photo essay: st.andrews

warning: you are about to OD on pictures.

but whatever, it's how i roll. i love photography and you're here right, so you probably like it too.

anyway, st. andrews.

the small, quiet, seaside town full of history, and beauty.

st. andrews completely took my breath away. from the castle, university, old course, beach, and charming cemetery, i was in heaven/hooked.

it is super laid back and serene, yet young and spirited.

i definitely would not mind studying there for a semester .

 the doors.

most of them painted some form of green or blue, reflecting the seaside, i assume.

charming, none the less...

 the gorgeous cemetery overlooking the ocean.

more on that below...

 sandy toes+blue skies=happy girl.

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 swilcan bridge & the road hill bunker at the old course.

"here we lie in a horizontal position. like a ship laid up, stripped of her sail and rigging"

+

that is a real street name.

 part of the church next to the university

 i loved walking around in all of the golf history and culture. 

i knew so much about it from my dad, which made it even better.

plus, i just love golf in general, so that was all good. 

you should probably be a fan if you are going to st. andrews.

beautiful architecture.

standing on the 18th.

 i LOVE the vintage feel on this photo.

i played around with cross processing and saturation levels, and it is so reminiscent of vintage gold stills hanging around in pubs throughout st. andrews.

 major sun that day...i got burned.

worth it.

here i am talking to my dad on the phone.

telling me about his trip in st. andrews years before.

that was really cool to have a conversation with him, him knowing exactly where i was standing.

beautiful stained glass windows in the church.

 the university grounds.

++++++++++++

this next batch is all from the beautiful cemetery.

i am completely charmed by cemeteries, and have never been afraid. 

i think they are breathtaking, especially old ones full of headstones dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries.

amazing font!

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i really love this next photo:

 can you see what i see?

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a skull!

"eeeee-rooooo-sioooonn"

that's for my dad and brothers...

 storm clouds cover the sunset over the old course.

and i will leave with this beautiful shot.

lighting is lovely.

xo, hay

the museum of childhood, edinburgh

i wanted to do a separate post for this because i had a lot of pictures 

[although most are from my phone or without flash]

and also because i found it to be incredibly awesome.

totally nerdy, i know.

i have said it before...but i really love museums. 

i was so excited to go here.

the entrance leads you into a tiny vintage toy shop, and in the back you can catch a glimpse of a small hall lined with glass cases stuffed with toys, pictures, and memorabilia.

at first, it was a bit misleading, thinking it was that small.

but, since it was free, i figured, 'eh...why not?'

but once i realized that it was filled with not one, not two, not three, but four floors of vintage childhood toys and games...it was on.

i loved seeing all of this old stuff.

it reminded me of playing with old toys in my grandmother's home.

all of these were in the main hall and stairwells.

the game board that looks like scrabble, is actually a biblical scripture game, and the 'mappa-muni' may have been my favorite from the 'craft and games' floor. we actually weren't allowed to take photos on that one floor, so those were the only games i got before i was asked to put the camera away...ops.

but i couldn't resist. i love old games and you should have seen all of the vintage puzzles lining the wall.

the next floor was all about dolls.

organized by year and style, my favorites were the dolls from around the world.

shocker, right?

yay for bad quality iphone pictures!

the next floor was definitely my favorite. it housed model trains, cars, carnivals, zoos, palaces, and my favorite thing, doll houses. doll houses are one of those things that i just love, (i know, i have a lot) but really, some of my favorite toys growing up were the wooden doll house i got from santa one christmas (i was very skeptical about how he got the huge thing down the chimney...) & the vintage doll house at my grandma's house. 

i'm only now a "girly-girl" and i wasn't at all when i was younger. i really think that my adoration with these things came from my early obsession with architecture and design. i rearranged my room all the time, but that's another story for another day.

anyway...

the doll houses.

wow. they were amazing. so elaborate and full of detail.

i was very, very envious.

 doll houses, train yard, and a palace.

model trains + old cars.

nostalgia.

+++

so, then the last floor finished up with old tea sets from around the world.

i, of course, managed to only take two 'usable' photos.

so, all in all, this museum has to rank third on my top three.

1. OMSI

2. The Louvre

and now,

3. The Museum of Childhood

people, if you're ever in edinburgh, i'm going to say this is a must see.

photo essay: edinburgh two

a second dose of beautiful edinburgh, scotland

+++

once i had reached the bottom of the royal mile and seen the holyrood palace 

(pictured above) with the gorgeous park, i made my way up another main road towards 'our dynamic earth' and the main campus buildings.

i had wanted to go into the dynamic earth museum since i saw it on the map and in the guidebook.

i was even more excited about the fact that the international science festival was going on while i was in town.

the entrance to the museum was full price, but in the main lobby and in other areas of the museum you could explore science booths and presentations. the place is really focused on geography and earth science, conservation and how humans impact the earth...things that are right up my alley.

i told you i was a nerd.

i ate at the world's end pub.

it was okay, not great, not bad.

i had a glass of wine from santa barbara though, which was yummy.

here's another shot of the queen's gallery at holyrood house + the side of the funky parliment building offices.

+++

i loved exploring all of the little shops:

the cigar box, cadenhead's whiskey, and my favorite one, the vintage and retro used books store.

oh, had i had more money and room in my baggage i could have gone crazy in that store.

i loved the name of this organic grocery store: mama said food!

street artists, bright signs, and mexican folk stores are all the rage.

next up: museum of childhood (tomorrow).

xoxo, hay