Cycling along Clyde....

I had heard so much about Scotland and it's highlands and I was adamant about seeing it... Despite being time constrained, maam's managed to figure something out and we were on our way on Friday to Glasgow...... The early morning Scotland landscape was beautiful... Undulating hillocks, lush green meadows , white fleeced sheep, brooding forests , a dark blue sky lit by a hidden sun...... I was tired of "sight seeing"... And desperately wanted to see the Scottish highlands.. I had spent a good part of the "yesterday" looking up Clyde valley and firth of Clyde and was sure they would hold a path to the highland beauty......

Half an hour of figuring out hostels, a bargain for a 1 pound shower, an European breakfast, a long queue at the info center, a handful of maps and an address to a bike rental, misguided directions, almost an hour of searching, almost a decision to give up on a cycling adventure and atlast a 15 pound deal on 2 bikes...We were good to go.... The guys at the rental marked a trail which we started on... But it was too much by the city, and quite disinteresting when we hit on the bicycle trail to Loch Lomond.... Ofcourse, 15 miles seemed daunting , but I was grabbing any chance I got to get out of the city... We cycled along the firth canal to rolling greens and then to Dumbarton - a length of 11 miles......

A stop at Dumbarton for lunch , with every single part of my body screaming out ... Realization struck... Cycling another 4 miles was going to be difficult plus we needed to return the cycles..... A disappointed us returned back to Glasgow by train.... Not ready to give up, I dragged my friend to the busstop to enquire on buses to lomond.... The girl informed us that the last bus to the loch was leaving... A crazy impulse, 2 tickets , an unhelpful driver and a nail biting ride not knowing where we are going to get off or how we are going to get back, a guiding angel in the form of an old lady who lived by the lake, stop at Luss, a 5 minute walk....... And the beautiful Loch Lomond stretched out in front of us....

















a quote from a friend who recently visited scotland "just saw loch ness.. now i am ready to die!!!"

Upon the Westminster

Earth has not anything to show more fair
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!

- William Shakespear

London Snap shots

London Experiences

(31st May - 6th June 05)

- Dragging 2 huuuge suitcases and switching 3 underground lines!!! Thanks to my friend maams and his roommate , i managed it :)

- Ordering a fancy coffee for 2 Pounds which came in a cup exactly 1.5 inches in height and 1 inch in diameter, when the guy on the next table got a bigger cup for 1 pound...

-Getting directions from a Red Coat.. :D

- Hopping on and off the local buses just to check out arbitrary streets which caught my attention.... I just loved these buses which had all the stops listed out...... :) ...

- Loved the tubes too... Checking out the office-going crowd in their formal attire is a treat to any fashion lover....

- Donning a skirt in a restroom adjacent to the underground like just another Londoner woman changing from work clothes to party wear....

-Eating a hot waffle with chocolate and whipped cream on Oxford street...

-Window shopping on Oxford Street..

-Watching the artists create awesome portraits on Leciester Square...

- Trying not to stare at the couple making out right across me in the tube like it was what I did everyday!!!

- Touring alone... Something a lot of my friends said they would never do!!!


Things I want to do or do differently...

- Not waste 11 pounds in seeing the royal gallery or mews...
(money was dear !!! )

- The London Eye wasn't a great thing either...

- I missed clubbing and dining in London because I was touring alone.... Heard Cafe De' Paris is happening..

- Though I enjoyed staying with a friend, next time I do want to be in a hostel... where I can meet different people... I wish I had gone to some pubs , just to strike up some conversation with the people there...

- All Women attn : don't step into London without jazzy bangles, long earrings, and fancy skirts !!

- Must Shop !!!!!!!

- Do opera's happen in London? Want to see one!

More pics coming here!!!

In Love With London....

(31st May- 6th June 2005)

This place was a part of my fantasies...I had read about it, I had dreamt about it, I had lived in it with all my characters.....And I finally got to see it....

London just came alive to me ....... Since 4th standard in school, when I started on Enid Blyton's ,all the books I read about were all set in London...Be it Poirot , Sherlock Holmes , Wuthering Heights, Emma, Charlotte Bronte, Treasure Island, Scarlet Pimpernal, St. Clares & Malory Towers or just my history book... Georgette Heyer was the last of the this series who had fuelled my imagination and my love for this place... What with her Genteel Ladies going to bath for the Season or riding up Grosvenor's square in their horse drawn carriages or going to Hyde park for an evening ride........

The city has an air about it. Most of the buildings are representative of Britain's past. The architecture (specially in the city of Westminster) in limestone and gray , with Ornate carvings, you can feel the weight of her history , culture and the power she had once upon a time wielded.

These old buildings, the bridges, the Thames, the redbrick bay windowed houses, the creepers on the walls , narrow streets, Modern coffee houses and pubs in quaint buildings, red coats, small olden day like black taxis, and the buzzing 21st century crowd - all add up to the Soul of the city.

And like a child in a toy store I reveled in going to all these places like Bond street, Grosvenor's square, picadilly, Gloucester, Hyde park..... I could close my eyes and almost imagine and feel the 18th century era......

I took an unlimited bus/underground pass for a week and chose to check the places out by myself, instead of taking the famous Bus Tour. I started off with Buckingham palace, The Mews, James Park... Walked all the way to Westminster abbey and checked out the Big Ben , and the parliamentary buildings. Then I took the buses to places like bond street, trafalgar's square , Gloucester , bakers street......

Next day saw me exploring Greenwich, the trinity college of music, taking a ride on the Thames, going up the London eye . The highlight of the day was the Musical I went to -"The Phantom of the Opera" ..... There are 2 - 3 roads which have a lot of theatres ( for musicals) and the whole place is called as theatreland... And what a kick I got out of checking this otherwise just-another-area-in-London....I am such a sucker for fancy names!!!!!!!! The musical was very nice, the props amazing... Next time I plan to sit right close to the stage instead of on the balcony ( view not too good!!)...






Day 3...I looked up some walking routes... i got to know about hampstead heath - this place seems familiar , but i cant place it!!! a lovely park yet again in a quite posh locality....I also chanced upon 'Keats house' and a pizzeria which was earlier the place were George Orwell worked!!!

Day 4...Maams and me hit oxford street, regent street , leciester square for some window shopping, and some people watching!

Another thing I loved about London- was the fashion ... The way the women dress... fancy skirts, stockings, boots, scarves, tops on tops, a lot of colors all at once , yet not so jazzy.... I still am yet to figure out how they bear the cold in their mini's.....

As I made plans to leave for london, I was warned of their cold fish and formal nature... contrary to that, I found quite a lot of them very friendly ... :) And every moment over here was more than I ever thought it would be!!!!