We started our Scottish adventure by exploring the Edinburgh Castle. It was so nice to visit a historically significant building that wasn't an Cathedral (Cathedral's are great and all, but let's be real, you've seen one and you've seen them all...) It's up at the top of a hill and has a gorgeous view. And of course, for dinner we asked some locals where their favorite pub food was nearby. This led us to The Mitre. This surpassed any pub food I have had up to this point. We had 7 girls in a 6 girl room at our hostel that night, and it was so much fun. Too much laughter over magazines and silliness from shortbread/sugar-overload that night.
In the morning, we got to see the Scottish Parliament building- it has modern architecture which was so crazy to see. Some of the girls went inside and watched Parliament in session, but that's not really something that interests me. We also got to see the Palace Hollyrood where the Queen of Scotland stays when she's in town. If it had been spring, I definitely would have paid to go view the gardens.
Our professors had originally planned on having us hike to Arthur's Seat in Scotland that morning, but due to the muddy conditions cancelled the event. Well, we weren't going to let a little mud stop us, so a group of us went on the hike anyways. Of course we started by reaching the top of the wrong peak, so we just kept summiting peaks until we finally reached the correct one. Boy, were our boots muddy! The many views we saw were definitely worth it. The green raced into the distance into the highlands beyond us. And our view of the city was gorgeous, because we could see the ocean in the distance, the river running through the city, and of course we could see the Castle and a crazy cemetery and other city ruins. Mom, you are going to love my friends here: they suggested we stop and sing primary songs and hymns at the top of a mountain since it was so pretty up there. Basically spontaneous three-part harmony. Lovely :)
That night we had an exciting night out on the town. We went to some crazy Italian restaurant, then went to this massive and grand theatre to see "Annie." I love being able to see so many shows over here. Wow, that girl had some serious pipes; yes, she may have been an obnoxious actress at first, but her singing talent made up for the difference.
The following day, we went to New Lanark, and old cotton mill and entire community built around it. We got to go in their old living quarters, and in the mills themselves to see the machinery at work. Haha, and we had to go on this dreadful "Disney-esque ride" called the Annie McCloud Experience. Don't be fooled- it is nothing like Disney. These little creepy children talk to you about ghosts while you sit in a little cart that slowly inches forward in the dark. the old houses and the Annie mccloud experience. But in New Lanark, we were able to hike up the river and see the Clyde Falls and they were stunning.
We then drove to Stirling, where we toured another castle. Funniest experience of my Life! My friend Kaylee and I were having the most entertaining conversation, and some random guy appears from nowhere, laughs at our comment, and checks us out multiple times. I turned to Kaylee and mouthed that we had to get out of there, like NOW! So we scurried quickly and quietly from that building in the castle, and ran to the first exhibit we could find so we could escape this creep. Well, we thought we were running into a museum, but when we rounded the corner we saw six sinks and corresponding urinals, and not a museum. We were immediately trying to hold in more laughter, and tried to quickly leave inconspicuously. Failure. There were like five men walking into the bathroom as we were trying to get out.
Following the Stirling Castle, we decided to have an American night out. We found a restaurant that was comparable to TGIFridays to grab dinner, then went to the Movie Theatre and saw Gnomeo and Juliet. That little animated gnome was a stud.
The next morning, we went to the William Wallace monument. You know, William Wallace: Braveheart? The monument stands on the top of this massive hill and then has like 246 stairs to the top. No big deal. The view from the top was amazing. We were seriously in clouds for part of it!
No comments:
Post a Comment