THE WHOLE TRIP - SCOTLAND

MY TRIP TO SCOTLAND - HOT.CAT

BEFORE DEPARTING I BEGAN THE LIVE DIARY (see the live diary)

THURSDAY, AUGUST 28TH 2003

GOODBYE TO GUCHITA

After a night I almost could not fall sleep (about 30 degrees!:
the worse summer of my life: even the blankets touch was unbearable!
I leave a lot of food to my cat. And a lot of water.
And a message in the answering machine with a very romantic
song from Blade Runner.
In this message I say that in order to get in touch with me
one just must visit my website.

LEAVE HOME TO PASSEIG DE GRACIA TRAIN STATION

I left home about 11 am and I missed a train to Girona so I went to
Conectate, a cybercafe near the Passeig de Gracia station where I wrote
in the live diary.

TRIP BY TRAIN FROM BARCELONA TO GIRONA

Finally I caught the train at about 13:20 and it costed me about 5 euros.
In the trip I remember a backpackers couple.
She had the face of an angel and she looked like an Indian.
When I saw that they began eating I also began eating.
In front of me there was a modern girl.
As I was approaching Girona the landscape was more green.
I remenber the castle in Hostalrich

VISIT TO OLD GIRONA (internet photos)

It was my first time in Girona and although I had heard
about its beauty I felt very impressed.
I went to the jewish quartier and IT WAS SO WONDERFUL!!
I walk through lonely silent narrow old slopy streets and
I remenber you could hear like soft bells in top of some wall
or who knows what. I was haunted!. I felt as if time did not exist.
In fact these jewish streets don't belong to our time.
It seemed to me a miracle to walk into the past.
I smelled fig trees from lonely walled gardens left out of
human touch. I passed the door of a convent.
I look through the windows of ruined houses.

When I left Girona I was afraid of finding places not
so impressive as Girona.

FLIGHT FROM GIRONA TO GLASGOW PRESTWICK AIRPORT

I took a bus to the airport and I waited
on the airport lounge.
Once in the plane I sat next to a window on the left
and very close to the pilot cabin.
I change the clock hour to an hour less.
I saw some thunder over the Pyrennees and I love
to see little yellow lights that came from villages.
I think I saw Tolouse and a road full of cars but
it was so far away.
I could not understand the steward as she spoke
English with such a scottish accent.
By the way the pilot seemed to be from Argentina
and he told us that we were flying via Dublin.
Most of the passengers were scottish ,some with babies.

SLEEP IN AIRPORT

When we left the plane (after 2 hours and a half) we
went just walking to the airport building with a pullover.
The woman at the information desk recommended me not
to go so late to Glasgow as I had no made any reservation.
Instead she told me that I could stay at the airport so that
I slept there about 5 hours with some other people nearby.
When the information desk opened again a younger woman was there
and I almost could not understand her english.
She gave me my free return ticket to Edinburg.

FRIDAY ,AUGUST 29TH 2003

BY TRAIN TO GLASGOW

Prestwick International Airport has a railway station next to it
(1 o 2 minutes walk!)
In the railway station there are windows from which you see
the see and an island quite far away!.
It looks very beatiful.
When I came to the wagon most of the people
were reading a newspapers and this gave a very good impression
to me.
We passed some villages next to the sea with lonely beaches.
We also passed some lakes and I remember some
remarkable buildings in Pasley.

VISIT TO GLASGOW (internet photos)

In less than an hour we reach Glasgow Central Station.
Business like people were having breakfast.
It was about 8 am and I just was in the very quiet streets
of Glasgow at this time.
After being a little lost I found a place to buy two cakes.
One with cream -a little bitter.
I went to the easy cibercafe, and I bought
some salmon at Sainsbury's.
Later I went to see the gothic Cathedral of Glasgow,
The Mungo Museum and the oldest house in Glasgow, Provand's Lordship:

The Mungo museums is about religion. The picture is from Dali.
It is a very big painting and I realized that it had been repaired.
It had been damage by a phanatical!

After the free visits I went to the center and I
ate some kind of sheep meat and I felt sorry for
the sheep.
Afterwards I bought a plug (europe to uk connect)
for 1.30 pound and I look for clothes and cover
for my barcelona bed.
I even tried on a nice jersey with zip but it was a small one.
I also was in a kind of Dia supermarket.

BY TRAIN TO EDINBURGH

I paid to go to the toilet 20 pence as it is usual here.
I was not so lucky as to have a seat with a table.
The views from Glasgow to Edinburgh were not significant

FASCINATION OF THE CITY OF EDINBURGH

I got marvelled by the city of Edinburgh.
A part from venice I had never seen such an impressive view.
I was in Princes Street near Balmoral Hotel
just looking through the valley to
the castle and the wonderful houses on the
top of the long mountain whre the royal mile is.
It is a tridimensional landscape.
I find very difficult to express
the beauty that the old buildings and
the way the intertwin with the mountain and walley
just created on my phantasy.

A part from visiting the tourist information center
- I did not were any guide - I went to the easy cibercafe.
IIt was very nice. ON the second floor the cafe
tables were on the middle and it looked so relaxing.

FASCINATION OF THE HOSTEL (edinburgh backpackers)

I had a hostel address from bug europa book and I called and
I went there.
The hostel I found is the most wonderful hostel I have ever
found. The people working there were so nice, so helpful.
The walls were all painted with figures and
there were a lot of stairs going up, going down, going up ...

The rooms were enormous with very hight ceiling and a lot of windows.
To me it seemed that some time in the past this had been a house,
a palace of rich people.
I don't know what else to say but I feel I was in an unique place.
I will find better places and worse but never never like this!
the tv room had a lot of sofas and a decadent atmosphere with a lot
of videos to choose from.
The Cave -with a web or something similar painted on the door -
was very intriguing. And there was also a jukebox.
I put a coin to listen Shine on Me Crazy Diamonds from
Pink Floyd
The room were I slept was quite big. There were 6 double beds and I slept at the top of one in the middle.
The shutters of the windows were wonderful.
When you opened them at daytime
they just adjusted into the sides so that you could not see them!
Never before had I seen something like that!!
By the way the door had a Taurus head and I took a photo some
days later but I did not
remember to rotate it.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30TH 2003

BREAKFAST WITH A VIEW

I had breakfast in the hostel.
The hostel had a big kitchen with a lot of fridges
and people had their own food.
Hot water was ready so I prepared myself a tea and I added
some milk I bought at the reception.

The room was big and decadent with windows and books
and a view of the Balmoral Hotel.
I left the hotel for some minutes just to take
some pictures with the digital camera and I put them
on the live diary.
On them you can see the monument to Walter Scott in
Princess Street:

WALK TO THE OLD TOWN

I think I went to Marks & Spencer and then I went to the Royal Mile
a medieval street that reminds me of las ramblas in Barcelona
just because is so touristic. It is full of old buildings and I went
into the hub, achurch with a very high dark spire.
On the left of the entrance,just inside there was a girl sitting
in a very strange place but I do not remember well.
It was like a little sofa with a sheet that went to the ceiling and
all quite dark.
My description maybe quite inaccurate but because of
the atmosphere or because she was very bentle, there was
a sense of mystery and what's more:
of reaching the heights of human wonder.
The church is in fact a place dedicated the whole year to
the Edinburgh International Festival
and here they gave me the tickets I had bought
through internet:

I remember the decoration was of vivid colours with a lot
of statues on the walls painted the same color of the wall.
I left the hub and I went next to the castle mountain just
next to some very black rocks that I left untouched although
I thought about having a piece as a souvenir.

GO TO A PLAY

In fact I went to see one play and one opera because it was the finale and it was 3.50 pouns each (5.25 euros)
So at 2 pm I was in Royal Lyceum Theatre to see Hamlet by Calixto Bieito ,the director of Romea in
Barcelona.
Here you can see some actors,the stage and the thater:

I just sat on a corner with a lot of space for my two bags
because I was always with my bags :-(

Here you have The Guardian Review

Here you have a note from barcelona metropolitan magazine
(as Hamlet comes to Barcelona ...)

GO TO THE NATIONAL GALLERY (about the paintings)

When Hamlet was finished I went to the national gallery.
I just high recomment to visit this site
where I found wonderful photos of Edinburgh and Iceland!:

(by the way in these two photos of above you can see
some interesting places.
In the first photo you have a view from Princes Street to
the houses of the royal mile. The back part! That is what
I found crazy!. The back side is the royal mile
is one of the most impressive views that I have had of a city.
On the left, still on the valley you can see a part of the
National Gallery.
Above you see the Bank of Scotland with its green "cupula".
This building made me crazy.
My first night was blue but after the fireworks it changed of colours!
Going to the right of the photo you can see the building with
towers I took a digital photo of.
And just on the left of the photo you can see the black tower
of the hub.
On the ohoto on the right you can see the castle and just the
houses that you see in the two photos below taking by me during
the fireworks.)

I took this photo from behind the National Gallery
(by the way the building of the National Gallery is Paternon like):

GO TO A OPERA (about the opera)

I also saw Rossini's Zelmira at 7 pm at
usher hall
a bigger place in Lothian road.
Here you can see some views from usher hall:

Here is where usher hall is located (the royal lyceum theater is very very close)

Here also a Guardian Reviewof this opera.

SEE FIREWORKS. END OF EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

As I left the opera I ran into a lot of people.
It was drizzing (?) but a lot of people were on the street like
in demonstrations in Barcelona.
The fireworks were splendid and I took these photos:

As I returned to the wonderful hostel I passed a long building with
very enormous panoramic windows with tables and people dancing.
Their feet were at the height of my eyes more or less and I had
never seen something similar here.
It would be as if one island of Passeig de Gracia had no
doors but wonderful gigantic windows but instead of having
things to sell, there were people there having fun with
yellow and green lights.
This night in contrast with yesterday I was the last
to go to sleep in my 12 bed room with boys and girls mixed.

SUNDAY ,AUGUST 31TH 2003

BUS TRIP TO INVERNESS (diary I wrote as I was on the bus)

VISIT TO INVERNESS (internet photos)

SLEEP IN INVERNESS (about the extraordinary things that happen to me there)

MONDAY ,SEPTEMBER 1ST 2003

WONDERFUL TRAIN TRIP FROM INVERNESS TO KYLE (the diary I wrote )

SHORT BUS TRIP TO EILEAN DONAN CASTLE

BUYING OF A CAMERA OF ONLY ONE USE IN THE SHOP

VISIT OF THE EILEAN DONAN CASTLE (what I saw)

WALK IN THE SURROUNDINGS (what I did) (photos I took)

SHORT BUS RETURN TO KYLE OF LOCHALSH (about the driver)

LEAVING OF LUGAGGE IN HOSTEL CUCHULAINN'S (about this hostel)