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Scotland & the North
  • Dominick Pisa
  • Dominick Pisa

Scotland & the North

Late February to early April 2024 Leer más
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  • Inicio del viaje
    26 de febrero de 2024
    Dominick PisaScotland & the NorthViajero

    Bury

    27 de febrero de 2024, Inglaterra ⋅ 🌧 43 °F

    Just north of Manchester, Bury is a historic market town and the home of the Lancashire Fusiliers, a distinguished infantry regiment in the British Army that fought in some very famous battles. The Fusilier Museum highlighted the lives of the fusiliers in such battles as Culloden, the Boyne, Saratoga, Gallipoli, and the Somme. In the War of 1812, they burned the city of Washington.Leer más

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  • Dominick PisaScotland & the NorthViajero

    York

    28 de febrero de 2024, Inglaterra ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F

    York is one of the most beautiful cities of the UK. Although currently rather small, it once rivaled London as the most powerful city on the island of Great Britain. Loaded with history — Romans, Vikings, Normans, Plantagenets, and the War of the Roses — York is incredibly well preserved. Its medieval center is surrounded by city walls. Wherever you are within those walls you will catch a glimpse of the bell tower of the York Minster, the cathedral that dates back to the 13th century. Constantine the Great was proclaimed Emperor of Rome in York while he was holding court in the city. It was captured by Ivar the Boneless who set up Viking rule. Richard III and Henry VII battled for it, leading to the reign of the House of Tudor. And Dame Judi Dench was born and raised in the city as both her parents worked for the York Theater Royal.Leer más

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  • Dominick PisaScotland & the NorthViajero
    11

    York — Museums and Gardens

    29 de febrero de 2024, Inglaterra ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    I had done a few of the main attractions in York during my two previous visits here, so I decided to go to the Burton Art Gallery, the York Museum, and the National Railway Museum today. Loved the trains, especially the Pullman cars. At the art museum, they had a special exhibit called “Queering the Burton” which was really ingenious. They researched the history of the works in their collection to have a “coming out” for the gay and lesbian stories and themes that were previously hidden or untold in some of the paintings and sculptures. These works were tagged with special pink placards that contained “the rest of the story” that provided this additional perspective. It was simple but effective. The Museum Gardens, Dean’s Park at York Minster, and Clifford’s Tower completed the day.Leer más

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  • Dominick PisaScotland & the NorthViajero

    Edinburgh

    1 de marzo de 2024, Escocia ⋅ 🌬 41 °F

    As I told Liz today, I’ve declared March to be Scottish heritage month, so I will be celebrating her people. It started today with an episode of Hamish Macbeth when I arrived at my hotel. And I’ll be spending the whole month exploring — mainly the Lowlands. Charlene, Cheri, and I determined that it has been 25 years since we were here in Edinburgh with our 8th graders. That was an amazing trip but I’m glad not to have an army of students following me around the city. Edinburgh is known for their Fringe Festival in the summer which highlights stand up comedy, but right now they have their improv festival which features improv teams from all over Europe, North America, and Australia. I have tickets for a show tonight which brings together the teams from Glasgow and Berlin. It should be interesting. I’m just gonna keep my head down so as not to be called up on stage at any point. Improv can be dangerous that way.Leer más

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  • Dominick PisaScotland & the NorthViajero

    Edinburgh — Royal Mile

    2 de marzo de 2024, Escocia ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

    It’s beautiful here. The city sits on top of two parallel ridges with a few bridges connecting the two across the small valley in between. It really makes for dramatic views, especially because the castle and the Old Town are at the highest point. Saturday afternoon was very busy with lots of crowds up and down the Royal Mile between Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. I don’t think the crowds are for the improv festival, but I’m looking forward to going again today. The show was great last night. It’s so amazing what people can come up with off the top of their heads. Their slogan for the festival is “Be bold, be playful, be unique, be fearless.” They were certainly all of those things. The Berlin group had 3 people, and they worked really well together. The team from Glasgow had 5 which seems much harder, but they killed it — nonstop laughter. Happily, there was very little audience participation.Leer más

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  • Dominick PisaScotland & the NorthViajero

    Edinburgh — The Majestic Tour

    3 de marzo de 2024, Escocia ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F

    Sometimes I’m a tourist and sometimes I’m a traveler. With a hop-on hop-off bus pass for 3 days and an improv comedy show every night, I have been very much a tourist here, and it has been fun. Edinburgh really is amazing. I don’t know why it didn’t rank right up there with my favorites before this trip (see comment about being followed by an army of students) but now I’m so impressed. You could practically aim your camera in any direction and capture something beautiful. I can see why writers have been inspired by Edinburgh over the years. I think I’m coming back here in June, so I’ll look forward to that.Leer más

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  • Dominick PisaScotland & the NorthViajero

    Edinburgh — Princes Street

    3 de marzo de 2024, Escocia ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F

    The last night in Edinburgh was fun. Went to another improv show — third show in three days — and one of the teams was from New York. I was so glad to have been in town for this festival. I’ve been to a couple of improv shows in New York but it hasn’t been something I was too thrilled about. These teams were great. I might have to give it another try when I get home. I watch a lot of British TV at home, and I really think they do an amazing job with their stand up comedy. They create panel shows and game shows just to highlight their comedians and give them a chance to riff off of one another. Taskmaster and QI are great examples of this — or Eight Out of Ten Cats. I’m obsessed with these shows at home and can watch them on a loop for days. So I’ve become really familiar with their comedians and with British comedy in general. It’s different for sure. The audience reacts to the simplest puns and innuendos. Sometimes it can be Mr. Bean levels of silliness, but most of the time it’s witty and clever, and just good-hearted, intelligent humor. They use the same 20-30 comedians in all of these shows and you really get to know their personalities and idiosyncrasies. In a way it reminds me of American comedy and TV in the 70s when some of our comedians would do a circuit of game shows and variety shows. We don’t seem to have that anymore, but the Brits definitely do. There’s a national cultural identity that is preserved and promoted through all of this and I really admire it. That’s a long way of saying that I was not surprised that their approach to improv would be more sophisticated and clever — just pure entertainment.Leer más

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  • Dominick PisaScotland & the NorthViajero

    Stirling

    4 de marzo de 2024, Escocia ⋅ ⛅ 46 °F

    Once the capital of Scotland, Stirling is loaded with medieval and Renaissance history. During the Wars for Scottish Independence, it was the site of several key battles when the Scots were led by William Wallace (Braveheart) fighting off an English invasion. “He who holds Stirling holds Scotland” was said by Robert the Bruce, highlighting the cities strategic importance lying on the River Forth at the point which connects the Scottish Highlands with the Lowlands. The Church of the Holy Rude which I visited today was where the Scottish kings were crowned, including James VI, the son of Mary Queen of Scots who succeeded Elizabeth I and began the House of Stuart as James I, uniting the crowns of Scotland and England. Clans, kilts, bagpipes — it’s all here.Leer más

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  • Dominick PisaScotland & the NorthViajero

    Stirling Castle

    5 de marzo de 2024, Escocia ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    This morning I toured Stirling Castle, and it proved to be a major highlight of this trip. It’s one of the best examples I’ve ever seen of geography determining history. The castle sits on a rock at the point overlooking which was at the time the only crossing of the River Forth that splits Scotland in two. Mary Queen of Scots lived here as a child. Bonnie Prince Charlie marched his army here in an attempt to retake Scotland, and his loyal followers — the Jacobites — were considered traitors to the throne and sentenced to transportation — being deported to Australia — rather than martyred by hanging. I did my senior research project in college on these “Scottish Martyrs” so it all came rushing back. The guide was amazing, as were the views. This is really a special place.Leer más

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  • Dominick PisaScotland & the NorthViajero

    The William Wallace Monument

    5 de marzo de 2024, Escocia ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

    Proclaimed the Guardian of the Realm at a time when the English had installed a puppet government, William Wallace is Scotland’s national hero. His victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge is considered one of the greatest moments in Scottish history. It is the story in the movie Braveheart except they left out the bridge, which is kind of like making a movie about the Boston Tea Party and leaving out the tea. It was all about the bridge. The photo of the map in the museum shows how important the Stirling Bridge was to Scotland at the time. This was a very full day of Scottish history. I’m so impressed with how well it has been preserved. I met a woman in the gift shop who just retired. She looked younger than me. She worked the emergency phone lines for the NHS for 30 years and now just has this great little job selling tchotchkes twice a week at the national monument. She seemed quite happy. I could see myself doing something like that.Leer más

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  • Dominick PisaScotland & the NorthViajero

    Falkirk — The Kelpies

    6 de marzo de 2024, Escocia ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    Two short rides by train and bus led me to Falkirk’s famous sculpture by Andy Scott titled “The Kelpies.” Using Clydesdales as models, the artist created these 100 foot high horse heads to honor the animals whose work contributed to Scotland’s success in the Industrial Revolution. They are situated in a large park along the Forth and Clyde Canal which connects Glasgow and Edinburgh. According to Scottish folklore, Kelpies are shape-shifting water spirits that live in the lochs and seas and take on the form of horses among other things.Leer más

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  • Dominick PisaScotland & the NorthViajero

    Rosslyn Chapel

    7 de marzo de 2024, Escocia ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F

    If you’re a fan of the Da Vinci Code or Ancient Aliens, you are probably familiar with Rosslyn Chapel. Founded 600 years ago by the Earl of Caithness, William Sinclair, it now holds many mysteries involving the Knights Templar, the Holy Grail, Freemasonry, and the bloodline of Jesus Christ. Before Dan Brown’s novel came out in 2003, they had so few visitors, they were barely able to keep up with the maintenance of the chapel. Immediately after its release, everything changed. They now get many thousands of visitors and have been able to finance a complete restoration as well as the addition of a visitor center. People come to see the symbolic carvings in the walls and pillars which are said to hold secret meanings. Historians say none of this is based in fact, but the chapel plays it well. They include references to the novel and film in the narrative of their guides. They make a point of showing visitors every symbol discussed in the novel, and they direct you to a place where a scene from the movie was filmed. Exit through the gift shop and you’ll see displays of the novels and conspiracy books along with guides to help you crack the code. To keep things a bit of a mystery, they do not allow photography inside the chapel. I had to wait until the curator needed a break to snap one interior photo. The other one — from the crypt — was a sneaky shot made possible by being the last one out during the tour. This place was was great though. It was definitely on my list of must-see Scottish sites. I just love a good mystery.Leer más

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  • Dominick PisaScotland & the NorthViajero

    Doune

    10 de marzo de 2024, Escocia ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F

    Doune Castle boasts some impressive modern connections having been the filming location for Ivanhoe, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Outlander, and Game of Thrones (as Winterfell). The audio guide in the castle is narrated by Terry Jones in the style of Monty Python. For the Outlander series, an entire village was built along the River Teith just outside the castle walls.Leer más

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  • Dominick PisaScotland & the NorthViajero

    Culloden

    14 de marzo de 2024, Escocia ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F

    The Battle of Culloden would be as familiar to Brits as Gettysburg is to Americans. It’s one of the most famous battles in British history and also the last one fought on British soil. The visitors’ center does a great job telling the story with an expert guide to take you around the battlefield, a full 360 degree reenactment film, and the death mask of Bonnie Prince Charlie who led the rebel forces. One unique and memorable installation is a wall on the side of the museum which has 50 bricks protruding to show the losses of the king’s forces and, just to the right of that, there are 1500 protruding bricks to show the number of Jacobites killed. It was a slaughter. And it’s also a turning point in Scottish history because it began the English attempt to destroy Highland culture by outlawing kilts, the Gaelic language, and ownership of weapons. They wanted to punish the Highlanders for the Jacobite Rebellion and make sure it never happened again.Leer más

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