Back from Scotland!

Scotland was amazing. We saw a ton for the few days we were there. Took the bus on Wednesday. Stopped at Hadrian's wall, which are old ruins of the wall built by the Romans separating England from Scotland. Really awesome. Then stopped at Dryburgh Abbey Hotel, very fancy and beautiful. Had a lovely buffet dinner. They did not serve enough strawberries and cream which was the best part :) After about 9 hours on the bus we finally ended up at the University of Edinburgh ("Ed-in-burr-uh"). We stayed in their dorms which were quite nice. We got complimentary breakfast. Avoid the black pudding, aka blood pudding. It looks like a burnt cookie, actually fried sheep's blood! Stayed away from the haggis as well, no sheep's innards for me.

Pictures 1!

Day 1 in Edinburgh.
took a tour with this rad guy in a kilt. learned the essentials. went to the National Gallery art museum then climbed the 287 steps to the top of the sir walter scott monument. it was tiny and cramped and a bit unnerving considering there's only one way up and down. but the views were awesome. then we visited edinburgh castle. saw the scottish crown jewels (no pictures allowed), the dungeons (which reminded us all of a disneyland ride actually) and a war memorial for scotsmen. For dinner we explored the city and found the most amazing, authentic italian restaurant. best meal i've eaten since i got to europe.

Pictures 2!

Day 2
Went for a hike in the trossachs (miniature highlands), half of us went friday, the other half on saturday. sooo amazing. i'm so glad I went. edinburgh is an awesome city, but it didn't wow me the way london did. I'm more of a fan of scotland's nature and countryside. the weather was nice on the hike up, it took about an hour. it got hard toward the end but the views were amazing. we were attacked by swarms of "midges". They're basically harmless, but just ridiculously annoying. the way down was much harder, especially as it had begun to drizzle so it was super muddy and everyone was slipping. it began to pour, but we were almost done. the beginning of the trail is a site for loggers and they decided to begin working, so they closed off the trail and provided a detour, or "diversion". it was a series of really steep uphill climbs and was probably at least an extra half an hour. it was totally raining at this point, we were a bit whiny at this point. our shoes and socks were soaked and muddy. we were late for dinner, so we couldn't take showers, just had to go straight there, only to find out it was just drinks and snacks. so then laurie, corey, aness and i left to find dinner. We ended up at the elephant house. it is famous because it's where J.K. Rowling began writing the harry potter books. It had a lot of familiar american type food which made us feel at home and we were starved.


Pictures 3!

Day 3
Went into town to do a little shopping. found some souvenirs and postcards and then walked around the old town. decided to do a little 3D loch ness experience (since we didn't actually get to go). it was a little cheesy but talked about the "scientific evidence" and sightings and such. very silly. then went an amazing place called Chocolate soup for a snack. had a chocolate banana smoothie, yummm. then we took the bus to Rosslyn Chapel outside the city. it's an old masonic chapel, the inside is entirely carved from stones. Really intricate and really beautiful. once again no pictures allowed inside. :( The chapel became extra popular after it was featured in the da vinci code. it was a bummer because the outside is undergoing major renovations so it's surrounded by scaffolding and a protective covering. went out searching for dinner again and landed in a great chinese restaurant.

Pictures 4!

Day 4=the bus ride back
long and uncomfortable again. stopped at fountain abbey, very beautiful. quite in ruins though.

it's nice to be back at cambridge though. everyone felt like this is our "home". Edinburgh was great, but it was almost too much time in that one place. we couldn't wait to get back "home" and get settled again and get into a routine of classes.