Glasgow and Election Nights and Sweet Victory Oh My!

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Hello again everyone and a fair day to you all.
So about a weekish ago Vanessa and Marina and I all decided to hop on the train and head over to Glasgow, which is the fancy shopping capital of Scotland, as well as being the most dangerous city in the European Union. But let's face it Glasgow is really pretty benign and I generally feel safer walking in East Glasgow (the not so lovely part) at 9 o'clock at night than I would walking in say S. Toms River at high noon. But nevermind, cops here don't even carry guns so extreme violence is a bit of a joke. But other than that we took Marina to a bunch of the places that we saw when we were is Glasgow for homestay - like the People's Palace and the Winter Gardens. We introduced her to the Scottish wonder that is the chain store Gregg's where between early in the morning and five at night you can get any type of pastry, pasty, sandwhich goodness that has ever been made on this fair isle (I believe that it was a chicken bake on this occasion, think cream of chicken stew cooked into a flaky pastry crust of wonder). Then we hiked on up to St. Mungo's Cathedral (he brought Catholicism to Scotland) and then hiked even farther up to the necropolis where you get some awesome views of the city, visited a charity shop or two, failed in our attempt to find Vanessa a pair of shoes and had hot chocolate at Costa's (think Starbucks) before heading back to dear old Edinburgh.
Edinburgh which by the way was our headquarters for November 4th as we waiting with bated breathe for the future of our nation - and by proxy the world - to be decided. It was freezing out, we were exhausted (remember that what you were watching at 11 o'clock we were watching at 4 in the morning), completely strung out on too much tea and a bottle or two of wine, and chatting via Skype conference call style with our friend Matt - a fellow political geek that we lived with for all of last year. And that's where we sat, at the desks in Vanessa's room counting the state's come in and watching MSNBC stream in from the States. By the time Obama's predicting victory came we were ecstatic and nearly delirious and I had to be to work in 4 hrs. But let's just say that after two years of phone banking and having it out with Hillary supporters and badgering the family into voting victory was oh so very very sweet. And that my friends is where I leave you although Vanessa should be following up shortly with an entry from our recent jaunt to Edinburgh Castle.

Warm regards,
Kaitlyn

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Photos

Nifty Tree
This is the entrance to the Glasgow Green where the People's Palace is located.

Council Housing
The people of Scotland and the wider UK like to but the less pretty aspects of their lives into little boxes and but them out of sight like these council houses (government funded housing that looks of concrete and glass egg crates) in Glasgow East.

Commemorative Arch
Don't ask me what it's for I have no idea.

It Just Needs a Coat of Paint
It actually has some amazing artwork of family and city crests on it.

Promenade to Obelisk
Once again don't ask me to recall what the obelisk is for - it's for a person, or group of persons and that's all you're going to get out of me on that.

Nifty Building
This is actually a building where they make carpets, but it's got some crazy designs on the outside.

Fountain
In front of the People's Palace, which is a museum of the history of Glasgow. The building itself isn't all that impressive hence the lack of photos.

Winter Gardens Inside
They've got a wee little piece of garden for flora from different corners of the world

The Clock Tower
This is in the market centre of Glasgow and way back when, when you stole something and they cut off your hand they nailed it to this tower or if you had been REALLY bad it was your head.

View from the Necropolis
The man who wrote Wee Willy Winky is buried here.

DNC Scotland Headquarters
This is at approximately midnight - so the first of the poles were just closing.

Dozen Cups of Tea + Two Bottles of Wine =
By the by Marina helped with the bottles of wine, but we may also have cracked open a bottle of Dublin 8.

2 o'clock am
That's Marina's hip by the way - we will get an actual picture of her up here eventually, but she's camera shy

VICTORY!!!
Sweet, sweet 4am victory!

Comments

[anonymous]

me and my pops went to the ppls palace when he visited round xmas. my ancestors used to live just beyond the fun fountain ^.^ its pretty dodgy, isnt it! im so happy obama won!!!!!!!!!!

[marmey]

keep up the great work in everything
wow, my favorite picture was of you and katlyn smiling at me, good for my heart and soul. keep working hard, as usual , but keep up those great side trips to broaden your world, and lighten your hearts. you'll have to bring marina home this summer too. I hate to say it but after you nomads come back from south africa i think you need to go to D.C. so you can have equal ground with the new thinkers , and be part of the transformation that will happen under our new PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, YIKES PINCH ME I VOTED FOR SOMEONE WHO WON. AMEN