{"id":10319,"date":"1998-07-06T20:08:05","date_gmt":"1998-07-06T17:08:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/?p=10319"},"modified":"2016-09-07T18:46:39","modified_gmt":"2016-09-07T15:46:39","slug":"new-and-old-lanark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/new-and-old-lanark\/","title":{"rendered":"New and Old Lanark"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"map6\"<\/a><\/p>\n

9:03 AM<\/p>\n

I\u2019m at Glasgow Central waiting on the 9:18 train to Lanark. I can\u2019t believe how easily<\/em> I got here\u00a0! Last month, searching for tickets and my departure stance would have been nerve wracking, but today it was as easy and normal as going to the bathroom! Hard to believe this is my last day in Scotland. I have to admit that if I see another continental breakfast in this lifetime, it\u2019ll be too soon! I\u2019m fed up with cold rolls, cheese, jam, tea, o.j., cereal, etc. I\u2019d just about kill for my unhealthy Cheeze-Whiz on English muffin with a glass of chocolate milk!<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s good that breakfast is healthy since practically everything is deep fried here. I\u2019d just about kill<\/em> for some steamed or lightly poached fish, steamed broccoli, and plain sticky white rice! At least last night I had a baked potato. I think I\u2019ve had enough French fries for quite a few millennia (and it\u2019s not like I\u2019ve been eating them a lot, just once or twice a week. I must admit I like \u2018The Pancake Place\u2019\u2019s herb fries, though). What I couldn\u2019t believe was the time I ordered mac and cheese. It had a full inch of fat floating on top of the cheese and<\/em> greasy French fries on the side! I went through a lot of napkins getting rid of the worst of the grease! I can\u2019t believe last night, though, I actually (very politely) complained about my meal in a restaurant!<\/p>\n

I met a girl last night who said something interesting. Going home is scarier than staying because you\u2019ve changed while the people you know haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n

10:38<\/p>\n

The train ride to Lanark was AWFUL! (mostly underground or ugly scenery and slow<\/u><\/em>!!!) But worth it. Guess where I\u2019m standing. I\u2019ll give you a hint. The plaque says: \u2018Here stood the house of William Wallace who in Lanark in 1297 first drew sword to free his native land.\u2019!!! I\u2019m also next to St. Nicholas\u2019 church, site of the world\u2019s oldest bell, outside of which is a statue of Wallace.<\/p>\n

Next, I\u2019m off to the ruins of St. Kentigern\u2019s church where \u2018Wallace married Marion\u2019 (TIC lady). I like to think that he did<\/em> marry her, since he was pious. Anyhoo, this is a beautiful<\/em> little town\u00a0! I didn\u2019t realise that so much of Wallace would remain!!! (And the TIC woman asked if I knew who he was!)<\/p>\n

2:54<\/p>\n

New Lanark is lovely<\/em>!!! It\u2019s undergone an extensive restoration scheme that\u00a0should be finished by the end of the decade\/century. Outside, the buildings are all stone, very simple, incredibly beautiful. Inside, they \u2018house\u2019 all the modern conveniences of life. I have to look up Robert Owen. I think I would have liked him. The conditions in his town were a zillion<\/em> times better than in other towns during the same time period, 1820s.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Annie McLeod Experience\u2019 was great\u2014it was a \u2018ride\u2019 that\u00a0narrated life during the 1820s complete with sound and light effects.<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m waiting for the 15:22 train. I\u2019m pooped, what with going to bed too late and getting up way<\/em> early. Tomorrow and the next few days will probably be killers. To be honest, I\u2019m not looking forward to going in to work on Friday. I would have liked the weekend just to get my bearings back! I am<\/em> looking forward to the pool, though, if they have it going!<\/p>\n

I wonder what the weather\u2019s like back home. Here, it\u2019s usually too hot or too cold. It\u2019s hard to get comfortable. I\u2019m forever putting on and removing my sweater and\/or coat! The rain hasn\u2019t deterred me in the least and I\u2019ve seen so little of it! I thought, a month ago (already<\/em>!) that by today I\u2019d be fed up with travelling. I just can\u2019t believe how much I\u2019m wishing that tomorrow I could get on a bus to Ayr, then to Aberdeen, then to… I\u2019ve got \u2018the bug\u2019!<\/p>\n

8:08 pm<\/p>\n

Well… my trip\u2019s essentially over… Tomorrow, it\u2019s the U straight to Buchanan street, then a bus to the airport. A month ago, checking in at the airport was scary. Now, I think of it as a nuisance. It\u2019s like I\u2019m not scared of \u2018stupid\u2019 things anymore, well not scared, more like worried, I guess. That\u2019s still not the right word. I guess I\u2019ve just found \u2018blick\u2019. (In my Liberal Arts Integrated Essay Seminar class, we talked about discovering a new human emotion called \u2018blick\u2019. We had debates over whether or not blick could actually exist. I swear, I\u2019ve found it!) Whatever the emotion, it\u2019s almost gone now. When it comes back, I\u2019ll just think back to this trip\u00a0! I could never have given myself a more wonderful present!<\/p>\n

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9:03 AM I\u2019m at Glasgow Central waiting on the 9:18 train to Lanark. I can\u2019t believe how easily I got here\u00a0! Last month, searching for tickets and my departure stance would have been nerve wracking, but today it was as easy and normal as going to the bathroom! Hard to believe this is my last […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[636,643,648,714,18,3,56],"tags":[717,798,792],"class_list":["post-10319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe","category-glasgow","category-lanark","category-new-lanark","category-scotland","category-travel","category-uk","tag-experiences","tag-housepalace","tag-religious-sitescemeteries"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10319\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}