to a neighborhoody pub dinner, followed by a drink at the bar below one of the (gay) restaurants we'd been to on Saturday. At this point, we decided there are actually only about 20 lesbians in Edinburgh, and they travel in a pack nightly. :) And, for this past weekend, there were 22...

Steps Walked: 17,500











Arts & Crafts time with Jenn & Jill; Our Marks & Spencer lunch; a bag-piper making a living wage off of tourists; and a punchy little write-up as part of the "Living in Motion" exhibit under an Apple G4 Powerbook!