London, Bath and Stonehenge, oh MY!

Matt and I took a whirlwind 2 day tour of England only 2 days before we left for home. It was tiring and ridiclously busy but SO fun and worth it, and not very expensive. To recap:

Wednesday, May 23:

We arrived at Victoria Bus Station after a 9 hour bus ride in a hot but not too crowded double decker. We bought a map and planned a rough route and what we wanted to see. We began walking our tour around 7:30am.

First, we wandered up to Buckingham Palace to take photos. Again I was struck by how ugly the place is. And by the way, it was HOT already, and sunny! Nothing like 75F compared to 58F in Scotland to make London feel like a sauna.

We backtracked to Westminster Abbey and the Parliment where Big Ben (the bell in the clocktower) is. We had brunch along the Thames and then walked to Trafalgar Sq. where the National Gallery is. We stopped in to see some da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Ruben. Then we took the tube to St. Paul's Cathedral where we had lunch in the courtyard.

We then walked past The Monument, built to commemorate those killed in a big fire, and looked at London Bridge, which is like the 9th version of the bridge and really not spectacular at all. We then took the tube to Tower Hill and went into the Tower of London.

One story our Beefeater guide told us was about James Scot, whose head took more than 5 blows to detach from his head. His executioner had to take out his knife and cut the remaing grisle from his neck to actually detach it, that's how blunt the axe blade was. Ick. Afterward, because they realized he was royalty and needed a portrait done of him, they sewed his head back onto his body and painted him while dead. In the portrait he looks...very pale.

More than 1500 people were found under the floor of the chapel - beheaded.

We walked over the Tower Bridge, hd dinner, and found our hostel. It was weird to stay there but we were so tired we just passed out, but seriously, I don't think I'd ever do a hostel again.

We went back to Trafalgar Sq. to watch the night in London and finally returned to the hostel to sleep around 11:30.

May 24:

We got up and caught our tour bus to Stonehenge and Bath. We stopped at Stonehenge first. It was first built in 3000 BC and arranged/rearranged for 1500 years, when it was finally abandoned for reasons unknown. No one knows the true origin or purpose of the stones, which is REALLY odd considering how long people looked after them. Some think it's a calendar because of the way the sun passes through the outside circle of stones at certain months of the year. Others think it was meant for sacrifice, religious gatherings, etc. What we DO know is that the stones are about 50 tons, burials ring the outside about 50 metres from the circle, the stones were carved and shaped, we only see now the remnants of the original, and it is every bit as impressive and amazing as people say it is.

After Stonehenge we went to Bath. It's where the first ever coronation ceremony of a king (Edgar in 973 AD) was held. The springs are naturally warm, being heated from the center of the earth and pumped up through the ground, and the Romans built baths around them, believing the waters had healing powers. Bill Bryson, the writer, visited and we could listen to his commentary on our audio tour. We saw one of three shop bridges that exist in the world (we saw the other two in Venice and Florence). I bought some fudge, which Bath is kind of known for.

We then went back to London and saw Hyde Park, where we saw duckies, the Princess Di memorial fountain which is a ring fountain with water running in two different directions, then walked to Victoria Station and ate at Colonade Walk. The bus was VERY full going home but we slept better because it was coole.

We got back at 7:30 in the morning and napped until it was time to say farewell to Kim as she headed back to Germany, then spent the remainder of Friday souvenier shopping.

We packed all Saturday, and left Sunday.

Now, I'm back in Florida. I'll be doing one last post as a wrapup soon, but not quite yet.

-A-

Playing Tourist: Sun 20 - Tues 22

Looking back to Sunday, May 20, let's recap my last week in Edinburgh:

Sunday was the Kitchener House barbecue. Atif, the RA, and Kat (the other RA) bought loads of burgers, sausages, potatoes and drinks and grilled all day from 2pm till past midnight. Everyone gathered outside and ate, played games, and talked for hours. (Pics of the BBQ are in the album "random".)

On Monday the 21st, we had a LONG day. Becca, Tara, Pablo, Noelia, Azahara, Matt and I said goodbye to John (which was VERY, very sad) and then went out to walk about town. We wandered around the Parliment building (it's very ugly, especially compared to the beautiful old buildings of the city), Holyrood palace, the Royal Mile, and Calton Hill, where there are beautiful views of the city and Edinburgh's unfinished parthenon. We then ate at Lloyd's bar and saw "Zodiac" which was actually very good.

On Tuesday, Becca, Tara, Matt and I got up early again and we to Edinbugh castle. It cost a LOT of money to get into but we felt we had to see it. And the tourists were AWFUL but...well, technically we're locals ;o) I bought a Scottish flag and some golf things for mom and dad. We got to see the crown jewels, which are the originals and VERY old not like that the redone versions of the English crown jewels.

In the evening we went to Mary King's Close, which is a street that was built over and is very old, so you get to see how people lived back in the day by going underneath the city. Supposedly it's haunted. Once home, Matt and I booked our trip to London.

It's weird to do touristy things in a place where you feel you belong, but everyone judges your accent and assumes you're a tourist. Very odd :o)

Pictures are up on the pic site under the album "playing tourist."

-A-

4 more weeks

Where did the time go?! It feels like just yesterday I was bumbling around the airport, confused and lost, not sure how the bus system worked, dreading finding how to grocery shop...and basically living like a fish out of water.

That didn't last long, but I still remember the feeling. Now, Edinburgh feels so comfortable, like a real home. I understand where the important things are, how to get there, and how much is a good price (especially considering the exchange rate is currently battering the dollar to death). I'm going to miss the people here SO much, not to mention the weather, the self-reliance and sufficiency I've learned, and the independence I've had. Really, this experience has given me total freedom, and I found that when faced with it, I still know who I am and how to conduct myself. It's a good feeling.

I took my first two exams on the 26th and 27th. EL2 was very easy, just two essay questions, both broad. The hardest part was fitting ALL my general knowledge into broad essay questions. My HA exam was a little more difficult, but even though I may have missed 11% of the exam, the rest was a piece of cake. My NH exam is May 18, but I'm giving myself a break before I begin studying for that.

The other day, Matt, Kim, Becca, Tara and I climbed Arthur's Seat. After sitting around after so much walking in Europe, I needed exercise, and suggested we all go up while the weather was still in the high 60s. It was so easy! I remember climbing it the first time and being SO winded and tired. This time was cake! Cheesecake, even.

Yesterday, Kim and I met at the foot of Arthur's to read, but the weather here is deceptive. Looking outside, it's sunny without a cloud in the sky. Then, you step out there and it's 50, but still, and by the time you walk to Arthur's you're warm and want to take off your jacket. Then, you sit down...and the wind comes up. Hard. And you're freezing. And so you leave...and on the walk home, get all warm again! So, so very frustrating.

Other than that, not too much is new, but I'll be happy to be home and VERY sad to leave everyone here. Maybe I can set up road trips/camping with some of the Americans I've met here.

4 weeks to go...

-A-

PS: some pics added to the "random" folder on my photobucket site.

Exams

Seeing as it's exam time here in good ol' Scotland, I thought I'd give a breakdown of what these consist of here.

In the States, classes are interrupted for one week of spring break, then resume. Students are given one day off ("reading day") and then exams start, and the period lasts about a week or two. Not so here. Here, we get 4 weeks off for Easter Break, then return and exams begin immediately, spaced out over about 4 or 5 weeks of time, from the end of or mid-April to the very end of May.

In the States, classes and grades consist of attendance policies, papers, midterms, quizzes/tests, and in class participation. Here, our tutorials assign us one to two papers which, while they do factor into our final mark, hardly matter. Same with attendance - it affects our grade, but not by much. The tutorial grade may suffer greatly from just one absence, but the tutorial grade is factored into the overall course grade with the lecture mark. The lecture mark is based 100% on the final exam. Depending how heavily tutorial grades weigh in - which differs from course to course - some exams are worth 90% of a grade, although the usual is about 50-70%.

So basically after having 2 weeks off to travel, I return to realize that I am expected to ace exams which cover the entire semester of lectures and are worth a very, very significant chunk of my overall grade. Eek.

My English Lit. exam is the 26th of April; History of Art is on the 27th. Then I have two or three weeks till my last one, Natural Hazards, on May 18th. Talk about not knowing how to evenly space these things. The only GOOD thing about this is that, while with HA I'm nervous due to my inability to memorize artists and dates specifically for random paintings selected, I am rather good at talking about symbolism, theory, and concept, so both EL and HA should be okay. As far as NH goes, I have an outline of a mock exam from the profs, and basically I can answer all the questions on it, so I feel pretty confidant about it.

The grading scale is different here as well. A 40 is a passing grade. A 50-59 is a C, a 60-69 a B, and a 70-79 an A. 80s and higher are nearly impossible to receive on papers, as this puts them in the "publishable" category, but on exams it is possible to get an 80-100. In NH I need about a 50 overall to pass (I am taking it pass/fail at Stetson's standards) and I'd like between a 60 and 75 in EL and HA, but I'm not holding my breath for anything higher than a 64, which is about an average B.

I figure, next year I will be a senior. I'd be pleased with B+s across the board next year because I've worked hard on my GPA so much, I feel I deserve a LITTLE bit of slack.

Also, my classes and living situation have worked out nicely to my liking for next year, so I am in a good place...I just have to survive finals here first!

And maybe...MAYBE...get to London and/or Paris before I leave for the States in 5 weeks.

This time has flown. It feels like none of it has happened, and also like just yesterday I was dazed about public transportation and heavy Scottish accents. I hope I can actually absorb and remember all I've learned, seen, and the people I've met when I leave here. Luckily some of my favorite people from this trip are American, and now that I'm a savvy traveler, visiting them should be easy! I just can't wait to plump up my bank account...and I wish the dollar would hurry up and get stronger. Geez.

All for now - back to studying.

-A-

European Adventure

Hi everyone! I’m back from my trip through Barcelona, Aix-en-Provence, Venice and Florence! It was a really fun trip but I’m glad it’s over. By the end of a vacation like that, you begin to wonder when the relaxation part comes in.

However, now that I’m back, I’m bored of relaxing. Here’s the update, so you can enjoy the trip with me.

Barcelona:

March 27:

We took a bus to Glasgow and a train to the airport, making it on time. Security stopped me, as usual, for my inhaler. By the end of the two weeks, I began to wonder if I shouldn’t just put the aerochamber in a bin with my liquids to prove it’s not a bottle of water.

Anyway, when we got to Barcelona, it was mid-afternoon, warmish and sunny. We took a bus from Girona, where we flew in, to Barcelona, and hailed a non-English speaking cab driver to try to find our apartment. The website gave me the wrong directions, and Fernando, our contact, wasn’t very helpful, so we spent about 4 hours lost in central Barcelona. We did finally get to the apartment, and Fernando was extremely accommodating and nice. The apartment was small, but had a queen sized bed and a full-sized futon, as well as a kitchenette and bathroom. The shower was smaller than a walk-in closet, but I’m short so I didn’t have much trouble. The part of town we were in was 15 minutes from Les Ramblas, the main tourist road, and set in a part of town where the people were mostly locals. We had dinner at a restaurant that served us a ginormous plate of fish for 30Euro, and before going back we bought some breakfasty foods. Back in the apartment, exhausted, we all went straight to bed.

March 28:

We wandered around Barcelona with the help of Jake’s map and guidebook. We stopped by the Eglesia de Santa Maria Del Mar, which looked like nothing special on the outside but was absolutely beautiful inside, as we learned most churches in Europe are. Still wandering, we looked into a cloister bear a museum and found orange trees, which reminded me of Florida.

Finally, we ended up in the Ciutadella Parc, which used to be a fortress but was turned into a park sometime in the 20^th century. It was huge and beautiful. The best part was the fountain! The thing was HUGE, and really, really beautiful. A carving of Venus overlooked the waterfall and at the very top was a bronze statue of a carriage and horses. I can’t really explain the awe I felt at seeing it. We saw some baby ducks in the water, too, which is always a plus.

After the park we stopped for lunch, and the most notable part of that was that Matt ordered “fried fish” and when he got was a plate full of WHOLE fish, dipped in batter and fried, heads intact and all. After taking pictures of that phenomenon, we all basically decided we’d had our fill of sea food.

We saw the Picasso Museum, which was amazing because it showed his growth as an artist. I used to dislike his paintings, thinking that they lacked talent and skill. After seeing that at 13 he was painting amazing, realistic portraits, I understood the irony. He had become bored with realism and, using his knowledge of it, moved on to discover and invent new types of painting, like cubism. I bought myself a sketchbook with Guernica on the cover, and a postcard of one of my favorite paintings, to remember it.

After Picasso, we went to the Catedral, which is the big cathedral in Barcelona. The cloister is guarded by geese, and while Jake’s guidebook didn’t really say why, it did mention that they make good guard dogs. The cathedral was built sometime in the 13^th century, which I find amazing, and continued to find amazing throughout our travels. How people lacking technology were able to build such massive, impressive, lasting structures is beyond me.

Besides the drunk Englishmen taking over the streets, nothing too exciting happened that evening. I had a Spanish omelet for dinner, but prefer Noelia’s, and at the tiny café we ate at we got to see some Spanish TV…which is awful. Their version of the “Office” is called “Camera Café” and…well, let’s just say that even in another language I could tell how bad it was.

March 29:

Walking down Les Ramblas on our way to take a Gaudi tour, we passed birds, bunnies, hamsters, and mice for sale all down the road. I was so tempted to buy a tiny dwarf rabbit. They were absolutely adorable.

The Gaudi tour was basically a walking tour Jake’s guidebook led us on. Gaudi was an architect at the turn of the century, when modernista style was huge in Barcelona. His buildings look like something out of Dr. Seuss books, with huge colorful facades and strangely shaped balconies and walls. At La Pedrera, an apartment building he designed with just about the neatest rooftop and view ever, I bought a calligraphy pen and jar of ink, which the writer in me insisted I purchase. It was only 5Euro (about $7) and I’m happy with it, even though I know nothing about calligraphy.

After the tour, we ate some paella for lunch (yum!) and took a train to Montjuic. This is a mountain named for the graves of Jewish people that were found when they excavated it. We got to see the castle there, with cannons from 1898 and 1923. The view was astounding. We could see ALL of Barcelona, which is huge.

On our walk home we decided to check out the beach and restaurants on the other side of our apartment. This led us to having Chinese for dinner, and an early night in.

March 30:

We woke up at 11am for Montserrat on Friday, and took the subway to the train station for it. We had lunch at the base of the mountain, then took the funicular (which is the coolest name for a tram ever) up the mountain. The mountain looks really cool; it’s very bumpy and seems to be made of dribbled sand. We walked up a bit, but didn’t want to miss the last funicular down the mountain, so we stopped when we got to what looked like a small church. The weather was sunny but cool, probably about 70, and very nice.

We learned a bit about the monestary of Montserrat, and then went into the church, which was overwhelmingly beautiful. The brasswork and sculptures all around were breathtaking, as were the paintings. We saw the black Virgin Mary and Christ statue that was found in a cave on the mountain, which I found fascinating. I need to look up the history on it, but I know people come from miles away to see her.

We took the rackrail back down the mountain and got off at the wrong stop. We had to walk through a small town to get to the next train stop, but I’m glad we did, because the town, Montisrol, was stereotypically Spanish, with small houses with clay tile roofs.

For dinner we ate at the Attic, a place that looks swanky but costs next to nothing. Jake bought us cava to celebrate the beginning of our trip, and I had veal with mashed potatoes that was absolutely delicious and tender. We had gelato on the way home, and went to bed.

March 31:

We went to the Segrada Familia, a church which Gaudi worked on until he died by being hit by a tram. The cathedral is still unfinished, but is supposed to be done by 2012 or so. It is built in the modernista style and the spires on it are the symbol of Barcelona; brightly colored spikes jutting high in the horizon. I like the old cathedrals better, enjoying the antiquity, but it was interesting to see the style of this one.

We then walked to the Gaudi Parc, called Parc Guell, which was supposed to be a residence for the elite class but which was too ahead of its time, being built all in modernista style. The project was left unfinished and is now a park for people to spend time in. It was beautiful between 1900-1914, and it really beautiful. The houses look like gingerbread houses, and the architecture and colors are in keeping with the Dr. Seuss style of modernista-architecture. The weather was absolutely gorgeous.

We stopped at a street market off Les Ramblas and bought inexpensive and delicious raspberries. They had whole pigs, tons of fish, homemade gelato, candied nuts, cheese, and basically the best foods ever. We later returned there to buy dinner, which ended up being the least expensive dinner we had the whole trip, of bangers (sausage) and mash (potatoes) and asparagus, which we all cooked together.

After the market we went to the Museu d’Historia de la Ciutat (history of the city). The museum takes you underground into the excavation that uncovered Roman ruins and earlier buildings in the area, dating back to the 6^th century BCE and earlier. We saw wine cellars, laundry/dye areas, etc, and eventually were led up to the 13^th century castle that now sits on top of it all. The ruins that discovered amazed me, especially because I have trouble imaging people in the 6^th century BCE could have language, let alone use sewing needles, looms, ceramics, glass, metal, and coins. To think I was walking in a place where thousands of years earlier others lived was amazing.

For our last day in Barcelona, it was definitely a good one.

Aix:

April 1:

We took the train to Montpellier and then to Marseille, where we got a bus to Aix-en-Provence, our next stop. We passed pretty little French towns that made me think of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”. We sat near a garrulous old lady who, seeing that I spoke some French, was trying to explain the countryside to me. I discovered my French is rusty, but does work.

I was able to speak to the train station people about schedules, etc, without problems, so I felt pretty good to be a country where I can speak the language. We picked up some breakfast food and retired to the apartment, which was much easier to find than in Barcelona.

April 2:

We went to the tourism office first thing to ask about day trips out of Aix, which is pretty but very small. We went wandered about and found a market, where I conversed with a vendor, telling him we were studying in Scotland but visiting France, and bought fresh brie layered with truffles for 7Euro.

We stopped at a cathedral, which had amazing arches along the ceiling, and wandered around. We discovered that everything closes from noon to 2pm here, which was quite annoying. We did find a GF food store, as Jake’s friend studying in Aix has Celiac and told him where to find it. I bought a baguette, croissants, and pasta, which were some of the best consistency of GF food ever. The brand is “Schaff” or something similar, and I’ll need to search it out here.

Waiting for things to open, I got Nutella flavored gelato (yum!) and looked up information for hiking or visiting Avignon for the next day.

We took a small rest in the apartment until things opened again, then got coffee at a café. Seeing as it was too early for dinner, we then all had some wine at a brasserie and then finally ate. Most restaurants here have a set dinner menu, which is often marked down from its usual price. We had duck for 10Euro for dinner and it was so tender and delicious.

April 3:

We took the 8:15 bus to Puyloubier to climb Mount Sainte-Victoire. We stopped in a tiny grocery to buy water, and I asked the cashier, in French, how to find the entrance trail to the mountain. He directed us up the road, and I felt accomplished and understanding the language when we got to the marked trail. We began the climb at 9 and got to the top at 11:40. It was chilly and windy at the top. We had lunch (I had a baguette with brie) and spent some time lounging at the peak while Matt continued to another.

The day was sunny and gorgeous. The climb was not too difficult up and SO pretty. As we prepared to descend, we ran into a Frenchman who asked us for the time and took him some time to realize we weren’t fluent in French. I, acting as our translator, was able to have some conversation with him. He told us his son was in California, his daughter in Michigan, and asked where we were staying, studying, etc. He was very nice.

The climb down was painful, maybe because it was SO hot by that time. We took the bus back, napped, showered, packed to leave the next morning, and ended our day.

April 4:

We woke at 3:30am, missed our 4:45 bus to the airport, got lost looking for the correct bus station, finally got the bus (spent 7.80E) to the airport…and realized that we were a day early and weren’t leaving Aix till the 5^th. Silly. We took the bus back, spending another 7.80, and napped till noon.

Afterward, Matt and I got lunch, stopped at the GF store, and went to the Granet museum to see sculptures, Cezanne’s exhibit, and 14^th century paintings; I brushed up on my History of Art skills and “studied” for my exam while there. We ran into Jake there and checked out the Eglise Jean-something Malte. The guys got sidewalk crepes and then stopped at a café for chocolat chaude for me.

It began raining, so we moved inside and drew and had wine till it stopped. For dinner I made soup and a baguette which turned out so wonderfully. Having bread with soup is something I’ve missed, especially with bread THAT soft and good.

That night, I found out Dr. Raymond passed away. I was shocked into tears at the internet café, but the next morning decided that he had suffered so long, he was probably ready for it, even if everyone who knew him thought his diabetes would never get the best of him. He was able to complete his revenge novel the semester before, and I don’t think he had many regrets in his life. I’ll miss him a lot, and the English department won’t be the same without him, but I’m glad he’s no longer suffering. I thought about him a lot the next couple days, but slowly came to terms with it.

Venice:

April 5:

We got up at 3:30 and got the correct bus on time this time. We flew into Rome and had an 8 hour layover till our flight to Venice. I had finished my book in Barcelona and left the sequel in Scotland so I read half of Matt’s book (“The Last Templar”) while we waited. We were evacuate for 5 minutes, but were told it was a false alarm. We found the hotel easily using the waterbus to get to Lido from Venice, had dinner, and went back to the hotel to shower and sleep.

April 6:

Matt and I spent the day together alone. We walked about Venice. I bought a Murano glass necklace, choosing the glass and chain myself. We then went in to the Basilica at St. Mark’s Square. It began in the 800s and was finished sometime in the 18^th century. Some of the things in it, like the giant bronze horses (thought to be from Constantine), have been dated to the 2^nd century BCE. The Basilica is beautiful inside, with detailed mosaics covering every wall and ceiling, and amazing works of art everywhere. Being in a building that old never ceases to amaze me.

We then went to the Peggy Guggenheim collection, a museum housing her personal collection of art. We saw Picassos, Chagall, Pollocks (to whom she gave his first exhibit), and Dalis. We discovered a new artist we had never heard of, Richard Pouette-Dart, who is now one of my favorite artists. I wrote down the names of all the paintings I liked that I saw there, so one day I may be able to own a poster of them. As I usually do with museums, I bought postcards of the paintings I liked best.

We took the waterbus to Rialto, where we think we saw a movie star but can’t remember his name. I bought some salami and cheese to carry with me as snacks when quick GF lunches are hard to find. I also bought an Italia jacket because I was cold while we waited to meet Jake for dinner.

April 7:

On our last day, we ate and checked out of the hotel, leaving our luggage there for storage. Then we went to St. Mark’s and went up the bell tower. I prepared for 300 steps and found it was actually an elevator ride up. The view was amazing and showed all of Venice. We then collected our stuff, met Jake, and took the 4:30 train to Florence. I missed the beauty and charm and history of Venice, but not the tourists, which are as thick as the pigeons there, and more obnoxious.

We got into Florence at 7:30, had dinner, and slept.

Florence:

April 8:

We went to the Palazzo Della Signoria in the morning, where recreated statues are. David originally stood there, but was moved into the Galleria dell’Academia due to erosion. I got a picture with the recreation though, and took photos of the Rape of Sabine and some of the other Roman sculptures.

We walked past the Duomo, which is the big cathedral in Florence. It’s green and pink on the outside; very impressive. It being Easter, we were shocked when we were able to worm our way in to view some of the service. I wondered if it was in the original Latin or in Italian. Either way, it was fascinating, especially due to the fact that most of it is just tradition – the costumed guards, for instance. We could hardly see the cathedral, but from what we saw it was beautiful. Luckily we would get to visit it again later in the trip.

We had lunch, then went to the Museo di San Marco, where Frescos painted by Fra Angelico and his company are. The place used to be a monestary, and the cells all have one Fresco each. They date around the 1300s, and how they are still preserved escapes me, but it’s really neat to read the symbolism and everything in them (like St. Peter’s bloody head, which I don’t understand at all).

Afterward, we accidentally found a street market and I bought a watch for 3Euro. We had gelato at a place that boasts 70+ flavors (take that Baskin Robbins). We walked by Dante’s church, a road named for him, and the recreation of his “casa.” We sat at the river to draw and enjoy the sun. At this point I was feeling burnt out. Traveling is fun, but it takes a lot out of you, and for someone who likes to be lazy, like me, having something to do every day was getting difficult.

Anyway, we had dinner at a place we found accidentally that was inexpensive and absolutely delicious, boosting Florence to be one of my new favorite places. I bought a large Louis Vuitton purse, knocking the price from 95Euro to 42 simply by putting my foot down. The street vendors sure are desperate! Good thing I bought it, though, since having a larger carry-on was necessary after the trip haha.

April 9:

Matt and I split from Jake again and rented mountain bikes for the day. We rode them to the Piazzale Michelangelo, where the view of the city is amazing, and witnessed an Asian wedding. We then rode down, following a map from the bike place, and passed the giant, ancient gates of Florence. We rode uphill through the country, leaving the city behind. We saw gorgeous farmland and countryside. If you’ve ever seen “Under the Tuscan Sun” or “My House in Umbria”, this is what it looked like. However, tired and hot, I broke down, cried, and we turned back. We had some gelato to calm me down and sat drawing in Palazzo Della Signoria, where we saw a kilted giant with a little kid on his shoulders. We felt at home at once.

We returned bikes and wandered a street market for a bit, then ate at I Ghibellini again, which was still delicious and inexpensive. Besides my bum being bruised from the bike, it felt really good to be out all day in the gorgeous sun.

April 10:

We wanted to join Jake at the Pitti, a palace turned museum, but it was way too expensive and neither Matt nor I wanted to spend all day in one place. Instead, we went to Chiesa di Santa Maria del Carmine, a church his art teacher pointed him to. The Brancacci Chapel there is the most famous, and depicts scenes from the life of St. Peter. The painted ceiling was AMAZING, with arches that look 3D but are really flat. It was built in 1268 but burned down and was restored in the 1700s. The Brancacci is original, though, from the 1400s.

I began to notice English is the language people use when they can’t find any other common language. A Russian tourist speaking to an Italian person at the tourist office is wont to use English to be understood. Very interesting.

We saw some gypsies trying to clean people’s cars on our way to lunch. The gypsies in Florence are worse than tourists in Venice. They come up to you and shake change in your face, yelling at you like you owe them money. I don’t speak Italian but I’m pretty sure the woman who bothered me said something like “You borrowed 15 Euros from me and I want it back now!” They are incredibly distasteful, they all are pregnant or have children with them, and basically are worse than pigeons. Ugh. I found all my sympathy for them was gone by the end, to the point where I feel they’re stolen my soul. (Being gypsies, they probably did.)

Matt and I continued to the church and convent of Santa Maria Novella, by the train station. It was begun in the 1200s, and had amazing wall paintings and tombs. I’m getting good at taking illegal photos inside these places.

We also stopped in the church of San Lorenzo, which was consecrated in 393 and enlarged in 1059 CE. This church was done in gray and white, with windows letting in natural light and plantlife inside. It was much less oppressive but still beautiful. Donatello and Michelangelo both contributed art to it, including doors and tombs. The cloister was sunny and beautiful.

We passed up seeing David, annoyed with the line of vapid American tourists, and instead went back to the Duomo, which means “house.” It’s really called the Santa Maria del Fiore. It was huge and amazing, of course, and you can go downstairs to see the excavation where Roman ruins were discovered, again. Again, Donatello contributed stained glass to the church, and to understand the size, let me illuminate: the domed ceiling, which hardly takes up a quarter of the entire church, is 3600 sq.meters. The church is 153 meter by 90 meters. You can climb up under the painting and even go outside and stand along the dome to look over Florence. We planned on returning to do so in the morning, when I wasn’t sore from the biking the day before.

I finally broke down and bought a leather bound handmade notebook, which are all over Italy for some reason. Matt bought a green and pink silk tie. We went back to the river and I wrote haikus in my new journal while Matt drew. We had dinner with Jake at the Trattoria al Trebbio, which Alan recommended to us all the way from Stetson. The veal I had was amazing.

On our way home, we passed some chalk art the artists had worked on for about 10 hrs, depicting famous paintings of Venus and the Virgin Mary. The police were out after the purse guys, so Matt couldn’t buy a hat for his brother.

April 11:

We woke early and climbed to the top of the Duomo. It’s 463 steps up, but only takes about 15 minutes. We could see all the churches we had visited the day before. I bought some GF food at a pharmacy, then had lunch and walked back to the apartment. It was absolutely smoldering out, at least 75. We caught our train at 3:57 and said goodbye to Florence.

The rest of the trip home was without incident, besides sleeping in the airport, and returning to Scotland while it was somehow 68F. I’m wearing a dress today, it’s so warm. We left it cold and dead, and returned to yellow flowers everywhere!

I’m glad to be back, but what a trip! I can’t wait to try to get back to France and Italy some day. My photos are extensive (over 400) and hopefully all labeled correctly. They are up at the link on the blog.

And now, as this update took me a couple hours…time for dinner.

-A-

I can see your rolling fields of green and fences made of stone...

Back from Ireland!!

Ohmygosh the trip was...well, it was excrutiating. We went to three different major cities in four days, spent hours in the car, slept in random housing...but basically, despite being freezing, wet, and exhausted, I had the time of my life.

15 March:

We all met at DH at 4pm to get a bus to the airport. Our flight left at 7pm and we arrived around 8:30. Security stopped me for having water and assumed my aerochamber was a bottle of water as well, but let me go when I showed them otherwise. There were tons of problems with renting cars. The car rental place allowed someone 21 to book the cars, but you need to be 23 to drive them, so we could only get 2 instead of 3. 2 cars for 13 people! But we crammed in, with Britt in the back with the baggage. Christina, who had never before driven on the left side of the road, took an experimental drive around the parking lot (did I mention all cars here are manual?).

We got to the hostel (Jamaica Inn) and got our rooms, which was one for ten people and one where three people stayed with strangers. Matt was the only guy in the 10-room. We put our stuff away and went to walk around the town to find food. We ate at a pizza/burger place, and found a sign that read "O gCearnaigh"...which is the last name Matt has always found when looking up his ancestry. When he discovered we were in fact on the West coast and found a "Kearneys Cycles" sign, we were nearly positive we had found his hometown! It was such a great coincidence.


16 March:

We woke up and left the hostel at about 9:00am. We drove to the Cliffs of Moher and Tower O'Brien. We stopped by a tiny store for food on the way and they had a GF section! Go figure. The cliffs were really amazing; the birds sitting on the cliffside looked like tiny specks compared to the massive cliffs. The waves and wind were so strong that we got "rained" on by Atlantic Ocean water. The view was absolutely breathtaking. And the bathrooms were very futuristic, with water-fall type faucets and a picture of the cliffs painted on the stall doors.

We stopped by a random castle on our way to Des's to have lunch. There are so many ruins of old homes and churches in Mayo (the county we were in). We'd see just one wall standing, or a whole building standing with no roof.

We stalled 3 times trying to follow Des's car and got separated at a roundabout (which they have instead of interstates, very dumb). We played hide and seek with the other car for about 2 hours before we randomly ended up at a place where Des used to work, and he came running up to find us, and then chased our car until we passed safely through the roundabout.

Des's mom made us bangers and mash for dinner - basically a shepard's pie without a pie. It was the best meal I've had, probably because it was homecooked. Then we all prepared to go out.

The pub we went to first was where Des works. We played Circle of Death. By the time we got to the third pub of the night (Cosy Joe's), we were having a wonderful time. Some random older lady, who appeared to be drinking alone, started dancing with us when we all fromed a circle to sing Piano Man. They played lots of Johnny Cash as well. Some creepy guy asked Kim, Matt, Aimee, and me if we were American, but when Steph told him she was from Manchester he backed off.

After the bars, we went to Des's sister's house for coffee and some guitar playing. Then we split up and some of us went back to Des's, where we stayed, and others slept at Rachel's.

March 17:

The group who stayed at Des's woke at 7:30am to eat beans, toast, sausage, and tea (very Irish breakfast) and went hiking. We climbed Croagh Patrick, which is 2510 ft high at its highest peak, but we only made it 1/2way because of the terrible rain and wind! It was like a hurricane! All our clothes were soaked through, but I am so glad we got up early to climb it. It was beautiful. However, the rest of the weekend I was cold and wet.

We drove to Galway after a short nap and drying of clothes, where we met up with Des's friends who were allowing us to stay in their house for St. Paddy's Day night. We watched some rugby 6-Nations games, then went out to walk about town. It was drizzling on us the entire time. We stopped in bars, and boy do those Irishmen start drinking early, especially on this holiday! By 7:00pm the pubs were PACKED. We mainly went to four bars, including Des's favorite "Taaffes". In the end we stayed at Spanish Arch to drink and listen to live music.

At the end of the night, we walked home and crawled into random places to sleep in the guys' unheated house. We all cuddled to keep warm. Suffice it to say, not a very comfortable sleep, but an adventure nonetheless.

March 18:

We left past noon for Dublin, just Matt, Des, Chris, and Christina. The others (Britt, Kim, Aimee, Steph) took a bus - Carlos, Augustine, Amandine, and Sheyla had already split from us the previous night. We had time to stop at Dublin's city center, so we did. We arrived to sunny weather...and then got snowed on!

The snow was heavy and wet, like pouring rain, and came on suddenly. It ended just as quickly. I bought a couple necklaces (one for Stephie) and golf paraphenalia for mom and dad. I plan on sending those sometime this week before I leave for Barcelona. Des pointed out the spire in the city center which...well, we don't know why it's there, but it's famous. He also pointed out the post office, where the Easter Uprising occurred in 1916.

By the end I was exhausted and grumpy, but really glad I had the experience of Ireland. It was one of those "fly by the seat of your pants" trips, and every minute was exciting. Ireland is absolutely beautiful, and in the summer I'd love to try climbing Croagh Patrick to the top. I did wish some KH people could be there, because I knew they'd appreciate it a lot.

Now, I have to prepare to finish editing my NH paper, shop for traveling gear in Glasgow with Kim, and plan our Haiku pub crawl. Possibly I will get to Paris and London between finals but for now...Well, Barcelona awaits me in 8 days! I can't wait to get back to Euros...the exchange rate is fantastic compared to the pound.

One more note: On the way home, I ditched my water. The security guy stopped me for my contact solution. It cost me five pounds so I was NOT pleased. Then, the guy used common sense and told me if I could use some he'd let me keep it. Thank goodness some people out there actually think before following stupid laws.

-A-

American Night

This weekend, the Americans all decided it was important to teach the Scots something about American drinking. Here, drinking is a national passtime. Everyone is expected to drink. It's an emblem of Scotland (and Ireland). Drinking is basically a national tradition. Well, we do it a bit differently in the States. Instead of being satisfied with sitting around and drinking, we need some sort of entertainment to keep us energized, or else we just get tired. Hence the use of drinking games, which are basically non-existent here.

Tara, Becca, Matt and I agreed to get plastic cups, ping pong balls, and cards for games of Kings/Circle of Death, Drunk Driver, Trapped, and of course...beer pong. We bought beer (cider for me) and started the festivities after 10pm.

First we played Circle of Death, which was quite hilarious. It was a good warm up. Ross, providing ping pong balls by way of the hollow plastic "widgets" found in Guiness cans, watched us and laughed at us and played with the music. Then we set up for pong. Matt and I beat Tara and Becca, but Callum and Daniel were somehow able to beat me and Matt, even though they had never played before (being Scottish and Spanish, after all).

After that, we were content to just finish slowly the drinks we had racked up in pong, playing trapped and drunk driver with Tara as dealer. We all went to bed around 2am.

Everyone took it easy Saturday, and tonight we saw Outlaw. The movie trailer was better than the movie, and the jumpy screen and closeup shots made the girls kind of sick. A waste of four pounds. :(

Anyway, this weekend was fun, but I NEED to get work done (or at least started) before I leave for Ireland on Thursday. I bought a tiny notebook to keep as a journal while traveling without my laptop, so I'll be able to update at the end of the trip. But my NH essay is due 23 March by 5pm, and I have an oral presention on DH Lawrence to give at 3:00 the Tuesday after Ireland (the 20th), so I need to prepare that BEFORE I leave. Blast.

My new favorite word: Scaffy (a word one would use to describe gypsies, according to Ross).

In a sentence: Stop cheating you scaffy bastard!

-A-

Boredom is better in Scotland

I haven't updated much, mostly because no wants to read about my multiple papers/reports I've been working on. Things haven't been very adventurous lately, but in 8 days I'll be in Ireland and then in two more weeks, I'll be in Barcelona. So there will be excitement to come.

This weekend Daniel, John, Matt and I saw "The Number 23" which I really enjoyed. Kim and I baked cakes, and I did homework. Yesterday, I saw a couple split ends in class so Kristin cut my hair and I gave myself new bangs. I really enjoy them. Glad I didn't accidentally butcher my head, though.

I miss watching House but it hasn't been uploaded to my TV sites yet.

I have one more paper and one more oral report to go before my semester is over.

My finals are April 26, 27, and May 18. Between the 27th and 18th I will probably try to get to London and Paris. After the 18th I will do what little traveling I can before I return on the 27th of May.

It's SO odd how quickly this trip is going by. I feel like I haven't even really been here, like I'm not really absorbing it yet! All I want to do for the rest of my life is travel haha.

Expect a fun update sometime after March 18, when I return from Ireland. Till then, nothing too new is happening.

-A-

Highlands

This weekend, Jake, Kim, Matt and I went to the Highlands! The Highlands are basically the northern part of Scotland, called this because of their mountainous terrain. They are a lot colder than the midlands (where the Uni is), very dry, and basically tundra. They are about 400ft about sea level. Some of the more well-known places are Inverness, Glencoe, and of course Loch Ness.

We went with HAGGIS, a group which takes you on buses for about 26L for a twelve hour tour. They also do 3, 5, and 7 day tours. We took the 12 hour tour on Saturday. We met at 8:15am at the Royal Mile and began our journey.

Our guide's name was Doug, or Doogie, and he was really excellent. He knew a lot of history about Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland, and he was funny. He was a great story-teller, so we had a lot of fun listening to the history of Scotland.

Our first big story came as we passed the Edinburgh Zoo and he told us about a primary school teacher he knows whose five year old students stole a baby penguin during the penguin march, which the zoo does daily. Obviously this story has little to do with the history of the country, but it was interesting nonetheless.

We did learn about the many kings and queens of Scotland. Did you know Scotland actually took over English, placing James VI as James I in London? In fact, most people think that England took over Scotland, but this is false. Queen Elizabeth II actually has three titles, but she ignores her Scottish title as Queen Elizabeth I of Scotland.

Anyway, as we passed Stirling, Doug told us the TRUE story of "Braveheart." Actually, William Wallace was NOT called Braveheart, and the movie is pretty much bull. But still, good film. He played the "They can take our lives, but they cannot take our FREEEDOM" speech by Gibson in the movie while we wound through the green hills. Then he told us the true story.

The king of England and Scotland at the time murdered full villages of men, women and children, as a sign of what he would do to people who disobeyed his rule. So most people did as he said. But Wallace refused to bend to his whim. He was an outlaw for killing some English soldiers, and eventually other men joined him. Seeing this, and hoping to bring him into a trap, one of the higher-ups kidnapped his wife, who was supposedly pregnant with Wallace's first child, and killed her (supposedly...whether or not he was married is still disputed...thanks John).

Wallace's men tied him to a tree for three days to keep him from rushing into the trap.

But basically that's when all hell broke loose. Stirling is famous because of the Wallace Monument, which stands on the hillside where Wallace planned his biggest attack of the English. They led 10,000 troops over a bridge, which they had rigged, and pulled it down behind them, trapping them on their turf. Then Wallace and his men slaughtered them all. Supposedly the river ran red with blood for weeks afterward.

Wallace was finally caught. He was hanged but kept alive, then drawn and quartered, then had his guts ripped out and cooked in front of him. Finally, when he was dead, the king had his head on a post at London Bridge and hacked his body into 4 parts, delivered to the 4 corners of Scotland. But, while this was meant to scare people into behaving, it failed. A prospective king of Scotland was so disgusted by England that he began to help the Scots and took up Wallace's place.

Our next big stop was Glencoe. The hills are called the "Glen of Tears" because of a treacherous slaughter that took place by the Campbells. Basically, all Scots were supposed to sign a treaty agreeing total loyalty to the new king, or else their entire clan would be wiped out. This was a war between Protestants and Jacobites. The MacDonalds were Jacobites and did not want to sign the treaty, but if they did not sign by Jan. 1, they would all die. So, the clan chief went to sign the treaty at the last minute, but in snow he got lost. He arrived 6 days late, but he did sign it.

When the king saw the treaty, one of his attendants pointed out that MacDonald had signed late. The king sent an army of Campbells, who were Scottish and lived near the MacDonald clan and staunch Protestants, to MacDonald's land in Glencoe to kill the entire village. However, when they arrived at night, it was snowy and freezing. There is an unwritten law in Scotland...hospitality. If anyone, even a foe, turns up on your doorstep in bad weather, you MUST house and feed them. The law is meant to save lives.

The enemy arrived Feb. 1. For 12 days they stayed with the MacDonalds. Then, on the 13th, a gunshot in the morning signaled the army to rise up and murder everyone...and they did. 38 died in their beds, and the rest fled to the hills. In below freezing temps, in nigtgowns, and pitch black, women and men herded their children up the rocky mountainside (the hills are about 90-degree angles, too, very steep). Most died from exposure.

There are many slaughters like this, but this was an outrageous one because the Campbells had taken advantage of the hospitality law, eaten with and slept in the homes of the MacDonalds before they rose up and murdered them. There is an inn in Glencoe with a sign that reads "No hawkers, no Campbells" and they really WILL turn away anyone with the last name Campbell. This was hundreds of years ago, but it is such a taboo to misuse the law of hospitality, which was mean to save lives.

That story gave me goosebumps when Doug told it. We all took photos. I couldn't imagine people trying to run away in freezing temps in those hills.

We then continued on. We stopped at a whiskey distillery and we all got samples. I bought some whiskey honey liqueor which was really delicious. Our final stop was Loch Ness. We learned the lochs along the way (13,000 something lochs in Scotland and only one is called a "lake" by the way). Loch Lochie, Loch Lenny, Loch Oich, Loch Ness. Loch Ness is 900ft deep at its deepest point, 32 miles long and 1 mile wide at its widest point. There is proof of prehistoric trout, etc, in the lake, and minimal proof that 18 animals weighing about 3 tons each do live in the loch. At 15 ft deep you get permadark...no sunlight can penetrate deeper than that.

Basically what I'm saying is that it is entirely possible that the loch, while connected to the ocean, allowed in some prehistoric-type beast which, now that the ocean and the loch are separate bodies of water, is stuck there. I can totally believe there is a "nessie" there, but we saw no sign (no surprising, really, by the size and darkness of the water). Not a monster, really, but a very large sea creature resembling prehistoric dinosaurs of some sort.

Anyway, after Loch Ness we made our way home. I fell asleep on the bus. When we got back, Matt and I made dinner, then booked our flights for Spring break (Barcelona, Marseille/Aix-En-Provence, Rome, Venice, and Florence) and watched part of The Stand (Ross has great taste in books and movies and let me borrow it).

I have 3 papers due within the next two weeks, a project due Friday, reading due Monday and Tuesday, and basically I'm starting to stress out. But I go to Ireland on the 15 of March so I'm just counting down to that.

The Highlands are really gorgeous, mysterious, and full of history. I love Scotland for its history; everywhere you go there is a story of bloodshed, deceit, and passion. It's amazing.

Time do to some real work!

Perhaps we will hike Glencoe on Saturday, if I can finish at least one paper before then!

-A-

Valentine's Day, Birthday, & Ball

14th Feb:

Matt wore his kilt out to dinner for VDay. I had a GF pizza with mushrooms...very yummy. Some tourist girls who saw us walking home "aww'd" at his kilt. It was fun. A waited taking a smoke break wished us a happy Valentine's Day. I think people are nicer when they see someone in a kilt. Too bad they cost about 700lbs because I'd like Matt to own one and I know he wants one of his own, too.

He got me a box of chocolates, too, called "Eden" and each chocolate is named after something like "lust" or "tempation" etc. We're eating them in the order they're listed. So far we've had "original sin" and "lust." Yum!

15th Feb:

A week or so ago, when Kim and I were looking for dresses, I found an old edition of Dante's Divine Comedy at a consignment shop. I wanted it, but didn't want to spend the money on it. When I opened my birthday gift from Matt, how surprised was I to find the EXACT copy I had wanted! And neither Kim nor I had told him! I was so happy, and quite shocked. He also gave me 21 kisses.

I didn't feel like it was my birthday all day. I got ready for the Ceilidh around 4pm, but my converter is running out of steam and my hairdryer/straightener weren't going full blast, so my hair was big and annoying all night. I need to buy new ones. Anyway, Kim and I brought Sangria and rum over to Kitchener and drank enough to feel warm on the walk to the bus. We left around 7pm with a whooole group of people.

At Teviot, where the ball was being held, they made the guys check their sgihn dos (sp), which are the knives put into the top of the kilt hose, even though they were only plastic or rubber.
We all enjoyed a glass of champagne, then went to dinner. We had roast chicken, potatoes balls, and carrots. The dessert was cheesecake. It was pretty good! I had a special gluten free meal, which was basically the same meal but without the mushroom sauce on the chicken.

Afterward, we went to the bar and I bought everyone Chocolate Covered Cherry shots (grenadine, baileys, and rum). Then John bought us all Kilted Black Leprachaun shots, which were baileys, whiskey, and something else and were pretty rank. Callum bought me a gin and tonic. I loved that it was my birthday so everyone wanted to buy me drinks! ...but I wanted to remember the night and not die during dancing, so I was pretty good...probably the only person to NOT black out on their 21st birthday.

Anyway, the Ceilidh was SO fun! It's basically square dancing and some of the songs are the tunes of Yankee Doodle, Oh Susannah, etc. The dances consist of lots of spinning, throwing, lifting, etc, of the women, while the men get the easy bits. So basically the women, in high heels, suffer through most of the night.

Once you know the steps, the dances are easy and fun, but if you don't know the steps, you'll probably get hurt. Lots of people fell, including myself, and at the end of the night I was sure I'd broken a bone in my foot.

My favorite dance (at first) was one wherein the girls put their arms over the men's shoulders and the men lift the girls around the waists and spin them about in a large circle. It was fun the first couple times...Until we got nauseated! Another fun one was, as John described, a "swingers dance"...we all looped arms with every other couple in a figure-eight style.

The dances look like chaos even though they're choreographed! I think they were invented JUST to see drunk people fall over.

The Kitchener House people got everyone to sing happy birthday to Azahara and me! It was nice.

At the end, my feet were killing me. We went home and had snacks, and made a dance floor in the kitchen, but ended up being too tired to dance anymore.

Over all it was a brilliant night, but I STILL don't feel like I've had my birthday. Oh well, I have a whole year to adjust to 21!

-A-

Valentine's Day Shortie

• Mom sent me a package of fuzzy socks, makeup, tissues, and Scrubs. I am so so so happy!

• I got a killer outfit for my birthday/the ball tomorrow. Can't wait!

• Tonight Matt and I are going to Mamma's for GF pizza to celebrate our second Valentine's Day together.

• A man on the corner was giving out free hugs to passersby today. I think it was a social experiment because a lady was taking notes and tallying things up nearby. Kim and I hugged him and I took a picture, which can be seen in the "Random" folder on my photobucket site, along with a new pic of a man in a kilt playing bagpipes on Prince's Street.

That's all for now! Will update Friday after my birthday celebrations are finished!


-A-

Rosyth and Kilts

We have a ball coming up! It is a traditional Ceidilh, pronounced "cay-lee", which is a special kind of romping Scottish dance. It's a black tie affair, so the guys have decided to all go in...dresses.

I mean kilts, of course.

On Friday they decided to go Saturday and be fitted for hiring kilts. Kim and I agreed to go check out consignment shops for cheap but fun and goofy dresses. Friday we all cooked together, or rather, I cooked while we all enjoyed Sangria. We made home made fajitas! I made chicken and steak, and we found tortillas that are authentic mexican and marked GF. We had guacamole, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, onions, mushrooms, peppers of all colors, and salsa. They were DIVINE. I'm a brilliant chef, haha.

We spent the evening at Kitchener just hanging out with everyone. It was quite fun.

Saturday at 3, Kim and I mosied down to Grassmarket to check out Armstrongs, and found some very creepy nightgowns from the early 1900s, dresses from Little House on the Prairie, and neat accessories. But no good formal wear.

The guys all got their kilts, and plan on wearing them every day of the rental to get their money's worth. Kim and I plan on finding dresses before the 15th...the day of my birthday and the Ceidilh. Matt told me that he realizes now why people can wear kilts in the cold wind of Scotland. 8 yards of fabric go into one kilt! They are too heavy for the wind to hike up, and very warm because, according to John, the "catch rising warm air". All the pieces that go into a kilt are...well, extensive. When I have photos, I will be sure to make an update about the special names for all the accesories.

That night, we went to Rosyth to hear one of John's friend's bands play. We took the train, which was fun (the bathroom on there is SO space aged, very neat) and then a cab to the Yard (the bar of the concert).

The bands were inspired by AC/DC and Guns 'n Roses. Very good. The title band, Rattlesnake Remedy, was absolutely brilliant. John's friend's band is called Magnus Blaze, and they were fabulous, too. John bought everyone their train tix, admission to the concert, drinks all night, and the cab back home to Edinburgh. I don't know how he does it--I tried to pay for my drinks and he wouldn't have it. He also through a huge Superbowl party with drinks and chips. Nice guy!

The ride home was funny because the cabbie was such a bitch. She didn't listen to her GPS and so she got lost, then yelled at us for not knowing where we were going. But it kind of made the night more exciting.

I am quite peeved that we have no heating or hot water. The guy who owns both David Horn and Kitchener turns off our hot water between noon and 5pm, and the heat is hardly EVER on. We wrote a petition but he refuses to change anything. It's probably something like 40 degrees in here. Ugh. And I had a cold shower today. Even more awful.

Anyway, photos have been updated, and things are going really well here. Four days till my birthday!! How exciting!!!!

I love it here, but today, because of my numb hands, freezing head and basically frigid room, I miss home.

In this post, let me recap on some of the people I've met so that the names are familiar:

John - He's from Glasgow, and is all-around just really hilarious. It's impossible not to laugh with him, and he's just so incredibly nice. Easily one of my new favorite people

Ross - Lives next door to John and is from somewhere in the UK. He has great taste in books and movies (including Labyrinth!) and has a wicked sense of humor.

Elian - One of the girls in Matt's dorm, she's really sweet and funny and I'm really glad I'm starting to get to know her. She's from Elgin, Scotland.

Vijay - Is the Hindu monk I mentioned earlier. He's fun to talk to because we can get into pretty good discussions.

Joanna - Also from somewhere in the UK, also in Matt's dorm, she's really cool and funny.

Daniel - Half Spanish, half Chinese, speaks American English but has never been to America. He's quite fun.

Jake - He's from California and is in my Art History class. We may travel with him over Spring Break this year.

Becca - From NewMexico, she's really fun! I love her laugh.

Tara - Becca's roomie and also from New Mexico.

Pablo - One of the many fun Spanish people I've met. He and the two Spanish girls Noellia, and Athada (sp) always cook dinner at the same time as me and Matt. Athada's birthday is on mine! She will also be 21.

Gosh, there's so many other people but I'm getting tired of typing them all, and I have to go grocery shopping in half an hour. I suppose I should just say that I'm met tons of people and I like them all...basically.

Oh, and my little sent me a card and magazine! She's the best!

-A-



PS: for a link to part of a video I took on my camera of Rattlesnake Remedy and a bluesy-rock song, click here: http://www.yousendit.com/download/aHlUZm1lK3h6NE41VEE9PQ

snow

Last night when Matt and I walked to Sainsbury's to buy groceries for dinner, it was bitterly cold. (I'll just go on a tangent here to mention that steak, aspargus, onions, and mushrooms cost us under $10, so it was a $5 meal each, very nice I must say). Anyway, when we were leaving we saw that it was pouring snow.

It was night, so the sky was completely black, and the snow was so beautiful and clear against it, and coming down heavily. Not only that, but it was sticking. The ground was covered, as were cars and benches. It was so exciting! It nearly never snows here and it's supposed to snow all weekend!

I don't remember being this excited about snow as a kid - well, not past the first snowfall of the year anyway, or snow days - but here, it's always welcome. It makes me remember being a kid. It makes me want hot cocoa, heavy sweaters, and a good book. I at least had cocoa when we got home.

Walking home I didn't even feel the cold, it was so pretty. I took some photos this morning but most of it had melted. And there were flowers blooming! Who ever heard of flowers blooming after snow?! But so pretty!

Day after it snows
Flowers poke their bright heads out
To welcome the sun

(Haikus are fun.)

Anyway, I think I'll continue to enjoy the good mood snow puts me in. It's always great to look for an excuse to love the weather here.

I will upload photos after my class tonight.

-A-

Glasgow and Glengoyne

This weekend, Kim, Matt and I went with the ISC (International Student Center) to Glasgow and Glengoyne. Glasgow is another city in Scotland, much larger than Edinburgh. When we were going, I asked Joanna and Vijay how big it was.

It's a big city.
Is it like New York?

They cracked up. "It's like a EUROPEAN big city!" Basically, you can tell that it's bigger and more modern than Edinburgh, but it's still fairly small. Smaller than London, even. But it was busier than Edinburgh, for sure.

Anyway, an hour bus ride brought us to Glengoyne Distillery, where Glengoyne scotch whiskey is made. And oh my goodness, is that place neat! First of all, it smelled divine, like baking bread and honey. Really that's the smell of fermentation. We all go to taste a dram (wee bit) of their signature 10-year old single malt whiskey, which smelled so delicious but really burned going down. We watched a video on how the type of water (what rocks it comes from, if it's hard or soft, etc) and type of barley all add into the special taste of the spirit. Even the shape and size of the stills ends up affecting the taste!

Then, we took a tour, seeing the natural waterfall which fuels the heating, cooling, fermenting, etc of the whiskey. We got to see the fermentation process, where each barrel holds 19 thousand litres of "weak beer" (or something that looks like porridge and bubbles at the top). At the end, we saw the gift shop. Matt bought a tiny bottle of 21-year old single malt (all Glengoyne makes is single malt) and Kim bought a glass.

We learned that:

• single malt whiskey is "the best" but mixed whiskeys, like Johnny Walker, just mean that multiple single malts go into them
• "Scotch" is just whiskey made, distilled, and bottled in Scotland
• "single cask" whiskeys are the MOST rare; they are stored in a cask for its first use and therefore take on most of the flavor of the wood
• 3 years and 1 day of storing time makes the spirit legal whiskey, not a day shorter.
• A 36 year whiskey is about 400 lbs to buy a bottle of. Older whiskeys are VERY RARE because so much evaporates over time.
• Single cask 36 year whiskey is probably the best there is
• The color of the spirit comes from the aging process

After the distillery, we went to Glasgow. There, Jake and his friend Sonny met us and we all walked about looking for lunch. We walked down Buchannan Street, which is basically a giant shopping street and ooooh do we plan on going back! Hah! We finally stopped at a pub which only served 21 and older for some reason, and lied about our ages. We couldn't figure out the age restriction, but most people in there were in their 50s or older.

After lunch, we went to the Museum of Modern Art, and then to the Cathedral. It's a gothic cathedral, something like the only one left in Scotland or something (Jake is an architecture admirer and told me but I forgot, oops). Anyway, it was gorgeous. Over a hill behind it you could see an old cemetary, and inside the stained glass was just beautiful. We got there just at closing, so we took a brief tour, took photos, and left. Then we headed back to Buchannan to take more photos (including one of a busker, which reminded me of London freshman year) and then back to the bus.

That evening, I was so tired, I basically passed out with the light on.

Over all it was a fun trip, and we do plan on going to Glasgow again when we will have more time to look around. It was a lot colder there than it's been here, but it's starting to cool down here again, too. No more 50s and mild, it seems; we're in for a week of low-30s.

Photos have been updated!

Also, I turned in my first ever paper! ...and then realized I had forgotten the bibliography. They're very picky about plaigarism here, so I need to rectify that. Oops.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! We're watching here, at 11pm to about 5am, but I don't plan on seeing the end of it.

-A-

Last King of Scotland

Matt was sick all Saturday so we didn't have a chance to go out and spend money. To make up for this, Sunday night Kim, Matt and I went to the cinema to see The Last King of Scotland.

At first we could not be sure why the movie was called this. It's about the president of Uganda in 1970, Armin (sp), and a young Scottish doctor who traveled to Uganda to do charity work with another doctor. Through a stroke of odd luck, Nicholas Garrigan (the doctor) ends up meeting and "befriending" Armin. The story is based on true events, and takes you through the frivolous liftestyle of the president and into the seedy underbelly of the government, including the Brits' involvement.

Armin is shown in a kilt at least once, and his soldiers sometimes wear kilts while marching in the streets. His entertainment is Scottish music. One of his sons loves Scottish football. What he tells Nicholas is that the Scots have asked him to come vanquish the British from Scotland as he has successfully done in Uganda. For all we can tell, this is why it's called "The Last King of Scotland."

The movie was fabulous. Absolutely terrifying (not to mention the freaky commercials before the movie begin--the UK really knows how to get your attention) and really uncomfortable to watch at times, the knowledge that this movie was based on true events makes it even more gut wrenching.

Totally enjoyable, and only £4.50 with the student discount. Still $9.00, but worth it. They serve ice cream at the theaters here, too, so I got myself a mint chocolate chip cup. The weather yesterday was SO warm (46F) and mild, no wind, and very pleasant. We walked back after the movie, which took probably about an hour, but the walk felt pretty good.

I have my first presentation on Wednesday and my first paper due next Monday. Wish me luck! I sure am nervous!

-A-

Friday Night Opium

Wow. Last night was so much fun!

Kim, Matt, Daniel, Oscar, John, and someone whose name I forget (and feel really bad about that!) went out to a bar called Opium on Cowgate. We got there around 11 or so. They had a jukebox playing through the speakers, so we got to hear really good music...mostly American stuff. We kind of goofed around for awhile, and then decided to walk to Frankenstein, but they were closing (most bars close at 1 here but the clubs stay open till 3).

We searched for some other clubs, including Espionage (but we weren't wearing the right foot attire to get in--elitist bastards) and the Liquor Room, but that cost 5 pounds to get in and no way as I paying $10 for a club. So back to Opium we went, got ourselves a little corner, and proceeded to dance the night away and take tons of photos. It was really, really fun. We got back a bit after 3, hung out in the kitchen making food and listening to the Fratellis (a GREAT Scottish band) and Rod Stewart (who is Scottish also).

Today I had a bit of an annoyance. Our dorm turns the heat and hot water off from 11am to 6pm and I wanted a shower! We did write a petition so hopefully they'll turn those back on. It's not fair, especially on weekends, to make us freeze and wait to take a shower.

Tonight we may be going on a ghost hunt that they sponser here. We're not quite sure yet. But last night was REALLY fun, and there are new pics up if you care to see them. For my first official late night out in Edinburgh, it was really fantastic.

I'm thinking of getting a bus pass so that at night I don't have to walk in the cold. It's 30 pounds a month, and if I use the bus twice daily it will be more than worth the money. Daniel has one and says it saves him tons of cash. So I will think about that. I'll be here 4 more months...I may as well look into it!

-A-

Japanese Food with a Hindu Monk

Tuesdays are my long days. I have Natural Hazards at 10am, my Eng. Lit tutorial at 3pm, then my Art History lecture at 5pm. Afterward, I just wanted to make soup and a sandwich, do homework, watch Heroes, and sleep.

However, as Matt and I were in the process of making dinner, Daniel, a kid in Matt's hall, came in to invite us to a Japanese restaurant. He told us he had made reservations for 15, but with only seven confirmed people, so he was looking for more guests.

I felt guilty saying yes, as I just bought tickets to and from Ireland for St. Patrick's Day (!!!!), but we felt worse saying no. Daniel always invites us out and we're always too knackered to take him up on his offers! So last night, we agreed to go. I called Kim, seeing as she lived in Japan for eight years I assumed she'd want to go. We all met at Kitchener at 8:30 and took a bus over to Bonsai.

The tiny restaurant could hardly fit our entire group of 14, but we managed to squeeze in. I sat at one end by Joanna (a girl who has lived in the UK and the States), Rebecca (an American), Kim, Matt, and Daniel. On the other end were Vijay (an Indian Hindu monk), Pablo (our Spanish pal), Elian, and a couple of other people I can't name. I had miso soup and a tuna roll for 4.70, which is not bad at ALL. I was very pleased with the prices. And it was delicious!

Daniel and I talked about writing (he is an anthropology student and wants to be a novelist too!), Kim's life in Japan (she taught us what things on the menu meant and asked one of the busgirls what her favorite color is in Japanese), and basically life in Scotland in general. (It's finally begun to set in that I'm in a different country. While walking to class, I tend to notice the short stone walls and gray hued skies that so epitomize the UK, and really have begun to feel secure and excited to experience life here.)

During dinner, Daniel mentioned that Vijay is a monk, here in Scotland to study Sanskrit. I knew this already, but Kim was intrigued, so after dinner we set out to ask him questions. I introduced them and learned that:

• Hindus believe there is one G-d, but we all call him by different names. They do not try to convert people, because as long as you choose a path, you get to go to heaven
• He shaves his head and wears white robes in the monestary, but is allowed to wear street clothes while studying here. His head is still bald though.
• He has lived in a monestary for 4 years. He's 21. At 17 he made the decision to become a monk.
• He had a birth mark on his skull that grew, and shaving his head saved his life because doctors speculated it was being tumorous. They removed it; Kim and I saw this as a sign that he was meant to be a monk, since shaving his head saved his life.

Half of the group went out and the other half went back to the dorms. Matt and I watched Heroes--we are two episodes from the end! I am going to force him to watch Arrested Development next.

All in all it was a totally pleasant evening. It's so great to be surrounded by people I like and am just getting to know, and I'm sure I will definitely talk to Daniel again about writing! When photos are put up by others (I forgot my camera that night), I will post them here.

-A-

Playing Cards in Cotton Candy Colors

On Friday night, we all went out to the Southern, where I tried a new kind of cider, but basically was bored and tired. The week had caught up with me.

Saturday, Kim, Matt and I went to the Farmer's Market! It's a walk that took us past Grassmarket (where the GF pizza is) and up a long, steep flight of stairs. Across from the market is a huge mountain with a castle built into it. The market itself was smaller than we expected, but still fun. There were stands of homemade jams, breads, soaps, meats, etc, all made by the people who harvested the goods. The most interesting things had to be the ostrich burgers and wild boar burgers, which Kim and Matt tried. I opted to try porridge, which is basically oatmeal. I decided to take the risk with the oats because I was freezing. The porridge was delicious. They mixed in raspberries, honey, and cream. It warmed me up and didn't make me sick, which is a good sign.

Afterward, I mentioned that I wondered if they had craft fairs where we could buy homemade Scottish things. Sure enough, as we turned onto the road leading to Prince's Street, we passed a churchyard with a big sign about crafts. The churchyard was old and obviously not used as a church anymore. We went down the path to a little FairTrade store. Kim and I bought Indian soapstone chess pieces for 10p (pence). Matt bought tea.

Then we headed to the National Gallery. It was starting to rain and really, really cold out. We slipped in to look at Van Goghs, Monets, Rembrants, and some others. It was neat to see so many original pieces of well-known painters hung in the Scottish National Gallery. Even some American artists were hung there!

Finally, we went back. Matt and I watched Crank and Heroes and then met Kim at Sainsbury's to buy dinner and drinks. We all ate together, and Aimee came over, too. While we cooked, we talked to the Spanish girls in Matt's kitchen. Then we basically played cards with Aimee's pink-and-blue deck, played pictionary, and cherades. It was a pretty low-key night.

Tonight I plan on doing "homework" for the first time. We don't really have homework here but we do have reading. I need to do things to turn in for my tutorials on Tuesday, and I need to start reading for a paper I have due on the 5th of Feb. The week after that, we have a week off, so we plan on taking cheap flights (about 9.99 pounds) to Belgium and France for my birthday!!

Things here are going pretty well, but I'm ready for some sun to come back! Sun, and temperatures out of the 30s!

-A-

First Snow!

I left the house today on my way to class, expecting it to be raining. But as I looked out the window over the kitchen sink, I saw WHITE!

One of the guys in the kitchen told me that it was indeed snowing, but, "just a wet snow."

I told him I had not seen the ACT of snow in years. When I did walk to class, I used an umbrella, as it was heavy like rain. It hit the ground and turned into slush, so the walk was slippery, but the cars were covered in white.

I hardly felt the cold, I was so pleased!

According to my science-buddy Heather, the snow should only get better. "This is early snow," she told me. While everyone insists it doesn't snow often here, if it continues to get cold and "rain", then I'll be satisifed.

I feel like a kid again!

While I do often realize now why Dad wanted to get out of the cold weather and into the sun, I also now remember when I didn't mind the cold gloom of Ohio. Sometimes you just don't notice it.

-A-

Saturday Night is Fun Night

This Saturday, I continued the tradition we've started here at Edinburgh by not wasting all day in bed. Kim, Aimee, Matt and I met at the International Student Center (ISC) on campus at 1pm to go on a walking tour of the city. Our guide, Shyla, agreed to show us the more "local" parts of the city. We were sick of seeing just where students hang out.

We walked over to Pleasance, which is a building complex where club meetings are held, there's a bar there, and some sort of theater, too. We walked up Cowgate, where there are many more clubs and bars, and came out onto Grassmarket, where Maggie Dickson's Pub and Mamma's Pizza are.

Maggie Dickson's is a place Kalin has told me to visit, named after a woman who survived her hanging at the gallows just across the road, and Mamma's serves GF beer AND pizza! We agreed to come back later that night to try out both venues. We then walked up to the Royal Mile. Matt and I had both been there before, but Kim and Aimee hadn't, so we walked up it first, to the castle. It was so windy they had closed it for the day to tours! We ducked into a tartan-weaving shop to escape the wind, then walked back down the Mile to get a snack (hot chocolate and nachos...mmm) and then stopped in the Museum of Childhood.

This place is a five-story building. Each level shows different kinds of toys throughout the eras. There are dolls, dollhouses, skates, marbles, etc, all in little class cases. It was really neat, although the top level, which was a bunch of mannequin children dresesd to show off the clothing of the turn of the century, was really creepy.

After that, we went back to the dorms. We watched some Scrubs on TV (and enjoyed the UK commercials as much as the show, actually), and then looked up Mamma's online. They are open till eleven pm, so we decided to leave at 8 and walk over.

The walk took about 45 mins, but we didn't get lost once! Afterward, our appetites had really been piqued. We were seated immediately, and spent some time going over the menu. Aimee, Matt, and Kim decided to split a 4-person pie, while I got my own little pizza, GF, with pineapple on it. And a GF beer, just because I could. We spent a long time choosing toppings for pizza, because there are TONS. Plus, many other menu items...all non-GF foods are marked with a little star. How thoughtful!

I was so ecstatic when the food came! I took a lot of pictures, I'll admit. The beer, according to Matt, tasted better than REAL beer, but didn't really taste like beer at all. I thought it was a lot more bitter than hard cider, but it was still something I couldn't pass up, even if I didn't LOVE the taste. Then the food came.

The pizza was so good. It tasted a lot like homemade that Mom makes, but the novelty of getting it fresh from the oven at a real restaurant was just overwhelming. I scarfed down three or four pieces, gave Matt a piece, and took three with me in my purse. Then I called Steph to brag haha.

Afterward, we went up the street a couple shops to Maggie Dickson's. They are most well known for their "seven deadly sins" and "seven virtues" drinks. I had a Wrath, which is basically three types of liquor and lemonade (ovd, bacardi, citrone), and the others tried Sloth, which is like a buttery-nipple but in a drink form instead of a shot. They were REALLY expensive though, so we moved on down the street. It was bitterly cold out, unfortunately.

We stopped in Bannerman's, a student-oriented bar, but it was packed. We walked back down the main road and stopped in Aspen, and shared a pitched of Long Island Iced Tea. Then, tired and freezing, we walked back to the dorms.

Sunday, Matt and I headed back up to Prince's Street and FINALLY bought him a pair of boots. We're still looking for boots for me and a jacket for him. Afterward, we grocery shopped, cooked dinner, and watched Hero (the movie, not the TV series).

I am going through House withdrawal!

Time for me to head over to class. I will upload pics of Saturday when I'm next at my comp.

Oh, and here is the link to Mamma's, if you're interested: http://www.mammas.co.uk/

-A-

Getting Lost

Today's adventure was one of a different sort. It marked the first day Matt and I got lost in the city.

After classes today, Matt and I decided to head up to Prince's Street, where there are huge department-type stores. We wanted boots for both of us and a jacket for him. We got there around 4 because my dorm's lights were out (probably due to severe wind...30 km/h!), so I had to bring my food over to his kitchen to cook it (I had a great lunch though--eggs, toast, brie, and a clementine).

We shopped around but the only things we bought were groceries. Getting back on the bus to go home, we assumed (wrongly) that any bus #3-- would bring us back to the city. Well, as it turned out, bus 33, which we took, does go back to the city. But then it hangs a right sometime before our stop and goes on a round-about tour of Edinburgh.

We passed the Royal Infirmary, and then began to wind through residential streets. Thinking the bus had to complete its cycle sometime and would bring us back to the city center, we stayed on board. Until, that is, the driver came up to tell us that we were at the last stop before the bus heads to the garage to "sleep." Another couple, who didn't speak much English, was also on the bus. The driver pointed us toward another stop where "all buses go into town."

Well, we had a problem. We only had one pound and change between the two of us. Buses only accept EXACT change, and they prefer coins, since there isn't a pound-note anyway. So, I took 10pounds from Matt and ventured into a tiny Cantonese take-away restaurant and asked one of the ladies inside if she had change for a ten because I needed it for the bus. She didn't, but a really kindly lady overheard and counted out ten pounds, to us university students who need pounds for laundry and basic living, those coins are pure gold. I thanked her and told her she was a lifesaver. We then went back to the bus stop and asked more random Scots if the buses coming went to Nicholson Street, Cameron Toll, or Craigmiller. They told us to head down a DIFFERENT rode to the bus stop and take ANY bus to get to town, but to take, specifically, 37 to get to Craigmillar (where our houses are).

Even with ten pounds in my pocket (enough to take five buses between me and Matt), we decided to play it safe and wait 28 mintues for the next #37 to arrive (luckily there are nifty electric signs that scroll the bus numbers and when they'll arrive at nearly every bus stop).

By this time, I was cracking up laughing. Matt was worried our food would go bad but in 30-degree weather I thought it would probably be fine. We finally got the bus (two minutes early!) and within ten minutes were back in Matt's kitchen cooking gourmet burgers and asparagus (I make the BEST asparagus, by the way, tender but crunchy with just the right amount of seasoning).

So basically, the day after I was bragging that I know my way around the city sooo well, I went and got lost (although I blame Matt for choosing to take the 33 bus in the first place).

This is probably the beginning of a fun weekend.

-A-

PS: I forgot to add that, while cooking, one of Matt's hallmates, Pablo, asked us what we had done that day. I told him we had gotten lost because we had assumed any 3- bus was safe, but 33 got us into trouble. His response was that the two buses that aren't okay to take into town are 31 and 33. Of allllll the buses out there...Heh. Oh well, now we know!