16 April 2010

It's been a busy few days and haven't had much time to write up our blog - that's a sign of having a good time, we think!!

As a quick catch up from our last entry - we spent our last full day in Scotland exploring a few seaside villages between St Andrews and Kirkcaldy - they are so beautiful. We then had a lovely lunch in Kirkcaldy with Julie Dixon, from the YWCA Scotland who we have met at numerous Y world council meetings around the world. We also met some of Juli's friends who she worked with when she lived in Scotland, Cath, Susan and Denise and Amy. It was such a lovely gathering and we got to taste some Scottish wines - yes, I couldn't believe it, but they make wine from brambles, strawberries, blackberries and other fruits. Deadly levels of alcohol, but a nice sweet drop! After lunch we walked into town to see the Robert Vettriano exhibition - he is a local Fife artist who is self-taught and has a number of famous pieces of work which include, a man and a woman dancing on the beach with the butler and maid holding umbrellas over their heads - you can check out his work on the web. It was a lovely exhibition and it is always great to see local artwork that is famous around the world. Our last evening was spent out to dinner at the Vine Leaf - a favourite haunt of Juli and Colin's - had a lovely dinner of oysters, white bait, calamari, fish, lamb and black pudding (does anyone remember the Goodies' skit about the ekkythump?).

The next day was a travelling day as we made our way from Largoward to Edinburgh then onto Heathrow for a few hours before the long trek across the Atlantic to Washington DC. Unbeknownst to us a volcano had been erupting in Iceland and was spewing out huge amounts of ash and gases. On arrival in DC we found out that the airports in the UK, Scandinavia and parts of Europe had grounded their flights within hours of our departure….we were very lucky to not be affected by this travel issue. We are not due to get on any flights for two weeks, so hopefully things may be more settled by then.

Good weather and good fortune remains with us - DC had its warmest day in about 6 months yesterday and we walked for miles seeing the sites: The White House, Lincoln Memorial, Pool of reflection, The Memorial to the Vietnam Veterans, Washington Memorial, The Mall, The Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, Capitol Hill, Downtown, and Chinatown. There is so much to see here - we need much more time, but we are off to Charlottesville this morning on the train. The American Indian Museum was fantastic - the curating was fantastic and it was totally developed in consultation with the First Nations and provides evidence of 'true past' through to contemporary First Nation lives. It was very moving and beautifully displayed.

Today is Emancipation Day in Washington DC and so they have a public holiday. We had the questionable opportunity to attend a Tea Party rally in Freedom Square who were protesting against Obama's health care reforms - their favourite slogan is "Don't tread on me", "don't take what I earn for those who don't earn" - analysis of this group is that they are over-represented by white, middle and upper class, wealthy, angry Americans who resent the proposed tax and insurance reforms.We felt like we were surrounded by lots of sarah palins and educated red-necks.

Time to go to breakfast now - catch you from Chalottesville!