Scotland

Well it has been a long time since my last blog post.  I think that I wrote about Wednesday, so Thursday I mostly just finished packing and cleaning.  Friday morning I woke up early and met my tour group at King’s Cross Station.  I got on the train and sat next to Katie who was also from CAPA.  We had a nice chat about everything nerdy, and she really reminds me of Sarah from high school.  After four and a half hours, we arrived in Edinburgh.  We met our Scottish guide, Richard, at the train platform.  We walked to the hostel and dumped our bags so we could go walk around town.  We went to the Royal Mile, basically the really old stuff of Edinburgh.  We saw Edinburgh Castle, and then we walked down to the Giles Cathedral.  We saw some more stuff that I took pictures of, but don’t remember the names exactly.  After our walk, we went back to the hostel and checked into our rooms.  I went out and got some fish and chips take away for dinner.  The hostel was very modern and like a hotel mostly, just eight beds crammed into one room. 

            We had to be on the bus by nine on Saturday, so I got ready and went down to breakfast early.  I had porridge, mandarin yogurt, ham, and bread with apricot jam.  So we managed to get on the bus, and went to Stirling Castle.  The castle was small, but it was pretty cool, because the inside was decorated with tapestries and such.  There was also a museum, and you could walk out on the walls for an amazing view.  Apparently, both Stirling, and Edinburgh Castles were built on what used to be volcanoes, so they would have good defensive positions above the surrounding lands.  So, we all got on the bus to leave, but we didn’t get very far before the bus air bag broke and we had to wait for that to be fixed.  We went back into town to eat lunch and shop or whatever.  After a few hours, another bus showed up and we took it and continued our trip. 

            Now we actually got to the highland region of Scotland.  The mountains were pretty cool and the clouds hid the tops from view.  It rained a lot while we were driving, but stopped before we stopped at Glencoe.  Glencoe is a very pretty place with rivers and mountains and such.  We got out and Richard wanted to take a “wee walk.”  I didn’t know that this walk would include me risking my life about every second just to look at a river at the base of the mountain.  First we had to jump over little streams across the path, and then we had to make it down a hill walking on slippery jagged rocks.  Next we climbed on over and around these giant rocks and such, while trying not to fall thirty or more feet into a river.  There was a set of steps, which basically included boards stuck on the rocks every foot or so.  There was actually a bridge in the bottom to cross the river.  I went and saw the river took some pictures, and got out of there.  The trip back up was a lot easier, but I think my legs didn’t enjoy it, because they still hurt really badly. 

            After Glencoe, we got on the bus and headed for the hostel.  It was nice and right on the Locke Ness.  The rooms had cool names like Braveheart, Locke Ness, William Wallace, and Robert the Bruce.  It was such a nice homey, authentic place.  They offered to cook us food, and it was chicken and haggis.  I bought my food, and a bunch of us sat down to eat together and chat about royalty and the titanic.  So the food actually consisted of a piece of chicken stuffed with haggis.  I am not going to spell out what exactly haggis is, but it is a very authentic Scottish dish.  I tried it, and it was actually pretty good.  I ate most of it.  It mostly just tasted peppery and was very wet like the consistency of oatmeal.  I also had to try the Irn Bru.  It is soda that tastes a bit like melted gummy bears and cream soda.  After dinner, I went to the bar in the hostel and got some cranberry and vodka.  Then they brought out the karaoke and we all sang and watched.  It was fun. 

            Sunday started late, since we set our clocks back for daylight savings time ending.  We had a quick breakfast of cereal, and then hit the bus again.  Before we left, we went for a walk to see the Locke Ness.  It was huge, and our tour guide told us all how Nessie must be real, but we didn’t get to see her, except for two plastic ones outside shops.  After a few hours on the bus, we made it to Culloden to see the last battlefield in Europe, and the museum.  They had a movie thing that was sort of like IMAX.  It was like we were right in the middle of the battle with soldiers running and shooting at us from all sides.  It was pretty cool to see all of the swords, shields, and guns that they used then. 

After Culloden we went to the Birnam Wood.  This was supposedly where parts of Macbeth took place.  Basically it is a really old forest with a river and waterfalls.  It was pretty and nice to just walk around with the trees all changing colour.  Then we made it back to Edinburgh in time to do some shopping then catch the train back to London.  That train ride was the longest one ever.  I was so bored since it was dark and I couldn’t just look out the window.  Finally we made it back, and I got back to the flat.  I talked to mom and dad on skype for a little while, and then I still stayed awake way too long.  I am extremely tired today, and my legs protest any movement I make.  I guess I got used to not having any hills anywhere. 

Today I went to class and stayed after to use the internet.  I also did some grocery shopping, and ordered pizza.  The pizza was good, and now I want to sleep, but I have to do my homework first, so goodnight all.