Rosslyn Chapel

I went to Edinburgh with Stacey today. While she was at her art class, I decided to go to Roslin. It's seven miles outside of Edinburgh, so I took the bus. After a thirty-five minute bus ride, I walked about 1.5 miles and arrived at Rosslyn Chapel. I was mainly interest in the Chapel because of The DaVinci Code. It wasn't quite what I expected, but it was interesting. First, the Chapel was much smaller than I expected. Second, it had a big corrugated roof built over it and scaffolding all around it. But having traveled so far, I was determined to make the most of it.

I rented an audio-guide and went in. The inside of the Chapel is quite ornate. There are flowers and leaves everywhere carved in stone. There are also Biblical characters, "Green Men," and skeletons. I even saw an angel playing the bagpipes. I can see how a symbologist would have a big time there, but it didn't answer any of life's great questions for me--like in The DaVinci Code. In fact, Rosslyn Chapel is not much more than a congregation of Scottish Episcopalians (not to say that that's not something--it's just not what I expected). If you're interested, you can find out more about it at www.rosslyn-chapel.com.

Afterwards, I went in the gift shop. They have "Templar Wine" and "Rosslyn Chapel Strawberry Preserves." You can get reproductions of some of the carvings and even a copy of The DaVinci Code. Then, you can read it whilst sipping tea in the Rosslyn Chapel Cafe (seriously).

Scottish Weather

Scottish weather is here. I played golf on Saturday. While playing, I saw a bird flying--but the wind was blowing so hard that the bird wasn't going anywhere! It was raining part of the time that I was playing, but I still had fun. Today, it was raining again and the wind was blowing very hard. My umbrella turned inside-out three times! Basically, I've just stayed inside lately and read. I'm sure the weather will get better in December (when we go to Georgia).

Paris and the Dunhill

We just returned from Paris yesterday. It was a great time. We went early on Wednesday and saw the Champs-Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and Rue Cler. On Thursday, we went to Notre Dame, did some shopping, and took a dinner cruise down the Seine. The dinner cruise was definitely a high point--we got to see most of the sights at night while eating great food. On Friday, we went to the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, the Sacre Coeur, and we saw Moulin Rouge. We ate dinner at an outdoor cafe in Montmartre--definitely another high point. On Saturday, we got up early and returned to Scotland in time to listen to the Georgia game. Judging by how the game went, we probably should have stayed in Paris.

Our time in Paris was great. We ate plenty of good food (no fish and chips for a change!). We didn't spend any time in lines. We sat in lots of cafes and drank espresso. We had a good time with each other.

In addition to the UGA game, we wanted to come back from Paris to go to the Dunhill golf tournament which was taking place in St. Andrews. It's a fun pro-am tournament--there are plenty of famous people that play in it. This afternoon, I decided to go over late enough not to have to buy a ticket. It was a beautiful day for Scottish golf--50 degrees, windy, and a little bit of rain. I wasn't there long, but I did see Dennis Hopper and Samuel L. Jackson. Apparently, Samuel L. shot an eagle on #5. He was also wearing a pink sweater and pastel yellow pants in a way that only he could. He looked like a little girl going to church on Easter--but I'm sure that he would have taken a golf club to anyone who told him that.

a post about school...

It occured to me that I never post anything about school, study, etc. But something interesting did happen the other day. On Friday, I went to a lecture on Karl Barth given by Alan Torrance. It was a great lecture, but Prof. Torrance didn't even get halfway through it. At the end of class, he asked if he could finish it on Monday. Everyone was fine with that, so we met today and he finished the lecture. It continued to be a good lecture today, too.

Course #1: The Balgove

I finally played golf today on one of the St. Andrews Links courses. I decided to take a cab so I wouldn't have to carry my clubs for the 30 minute walk to the course. I decided to start at the bottom and play the easiest course: The Balgove. The Balgove was designed for beginners and kids, so it's only 9 holes and the longest hole is 298 yards. There are no par 5's.

At the Balgove, you can't make a tee time. You just walk up to the starter, pay, and play. Because I am a student of sorts, it only cost me 3 pounds (just less than my cab ride over). I wandered over to the first tee. It was a little confusing trying to find the tee box and deciding which way I was supposed to hit the ball. Like all the golf courses in St.Andrews, there are no trees, bushes, or cart paths to help you orient yourself (and sometimes two holes will share one green). The advantage is that you can't lose a ball. The disadvantage is that the wind from the North Sea will do what it will with your ball once it is in the air.

As I stood on the first tee box trying to orient myself to this cow pasture style of golf course, three other people also approached the teebox. After a short discussion, we decided to play together. My new friends were Solvi, Sigga, and ????--two guys and a girl from Iceland. We were about the same skill level, so we had a good time.

After our game, Solvi, Sigga, ????, and I all went to the clubhouse for tea. I had Earl Grey. Feeling grateful for a great, inexpensive day of golf, I picked up the tab for the tea. Solvi must have felt grateful too, because he gave me a ride home.

I think I'll play again next Saturday.