Back Home and Online...
Around 09.30 pm I got home from my wonderful, wonderful sunny vacation in Scotland and what happened a few minutes ago? Heavy downpour and it's still raining...oh well, better here now than during my time up north :-) I will probably go to bed soon, because I didn't sleep that well during the last couple of days. Kind of restless, probably because I miss my big queensize bed without matresses, that squeak whenever I turn around. Even though I would have laughed to stay in Scotland a while longer, it's nice to be home as well. Home, sweet home. I already dread all the laundry I have to do tomorrow and to answer some work-related mails and tend to some work-related things tomorrow as well. At least I won't have to return to the office till Wednesday. And there are so many blogs and journals and Grey's fanfictions to catch up with as well. I hope I will be able to do some of that tomorrow as well...
On my long journey today (on the train) and a lot of times in the park or at night in the hotel room Jamie and Claire (from the Gabaldon series) kept me good company. I'm half way through book 3 (of 6) and what can I say. I'm very much reminded of the time not so long ago when I was infatuated with the Twilight series. And both stories have a few things in common. To me at least. In both series there are 2 people deeply in love, but with a lot of obstacles in their way to a happy end. I was sucked into both stories pretty much early on in the story and started to care very much about the fate of this couple. I thought the writing in both stories was/is very entertaining. But even though I liked the writing itself, there appear(ed) to be more and more flaws in the storytelling. But I was (or am) too hooked already to have that bother me too much. I don't know if I should love or hate the writers for making me neglect these flaws I still recognize as such :-)
I shouldn't be so hard on Diana Gabaldon though, as I definitely would pick her series over Twilight any time. Because I love reading historic novels. Because Jamie and Claire are grownups, doing grownup things (and, no, I'm not talking about sex, well not first of all anyway *g*). Because the story is set in Scotland and it was so nice to read it while being there where it all takes place. And mostly because even though I see some flaws in her storytelling, I'm pretty sure I don't have to deal with such farfetched things like human/vampire offsprings, men turning to wolves, imprinting on babies and protective bubbles created by mere mindpowerl. So I will continue to easily overlook the unbelievable coincidences and chance encounters and suddenly revealed relations that help the Gabaldon story moved forward. And some other things, which sometimes makes me feel like watching a soapopera. But a very entertaing one. Like I said: Guilty pleasure...
I don't know when I will be able to post the first photos and write some more about this vacation, because work and other stuff might keep me busy for the next few days. And will probably very fast disturb the still relaxed state of mind I'm in. But I had to do one thing tonight, before I go to bed. [Anyone not the least interested in Patrick Dempsey/Grey's Anatomy can stop reading now *g*] To put in the "Made of Honor" DVD and make some screenshots. Because I was pretty sure that I recognized one of the locations they used a scene. Fangirl as I am it made me strangely giddy, even though it's just an exterior shot and I couldn't even recognize if Paddy was even in this exterior shot. But anyway I'm pretty sure he was around there somewhere during the shooting of the movie, because this shot was taken in Portree, which is the largest town on the Isle of Skye, where the movie was filmed. To give you a sense of the island, there are 2.000 people living in Portree and I guess it's the biggest accumulation of pubs, restaurants and shops , so I'm sure he has been there at one time :-)
Anyway here are the screenshots (it's right after Tom told Hannah he loves here / before Hannah has to sell kisses in the pub)
And that was the view from my hotel room in Portree *squee*
Well, I have to confess that photo above was taken from street level, the view from my hotelroom window (windowframe on the right to prove it) was slightly different. Still a nice view, film location or not :-)
On my long journey today (on the train) and a lot of times in the park or at night in the hotel room Jamie and Claire (from the Gabaldon series) kept me good company. I'm half way through book 3 (of 6) and what can I say. I'm very much reminded of the time not so long ago when I was infatuated with the Twilight series. And both stories have a few things in common. To me at least. In both series there are 2 people deeply in love, but with a lot of obstacles in their way to a happy end. I was sucked into both stories pretty much early on in the story and started to care very much about the fate of this couple. I thought the writing in both stories was/is very entertaining. But even though I liked the writing itself, there appear(ed) to be more and more flaws in the storytelling. But I was (or am) too hooked already to have that bother me too much. I don't know if I should love or hate the writers for making me neglect these flaws I still recognize as such :-)
I shouldn't be so hard on Diana Gabaldon though, as I definitely would pick her series over Twilight any time. Because I love reading historic novels. Because Jamie and Claire are grownups, doing grownup things (and, no, I'm not talking about sex, well not first of all anyway *g*). Because the story is set in Scotland and it was so nice to read it while being there where it all takes place. And mostly because even though I see some flaws in her storytelling, I'm pretty sure I don't have to deal with such farfetched things like human/vampire offsprings, men turning to wolves, imprinting on babies and protective bubbles created by mere mindpowerl. So I will continue to easily overlook the unbelievable coincidences and chance encounters and suddenly revealed relations that help the Gabaldon story moved forward. And some other things, which sometimes makes me feel like watching a soapopera. But a very entertaing one. Like I said: Guilty pleasure...
I don't know when I will be able to post the first photos and write some more about this vacation, because work and other stuff might keep me busy for the next few days. And will probably very fast disturb the still relaxed state of mind I'm in. But I had to do one thing tonight, before I go to bed. [Anyone not the least interested in Patrick Dempsey/Grey's Anatomy can stop reading now *g*] To put in the "Made of Honor" DVD and make some screenshots. Because I was pretty sure that I recognized one of the locations they used a scene. Fangirl as I am it made me strangely giddy, even though it's just an exterior shot and I couldn't even recognize if Paddy was even in this exterior shot. But anyway I'm pretty sure he was around there somewhere during the shooting of the movie, because this shot was taken in Portree, which is the largest town on the Isle of Skye, where the movie was filmed. To give you a sense of the island, there are 2.000 people living in Portree and I guess it's the biggest accumulation of pubs, restaurants and shops , so I'm sure he has been there at one time :-)
Anyway here are the screenshots (it's right after Tom told Hannah he loves here / before Hannah has to sell kisses in the pub)
And that was the view from my hotel room in Portree *squee*
Well, I have to confess that photo above was taken from street level, the view from my hotelroom window (windowframe on the right to prove it) was slightly different. Still a nice view, film location or not :-)