Seaside Vacation in Scotland

I have just returned from a fantastically relaxing vacation in St. Andrews, Scotland. I went up there principally to visit with my good friend Pippa, who is attending school there doing a post-graduate degree in Art History.

We spent most of our time hanging out, exploring, dancing, and eating strange foods. I tried chips with curry sauce on them; had a full english breakfast; drank lots and lots of tea; had a scotch pie and a fudge donught; tried a scotch egg (boiled egg covered with sausage, battered, and then deep fried); had fish n' chips on the beach; home-made rice pudding; IrnBru; ... There were vegetables, but they were more for decoration.

I loved Scotland just as much (or more) than I did last time I was there. It was wonderful to be able to visit with Pippa but it was also wonderful to just be there. This made two wonderfuls, and equaled an extra special time. I had temporarily forgotten how nice it is to spend time with people who know you really well. Pip is an old friend, and the weekend was completely relaxing.

The town of St. Andrews was also pretty neat. It is located right on the sea and is home to the old St. Andrews University. It is pretty much solely a university town with the buildings of the university integrated directly into the town. Above is a picture of Pippa grinning at me with the jetty behind her. It was at the base of that jetty that we bought our fish and chips dinner.

I thought the whole town had an air of weighty academia which was backed up by university students wandering the streets, many coffee and tea shops, a pub called The Criterion (a fantastic name, I think) etc. The undergraduates are generally upperclass english boarding school-types, I actually overheard a pair discussing 'the hunt' and 'the next polo game'. Hilarious. Below is a picture of the street where the Art History building is located (on the left). Pippa's "Place of Learning" is on the top floor and has dormer windows that look out onto the sea. It was really cozy in there, and very brightly lit with natural light. It was much nicer than the dank dungeon of a studio that we have here in Barcelona.

I also learned how to do Scottish Country Dancing! On friday night, I plunged right in and attended Pippa's intermediate class with her. Then on Saturday night we drove down to Edinburgh for a dance! Dancing was a combination of an intellectual/mathematical exercise and physical exercise. The best way I can describe Scottish Country Dancing is that it is a cross between Square Dancing, and the kind of dancing they do in movies like Pride and Prejudice.

Below is a picture of myself and Pippa sitting in the dunes between the Old Course (oldest golf course in the world) and the ocean. We had picked up a lunch of Scotch pies and fudge donughts and walked along the water as the tide went out. We walked so far that the sun began to go down and the moon started coming up before we got back home. Scotland is so beautiful.