Hey everybody!
It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? Did you miss me?
You’re in for a VERY long blog, so make a cup of tea and settle in for a long read.
The last week has been my spring break, and what better place to spend it than in windy, rainy, cold Scotland? I was originally going to travel north all by my lonesome, but Mama flew over from Los Angeles and we were able to spend the week together, which was really great! I was getting so homesick over here and just having Mom around made everything seem a lot more home-y.
Mom landed in London last Friday, and due to the stress of a long, very delayed flight, we didn’t do much. We mostly ate, which can be very tiring if you do it right. =D
The next day, Saturday, I showed Mom the big sights of London: Big Ben, Westminster, etc.
Then we hoped on the Tube and took the Central Line to Holborn where I showed her my loverly school. The British Museum is right down the road, so we strolled down there and spent some time amongst the ancient Assyrian, Egyptian and Roman exhibits. Truly inspiring!
Ancient Cuneiform writing...!
The entire room was circled with the remnants of the this freize--it once lined the Parthenon in Greece; now it's one piece in the amazing collection brought back to England by Lord Elgin.
Sunday morning heralded our train trip to Edinburgh (pronounced
Eh-din-burr-uh). We began our magical journey from King’s Cross Station and after a long, but reasonably pleasant 5 hours, we arrived in the capital city of Scotland.
We had been warned that the weather would be insanely cold, but it was actually quite nice. In fact, it only rained when we got up into the Highlands, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Sunday night we attended the ghoulishly fun Witchery Tours hosted by Adam Lyel (
deceased). We learned all about the gross sanitary conditions, or lack there of, in mediaeval Edinburgh. We learned how to charge a witch. We learned how to catch a witch. We learned of 59 different ways to kill a witch. I hope you’re not a witch. =D
This is our poshposh room at the Clan Walker Guest House. The people who owned the house were very nice and I probably would have died without their help. ;3
Edinburgh skyline at dusk.
Monday we slept in and then explored the Royal Mile and High Street, which is the central street in Edinburgh, and has been since before time began. We ate haggis (you don't even want to know) and I bought a tartan scarf with the pattern of the Cameron Clan (Cameron translates to ‘crooked nose’), so I feel a little Scottish now. =D We also took some loverly pictures of St. Giles Cathedral…I don’t know why we never thought about going inside.
St. Giles Cathedral just after nightfall...check it out, I got the moon in there! Yay me.
We also watched the "3D Loch Ness Experience." Oh my God, I have never been to anything so lame in my life--except maybe junior high. Haha, just kidding! It really was lame though. We sat watching this low budget film with huge ear phones one and wearing those dorky 3D glasses...ah, the lengths we go to for entertainment. I had been fighting off a cold since a couple days before Mom had arrived and that night it finally caught up with me, but not before getting on the wrong bus and going in the opposite direction. We were afeared.
We made it back to the hotel about an hour later than we'd intended, but at least we were alive!
Tuesday I stayed in bed all day barely alive. My mama took good care of me and I met a very nice Scottish doctor who have me some pretty pills that made me feel better. Whew!
Wednesday was much more healthy. Still deciding to take it easy, we rode one of the Edinburgh tour buses around, which was nice because we had some loverly guides who pointed out everything neat to us. I saw so many historical places I can't begin to write them all down here!
We got off at Edinburgh Castle and explored around there for a bit. It wasn’t as stunning as any of the castles I’ve seen here in England (shhh…don’t tell anyone I said that!), but there was something ruggedly romantic about Scotsmen’s castle that’s difficult to explain.
And like the English castles, this one is still used as a living military site. I saw some men in kilts, and suddenly it didn’t seem so cold outside! Tee hee~
This is the grave of Scotland's most loyal dog--besides maybe Lassie. The story goes that his owner died when the dog was little more than a puppy, and the loyal doggie slept on his master's grave for the next 14 years! Awwwwww. *tear*
That afternoon we ventured down into the dark remains of Mary King’s Close. You see, back in the mediaeval days, the streets of Edinburgh were much narrower; maybe you could fit six people abreast across the width of the street on a good day. These streets were built side by side so it seemed that the city was made of them.
The buildings were rickety and very tall—so tall, in fact, that sunlight rarely went all the way down to the street’s surface. These incredibly dark, narrow “streets” were called “closes,” and every part of everyday life was in that street. Now only the ground level remains and the city chambers are built on the remains. Everything is still so rickety...some areas we weren't allowed to go into because the walls and floors were so unstable. Even still, it was amazing to be down there. This was THE place to sell your stuff, meet people, catch the plague, and throw your poop out.
Good times....now, on to the Highlands!
Thursday, our last full day in bonny Scotland, was spent on a Rabbie’s Trail-burners coach as we traveled up through the Scottish Highlands towards the mysterious Loch Ness.
Our tour guide’s name was Donald, and strangely, he said that about a year and a half ago, he took a large tour group of 60 American women around the area who were from the Gerard Butler Fan Club. Suspicious!????????? =D
The Highlands! Where are me bagpipes?
Scottish oak and heather.
We met some Highland Bulls (locally called ‘Hairy Cows,’ and pronounced ‘Herry Coos’), one of whom was named Hamish. He was very nice. It was incredibly windy and rainy in the Highlands, but in my opinion, that added it the landscape’s beauty.
We travelled all the way north and drove a little along the southern coast of a very murky Loch Ness. No monsters to be seen sadly, but I got some good ideas for a book. ._.
A view out of the coach window. It was wet.
We stopped at this very secluded glen on the return trip from Loch Ness and we were awestruck at the beauty of this place...Yes, this is a real! =O
Could this be something the Romans saw when they first came into Scotland?
After we got back to London, we rode the London Eye at night and had some spectacular views of the city sparkling in all the lights. Really incredible!
View from the Eye of London.
Today, we took another bus tour up to Stratford-upon-Avon--the birthplace of Shakespeare. Our tour was English/Japanese, so it was rather entertaining to hear everything repeated in Japanese, but our group was really small, so Mom and I had the entire back of the bus to ourselves. Sweet…
I’d already traveled to Stratford for school, but I enjoyed that little town so much that I wanted to go back! Mom was able to buy some lemon curd at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. We had a nice little lunch there and drove through the Cotswolds. I could live there—everything is so quaint and peaceful there. If you think of the setting of the movie ‘Babe,’ then you pretty much have a good idea of what the Cotswads are like.
The last stop on the way home was Oxford. We explored Christ's Church College a bit, and I was able to walk up the stairs to the Great Hall that were used in all the Harry Potter movies! =D I was skipping up the steps~
Was that Professor Snape? Hide!
The Courtyard of Christ's Church College.
Walking around town...
Oxford is a very beautiful town. There are bikes everywhere, sometimes in clusters of what looks like hundreds! I definitely felt much smarter there and standing amongst college buildings that were built in the 1200’s and looked like something out of the Harry Potter or Narnia movies. Oxford makes Fresno State look…
…really lame.
Oh well. I didn't have enough time to visit The Eagle and the Child, which is the pub frequented by CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien, but I
have to make a pilgrimage there before I go home. I got me my Oxford sweatshirt, too, so I guess I’m pretty much cool now. :) Mom heads home tomorrow, and I’m going to see her off. I’m sad to see her go…but I’m also looking forward to seeing my roomies again. I can’t wait to hear about their adventures!
