Highlights from the Lowlands (Part One)

Back in class today, but last weekend was fun enough that I think I'll make it through.

The view from the castle towards "new" Edinbugh

Eight of my friends from Cal Poly and I set off from London on Thursday night and took the train from King's Cross (very Harry Potter) all the way up to Edinburgh. The scenery was beautiful, and because we're so far north it was bright enough to see the countryside for most of the trip.

We stayed in a hostel in the center of town, about two minutes from the train station and a ten minute walk from the Royal Mile (which is the central shopping/eating area of the "old town" section of Edinburgh).

Burgers and local beer? Yes, please!

On Friday we woke up early and walked up the Royal Mile to tour the Edinburg Castle. Be warned, the tickets are on the pricy side (16 GBP), but the views and castle were magnificent enough to be worth it! The castle offered a number of war museums, the old dungeons (creepy), and the Scottish national jewels. After the castle we found a delicious and cheap (!) pub where we all feasted and caught up on our wifi connections.

Once we were recharged, we then braved the clouds and eventual rain to do some shopping on the Royal Mile. I scored a tartan blanket, and a Clan Ross magnet, which is a huge win for someone who usually can't find anything personalized!

Elephant House 

After a couple more hours of exploring, it was time for more food. We went to the Elephant House, which was where J.K. Rowling began writing the Harry Potter series. The coffee and pastries were delicious, too.

All and all, an exhausting, but very fun day in Scotland!

Coming Soon: Day 2 in Edinburgh.

Coffee in Edinburgh

Dear readers, if you know one thing about me, it should be the fact that I love drinking coffee (extra points for trendy coffeeshops). So this will no doubt be the first of many posts dedicated to cool coffeeshops.

This shop's signs all featured beautiful sans-serif fonts which give the signage a very clean look to them. 

Edinburgh!

Hiked to the top of the castle, now enjoying a delicious pub lunch. Friday!

Kensington Society

LMy inspiration for the title (subject to change...) comes from this very cool sign that was posted across from one of the houses on the side alleyway I mentioned exploring in my last post.
This sign is a good example of the beautiful typography that can be found all over London. To get technical, it is an "Oldstyle" font, with slight curving serifs. Learning!

Now on our way to Edinburgh, photos to follow! 

"Window Box Award"

Above, a much more decorative font used on a mirror sign. 

More classic serif fonts!

Hello from London!

Greetings family and friends!

Finally, as promised, this is my London travel blog. It will focus on my experiences here in London, both related to class and on my weekend adventures. Hopefully it'll be as fun for you to read it as it will be for me to write it.

Anyway. With the awkwardness of first posts aside, for this post I'm going to attach a couple of pictures from my new home neighborhood of Kensington. Kensington is home to some of the wealthiest people in London (Hi, Will and Kate!), so it is unsurprisingly beautiful.

For my Graphic Communications class (GrC for short), a number of my posts will be focused on design, and this one isn't an exception. The buildings are all individual masterpieces, but together they form a very cohesive character.

Some lucky homeowners are off on small alley-like side streets that offer a lot of privacy and quiet. Very removed from crazy modern-day London.

A closer view of one of the very beautiful homes I walked by.

The "less fortunate" (ha) of Kensington live in these big beautiful row homes (the white ones).