Scotland

We left early in the morning for Scotland by charter bus. Surprisingly they were able to fit all of us on 3 buses, and I got really lucky because Erika was on my bus and so were most of my friends. I thought I would have time to socialize and do some

homework on the bus, but it looks like I take after my mom, and I slept all 8 hours. I only woke up once to see the Richmond Castle in Richmond, England on the way. To the right is a picture of me at the castle from one of the upper levels. It was quite a tiny staircase up to the tippy top, but it was so worth it because the view of the farmlands and river were amazing. We ate at a pub in the city and I had a half pint with eggs, which may or may not be traditional English lunch, but it was sold as a Lunch Special so I went for it. Then Erika and I got THE BEST ice cream from a little van, and since then whenever we see these little vans we get so excited.

A surprising feature about this part of the world is how much sunlight you get in a day. In Scotland you get even more, so the sun rose around 4:30 am and set around 10:00pm which is really late. So when we arrived later at night in Edinburgh, Scotland The sun was just starting to set.

       That night we had dinner where we were staying, at the University of Edinburgh, and then we went out to a pub. I was pleasantly suprised to find that food and drinks were cheaper in Edinburgh, even though I was warned they wouldn't be. A large group of us including the people who I have come to know as my best friends on this trip went to a bar called the Southern. The guy working the bar sold Erika and I awful "house vodka" that if it were in the United States would have come in a plastic bottle. He mixed it with a energy drink/ soda called IRN BRU that tasted to me like the Flinstone's Orange vitamins that I would always get disappointed to get and hope I would get a purple next time as a kid. Later we moved on to a place that served food and this place had the best "chips" (english for chubby french fries) I have EVER had. Maybe its because they had a salt on them that reminded me of my beloved Lawry's salt, maybe it's because I was so hungry, but those chips were amazing.

Finally we ended up at a Bar called Frankenstein's. This was the highlight of my trip to Edinburgh, and I went back 2 more times during my stay. Frankenstein's is a world famous Bar that is actually an old church they converted. Our Program Director, Dr. Nick Godfrey, whom we lovingly call Dumbledore , suggested this place to us. The church still had the windows and shape to it that made it so fun to be in, but the walls were covered with either quotes from Mary Shelly's book, or with Math Problems like a Mad scientist would write.

They had decorated it really theatrically with light and shapes and devices that seemed like they would be in Dr. Victor's Lab. At midnight the best thing happened. The DJ started mixing old organ music (which I hilariously assumed was the new J-LO song in the beginning) and the Monster descended from the ceiling and was born and came to life and moved about. At this point a who new set of lights lit up just above the mezzanine and it was one of the most surprising fun

things.

The next morning I had the best breakfast so far here in the UK, but still nothing compared to back home. If I miss anything, it's French Toast with lots of butter and syrup. Also, I miss salty hash browns, because nothing comes pre-salted here, and I really never realized how much I like salt.

The first thing we did was take a bus to the center of town and explored the National Gallery. We got to see all of the important pictures of the Kings and Queens of the past as well as beautiful landscapes and pictures of animals. Erika and I then proceeded into Jenner's, which is the Harrods of Edinburgh. I didn't get anything, but it reminded me of Nordstrom's and I really miss getting an Ice Storm from the E-bar there with my mom and shopping. Any of the shopping I do here is with a purpose (i.e. rain boots because it rains so much) and I rarely get to just enjoy it like I do at home (my Dad will probably think that's a good thing reading this :) ).

Our program director, Dr. Dumbledore, arranged for our groups to take an optional Saints and Sinners tour through Edinburgh. I'm always up for free tours so Erika and I met up with our other two best friends Sam and Danny (we even have a team name) and we took the tour. We learned all about the Burke and Hare serial murderers who used to kill people in the inn they ran and then sold them to be dissected in the Medical School, where interestingly enough, almost all of the early American doctors were educated because it was one of the best schools around. To read a little bit more about the story, click this link: Wikipedia: Burke & Hare. We also got to be "involved" in the Deacon Brodie story, which is one of Edinburgh's most involved and detailed stories of crime and corruption. We all got parts in the story and the guide had us sing a Scottish folk song at the end about the tale. To read this story, click this link: Wikipedia: William Brodie. After the tour we were exhausted so Erika and I sat down in a park... we woke up two hours later. I think it's so amazing that I get to hang out with someone like Erika on this trip because she and I are always on the same page, and we seem to continually fall asleep at the same time. As my mom would say, "Some people need more sleep than others, and honey, you definitely need your sleep." After we got some dinner in us we went to a bar with a live Scottish band that reminded me of a punk band. We, of course, went back to Frankenstein's, and then we headed in.

The next day Erika and I climbed to the top of the Scot Monument, which is a Victorian Gothic Monument to Sir Walter Scott, a famous Scottish Author. This was probably the best way to look at the City because it was incredibly high in the air. I don't think the designer ever

intended for people to journey to the top of it. If you look in my picture you will notice there seems to be no place for a staircase.. well they definitely squeezed one in the small legs and we marched up in circles up the spiral bound staircase for what seemed like years. Coming down the staircase I actually got dizzy from spinning in circles. I was really proud of Erika because she was so scared, and she did it! It was definitely a bit scary at times because the staircase was so small, and if someone came down you had to get almost inappropriately close to them to squeeze by and hold on for dear life to the walls. It was all a bit intense, but it was definitely worth it for the views from the top. (more info on the Scott Monument Here: Wikipedia Scott Monument)

That night I took a night in, which I later learned was necessary, because I caught a bad sickness and I still have a cough. The next morning I woke up late and took train to Glasgow with Danny and Sam. Erika got really sick too and took a day off because she had a nasty fever. We went to the Museum of Modern Art which was amazing. I have decided on this trip that I truly enjoy modern art, and I am learning so much about it. There was this weird scrolling story that we all stopped to read, and it was so crazy because I got this entirely different story from it than Danny and Sam. I thought it was the perspective from a baby, that then grew up. They thought it was about a prostitute. I think they were right, because of the title of the Piece. But that's still really funny to get a baby's perspective and a Prostitute's perspective mixed up. Here is the website: Glasgow Museum of Modern Art. Then we went to Primark, which is the cheaper, Forever 21 of Europe. We stumbled upon it in Cambridge, but the one in Glasgow was mind blowing. I finally got rain boots there for Ten quid (quid is another way of saying Pounds). They are army green and I love them dearly. We took the train home and then I got dinner with Kyle (a guy I have met on the trip and may be one of the nicest people ever), Joy (sweetest and best dressed girl), and Ryan (funniest craziest guy ever). We showed up at an Italiano place our taxi driver suggested, and there was a Hen part going on. A Hen party is a Bachelorette Party in the UK, and the male version is a Stag party. Erika and I have been looking for every excuse to throw someone one of these, and we think we found a girl in our group willing to let us throw her one, she just got engaged before the trip!

The next day we went home at the crack of dawn and I, of course, slept the entire way home. We stopped once at Fountains Abbey, click this link to learn more: Fountains Abbey. It was the most beautiful place and it was so amazing to see something that must have been so magnificent at one time, in ruins and essentially just a shell of it's former self. Apparently a lot of these Abbeys were destroyed during the Dissolution of Monasteries period of Henry VIII's rule. So we were really lucky it was still available to be seen and appreciated. All in all Scotland has been one of my favorite places I have ever been. I loved the atmosphere, the history, and most of all the adventures.

Fountains Abbey