Tag: photos
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Baby photos
My father sent me some old family photos. Here are some early ones of me. I think, though I’m not 100% sure, that the first one was taken at my 1st birthday and that’s my chocolate cake all over my face. I’m pretty sure it’s my birthday again in this next one and that’s more…
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Inverness to Aberdeen
We went for a short walk in Inverness this morning before driving back to Aberdeen through the Cairngorms. Inverness is a lovely city. The population is only about 50,000 and the city is built around the River Ness which is beautiful. Here are some pics: We wanted to drive back via the Cairngorms to enjoy the lovely…
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Urquhart Castle and Glen Affric
Today we went for a very scenic drive alongside Loch Ness, home of the infamous Loch Ness monster. We didn’t see any monsters but we did see Urquhart Castle, a ruin in a picturesque promontory in the middle of Loch Ness. The castle has seen more battles than most and was eventually abandoned in the 17th century. The…
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Thoughts from a Grand Meetup
I arrived back in Aberdeen this afternoon and must say it was nice flying in over the green patchwork landscape of Scotland and seeing the rugged cliffs along the coast. I think I even saw Dunnottar Castle. I felt like I was coming home. I was pretty shattered and promptly fell asleep for several hours. I had…
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Mountain views
I went for a morning walk up the hill this morning and managed to take some good photos despite my hopeless photography skills. The colours are just amazing and the views were splendid. These were all taken on my iPhone 4s and have not been edited. I never edit any of my photos.
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Park City
I am in Utah for work and have been so busy I haven’t had the chance to write any posts or read any blogs. It’s a good busy though as I’m getting to meet so many of the talented people I work with. Even going to the toilet can be a challenge because I see…
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Slains Castle
We took my sister to Slains Castle today. It’s a castle ruin about 25 miles north along the coast from Aberdeen. It was a scenic drive along the coast through undulating fields of farmland overlooking the vast expanse of the North Sea. Slains Castle’s claim to fame is that it supposedly inspired Bram Stoker to…
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Edinburgh – day 2
Today we went to the MC Escher exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Two. It was brilliant. There was quite a long queue but they’ve installed a timber maze on the front lawn so I waited in line while the kids and Ben ran wild in the maze. It was well worth…
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Edinburgh
We’ve had a great day in Edinburgh today. First stop this morning was Laid Back Bikes where I got to try out an Urban Arrow. This is one slick bike. It weighs and handles similarly to the bakfiets but has electric assist and so is easy peasy to pedal. I’m in two minds about having…
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We’re famous
There are a couple of photos of us in today’s EveningExpress taken at the Wee Jaunt yesterday. Not such a great one of me because it looks like I’m flashing but fortunately you can’t see anything. Ben showed his photo to a PhD student at work hoping to impress him but his response was, “It would look more…
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Wee Jaunt Aberdeen
Buying a house seems to have sapped all the fun out of lives so we decided to do something to rectify the situation. This morning we participated in the Wee Jaunt Aberdeen, a Pedal for Scotland initiative to encourage cycling and raise money for a children’s charity. They closed off several roads in a 6 mile route…
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Mediaeval battles at Drum Castle
We went to Drum Castle today. I have been itching to visit this castle again ever since our cycle ride from Banchory to Aberdeen via Drum Castle. It was so hot that day and we were so exhausted by the time we arrived at Drum Castle that I took one look at the tower with all its…
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Cycle ride to Torry Battery
On Sunday afternoon we cycled from Duthie Park to Torry Battery. The city side of the River Dee was almost entirely off-road cycle paths which is fantastic. After crossing the river at the Wellington Suspension Bridge – which is exclusively for pedestrians and cyclists – it’s all on-road unfortunately. The first part is also particularly…
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Pedal boats at Duthie Park
The kids have been nagging me to take them on the pedal boats at Duthie Park for some time now. We finally did it this afternoon and it was really nice. The tiny bit of walking we did to get there and back was fraught with difficulty for Daniel who is engaged in an ongoing…
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Hair cut just outside the red zone
Originally posted on rachel.blog: We ventured into South City yesterday so that I could have a hair cut. South City is in the CBD just outside the cordoned off area, otherwise known as the red zone. I’ve never seen this part of town so quiet. My hair-dresser has been busy she says but one thing…
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An old photo
I came across this old photo of Elizabeth and Ben, taken by Ben’s mum just after Elizabeth had turned 2. It’s such a great photo that I wanted to share it again. Elizabeth is wearing a washable nappy. I thought she was fully toilet trained by the time she was 2 but my memory must…
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Stromness to Aberdeen by ferry + train
My post yesterday about Skara Brae and the Ring of Brodgar was rather rushed because we had to dash for a long day of traveling. But both places were absolutely fascinating. Skara Brae was particularly good. How often do you get to see the house, including furniture, of a Neolithic human? All the walls were…
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Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae
We visited some more neolithic sites yesterday. First stop was The Standing Stones o’ Stenness and the nearby and well-known Ring of Brodgar. Both are stone circles about 5000 years old. The stones are huge and heavy and would have been quite difficult to move and stand upright in their positions. Why did humans build…
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Orkney and the Tomb of the Eagles with puking and ticks
We’re in Orkney. We caught the ferry from Aberdeen yesterday afternoon and arrived here just before midnight last night. The ferry stops in Kirkwall, Orkney a few times each week on its way to Shetland. Here’s a map showing the route we took on the ferry and also the route we plan to take back.…
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Castle Fraser
We went to another castle yesterday, Castle Fraser, which is about 16 miles west of Aberdeen. It’s a Scottish baronial castle built in the 15th century. Like all of the castles we’ve visited so far it is surrounded by gardens and woods with lots of lovely walks. There was also a wonderful children’s playground which was…
