Hello! I have had SUCH a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Of course, it would have been great to spend it at home with loved ones but this year I got to spend it in Scotland with my friends Jennifer and Kristin who are studying there and my roommate Brooke. I am actually writing this post from the train back to London. I wish you could all see the sights that I am currently looking at. As far as the eye can see, there is frost covering everything, the sea is off in the distance (every so often you can see the waves crashing against the cliffs) and we even passed by a Scottish golf course- completely white with snow, mind you- and there were still dedicated golfers out there playing! Only in Scotland....
We left London on Thursday afternoon and arrived in Edinburgh at about 8 pm. Brooke and I stopped in a quaint little restaurant at King's Cross station and got our Thanksgiving dinner: Irish stew, bread and butter, strawberries and cream, and a slice of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. It was very good! No turkey, but that's ok. The stew was amazing so it turned out to be a great dinner. Once we got to Edinburgh, we took a taxi (first one in my life!) to Kristin and Jennifer's flat and met up with some of their friends and caught up since the last time we had seen each other. Even though Kristin and Jennifer where just in London last weekend! It was great to be able to see so much of them though.
On Friday morning, we woke up really early and headed to the bus station for our trip up north to Inverness. It was a long bus, but it was totally worth it because once we got there, we went on a 3.5 hour tour of Loch Ness! I came really close to catching Nessie by the way.... I'll show you all proof when I get home but the picture I posted is just a little preview (Rumor has it, Nessie likes oats, so we were prepared to feed her ;). On our tour, we took a small bus to the Loch (it was only about 7 miles away) all the while learning fascinating facts all about Inverness and we learned tons of Gaelic words (Loch just means Lake in Gaelic) and our tour guide got really excited when I asked him about the clan Matheson- he whipped out about 6 books and told me all about the history of where they were from and what they did! He was such a nice guy! Apparantly the Mathesons are from a region called Ross just north of Inverness. And we were a very important clan there, fyi! My Scottish pride is stronger than ever. Anyway, once we got to the Loch we boarded a little boat and cruised around for a while and got to see snow capped mountains and a beautiful castle ruin. The boat pulled over and we got to tour the castle (Urquhart Castle) which was SO beautiful. Then we went to the Loch Ness Monster museum and got to learn all about the mystery of Nessie. She is definitely out there, by the way. Once our tour was over, we had to take our bus back to Edinburgh. As luck would have it, Brooke and I missed the bus when we were across the street buying food and had to chase it down for two blocks.... but don't worry we made it! It was probably the most stressful minute of my life but just thinking about the situation makes me almost cry with laughter. The bus driver was so mad and we made such a scene! But it is hillarious in retrospect.
On Saturday we went to a little market and bought porridge for breakfast. Then we walked down the Royal Mile and went into a few little shops (I bought a great Christmas CD called "A Piping Hot Christmas"- all bagpipes!) then we went to a mountain/large hill called Arthur's Seat and climbed to the top for a great view of Edinburgh. The view was amazing; we could see EVERYTHING! I love heights so it was fun to be up that high and just watch the city. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then went back and warmed up back at their flat. Then Kristin and I went out with some friends from her school, which was fun. We played pool boys vs. girls ....we won of course. Kristin may have slipped a few of our balls into the holes when no one was looking... but that is beside the point. And then, sadly, we had to leave early today, Sunday. But it was a great weekend in Scotland. I love Scotland so much! I will be coming back here for sure.
So now I'm coming into the home stretch at the end of the semester. Its so wierd to think that I am about to come home! But before I get too ahead of myself, I still have a paper to write, a timed essay to study for and several finals to prepare for. Wish me luck! Cheers, have a great week!
We left London on Thursday afternoon and arrived in Edinburgh at about 8 pm. Brooke and I stopped in a quaint little restaurant at King's Cross station and got our Thanksgiving dinner: Irish stew, bread and butter, strawberries and cream, and a slice of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. It was very good! No turkey, but that's ok. The stew was amazing so it turned out to be a great dinner. Once we got to Edinburgh, we took a taxi (first one in my life!) to Kristin and Jennifer's flat and met up with some of their friends and caught up since the last time we had seen each other. Even though Kristin and Jennifer where just in London last weekend! It was great to be able to see so much of them though.
On Friday morning, we woke up really early and headed to the bus station for our trip up north to Inverness. It was a long bus, but it was totally worth it because once we got there, we went on a 3.5 hour tour of Loch Ness! I came really close to catching Nessie by the way.... I'll show you all proof when I get home but the picture I posted is just a little preview (Rumor has it, Nessie likes oats, so we were prepared to feed her ;). On our tour, we took a small bus to the Loch (it was only about 7 miles away) all the while learning fascinating facts all about Inverness and we learned tons of Gaelic words (Loch just means Lake in Gaelic) and our tour guide got really excited when I asked him about the clan Matheson- he whipped out about 6 books and told me all about the history of where they were from and what they did! He was such a nice guy! Apparantly the Mathesons are from a region called Ross just north of Inverness. And we were a very important clan there, fyi! My Scottish pride is stronger than ever. Anyway, once we got to the Loch we boarded a little boat and cruised around for a while and got to see snow capped mountains and a beautiful castle ruin. The boat pulled over and we got to tour the castle (Urquhart Castle) which was SO beautiful. Then we went to the Loch Ness Monster museum and got to learn all about the mystery of Nessie. She is definitely out there, by the way. Once our tour was over, we had to take our bus back to Edinburgh. As luck would have it, Brooke and I missed the bus when we were across the street buying food and had to chase it down for two blocks.... but don't worry we made it! It was probably the most stressful minute of my life but just thinking about the situation makes me almost cry with laughter. The bus driver was so mad and we made such a scene! But it is hillarious in retrospect.
On Saturday we went to a little market and bought porridge for breakfast. Then we walked down the Royal Mile and went into a few little shops (I bought a great Christmas CD called "A Piping Hot Christmas"- all bagpipes!) then we went to a mountain/large hill called Arthur's Seat and climbed to the top for a great view of Edinburgh. The view was amazing; we could see EVERYTHING! I love heights so it was fun to be up that high and just watch the city. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then went back and warmed up back at their flat. Then Kristin and I went out with some friends from her school, which was fun. We played pool boys vs. girls ....we won of course. Kristin may have slipped a few of our balls into the holes when no one was looking... but that is beside the point. And then, sadly, we had to leave early today, Sunday. But it was a great weekend in Scotland. I love Scotland so much! I will be coming back here for sure.
So now I'm coming into the home stretch at the end of the semester. Its so wierd to think that I am about to come home! But before I get too ahead of myself, I still have a paper to write, a timed essay to study for and several finals to prepare for. Wish me luck! Cheers, have a great week!
2 comments:
Le-Le!!!!!!!!
The clan Matheson's are alive and well! You had to mention Scottish golf didn't you. I am so jealous. Sorry you didn't see Nessie - I am sure her spirit was there??? Now, about this bus taking off on you. Are you sure you girls were not checking out some Scottish hunks??
Glad you made it home safe and sound. Now do some studying, ace your finals and come home none the worse for wear.
Love,
UP
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