Rosslyn Chapel, Castle and the Impressionists

My dear friend Frieda is making sure I get a 'proper' introduction to some of the most beautiful and artistic sides of Scotland! This morning she took me to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art to see the American Impressionism exhibit. As my great Uncle William Glackens in an American Impressionist and I love the Impressionists, I was very excited to go. They did have some William Glackens note cards for sale in the gift shop, but his paintings were not included in this exhibition. I think he was prime about 10 years after the featured artists; Monet, Hassam, Cassatt, Sargent, Morisot, Chase and Degas to name a few. You can read more about this wonderful exhibit here. Monet & Degas were not American but inspiration for the artists  mentioned and many more that I listed. Wow!

It was a wonderful exhibit which we wandered through twice, with a delicious lunch in between. I think I had homemade soup for lunch at all the places we’ve visited so far, not what you would necessarily get at an American lunch at a museum or historic house. Today Frieda and I both had Pumpkin soup with chili and freshly made oatcakes, which I have never had before. So good!

After the Impressionist exhibit we headed towards Rosslyn and the famous chapel. I have not read the Da Vinci Code, but perhaps I should watch the movie with Steven after visiting the chapel. The 2 photos on the left above are of the chapel. You might be able to see Frieda snapping some photos on the left! Under the larger photo of the chapel is a detail of one of the many, many carvings in the chapel, this one of a little monkey : ) It was really amazing and almost impossible to take in all of the carvings and all of the work done including beautiful stained glass windows. The present chapel was built in 1650 is still being refurbished, but Frieda tells me and earlier version of the chapel was built in the 1100’s and destroyed I think because of the Reformation.

After that we walked down the hill to the Castle which you can see on the lower right. Part of the castle is now used as a Bed & Breakfast! I took a lot more photos and when I get home hope to add them to an album on flickr as the old stones and towers are quite beautiful. Right now Frieda’s Broadband is out and we have only limited use of her Satellite connection to upload – I am writing this off line in a document and will upload when I add my photo!  

The last photo you see is me holding a one pound coin, money I am unfamiliar with and often have to ask Frieda for help with!! But I do think it is beautiful. My whole trip has been kind of a dream . . . spending time with a friend I have known for so long, yet getting to know her even better. It is the sound of her voice that impresses me the most and completes my picture of her, brings her closer to me. I marvel at how alike we are in many ways and how easy it is to spend time with her.

Tomorrow is her talk at the Gallery where her 52 Journal Quilts exhibit is, I cannot wait! I have seen all of her quilts in this exhibit online before, but never in person. After that there is one more day for me here and then I must board a plane early Monday for the States –Florida, my steven & the pups!!