Arrived back in the Netherlands last night from Italy, where I spent 6 days off hanging out with my friend Iain, who, along with some others, has been the subject of quite a few of my recent posts. I had an indescribably wonderful time, which I hope to write about over the next few days. For the time being, suffice it to say that I feel absurdly fortunate to have made such great friends through this crazy job.
Right before heading down to Italy, we hopped on a ferry and headed over to Scotland for a show in Ayr (pronounced air) with the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra. Ayr is about 35 miles southwest of Glasgow, in the province of Ayrshire, which is particularly notable as being the birthplace of the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns.
It was my first time to Scotland (country #13 in my time with Barrage!), and it was definitely a memorable visit. Scotland is just as beautiful as you would imagine (and since I never saw Braveheart, I've pretty much only ever imagined Scotland, in the truest sense of the word). Here are some pictures I snapped on the drive:
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| Click on this to see it larger...I'd definitely recommend it! |
Here's where we stopped for lunch (as luck would have it, this place won a "Best Pubs in the UK" award):
When we arrived in Ayr, we were invited to a reception with the AFO, where we not only had the opportunity to meet some of the kids from the orchestra, but also had the opportunity to eat--drum roll, please--haggis. I've mentioned previously how much Barrage has expanded my culinary horizons, but I certainly never imagined that I would ever eat haggis...voluntarily. Granted, I would have felt guilty not trying it, but they didn't even have to threaten me! I guess this is just a life lesson that baby steps can take one a long way. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera...so while I have neither documentation nor proof that I, Taylor Morris, actually ate haggis, you'll just have to take my word for it.
After spending the evening with some of the kids, a few were so gracious as to offer me a personalized, dinner-time tour of Ayr the following evening!
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| Driver on the right... |
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| Scott, Maeve, Elaine |
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| Craig |
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| Downtown Ayr. |
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| Chimney pipes. |
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| The famous Brig o' Doon (bridge over the River Doon), central to Robert Burns' poem Tam o' Shanter. | |
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| View from the bridge of the Brig o' Doon house. |
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| Maeve, Elaine, me, Scott |
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| With the "Man in the Tartan Pants" outside the Brig o' Doon House. When telling me about the house with his incredibly thick accent, I noticed he slowed his speech so I could understand what he was saying. Maeve then confirmed that he was talking to me, "like a child." |
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| Flowers in a window box on the side of the house. |
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| Behind the Brig o' Doon House. | | | |
Many thanks to Craig, Scott, Maeve, and Elaine for showing me around!
4 comments:
My ancestral home! I am so jealous that you got to go to Scotland, eat haggis (maybe I'm not so jealous about that one--way to try it), AND hang out in Burns' homeland. AND see the Tam O'Shanter bridge. What a crazy poem. Good work, Taylor. And thanks for blogging about it. I've been eagerly anticipating this post since you mentioned Scotland.
Haggis! Remember how you used to say you didn't like soup? It was something about the idea of solid foods floating in a liquid. And before you left with Barrage you were terrified of living somewhere where you couldn't get peanut butter and oreo cookies.
You've come a long way, friend. I'm so proud of you!
So, SO gorgeous. My favorite pic is of the bridge. Someday, when I win the lottery, I will totally get to Scotland.
I'm still grossed out by the Haggis. And you didn't let us know HOW the Haggis was.
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