Oxford

From the Castle, a day trip to Oxford is pretty simple: take the train to London, then hop on a bus to Oxford. Despite having had no problems taking the train to London several times before, we managed to end up in Brighton. Actually, when the train stopped we had no idea where we were. Yes, we went South-West instead of going North. Yes, we got lost in England. But, thanks to the great train system here, we were able to hop on a train up to London and make it without having our tickets checked. There was another slight hiccup when we tried to get on the wrong bus, but eventually we did get to Oxford. In the end, it was well worth the trouble. Oxford is a great little city and we had a really nice day wandering around, seeing some of the university, and stopping in at historic pubs and cafes. Highlights:

Outside Christ Church College, Oxford University

Bikes on a building 

Queen's Lane Coffee House

Playing accordion on the bridge

Versailles

Seeing Versailles was one of the best parts of this trip. Gold and marble are everywhere, and huge paintings and murals cover the walls inside. Every aspect of the palace, from the interior rooms to the vast grounds, was designed to display Louis XIV's wealth. It is the epitome of luxury. 

Bust of Louis XIV, sculpted by Bernini

Hall of Mirrors

Inside Louis XIV's bed chamber

Restoring paintings on the palace ceiling

View of the palace from the gardens

Le Gai Paris

Paris along the Seine

Cleaning the glass pyramid at the Louvre

Inside Shakespeare & Co., the hub of English literary modernism in the early 20th century

Statue silhouetted against stained glass in Notre Dame Cathedral

Gothic arches in Notre Dame Cathedral

Eiffel Tower in the rain

Ceiling of the Grand Foyer inside l'Opéra

Inside l'Opéra

Paris at twilight, seen from Montmartre 

Brussels: Moules Frites and Manneken Pis

After Bruges, it was on to Brussels for a night and a day. Despite having very little time in the city, I managed to get in all of the important things: a dinner of moules frites (mussels and fries), Belgian chocolate, and waffles. Oh, and I saw Manneken Pis. Twice. Manneken Pis is a hilarious fountain based on a small boy peeing. Apparently, Manneken Pis has over 800 different outfits. I was lucky enough to catch him both in the nude and dressed in what resembled a boy scout uniform. 

Waffles 

Assorted biscuits

Manneken Pis

Apart from food and statues of small boys urinating, I did get to see a good chunk of Brussels. We did yet another self-guided walking tour (thanks, Frommer's). The tour took us through a few old squares, into several churches, and even to a flea market. 

Dare to Dream

Apse at Notre-Dame-du-Sablon Church

View over Brussels from the Palais de Justice

Lots of chairs near the flea market at place du Jeu-de-Balle

Exterior of Notre-Dame-de-la-Chapelle Church

Despite constant warnings that we were likely to get robbed outside our hotel, Brussels turned out to be a very nice city. A bit of wandering around and lots of delicious food made for a great two days in Belgium. 

In Bruges

The Castle's midterm trip started off with a few hours in Bruges. In case you haven't seen the film In Bruges, this is a Flemish city in Belgium. The whole city centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's basically a lot of really pretty old buildings built along canals and around central squares. Highlights:

Alms house established in 1713

Buildings along a canal

Buildings and trees along a canal 

More buildings along another canal

Hittin' up the Highlands

We spent a day touring the highlands and the scenery was absolutely stunning. It doesn't take long to get out of Glasgow and enter the countryside. Our first stop was Loch Lomond. I can only describe the landscape of the Loch as dramatic - the sun was still rising, the sky was absolutely clear, and snow-capped mountains towered all around us.

View of Loch Lomond

Pipes bringing water down from a mountain Loch near Loch Lomond

From Loch Lomond, we continued through more mountains. Obviously, the term "highlands" suggests some mountains, but we were blown away by how many there were. But apart from the mountains, we also passed a bed & breakfast run by actor Ewan McGregor's parents and an area where the Harry Potter film Prisoner of Azkaban was shot. (Almost everywhere I have visited in the UK has some kind of claim to the Harry Potter franchise.)

Mountains

Of course, we also stopped at Loch Ness. We had a quick look at the ruins of a castle on the banks of the Loch, and then had a cup of tea with Nessie. After that it was a quick drive through Inverness, the capital of the Highlands, and a short stop in the Victorian resort town Pitlochry. 

Ruins of Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness

Throughout the highlands we saw lots of sheep and a fair number of highland cattle. I didn't manage to get a photo of any of them, but I highly recommend giving them a google. As Kelsey wisely pointed out, the cattle have the same haircut as Justin Bieber.

Going Glasgow

I've spent the last few days with Meghan and Kelsey traveling around Scotland. After an overnight bus ride from London, we started our trip off in Glasgow. Unwilling to let lack of sleep get in our way (and unable to check in to our guesthouse), we set off on a self-guided walking tour of the West End.


Our tour took us to Kelvingrove Park and through some residential neighbourhoods, before coming out into the student district around the University of Glasgow. Most of the West End, or New Town, was built in the mid-19th century. There are rows and rows of old townhouses, many of which overlook the rest of Glasgow. 

West End townhouses

We spent some time walking around the university area and stopped in for a traditional Scottish lunch of pie, beans, and chips. We visited the Hunterian Art Gallery and had our first introduction to the Scottish Colourists, whose paintings were definitely influenced by the French Impressionism we've been studying this term. Our other cultural stop of the day was the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. We saw some paintings by French, Dutch, and Italian artists, as well as some more Scottish art. But the highlight at the Kelvingrove was definitely the Floating Heads installation. Suspended from the ceiling in the centre of the building are dozens of heads making a whole range of crazy expressions - very cool.

Sophy Cave's Floating Heads in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Apart from museums and townhouses, the West End has lots of cafes, pubs, and vintage shops. By the time we had explored this area, it was time to head back to the guesthouse to check in and take a nap. But before we could do that we had a CELEBRITY SIGHTING! Crispin Glover (creepy thin man in the Charlie's Angels remakes) asked us for directions. The conversation went more or less like this:

Crispin: Are you from here?

Kelsey: No... Are you Crispin Glover?

Crispin: Yes. I'm trying to get to the CCA. Do you know where that is?

Kelsey: We're going to Mclays Guesthouse!

Okay, I took some artistic license with the retelling, but that conveys the general gist. And then Crispin got a bit creeped out (despite the fact that he is pretty creepy himself) and power-walked away from us.

Side wall of a restaurant on Sauchiehall Street

Pub in the West End

Post-nap, we decided to check out the city centre. There are some nice pedestrian boulevards lined with shops and pubs. We wandered down the streets and stopped for dinner at a fish & chips shop called Chippy's Doon the Lane. It was just down the lane. 

Lights covering a street in Merchant City in the city centre

Overall, Glasgow is a great city. There are nice buildings all over the place, and a ton of great museums (most of which are free!). It's relatively small and easy to walk around, but there is definitely lots to do. I didn't really have any expectations before visiting the city and I was very pleasantly surprised. Every trip to Scotland should include a stop in Glasgow!