I took off for Glasgow to meet up with Fiona and Heidi who I met when we were all traveling in Bolivia. They are both British, and have just finished up their trip, and had told me that as I would be in their neck of the woods about the time they got home that I should swing up for a visit. In theory its a swell idea but when taking in to account they're finishing up a year of traveling and now getting ready to go back to work, its a stressful time for them with a lot of people who want to see them and catch up. Despite this, its really all worked out fantastically.
The night I got in to town, we headed around to a variety of different bars in downtown Glasgow before heading out to Dinner. Afterwards, we headed out to meet some of their freinds and catch a movie. It was a pretty good movie about the roaring 20's, or at least the parts I stayed awake for seemed nice.
When we got back to Hiedis place, I got to see the TV show everyone has been telling me about. Its called Wife Swap. They take 2 families from different backgrounds with different household roles and change the wifes for 2 weeks. For the first week, house rules apply, for week 2 the new wife gets to put in her rules. Talk about a great reality show. Conflict, conflict, conflict!! Love it. Dont worry, its on its way to the US of A... http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,1058503,00.html
So, when I met Heidi and Fiona in Bolivia, I told them that I wanted to buy a kilt when I got in to Scotland. They then informed me that a kilt will run about £400 on average. Most people who own them own ones that are passed down through the family. You can buy cheaper ones, but they look just that - cheap. The last thing you want, is to be seen wearing a cheap-o kilt. So the other option is to rent one. Which is what I did.
Hiedi had to work so Fiona took me out to the kiltmakers. The kiltmaker was a strange guy, further enhanced by the fact that he is called the kiltmaker but doesnt actually make them, but he assured us that he does order them. I was able to rent a kilt, along with the proper belt and the sporran. The sporran is a little purse like thing that goes on a chain around your waist. See, kilts have no pockets, and someone hundreds of years ago figured that people needed somewhere to put their cell phones and cameras. Perfect. I am thinking about adopting one as my daily attire.
The plan was to wear the kilt out to a Ceilidh (Pronounced Kay-lee) if we could find a good one. Well, we found 2 Ceilidhs and our first choice was booked solid with reservations for Friday night, the other one at the Riverside Cafe was first come, first serve, but they only allow a certain number of people in and turn away the rest at the door. So we decided to do that one, but we had to meet people at a different bar first.
Fionas freind Archie joined us for the evening, and as he had a kilt, he wore his as well. So the 4 of us walked in to a slightly posh bar, with Archie and I being the only 2 guys wearing kilts. I didnt feel self-concious, but I was constantly concious of the fact I was wearing it. Suddenly, I noticed a girl at a nearby table looking at it. She must of said something to her friend who then turned around to look at it and nodded approval. Then the original girl looked up at me and nodded and threw a flirty smile. Kilt: 2, Jeans: 0. I continued on with the conversation in our group when I saw a different girl, standing on the other side of the room do about the exact same thing. Look at the kilt, look up, nod and smile. Hot damn. Kilt: 3, Jeans: 0. Yessir my friends, I think I need to invest in one of these things.
We had to head to the Riverside in time to make sure we werent turned away, but as it turned out we were the first people there. Although, within 20 miutes, the place was full.
So what is a Ceilidh? I hope I do it justice descrbing it, but you can look it up on the web if I've confused you. Its a traditional Scottish dance that hasnt gone by the wayside now that modern times have come upon us. There are routines that go with each dance which involve a lot of spinning, jumping, clapping, and the occasional whoop. The routines are pretty easy to learn for first-timers, although most of the crowd there, in ages between 20 and 35, had learned them in elementary school and knew them. I just found it so cool that a crowd of this age really got in to going to this sort of thing. I think in the US this type of thing would be considered 'uncool'. Maybe thats why I liked it so much, I was never one of those cool kids in the hip crowd. But its a shame that it couldnt be cool to do stuff like this, like it is here. Everyone just had a fantastic time and the mood of the evening was festive all night long. The only reason anyone might not join in with a particular dance is that there might not be enough room. My friends were telling me that part of the reason these are so popular, is that its what makes weddings so fun. A wedding without a Ceilidh just isnt that fun they say. You sit and socialize and maybe dance. But with the Ceilidh everyone just gets super festive. Whatever the reason, I really had a ball. Perfect place to wear my kilt to. Out of the 50 or so people there, there were only about 4-5 guys wearing kilts. And yes, I wore it properly.
We headed back home after the dance. I did sort of want to head out to more bars, although it was really more just to see if I could score a couple more points with kilt smiles.
Saturday, Fiona and Heidi and I headed to Edinburgh to check out the town and see a party called Vegas, which they had raved on about while we were traveling. I must say that Edinburgh has some of the best architecture I have seen on my trip yet. The buildings were just incredible. We arrived at night so I wasnt able to take any pictures, but will later this week when I go back.
We got in late at night and walked around the city for a bit, and then went on one of the cities ghost tours. The ghost tour went through the cemetary in to the black mausoleum where over 500 people were murdered and their remains lie just feet from the those of the man who had them all killed. Supposedly one of the most haunted graveyards in the world. We packed our whole tour group in this tiny and dark room about 20ft X 20ft waiting for our little slice of paranormal activity which we paid £6 to see. No luck today. The goblins must have the night off. After all, it is the day following Halloween, which is 'Day of the Dead' in Mexico and other latin countries, so presumably the ghosts have other matters to attend to in those parts of the world.
After the ghost tour, we headed on our way to the Vegas party. Again, this party is unlike anything I have ever seen, and it was amazing. Its a fancy dress party in the style of flappers of the roaring 20s, but with music all the way up to the 50s and 60s. You can wear anything you want, but antique suits and flapper dresses are most common. Cocktail dresses, 70s outfits, be-bop clothes and other era-gone-by outfits are also welcomed. The music is a fun-to-dance-to mix of everything you'd normally never hear played anywhere else. I had great fun dancing to it all, but largely just made it all up as I went along, as it seemed most poeple were doing as well.