Magnolia Garden

On a lunchtime walk with ArgyleSockGirl, we explored one of the quieter, more isolated parks in olde city: Magnolia Park. I think one of my newest goals in life is to be able to eat lunch and/or read in a park without being run over by tourists (otherwise known as the tourii) or bothered by unwashed creepers.

This park seemed like a lovely place to walk around, however, ArgyleSockGirl informed me that these white, iron benches are not comfortable (I'm not sure if you can see it, but the bars are just the right size to cause you immense discomfort). But there was quite a sizable green patch in the middle of the park where you could spread out a blanket.

On the day we went. the weather was a bit overcast, but I'm sure that on a warm day, the spray from the fountain would be lovely. We were a little puzzled over the creepy-looking grate under the surface of the water., but we chalked it up to someone's well-meaning concern over the possibility of a child accidentally drowning. 

Summer Raspberries

The latest obsession in my life would have to be raspberries.I can eat these babies like candy. And they go with anything: a cocktail, a sandwich (on the side, of course), or the perfect end to a plate of cheese and crackers.


My only problem seems to be finding them fresh enough. I can't imagine what people must think as they pass by me when I'm picking through the raspberry packages; but I'm trying to look for mold. You might be surprised at how easily these berries spontaneously combust into tiny mold balls. I have a theory that it's the bad drainage in the plastic packaging, but I can't be sure.


Still, I dream of that day I visited a farmer's market in Vancouver and walked past row upon row of those paper cartons heaped high with fresh raspberries.

A More Original Irish Holiday

Today I was catching up on my blogs, and Ill Seen, Ill Said had an entry about Bloomsday: an annual event in which James Joyce and his book Ulysses are celebrated. This is mainly carried out in Dublin, and people dress in period costume and read bits (or lots) of Ulysses on the street.

Of course, I automatically thought, "What a pity that these kinds of holidays aren't celebrated in the States." And then I read down a little further and saw that Philadelphia is one of the US cities that actually does participate (after all, we have Joyce's Ulysses manuscript!). It is also done in New York City and Syracuse (and Hungary...depending on your travel situation).

Besides things like Groundhog Day (which isn't celebrated heartily everywhere), I don't think America really has any fun little holidays like this. I'm going to have to keep a sharp eye out for the 2012 Bloomsday Festivities.

Free at Last!!

Congratulations to my youngest brother Jake!! He graduated from high school this month and is now a real adult.


Except to me he will always be a toddler and not an adult. I hope he doesn't mind.

(Jake on a cake)

(He's the bearded one in the middle)

(Me and Jake)

(Jemily)

And of course we had a party:

(Because nothing says party like a giant fake snake head)

(Nancie and Jemily on the ATV)

Fancy Desserts

How do you feel about fancy desserts? Do you prefer them to an everyday dessert (such as oreos or a cupcake that isn't shaped like a duck)?

(some kind of butter pastry in Toronto)

(Yes, those are candied walnuts)

Sometimes it's difficult to guess if a traditional dessert will be just as good when it's made by a fancy chef. After having THE BEST sticky toffee pudding at Loch Fyne in Oxford, I was hesitant about trying this Canadian version at Canoe in Toronto. The waiter was quite adamant that it would be the best pudding I would ever have. Sadly, it was only okay. That square of ice cream you see is passionfruit....it just didn't mix well with the toffee and the brandy on the bottom cake layer.  I think if you're going to really do a good sticky toffee pudding, you have to fully commit to (embrace, if you will) the chocolate and toffee flavours. 

(posh sticky toffee pudding)

So the moral of the story is:


England wins!

Quoile Castle

No matter how many castles I see, I always love to see more. Is this a symptom of being born in America? On my recent trip to N. Ireland, my cousins took me to Quoile Castle. They've recently started restoring it, and soon you'll be able to actually go inside the tower. This thought really excited my 13 year old cousin Aaron who dreams of being a castle tour guide.

So maybe it's not my Americanness that makes me long for a good castle. Perhaps it's just something that runs in the family. We love us a good castle. Even half a castle:

(Quoile Castle, Downpatrick, County Down)

(My cousin Leah inspecting the garden) 

A lovely thing about this wee castle-ette is that they've dedicated the visitor center to teaching wee ones about the local wildlife and insect-life. It's done really well and is super interactive. You can watch the local fish in a wee tank, and there's a camera on a nest of birds (complete with a log of how they have grown). They even keep bees and have stuffed versions of the larger, potentially dangerous animals that live in the area. It was sweet to see the kids learning in such a hands on way.

(Looking out upon the gardens)

(In the river Quoile nearby...sadly there was no moat)

And I have to add a gratuitous photo of my wee cousin Lucas because he is adorable:

(Lucas!)

Scotland

Glasgow was my first trip to Scotland. And I really enjoyed it. Actually, I was bummed that I didn't schedule another day there as I found out more and more things to do once I got settled. It is always such a tricky thing to decide how long is long enough in a place you've never visited before. 

I was also confronted with some funny moments. I always think that a country's stereotypes (both good and bad) are blown out of proportion by those of us who are foreigners. Example one: haggis. I expected it to be around, but I honestly was shocked at how prevalent it was! My first night there, I ate at the restaurant across from my guesthouse, and they had at least two haggis dishes on the menu...not to mention this sign out front:

Example two: bagpipers. I know they exist and are probably more common in Scotland, but I was surprised when I could hear bagpipe music as I walked down the street. The bagpipers in the photo below were practicing in Kelvingrove Park, and I was pleasantly surprised to find them. They sounded amazing!

(bagpipers in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow)

Example three: you can't understand what people are saying. For the most part, people in the service industry are fine, but I really had to pay attention to my bus tour guide. Don't get me wrong: I thought the accent was fantastic! But there were  definitely times when I didn't get what he was saying at first. However, it did make it easier to understand some of my cousins in N. Ireland!

(Glasgow Bus Tour: The Grand Old Lady)

(Myself on the bus tour)

(steep stairs to my room in the guesthouse)

(Kelvingrove art gallery and museum)

All in all, I really want to go back to Glasgow. People told me it was dirty and gross and not to be surprised if I saw sewage in the streets. But I enjoyed myself (and didn't see any sewage, thank God!).

Oxford Town

The other week, I was in Oxford for work. Though I'd lived in Cheltenham for 6 months during uni, I never got to Oxford. But I have to say that it was kind of nice going now instead; mainly because I never could have afforded to stay at the posh Randolph Hotel on a student's budget (or on my current budget, for that matter). We were even there at the same time as a big delegation from the Malaysian government. At first I thought it was a celebrity....sorry but politics isn't as exciting to me as the possibility of sharing a hotel with the Queen or Julia Roberts.

(High Street)

(side street in the early evening)

I loved how everyone cycled around the town. Bikes were chained up along every available fence space, light post, and gate.It was so bike friendly, and I think if I was going to stay longer, I would've rented a bike and explored the parks and more of the wee side roads. Next time, right?

(some people weren't too enthusiastic about the cycles, tho)

(cycles)

On our second night there, all of us Americans walked to Loch Fyne Seafood Restaurant in the posh neighbourhood called Jericho. In addition to the fab seafood, I was able to try sticky toffee pudding--Kate Middleton's favourite dessert! I had tried to have it before in the States, but the waiter came out after I ordered it and said they'd actually discontinued it because too many people said it was gross. Clearly something must've been lost in translation because when I had it in England, it was beyond amazing. I don't eat many sweets, but I could've had seconds of this one!!


Still more proof that Princess Catherine has good taste in just about everything.

(Sticky Toffee Pudding!)

(Thanks for the suggestion, Kate!)

I love England.

Blog Jealousy

While I was in the UK, I was thinking about this blog. I would've loved to keep it up, but between the jet lag, work, and the fact that I was trying to see as much of the UK as possible, I just couldn't focus on the blog. And it made me think about all the other blogs I follow. They are so good at keeping up with their blogs whilst traveling. I think they are my heroes because it really takes dedication to keep up with writing and uploading photos and such when you aren't at home.

But I think that if you can't keep up with a blog, you can at least record the things you want to write about later. And keeping a travel journal is something I've really been trying to do when I go to new and far away places. I did pretty well on this latest trip, and I found that I end up going into insane detail about my trips in the journal. It's time consuming and tiring, but I think that someday I'll be glad I did it.

All that to say this: expect some UK photos and tales in the coming days. :-)