Aberdeen

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I challenge you to stand near Aberdeen's Mercat Cross, gazing along Castle Street towards the stupendously long and straight and wide Union Street, and not feel excited. The scene that is presented to the visitor at this spot is awesome. For never has there been a fairer view within a big bustling city. In this ancient pedestrianised area where the cars are kept at bay, one feels a strange desire to scamper and frolic around the Mercat Cross with one's arms flailing wildly in the air, whooping and yelling with delight.
Aberdeen's streets and thoroughfares are a joy to behold. The granite from which the bulk of the city's buildings are constructed seems to sparkle in sunshine. It is undoubtedly because of the sturdiness of this granite that so many ancient structures have survived in so fine a condition. The city's architects are clearly worth their salt. For they have succeeded in many instances to amalgamate the old with the new, and one only has to gaze in awe at the city's railway station to witness this first hand. The original stone station frontage has been blended with a huge glass and metal shopping centre, and while I am not generally one for such cathedrals of commercialism, I have to say that this one is architecturally stunning. Which is a good thing, because it is that first glimpse of a city that sets the scene, a scene that is, in the case of Aberdeen, superb.