A whole week in just one entry....sorry.
Spring Break Update….it’s been a long time coming.
So…Spring break was pretty much the best experience of my life. I spent way too much money, but I’m so glad I did it. No regrets. I felt kinda bad for stealing Anna Brooks from Pious, but oh well. Anna Brooks didn’t really want to go to Greece not knowing anything anyway, and I was so glad to have someone who was interested in doing something with me for Spring Break. We literally booked our flights on Wednesday, our hostels on Thursday and left on Saturday morning. The night before we left, I was kind of freaking out about it for some stupid reason, but I didn’t really have much time to get nervous because I was leaving the next day. It was one of the most spontaneous decisions I’ve ever made, and it was amazing. I should be spontaneous more often…just less financially spontaneous.
Day ONE:
I met Anna Brooks at the train station at 10 in the morning, and we made our first stop in Pisa because she hadn’t been there yet. We did the whole silly picture thing and then sat around in the sunshine for a while just people-watching and enjoying the fact that we didn’t have any obligations. After wasting a sufficient amount of time doing nothing but sitting around, we headed to the Pisa airport a bit early just in time to see the obnoxious line for check in and security. Everything went really smoothly (except for the fact that Anna Brooks had to throw away her contact solution) and we were on the plane to London! We flew into Gatwick which is outside the city, so we had to take a train into the center of the city and ended up getting on the wrong one. Oops. I was surprisingly not upset about it at all, probably because the conductor was so nice about it and made sure we knew what needed to be done when we got off at the next stop. We had to pay a little bit more, but you have to make the mistake at least once to know how the rail system works. We got our one mistake out of the way right after we got off the plane and didn’t have much trouble at all after that. It was kind of a long traveling day, but we eventually got to our hostel, about ten minutes walk from the train station. We took a risk in booking a hostel that was listed but not rated online and it actually turned out to be a really nice place. Everything was really new and really clean. We learned later that the reason it wasn’t rated yet was because it was so newly opened. Apparently the building used to be a bar, but when the bar went under the owner just ditched the place, so the guy that bought it decided to turn it into a hostel. The first guests were the Friday night before we got there on Saturday. We had 8 other people in our hostel. The first few we met were students in France, two native to France and one English studying with them in the south of France. Two other girls didn’t talk to us at all but I think they were German just from hearing them speak. The guy that slept on the bunk beneath me was an older English gentleman, but I never really got his story. The last guy was a cute Finnish boy that we befriended the last night we were there. I got really excited when we first walked into the hostel because the tv was on a random news channel and they were doing a highlight of SXSW in Austin. The desk worker teased me when I pointed it out asking if I recognized any of the street scenes they were showing, but I actually did! It was little things like that all week that made me feel like I was exactly where I needed to be. So we settled in, claimed our beds and left our stuff in search of dinner. We stayed in this little area of London called Woolwich and there wasn’t much around so we ended up getting dinner at this local pub called “The Great Harry.” Of course we expected to be labeled as Americans, but what we didn’t expect was for several people (guys) to come up to us and keep trying to talk to us. Eventually we learned that we had chosen the most local of pubs and everyone knew everyone else….except us. So not only did we have that American stamp, but we also had the ‘stranger’ stamp. We had to fend off about 3 or 4 guys before we finally conceded and ended up talking to these guys that were actually from Zimbabwe but had lived in London for 10 years because the money was better. We talked for a while, they bought us a few drinks. It was fun to sit around with some locals .
Day TWO: Holy Harry Potter Day!
We attempted to wake up in time to go to church at St. Paul’s Cathedral but the travel time took longer than anticipated and we got there about halfway through the service. We took pictures, checked the service times and vowed to come back later; it was Easter so I insisted I would never be able to forgive myself if I didn’t go to church regardless of where I was. It was ridiculously cold outside, evidenced by the snowflakes that greeted us when we left our hostel earlier that morning, and I spent most of the day wishing for gloves to make my photographic endeavors easier. We spent the afternoon wandering around London in search of the most important landmarks….places where they had filmed Harry Potter. We made a stop at Leadenhall Market which is where they film Diagon Alley and later found our way to King’s Cross station and took silly pictures where they’ve set up a false Platform 9 ¾. We stopped for lunch at Pizza Hut which we were slightly ashamed of, but it was honestly the only restaurant we could see in all directions. A little walk down from Pizza Hut we found pretty much the most central tourist square in London that held Westminster Abbey (closed for Sunday services), Big Ben, and the Parliament Building with the London Eye peeking up behind the buildings in the background. With about 100 more pictures on each of our cameras, we sat down on a bench overlooking the Thames River and soaked up our London experience. Not too long after, we took the Underground back Woolwich all the while discussing what further action should be taken in regards to the showering situation. Unfortunately, neither one of us brought towels and the hostel didn’t offer them.
Day THREE:
This was the last day that we had in London, so we tried to hit the rest of the tourist highlights. We walked to Tower Bridge, saw the Tower of London (from the outside) and then hopped on the Underground in search of more sights. I would like for it to be said that the public transportation in central London is absolutely fantastic and the Underground is something to be seen for itself. AB and I thoroughly mastered it by the time we left London. We decided that the National Gallery was worth a look and ended right smack in the middle of Trafalgar Square with the most enormous lion statues I’ve ever seen. I didn’t quite feel like we gave the National Gallery enough time to be very in depth with it, but there were more things to see! We took pictures with the lions, although neither one of us dared to climb on the back of one, turned right on the next street and found the road that ran right into the front of Buckingham Palace. A brisk walk under sleeping winter trees led us right to the front gates and the enormous fountain. Of course we took more pictures and then got a small snack to munch while strolling through the park right in front of the palace. We played with the ducks and headed off to the London Eye which was visible between buildings. The lines were long so we were glad that we booked our tickets online ahead of time, so we waited about ten minutes and then took the 30 minute ferris wheel ride with fantastic panoramic views of London. We tried to get at the top of the wheel around sunset, but there were too many clouds to make it really worth it. Thoroughly excited and exhausted from our time in London, we headed back to the hostel hoping to get to bed early to catch up on sleep and still be able to be up at 5:45 in the morning to make sure we caught our flight to Scotland. That didn’t quite happen how we would have liked. I took the coldest shower I’ve ever had after waiting for too many other people, and proclaimed it as such when I came back to our room with a new Finnish addition to my typical audience. One of the other boys in the hostel we hadn’t met before then was accompanying AB when I came in with a soaked tshirt over my head in place of the towel I didn’t pack. This struck up conversation and we ended up chatting with Lauri (pronounced ‘l-ow-er-ee’) for longer than we probably should have. Luckily, it ended up to be the general consensus among the people there that night that we would go to bed relatively early and the lights were out by 11:30 or so.
Day Four:
We woke up earlier than anyone should on their vacation, but we had an hour train ride to the airport and our flight was at 8:20 or so in the morning. Smooth ride into Edinburgh which was the part of the week that I was the most excited about. Scotland was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful from the second I stepped off the plane. We had to take a shuttle bus to the center of the city where our hostel was located, and despite my exhaustion I couldn’t stop staring open-mouthed out the window. Scotland is by no means a flat country and hills and mountains and cliffs stuck up hodge-podge around the city as if challenging the cheerful cities to defy their presence. The British were very helpful but weren’t particularly friendly, but the Scottish struck me as a fierce and friendly population. Everyone I met or overheard always seemed to simultaneously have a smile and a curse on their lips. We found our hostel pretty easily but couldn’t check in until a few hours later so we stored our stuff in the luggage room and hiked up Royal Mile to find something to eat. We ate our fill of severely under-seasoned food at the Filling Station then continued up the hill to the enchanting Edinburgh Castle. The view in every direction was amazing. The castle on one side, the bay and the city on another, there was an endless amount of small museums within the castle walls. We saw the royal jewels, a few displays dedicated to the soldiers, and a lovely momument to the soldiers fallen in battle complete with name and rank lists (of which there were quite a few Blairs). We got stopped by a pleasant Scotsman who asked where we from, what our business was in Edinburgh and engaged us in polite conversation with some humorous stories that left me feeling quite at home and welcome not only in the castle, but also in the city and country. After snapping endless pictures, Anna Brooks and I headed back to the hostel to check in, rest and meet with our new roommates. We met four of the most amazing people I have ever met in my life. Ian (from Connecticut) and Paige were the first because they were already in our room when we arrived. We made the typical introductions and polite inquiries to which I learned that one of their other friends was from Texas and would likely be excited to meet a fellow Texan (we both were). Upon further discussion, we found out they were actually high school age kids who were studying with a very small bible school program at Capernwray Castle (or Manor House) in England. It felt so good to meet people who are so on fire for God and crave the lifestyle of a missionary in the interest of spreading the truth of Christ. We later met Stephen (from Fort Worth) and Noah (from Colorado). Their presence was so positive and although they picked on each other, it was only in jest and in such a loving way that I felt so rejuvenated by their laughter. It was concluded that we would all meet up later to go on one of Edinburgh’s popular ghost tours. Anna Brooks and I showered and rested a bit longer then ate dinner downstairs in the café where we left from late in the evening. The City of the Dead ghost tour sounded a bit scarier than it was, but it was a fun experience, especially in the good company of our new friends. Eight pounds gave us a history lesson on the forms of torture used several centuries earlier and a walk through the ominous Grey Friar’s cemetery where we were informed of Scotland’s skeletons in the closet from its infamous murderers to the unsanitary burial practices during the time of the Black Plague. The last stop was in a pitch black mausoleum where the tension was so strong that you could practically breath it in. We joked the whole way back to the hostel that we were going to find unexplained scratches and a rash I later developed on my stomach from the wind and cold was blamed on the MacKenzie poltergeist.
Day Five:
The entire reason I wanted to make it to Scotland (besides the experience) was to see Blair Castle, and we did it. Unfortunately it turned into a day trip instead of an afternoon endeavor because the tiny town of Blair Atholl was a 2 hour train ride away from Edinburgh and not many trains stop in it. We arrived at the train station relatively early in the morning but had about an hour and a half to waste before the next train stopping in Blair Atholl was departing. AB and I wandered around, through a cheerful park, a quiet cemetery and up to the top of Culton Hill. Full of excitement, we boarded the train and rode into just about the smallest train stop I’ve ever seen just as a light snow started to fall. Luckily, Blair Atholl is an extremely tiny town, and the castle was definitely not far from the station. We walked to Atholl Estates, through a large pair of gray gates and began making our way down a tree-lined lane. A small bus stopped and pulled up next to us bearing the words “Blair Castle.” The driver offered us a ride and chatted merrily with us asking all the typical questions. After explaining my sworn obligation to see Blair Castle because of my surname, he said “Oh, so you’re a flat field then, are ya?” He responded to my confused look with the explanation that “Blair” means “flat field” and since the surrounding area named Atholl was mountainous, the field that the castle was build on was aptly named Blair in honor of its relatively flat home. In the midst of snow, AB and I ventured into the castle where we were unfortunately not allowed to take pictures. Sorry guys. Although the castle is owned by the clan of Murray, it still felt very homey for this little Blair. Other castles occasionally overwhelm me, but Blair Castle was decorated with a variety of family owned treasures and charming brightly-colored cheerful furniture. I’ve also already got my bedroom picked out. I learned some interesting facts about the Duke of Atholl who is apparently the only other person in Scotland besides the royal family to be allowed a private army. I have no idea the specifics about what kind of army we’re really talking about here, but it’s just a fun interesting fact. Oh, and they also host a variety of events including weddings. The ballroom looked plenty big enough to house my family of Blairs and the grounds, complete with frolicking bunnies, would make for some gorgeous wedding photos. What do you think, Mom? Dad? Haha. I purchased some pretty postcards to send home and then we hung around the grounds taking some more pictures with the beautiful trees and gardens on the grounds. Back to Edinburgh we went, ate dinner in the café again and had some late night bonding with the Capernwray kids.
Day Six:
Our last day in Scotland was the best weather we saw while on vacation which was incredibly fortunate because we took a bus tour up into the Scottish Highlands to see Loch Ness. It was one of the only things we spent money on the whole week besides food and it was totally worth the money. We didn’t have to do any kind of planning and we saw so much of the Scottish landscape and most importantly, Loch Ness. The sky was absolutely clear and although it was still cold, the warmth of the sun was so welcome on my face. On the way, we stopped in a few small towns like Pitlochry for some beautiful views of Loch Laggan and some lunch. The beauty of the Scottish countryside was probably my favorite part of the entire trip. The lowlands were soft rolling hills, but the second we hit the Highlands, there were high mountaintops covered either with wild heather or glistening snow. Loch Ness was a charming town at the height of the journey where we took a boat trip out onto the loch. The boat was actually really cool because it was outfitted with software onboard that showed on screens how deep the loch was and what it looked like along the bottom. The water was a dark navy blue and the sun made all the colors seem so much more vibrant. No sightings of Nessie unless you count the silly stickers they put on the side of the boat windows on the lower deck so you could pretend you got a picture of the legendary ‘water horse.’ The drive back boasted a history lesson from our tour guide Tim (who we affectionately but discreetly referred to as ‘Timmy the Tour Guide’), a stop in a canyon just a jet flew through and a quick visit with Hamish the Highland Cow. I bought myself my only souvenir thus far from a place we stopped at a Mill that produces whiskey and Scottish cashmere. After a few tastes of different whiskeys from around the region (don‘t worry, it was probably only about a tablespoon of each) , I talked myself into buying a lovely cashmere scarf that I’m quite fond of. It was truly the best way to have spent our last day in Scotland, and well worth the money. If anyone is interested, call up Highland Experience Tours; they’re great. On our last night, we had the most interesting and unique of experiences. We met another of our roommates, Nick (from Melbourne, Australia) who offered to take us to a local pub for haggis which is apparently the famous food of Scotland. We didn’t get to taste it because the pub had already stopped serving dinner, but over a slice of pizza, we talked him into assisting us with AB’s photo project which we both been working on all week. We rallied Ian into helping us upon our return to the hostel and spent about an hour on a street in Edinburgh posing awkwardly for pictures for her aptly themed “Sex and Death” project. (the theme was assigned, not chosen.) The boys were good sports and some of my favorite pictures from the week are the pictures from that night.
Day Seven (etc.):
Once again, we woke up earlier than anyone on vacation should, caught the shuttle to the airport and flew out of Scotland at about 7 in the morning. The whole way back AB and I wondered why we were even leaving. I’m fully convinced that if I had changed my mind and chosen to study in Ireland instead of Italy (which I considered), I would have fulfilled my mother’s worst fear and wanted to stay for the rest of my life. I know I didn’t make it to Ireland for Spring Break, but I’m sure that I would have loved it just as much as I enjoyed England and Scotland and would not have wanted to leave. I’m enjoying Italy, but I can’t help but wonder what my semester would have been like in Ireland. …anyone want to go to Ireland with me?! In hindsight, Spring Break was exactly what I needed, exactly when I needed it. Everything went off without a hitch. The most difficulty we had was when we got to the London airport on our way back and couldn’t figure out where to check in for our flight, and a slight cold I came back with from the frigid weather. AB was great company (even if she chews with her mouth open, cusses like a sailor and makes occasional inappropriate comments), and we came home with enough time for me to really rest and go back to the second half of the semester completely ready to take on Italy for another month and a half. It gave me energy and a self-esteem boost, gave me the opportunity to try something new while still being able to speak English and eat familiar food; it even gave me great hope for the future of our youth in the form of a few great people in my hostel. I splurged a bit more than my frugal self feels comfortable with, but every time I cringe at the number of my bank account, I remind myself of the incredible week I had. It was more than worth the sacrifice. I don’t think I’ll forget that week, the people, the sights, the experience, for a very very long time.
God is so good.
PS - I'll post an entry about my weekend in Tuscany when I feel like I've left you guys plenty of time to take in this one. :)
So…Spring break was pretty much the best experience of my life. I spent way too much money, but I’m so glad I did it. No regrets. I felt kinda bad for stealing Anna Brooks from Pious, but oh well. Anna Brooks didn’t really want to go to Greece not knowing anything anyway, and I was so glad to have someone who was interested in doing something with me for Spring Break. We literally booked our flights on Wednesday, our hostels on Thursday and left on Saturday morning. The night before we left, I was kind of freaking out about it for some stupid reason, but I didn’t really have much time to get nervous because I was leaving the next day. It was one of the most spontaneous decisions I’ve ever made, and it was amazing. I should be spontaneous more often…just less financially spontaneous.
Day ONE:
I met Anna Brooks at the train station at 10 in the morning, and we made our first stop in Pisa because she hadn’t been there yet. We did the whole silly picture thing and then sat around in the sunshine for a while just people-watching and enjoying the fact that we didn’t have any obligations. After wasting a sufficient amount of time doing nothing but sitting around, we headed to the Pisa airport a bit early just in time to see the obnoxious line for check in and security. Everything went really smoothly (except for the fact that Anna Brooks had to throw away her contact solution) and we were on the plane to London! We flew into Gatwick which is outside the city, so we had to take a train into the center of the city and ended up getting on the wrong one. Oops. I was surprisingly not upset about it at all, probably because the conductor was so nice about it and made sure we knew what needed to be done when we got off at the next stop. We had to pay a little bit more, but you have to make the mistake at least once to know how the rail system works. We got our one mistake out of the way right after we got off the plane and didn’t have much trouble at all after that. It was kind of a long traveling day, but we eventually got to our hostel, about ten minutes walk from the train station. We took a risk in booking a hostel that was listed but not rated online and it actually turned out to be a really nice place. Everything was really new and really clean. We learned later that the reason it wasn’t rated yet was because it was so newly opened. Apparently the building used to be a bar, but when the bar went under the owner just ditched the place, so the guy that bought it decided to turn it into a hostel. The first guests were the Friday night before we got there on Saturday. We had 8 other people in our hostel. The first few we met were students in France, two native to France and one English studying with them in the south of France. Two other girls didn’t talk to us at all but I think they were German just from hearing them speak. The guy that slept on the bunk beneath me was an older English gentleman, but I never really got his story. The last guy was a cute Finnish boy that we befriended the last night we were there. I got really excited when we first walked into the hostel because the tv was on a random news channel and they were doing a highlight of SXSW in Austin. The desk worker teased me when I pointed it out asking if I recognized any of the street scenes they were showing, but I actually did! It was little things like that all week that made me feel like I was exactly where I needed to be. So we settled in, claimed our beds and left our stuff in search of dinner. We stayed in this little area of London called Woolwich and there wasn’t much around so we ended up getting dinner at this local pub called “The Great Harry.” Of course we expected to be labeled as Americans, but what we didn’t expect was for several people (guys) to come up to us and keep trying to talk to us. Eventually we learned that we had chosen the most local of pubs and everyone knew everyone else….except us. So not only did we have that American stamp, but we also had the ‘stranger’ stamp. We had to fend off about 3 or 4 guys before we finally conceded and ended up talking to these guys that were actually from Zimbabwe but had lived in London for 10 years because the money was better. We talked for a while, they bought us a few drinks. It was fun to sit around with some locals .
Day TWO: Holy Harry Potter Day!
We attempted to wake up in time to go to church at St. Paul’s Cathedral but the travel time took longer than anticipated and we got there about halfway through the service. We took pictures, checked the service times and vowed to come back later; it was Easter so I insisted I would never be able to forgive myself if I didn’t go to church regardless of where I was. It was ridiculously cold outside, evidenced by the snowflakes that greeted us when we left our hostel earlier that morning, and I spent most of the day wishing for gloves to make my photographic endeavors easier. We spent the afternoon wandering around London in search of the most important landmarks….places where they had filmed Harry Potter. We made a stop at Leadenhall Market which is where they film Diagon Alley and later found our way to King’s Cross station and took silly pictures where they’ve set up a false Platform 9 ¾. We stopped for lunch at Pizza Hut which we were slightly ashamed of, but it was honestly the only restaurant we could see in all directions. A little walk down from Pizza Hut we found pretty much the most central tourist square in London that held Westminster Abbey (closed for Sunday services), Big Ben, and the Parliament Building with the London Eye peeking up behind the buildings in the background. With about 100 more pictures on each of our cameras, we sat down on a bench overlooking the Thames River and soaked up our London experience. Not too long after, we took the Underground back Woolwich all the while discussing what further action should be taken in regards to the showering situation. Unfortunately, neither one of us brought towels and the hostel didn’t offer them.
Day THREE:
This was the last day that we had in London, so we tried to hit the rest of the tourist highlights. We walked to Tower Bridge, saw the Tower of London (from the outside) and then hopped on the Underground in search of more sights. I would like for it to be said that the public transportation in central London is absolutely fantastic and the Underground is something to be seen for itself. AB and I thoroughly mastered it by the time we left London. We decided that the National Gallery was worth a look and ended right smack in the middle of Trafalgar Square with the most enormous lion statues I’ve ever seen. I didn’t quite feel like we gave the National Gallery enough time to be very in depth with it, but there were more things to see! We took pictures with the lions, although neither one of us dared to climb on the back of one, turned right on the next street and found the road that ran right into the front of Buckingham Palace. A brisk walk under sleeping winter trees led us right to the front gates and the enormous fountain. Of course we took more pictures and then got a small snack to munch while strolling through the park right in front of the palace. We played with the ducks and headed off to the London Eye which was visible between buildings. The lines were long so we were glad that we booked our tickets online ahead of time, so we waited about ten minutes and then took the 30 minute ferris wheel ride with fantastic panoramic views of London. We tried to get at the top of the wheel around sunset, but there were too many clouds to make it really worth it. Thoroughly excited and exhausted from our time in London, we headed back to the hostel hoping to get to bed early to catch up on sleep and still be able to be up at 5:45 in the morning to make sure we caught our flight to Scotland. That didn’t quite happen how we would have liked. I took the coldest shower I’ve ever had after waiting for too many other people, and proclaimed it as such when I came back to our room with a new Finnish addition to my typical audience. One of the other boys in the hostel we hadn’t met before then was accompanying AB when I came in with a soaked tshirt over my head in place of the towel I didn’t pack. This struck up conversation and we ended up chatting with Lauri (pronounced ‘l-ow-er-ee’) for longer than we probably should have. Luckily, it ended up to be the general consensus among the people there that night that we would go to bed relatively early and the lights were out by 11:30 or so.
Day Four:
We woke up earlier than anyone should on their vacation, but we had an hour train ride to the airport and our flight was at 8:20 or so in the morning. Smooth ride into Edinburgh which was the part of the week that I was the most excited about. Scotland was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful from the second I stepped off the plane. We had to take a shuttle bus to the center of the city where our hostel was located, and despite my exhaustion I couldn’t stop staring open-mouthed out the window. Scotland is by no means a flat country and hills and mountains and cliffs stuck up hodge-podge around the city as if challenging the cheerful cities to defy their presence. The British were very helpful but weren’t particularly friendly, but the Scottish struck me as a fierce and friendly population. Everyone I met or overheard always seemed to simultaneously have a smile and a curse on their lips. We found our hostel pretty easily but couldn’t check in until a few hours later so we stored our stuff in the luggage room and hiked up Royal Mile to find something to eat. We ate our fill of severely under-seasoned food at the Filling Station then continued up the hill to the enchanting Edinburgh Castle. The view in every direction was amazing. The castle on one side, the bay and the city on another, there was an endless amount of small museums within the castle walls. We saw the royal jewels, a few displays dedicated to the soldiers, and a lovely momument to the soldiers fallen in battle complete with name and rank lists (of which there were quite a few Blairs). We got stopped by a pleasant Scotsman who asked where we from, what our business was in Edinburgh and engaged us in polite conversation with some humorous stories that left me feeling quite at home and welcome not only in the castle, but also in the city and country. After snapping endless pictures, Anna Brooks and I headed back to the hostel to check in, rest and meet with our new roommates. We met four of the most amazing people I have ever met in my life. Ian (from Connecticut) and Paige were the first because they were already in our room when we arrived. We made the typical introductions and polite inquiries to which I learned that one of their other friends was from Texas and would likely be excited to meet a fellow Texan (we both were). Upon further discussion, we found out they were actually high school age kids who were studying with a very small bible school program at Capernwray Castle (or Manor House) in England. It felt so good to meet people who are so on fire for God and crave the lifestyle of a missionary in the interest of spreading the truth of Christ. We later met Stephen (from Fort Worth) and Noah (from Colorado). Their presence was so positive and although they picked on each other, it was only in jest and in such a loving way that I felt so rejuvenated by their laughter. It was concluded that we would all meet up later to go on one of Edinburgh’s popular ghost tours. Anna Brooks and I showered and rested a bit longer then ate dinner downstairs in the café where we left from late in the evening. The City of the Dead ghost tour sounded a bit scarier than it was, but it was a fun experience, especially in the good company of our new friends. Eight pounds gave us a history lesson on the forms of torture used several centuries earlier and a walk through the ominous Grey Friar’s cemetery where we were informed of Scotland’s skeletons in the closet from its infamous murderers to the unsanitary burial practices during the time of the Black Plague. The last stop was in a pitch black mausoleum where the tension was so strong that you could practically breath it in. We joked the whole way back to the hostel that we were going to find unexplained scratches and a rash I later developed on my stomach from the wind and cold was blamed on the MacKenzie poltergeist.
Day Five:
The entire reason I wanted to make it to Scotland (besides the experience) was to see Blair Castle, and we did it. Unfortunately it turned into a day trip instead of an afternoon endeavor because the tiny town of Blair Atholl was a 2 hour train ride away from Edinburgh and not many trains stop in it. We arrived at the train station relatively early in the morning but had about an hour and a half to waste before the next train stopping in Blair Atholl was departing. AB and I wandered around, through a cheerful park, a quiet cemetery and up to the top of Culton Hill. Full of excitement, we boarded the train and rode into just about the smallest train stop I’ve ever seen just as a light snow started to fall. Luckily, Blair Atholl is an extremely tiny town, and the castle was definitely not far from the station. We walked to Atholl Estates, through a large pair of gray gates and began making our way down a tree-lined lane. A small bus stopped and pulled up next to us bearing the words “Blair Castle.” The driver offered us a ride and chatted merrily with us asking all the typical questions. After explaining my sworn obligation to see Blair Castle because of my surname, he said “Oh, so you’re a flat field then, are ya?” He responded to my confused look with the explanation that “Blair” means “flat field” and since the surrounding area named Atholl was mountainous, the field that the castle was build on was aptly named Blair in honor of its relatively flat home. In the midst of snow, AB and I ventured into the castle where we were unfortunately not allowed to take pictures. Sorry guys. Although the castle is owned by the clan of Murray, it still felt very homey for this little Blair. Other castles occasionally overwhelm me, but Blair Castle was decorated with a variety of family owned treasures and charming brightly-colored cheerful furniture. I’ve also already got my bedroom picked out. I learned some interesting facts about the Duke of Atholl who is apparently the only other person in Scotland besides the royal family to be allowed a private army. I have no idea the specifics about what kind of army we’re really talking about here, but it’s just a fun interesting fact. Oh, and they also host a variety of events including weddings. The ballroom looked plenty big enough to house my family of Blairs and the grounds, complete with frolicking bunnies, would make for some gorgeous wedding photos. What do you think, Mom? Dad? Haha. I purchased some pretty postcards to send home and then we hung around the grounds taking some more pictures with the beautiful trees and gardens on the grounds. Back to Edinburgh we went, ate dinner in the café again and had some late night bonding with the Capernwray kids.
Day Six:
Our last day in Scotland was the best weather we saw while on vacation which was incredibly fortunate because we took a bus tour up into the Scottish Highlands to see Loch Ness. It was one of the only things we spent money on the whole week besides food and it was totally worth the money. We didn’t have to do any kind of planning and we saw so much of the Scottish landscape and most importantly, Loch Ness. The sky was absolutely clear and although it was still cold, the warmth of the sun was so welcome on my face. On the way, we stopped in a few small towns like Pitlochry for some beautiful views of Loch Laggan and some lunch. The beauty of the Scottish countryside was probably my favorite part of the entire trip. The lowlands were soft rolling hills, but the second we hit the Highlands, there were high mountaintops covered either with wild heather or glistening snow. Loch Ness was a charming town at the height of the journey where we took a boat trip out onto the loch. The boat was actually really cool because it was outfitted with software onboard that showed on screens how deep the loch was and what it looked like along the bottom. The water was a dark navy blue and the sun made all the colors seem so much more vibrant. No sightings of Nessie unless you count the silly stickers they put on the side of the boat windows on the lower deck so you could pretend you got a picture of the legendary ‘water horse.’ The drive back boasted a history lesson from our tour guide Tim (who we affectionately but discreetly referred to as ‘Timmy the Tour Guide’), a stop in a canyon just a jet flew through and a quick visit with Hamish the Highland Cow. I bought myself my only souvenir thus far from a place we stopped at a Mill that produces whiskey and Scottish cashmere. After a few tastes of different whiskeys from around the region (don‘t worry, it was probably only about a tablespoon of each) , I talked myself into buying a lovely cashmere scarf that I’m quite fond of. It was truly the best way to have spent our last day in Scotland, and well worth the money. If anyone is interested, call up Highland Experience Tours; they’re great. On our last night, we had the most interesting and unique of experiences. We met another of our roommates, Nick (from Melbourne, Australia) who offered to take us to a local pub for haggis which is apparently the famous food of Scotland. We didn’t get to taste it because the pub had already stopped serving dinner, but over a slice of pizza, we talked him into assisting us with AB’s photo project which we both been working on all week. We rallied Ian into helping us upon our return to the hostel and spent about an hour on a street in Edinburgh posing awkwardly for pictures for her aptly themed “Sex and Death” project. (the theme was assigned, not chosen.) The boys were good sports and some of my favorite pictures from the week are the pictures from that night.
Day Seven (etc.):
Once again, we woke up earlier than anyone on vacation should, caught the shuttle to the airport and flew out of Scotland at about 7 in the morning. The whole way back AB and I wondered why we were even leaving. I’m fully convinced that if I had changed my mind and chosen to study in Ireland instead of Italy (which I considered), I would have fulfilled my mother’s worst fear and wanted to stay for the rest of my life. I know I didn’t make it to Ireland for Spring Break, but I’m sure that I would have loved it just as much as I enjoyed England and Scotland and would not have wanted to leave. I’m enjoying Italy, but I can’t help but wonder what my semester would have been like in Ireland. …anyone want to go to Ireland with me?! In hindsight, Spring Break was exactly what I needed, exactly when I needed it. Everything went off without a hitch. The most difficulty we had was when we got to the London airport on our way back and couldn’t figure out where to check in for our flight, and a slight cold I came back with from the frigid weather. AB was great company (even if she chews with her mouth open, cusses like a sailor and makes occasional inappropriate comments), and we came home with enough time for me to really rest and go back to the second half of the semester completely ready to take on Italy for another month and a half. It gave me energy and a self-esteem boost, gave me the opportunity to try something new while still being able to speak English and eat familiar food; it even gave me great hope for the future of our youth in the form of a few great people in my hostel. I splurged a bit more than my frugal self feels comfortable with, but every time I cringe at the number of my bank account, I remind myself of the incredible week I had. It was more than worth the sacrifice. I don’t think I’ll forget that week, the people, the sights, the experience, for a very very long time.
God is so good.
PS - I'll post an entry about my weekend in Tuscany when I feel like I've left you guys plenty of time to take in this one. :)