Skip to main content

Scotland 2018: Day 3

Day 3
GLASGOW: Following a traditional Scottish breakfast, we boarded our bus.  First stop, a visit to the “House for an Art Lover.” Originally designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh as an elegant country retreat for a person of taste and culture, today, more than 110 years later, House for an Art Lover exists to stimulate public interest in art, design and architecture. Through its studios, exhibitions, scholarships and access to learning for all ages, it has widened Mackintosh’s original vision to make House for an Art lover a house for everyone.  The design for the house was originally submitted by Mackintosh in a design competition.  He did not win and the building was eventually built after his death through interpretation from other artists.  With a clear influence in Japanese design the house is built with the “male” side of the house facing north.  Dark wood and paneling in the rooms on this side of the house that is lite by the northern more blue light.  Off white wood and paneling is on the other side of the house the “female” side, lite by the southern light much warmer. 




Fun fact: Stonehill is the proud owner of several Mackintosh chairs currently residing in the Martin Institute with a few on loan to the Queset House in Easton, MA. 



Helga Duncan, Associate Professor of English at Stonehill and her husband are accompanying the group.  At our initial meet and greet event Helga shared a list of books we may like to read.  She also encouraged all of us to select our favorite Robert Burns poem.  Helga and our guide, Conor did a lovely job reading some of Robert Burns poems to us while we traveled on the bus to visit Robert Burns Birthplace Museum while Helga explained the meaning behind the words.  The Burns Museum offers a truly unique encounter with Scotland’s favorite son. The museum comprises the famous Burns Cottage where the poet was born, the historic landmarks where he set his greatest work, the elegant monument and gardens created in his honor and a modern museum housing the world’s most important collection of his life and works.


Our next stop was Culzean Castle. Standing on a dramatic cliff top overlooking the Firth of Clyde, the castle has been associated with the Kennedy family since the 14th century and was converted by Robert Adam between 1777 and 1792. Many of best pictures had to be taken in between the rain and wind blowing in off the Irish Sea.  One of the best features of the castle is the oval staircase.  The museum included a fine collection of paintings and furniture. The property is set in nearly 600 acres of stunning countryside and miles of waymarked paths lead visitors through majestic woodland and past secluded ponds. Views we were only able to see from the trolley ride to avoid the rain. 




The group returned to the hotel in time to change for dinner.  Our guide Conor suggested two restaurants to us so we split into two groups to enjoy a leisurely dinner with much laughter and good food. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Barcelona - Dos

Day two in Barcelona has been fantastic! Jose gave us lots of information on the artist Gaudi - not born here but arrived in 1852 to attend the university.  His artistic style and influence can be seen across the city. We stopped at Park Guell which was an amazing outdoor area Gaudi designed near the home he lived in.  Inspired by nature, fairy tales and classical legends the park is beautiful.  With its kissing benches, 'candy house', salamander and plaza with the longest bench in the world it is a work of art in itself. Some of us made the walk up to the top where the three crosses are - and found even more breathtaking views of the city. From there we headed back downtown for a short walk to La Sagrada Familia cathedral.  Design by Gaudi and still not yet finished, it is very unique and ornate.  Just walking around the outside, Jose had enough informatiion to share about its intricacies that it took some time.  The line for entrance was nearly wrapped around the ch

Cordoba

First our morning started with an alarm - or a lack of one; as Mary Jane and Pat's room never received a wakeup call.  So everyone else was on the bus ready to go when they finally got a knock on the door.  What troopers they were, though!  In 15 minutes they were on the bus with everyone and not long after they were able to laugh at the 'chaos' of it all. Our local guide Isabel was just delightful - and clearly has a love for her city.  She tells us that filmmaker Pedro Almodovar is from here as we begin our walk. First we go through the old Jewish center.  Nearly all of the city's buildings are white-washed (originally by the women we hear). We stop at an old Jewish synagogue and learn some history of the area.  Then we stop at the statue of a famous rabbi ( can you name him ?) which legend is that by rubbing his foot and then touching your own head you will get taller and wiser.  most of us did that - some hoping for extra height, others for a bit of wisdom!

2011: Day 4 - Vienna

Another great day! We had a 6am wake up call - but it paid off! Our tour director, Robert, secured the first reservations of the day at Shronbrunn Palace - which meant we were the only guests in the Palace for the most part. We went room to room with our own local guide, Gabi, for a nearly private tour! A one-of-a-kind experience for sure. The Palace and Gardens were beautiful. 1,441 rooms and acres and acres of grounds. We learned about Mary Theresa (and all of her 16 children). This was the summer palace for the Hapsburg dynasty. We then switched gears and went to see modern art at KunstHausWien - what a creative artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser was. And a man who epitomized eco-friendly living and work. A very different experience after our tour of the Palace. Next was a driving tour of some of the city's monuments, etc. with a stop for lunch along the way. We ended with a walking tour to additional historic spots and a tour of the downtown palace - the winter residence of the