Friday:
We were in Shakespeare until 6:30, and then booked it to Heathrow airport to catch a flight to Edinburgh. In the airport we bought more Butler's Chocolate (yum), and then booked it to gate 8C. The flight to Edinburgh was only 50 minutes, and then we scurried off to our hostel. We stayed at the Castle Rock Hostel, which I would absolutely highly recommend. As soon as we entered the building we were swamped. Everywhere we turned, people had [fake] blood dripping from the neck, coloured fabrics wrapped around their bodies, wings sticking up at weird angles, and hair colours rarely seen in public. So. Many. People. So loud. Amazing. Let me remind you that it was Halloween. My first year without a costume. Sad.
Saturday:
Saturday morning at 8:00 found us meeting our Rabbie's (which everone persisted in calling "Rabies") tour bus. 8am is really early in College World. It's even earlier if you had a week of busy classes, and minimal sleep the night before. We managed, though, and we met our peppy, enthusiastic and absolutely impossible to understand tour guide there. She amused us immensely, but only because she amused herself. Every few sentences, she would giggle enthusiastically. We are reasonably certain that she spent the 12 hour day trip telling us about Scotland's history.
We saw this cow at our first stop. His name is Hamish. I desperately want a Highland Cow as a pet, now. He was friendly, and had the best hairstyle I've ever seen on an animal.
Why do more people not wear kilts? And play bagpipes? What I found truly interesting, though, is that they is that the kilt was out of fashion for years, and didn't come back into fashion until the 1800s. I'm glad they're still around.
I'm not sure why Caroline and I look so triumphant, but this is us at Glencoe. The lighting was terrible for photographs, but the scenery was truly lovely.
By early afternoon we were at Loch Ness. Was that a monster that I saw?
Maybe not. But Loch Ness was still absolutely gorgeous. We went on a boat cruise about the loch, and nearly froze to death, but had a wonderful time. It was fun looking for Nessie, even though we knew that she was elusive.Sunday
On Sunday, Caroline and I started out by climbing up to Arthur's Seat, a dormant volcano that overlooks Edinburgh. It was a tough climb-- steep, muddy, and slippery-- but well worth it. We could see all of Edinburgh, including the castle.
After Arthur's Seat, we headed over to the Elephant House, where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book. Despite its fame, it actually turned out to quite good. After lunch, Caroline and I got elephant-shaped shortbread cookies and hot chocolate. We felt incredibly decadent and very happy.
After lunch, we headed to a FREE WALKING TOUR of Edinburgh. When we saw the sign, Caroline commented that she wished there were more signs like that around. "FREE LUNCH!" "FREE LODGING!" "FREE AIRPLANE TICKETS!" Oh well. We'll take what we can get. We were actually a bit skeptical that a free tour would be any good, but our tourguide turned out to be dynamic, enthusiastic, and downright hilarious. Well done, Grace! I guess there's pretty good incentive when you're only working for tips.
Here's a picture of Edinburgh castle. Did you know there has been a castle on that hill for 2,000 years? I find that fascinating. At one point it was burned to the ground, but was quickly rebuilt.
This is the Scott Monument. Isn't it gorgeous? It's the world's largest monument built to commemorate a writer.
Here's a statue of Greyfriar's Bobby. It is actually the most photographed statue in Edinburgh (and that's saying something, because there are a LOT of statues in Edinburgh). Are you familiar with the story of Greyfriar's Bobby? Bobby belonged to a man who was a night watchman at the Greyfriar's Churchyard. When Bobby was two years old, his master died and was buried in the churchyard where he worked. For the rest of Bobby's life (14 YEARS) he sat on his master's grave every day. I think it's one of the most well-known stories of animal loyalty.
That evening, the sky was the most beautiful I've ever seen. The picture really doesn't do it justice, but it was absolutely stunning.
Here I am with Hamish, the Highland Cow. I loved his hairstyle, and kind of wished that I could have the same. Too bad my quills can't be brushed like that.
Here I am at Loch Ness! Have you guys heard about the Loch Ness Monster? There are all sorts of rumours of some enormous beast that lives in this lake. I really wanted to see the monster, but apparently she didn't feel like chatting. Too bad!
I climbed up to Arthur's Seat with my friends Litza and Caroline. (Well, ok, actually Litza carried me.) Arthur's Seat is a dormant volcano, and from the top you can see much of Edinburgh. It was fun to find the castle, and see so many buildings.
Here I am the Elephant House! This is where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book. I was so excited to be where JK Rowling had been. I love the Harry Potter books!
While I was at the Elephant House I had a delicious elephant-shaped shortbread cookie and hot chocolate. What a delicious afternoon treat!
Here I am with the tour guide we had around Edinburgh. She's explaining old fashioned burglar alarms-- staircases would be made with a "trick step" that would trip people who didn't know to look out for it. Then they would fall down the stairs with a tremendous crash and-- ta da!-- the burglar would be caught!
Here's a statue of Greyfriar's Bobby. It is actually the most photographed statue in Edinburgh (and that's saying something, because there are a LOT of statues in Edinburgh). Are you familiar with the story of Greyfriar's Bobby? Bobby belonged to a man who was a night watchman at the Greyfriar's Churchyard. When Bobby was two years old, his master died and was buried in the churchyard where he worked. For the rest of Bobby's life (14 YEARS) he sat on his master's grave every day. I think it's one of the most well-known stories of animal loyalty. I think I'm a pretty loyal hedgehog, but I'm still really impressed with Bobby's dedication!
Here's a picture of Edinburgh castle. Did you know there has been a castle on that hill for 2,000 years? I find that fascinating. At one point it was burned to the ground, but was quickly rebuilt.
This is the Scott Monument. Isn't it gorgeous? It's the world's largest monument built to commemorate a writer.
Here's a statue of Greyfriar's Bobby. It is actually the most photographed statue in Edinburgh (and that's saying something, because there are a LOT of statues in Edinburgh). Are you familiar with the story of Greyfriar's Bobby? Bobby belonged to a man who was a night watchman at the Greyfriar's Churchyard. When Bobby was two years old, his master died and was buried in the churchyard where he worked. For the rest of Bobby's life (14 YEARS) he sat on his master's grave every day. I think it's one of the most well-known stories of animal loyalty.
That evening, the sky was the most beautiful I've ever seen. The picture really doesn't do it justice, but it was absolutely stunning.
Then, Sunday night, we flew back to London and tucked ourselves into bed. Without updating any weblogs.
And now, a note from Luna:
Here I am with Hamish, the Highland Cow. I loved his hairstyle, and kind of wished that I could have the same. Too bad my quills can't be brushed like that.
Here I am at Loch Ness! Have you guys heard about the Loch Ness Monster? There are all sorts of rumours of some enormous beast that lives in this lake. I really wanted to see the monster, but apparently she didn't feel like chatting. Too bad!
I climbed up to Arthur's Seat with my friends Litza and Caroline. (Well, ok, actually Litza carried me.) Arthur's Seat is a dormant volcano, and from the top you can see much of Edinburgh. It was fun to find the castle, and see so many buildings.
Here I am the Elephant House! This is where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book. I was so excited to be where JK Rowling had been. I love the Harry Potter books!
While I was at the Elephant House I had a delicious elephant-shaped shortbread cookie and hot chocolate. What a delicious afternoon treat!
Here I am with the tour guide we had around Edinburgh. She's explaining old fashioned burglar alarms-- staircases would be made with a "trick step" that would trip people who didn't know to look out for it. Then they would fall down the stairs with a tremendous crash and-- ta da!-- the burglar would be caught!
Here's a statue of Greyfriar's Bobby. It is actually the most photographed statue in Edinburgh (and that's saying something, because there are a LOT of statues in Edinburgh). Are you familiar with the story of Greyfriar's Bobby? Bobby belonged to a man who was a night watchman at the Greyfriar's Churchyard. When Bobby was two years old, his master died and was buried in the churchyard where he worked. For the rest of Bobby's life (14 YEARS) he sat on his master's grave every day. I think it's one of the most well-known stories of animal loyalty. I think I'm a pretty loyal hedgehog, but I'm still really impressed with Bobby's dedication!
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