A bus with a view
Today I went to the city centre with the intent of
purchasing a mobile phone so that I may actually be able to make and receive calls
(okay, maybe not receive them, as I don’t as yet have many friends). I am
ecstatic that I can now find my way there and back with no headaches or lonely
roaming about the city wondering where I am. Hurrah for me! Anyway, I went into
the Vodaphone store and talked to a nice representative who sold me a
pay-as-you-go phone and plan. I bought the cheapest phone they had to offer
(£25), as I won’t really be having it that long. The funny thing is, however,
that even the cheapest phone in Britain has a color screen and almost all the
amenities that are sought after in the U.S. And so, with my purchase complete,
I walked back to the bus stop at Little John Street. Here’s where the point of
this post comes in. I went up to the top deck of the bus (double-decker buses,
you’ve got to love them), and as I was all alone, I decided to do an impromptu
photo journal of my trip back to Hillhead. First off, being on the top saloon
of the bus, you get to experience numerous occasions where large branches whip at you against the windows.
Sometimes you forget that there are windows and wince when you see them coming
at you (at least I do)! Now, we’ll both journey from the city centre towards
Old Aberdeen. Here you can see some dingy tenement
high-rises on the left hand side, with a lovely juxtaposition of the old
stone buildings on the right hand side. In a way, this picture says a lot about
the city of Aberdeen. Most of the city has these modern meets traditional
elements all around. As you continue the bus tour, you pass an old building (I
believe that it is a primary school) that I think is most beautiful. As we
continue, we reach College
Bounds, a very narrow road that marks an entrance into Old Aberdeen. As you
can see, this road is so narrow (what with the people parked on the left hand
side) that the bus has had to pull over so that the cars on the other side can
pass! When we finally get going again, we pass some flats on the right
hand side. A little further down there are some even cuter flats on the
left hand side. Now we’re just about to approach King’s College
campus. You can see here how everything is made of stone. That’s because this
area was built around the time of the university’s founding in 1495. It’s very
quaint and cute, I think. Unfortunately, we went so fast through the actual
campus area, and the roads (all cobblestone, of course) were so bumpy that I
don’t have any actual pictures of the campus…I will take some at a later date.
However, here is a picture of the Old Town House
that marks one of the exits to King’s College. Again, this building is one of
the originals, if I’m not mistaken. Now we turn right onto a main road. I’ve included
a picture for those of you who might be curious about what a ‘typical’ Scottish
road looks like. On the left, we pass a very cute little collection of houses,
which I could picture myself living in. Now comes the fun bit. We approach the roundabout. Ah
yes…the single most confusing thing to happen to Scottish roads. This is one
major factor as to why I will never learn to drive in the United Kingdom. Now,
I have taken the bus numerous times and always study what goes on here as I
pass, but I yet to discover its secret. A look at the traffic lights usually
finds that ALL of them are green! Okay. So, who then is supposed to actually
go? I have no idea. I’m glad that the drivers seem to know what is going on,
because God help me if I ever have to navigate it! Now we continue on our way,
eventually driving along side of
