Kilts + Haggis + Bagpipes

edinburgh's shout-out to london 2012

On Saturday, we went on a walking tour of the city led by our beloved Stevens (who walks at an inhuman pace). York boasts two distinct parts: old town and new town – the latter was built in 1778, if that says anything about the city’s historical depth. We visited the botanical garden (where we swarmed like flies to the lobby upon discovering our first sign of free wi-fi) and the Scottish National Gallery. Sally Domer, Dean of European Studies, bought each of us two postcards that featured a piece of art located in the museum. She instructed us to find the piece and contemplate it as one would in an art history course – what medium was employed? What message is conveyed? How did its period affection its style? I chose Degas’ “A Group of Dancers” because I love Degas and the painting featured dancers in a more relaxed, congenial atmosphere than Degas usually portrayed and “At the Moulin Rouge” because the blur of greens and reds and deep yellow seemed to embody through paint what being at the Moulin Rouge, smothered by a blur of absinthe, busty dancers, and passionate artwork, must have felt like.

That evening, we were on our own for a quick dinner; my friends and I ate at a super cool (and hip) food truck called Healthy Yummies. It was run by a good looking chef with an accent and a beautiful woman in her forties who had an outgoing personality to match Lala’s. I ate a lamb + haggis burger – fresh and grass-fed. We walked onward through crowded downtown Edinburgh (the French festival, which features comedy shows, improv groups, and play performances 24/7, was occurring and brought with it 500,000 extra people) to the famous Scottish Military Tattoo. It was in was in a stadium (like an American football stadium) in front of a castle and was packed with tourists and locals. The tattoo paid homage to the country’s heritage through traditional band/bagpipe music and drill formation/routines. Little kids, river dancers, and military bands/drill teams (including some from the U.S., the Netherlands, and Australia) all participated. They even played music from the movie Brave and had a dancing ode to whiskey. We actually saw way more kilts and bagpipes than I expected. We ended the night with tea + coffee + dessert at a sidewalk café. I could have sat at that café table all night people watching and sipping.

listening to: "Touch the Sky" by Julie Fowlis from disney/Pixar's Brave OS