Monday, July 12, 2010

Looking down on Edinburgh, July 10 2010

This was a new experience for us, driving across Scotland from the ferry terminal at Stranraer all the way to the far side of Edinburgh. We decided to see what way the trusty Garmin would direct us... We'll go back to double checking its choices. The views were stunning, but these were not the easiest roads for a long day of driving.

Still, we got there, and that's the important part. The next day - Friday - Steven had a day off from work, but he went in anyway just to show us around.

Back in college, my favorite places to be were the library and the physics lab. At the Royal Observatory, we got to wander through labs big and small, where everything from micro technology to huge elements of telescopes were being developed and tested. Steven was a great tour guide, showing us through educational displays and working laboratories alike.

And the library! Surrounded by the history of astronomy in books and journals going back to the 1800s, I could easily have gotten lost for days, but we had other places to be. Steven had arranged for us to see the Crawford Collection.

I'd have been thrilled just to leaf through the first editions of Copernicus, Gallileo and Newton, but what really took my breath away were a couple of amazing medieval manuscripts. Oh yes, and the view of Edinburgh from the lecture room...

1 comment:

  1. Oh, thanks for telling me about that--I'll be in Edinburgh for a week next week...

    ReplyDelete