Hiking Down the Mile: Palace of Holyroodhouse

At the bottom of the Royal Mile, the other end from Edinburgh Castle up on the castle rock, is the Palace of Holyroodhouse. This palace is the official home of the British monarchy when in Scotland and has been such since the 16th century.

The Royal Collection Trust does not allow photography inside the palace, however, we did manage a cheeky pic of us dressed in Tudor headgear. Next to the palace and part of the price of admission is Holyrood Abbey (endless photo opportunities here).

The name Holyrood means 'Holy Cross' and the abbey was founded here by King David I in 1128 after he saw a vision of a stag with a glowing cross between its antlers.

The moody ruins were the perfect end to our tour of the palace. There was also a fantastic cafe with some delicious lunch options and just look at that Victoria Sponge!

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Julia Margaret Cameron: a Bad-ass Victorian Photographer

Booking my tickets to London month's prior, I knew one thing was for sure, I would be going to the Victoria and Albert Museum and admiring the images produced by a Victorian pioneer photographer: Julia Margaret Cameron. 

A female experimental artist, not fully appreciated for her artistic merit in her day, is now seen as possessing the ability to really capture her sitter's spirit with the use of her soft focus, closely cropped image, and powerfully contrasting backgrounds. Not to mention many of her sitters were friends and family members, but also happen to be famous and significant personalities of the day.

When she wasn't taking portraitures, she staged Biblical or literary stories, playing with movement and manipulating the wet collodion process, where some photographers would consider her results a failure she would exclaim a success.

The artist herself

It was a beautiful exhibition and I'm super please that I was in London while it was there. I ended my visit to the super over-the-top museum cafe for a spot of tea. I heart museum cafes. I should put that on a shirt.

The exhibit at the V&A will be on until February 21, 2016 

it's free and they are open daily from 10:00-17:45

OR

Head over to the Science Museum, just across the road and check out the
Julia Margaret Cameron: Influence and Intimacy

Running until March 28, 2016

Also free and open daily 10:00-18:00

(I didn't know this was going on so I missed out, if you do go to it, please tell me about it in the comments!)

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The Burrell Collection

For the past couple weeks I've been house sitting for a friend in Glasgow. This is a great city with lots to do, however, I don't have a lot of money to be spending on extravegances so I'm choosing wisely how I spend my time here. I'm a museum junkie and visit as many museums as I can when I find myself in a new place.

The Burrell Collection, named after it's donor, Sir William Burrell and his wife Constance, Lady Burrell, is located in the Pollok Country Park, Glasgow. The collection was started as a private collection of art mostly of their contemporaries and was deeded to the City of Glasgow in 1944. 

model of the Burrell Collection building

detail from 16th century stained glass 

The woodland setting and large windows were a great backdrop to showcase many sculputres

The reason why I wanted to visit was for the Rodin pieces. They did not disappoint.

Floor mosaic from Ancient Rome

The museum cafe was also surrounded with floor to ceiling windows surrounded by the Pollock Country Park's many nature trails with families exploring and dogs playing. It was a great afternoon. I will be going back again with a picnic to explore some of the trials myself.

Any suggestions of things I should do in Glasgow or day trips I should take? 



Fun travels!

This is not a sponsored post. All the opinions expressed are my own.