Aberdeen

now, ill be the first to admit, that i didnt have high hopes of aberdeen, but its a gorgeous city, right on the north east coast of scotland. its called the 'granite city' as there were plenty of granite mines around years ago, and hence most of the buildings are made of the grey stuff. unlikes most english cities where theres a mix match hotch potch of architectural styles and materials, theres a certain amount of beauty in the uniformity of the buildings in aberdeen. these are just of the town centre. funny thing about aberdeen, theres a church every 100 yards...seriously, the city if FULL of churches, most now in fact are swanky bars, like the ones above. a second interesting fact (my, we are being spoiled tody) is that smoking is banned in bars and pubs...i was in a bar the other night when this was pointed out to me...totally forgot. england goes smoke free in 7 weeks. anyway, aberdeen, jolly nice place. oh, and the castle is about 20 mins outside the centre of aberdeen along the beautiful coastline