Z... is for Zoo!

I had an amazing experience at the Edinburgh zoo because

1. I love zoos
2. It was the first time I was visiting a zoo outside India
3. It has penguins and pandas!

I saw 12 animals that I'd never seen before, including pandas, penguins, koalas, wallaby, meerkats, and Sumatran tiger (that looks like a kitten). Anyway, the zoo is celebrating its 100th year, we got showed around the entire facility, including the Budongo Trail, the seat of leading research! The caretakers are a lovely bunch, everything seemed meticulous and the animals were vying for their attention. One of the researchers, who works with capuchin monkeys, was showing us around and we came to an enclosure with about 20 of the animals; he knew them all by name and face! He clearly cared :)

All their names!

A lot of research is ongoing, and the animals choose (or not) to participate in the research as subjects! How cool (and sensitive) is that!

'Lured' into a research pod for us, by nuts!

Tian Tian (the girl panda) has been artificially inseminated this past week from Yang Guan (the boy) and all well-wishers are keeping their fingers crossed for some pandalicious good news soon!

Here is the website www.edinburghzoo.org.uk
More importantly, here is their Youtube channel (you can spend hours watching the videos!!)  http://www.youtube.com/user/TheEdinburghZoo

Lastly, this is my favourite video

Some pictures from my visit, one that I highly recommend. Take your kids, ask questions, bond, donate... you won't be disappointed!

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This post is part of the ongoing A-to-Z Challenge. Previously, Aye, Berwick, Cramond, Disability, Edinburgh, Forth Bridge, Glasgow, Hamish, Isle of Skye, John o' Groats, Kirk, Loch Lomond and Luss, Mogwai, Necropolis, Old Man of Storr, Portobello, Queen of Scots, Robert Burns, Stirling, Tantallon Castle, Urquhart Castle, Venison, Writers' Museum, Saltire, Young.

P... is for Portobello!

Portobello is the nearest beach from my place in Edinburgh. It is a medium stretch of mud+sand beach on the North Sea, where families and students throng in scores. The first time I went there was on impulse, V has grown up in Delhi, India and had never ever seen a beach before!
'Outrageous!' I said; 'that's 24 years of unacceptable existence!' and we jumped on a bus and were there in half an hour, on a very cold and windy day. He was very happy, obviously never having seen one before. I, however, was not as impressed... the water was too cold. Gah - I suppose you can't complain of that in Scotland.
Anyway, it's a pretty beach, and it's a nice Sunday afternoon picnic with the kids and dog kind of place...

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This post is part of the ongoing A-to-Z Challenge. Previously, Aye, Berwick, Cramond, Disability, Edinburgh, Forth Bridge, Glasgow, Hamish, Isle of Skye, John o' Groats, Kirk, Loch Lomond and Luss, Mogwai, Necropolis, Old Man of Storr.

L... is for Loch Lomond and Luss

Loch Lomond is very very popular. Almost everyone who I know that has been to Scotland has been to Lomond. And it doesn't disappoint! The largest freshwater lake in the UK (nope, it isn't Loch Ness, with its monsters, that's the deepest), its waters are an absolute delight to look at. Silvery and ripling, the waters have a beautiful, serene quality with hardly any waves. The sides are dotted with low hills, and in autumn, the contrast of the yellows of the tops of pines with the surrounding dark greens is magnificient to look at!
Little known, and very close to the main tourist area of the Loch, is the village Luss. I only got to go there because I was with Scottish friends, who have lived in Glasgow all their lives! Luss is tiny, maybe a hundred or so houses. It is pretty and has this absolutely wonderful coffee shop where I had the most heavenly scones! Most of you will go to Lomond, if you can spare an extra hour, go to Luss, feed the duckies by the Loch, have a scone, you will have made a lovely headful of memories!

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This post is part of the ongoing A-to-Z Challenge. Previously, Aye, Berwick, Cramond, Disability, Edinburgh, Forth Bridge, Glasgow, Hamish, Isle of Skye, John o' Groats, Kirk.