Day 28: July 6, 2013 - Walking, Hiking, Walking, and more Walking!

Today was a wonderful yet tiring walk! We woke up around 8:00, got ready, had toast and cereal for breakfast, then headed to the train station. We were going to Stirling which took about an hour by train. We bought our tickets, I grabbed a Dr. P and a mars bar then got on the train. I slept a lot of the way there. We got there, walked up to the McDonald's so everyone could pee and some people got food, I got a McFlurry. We then headed to Cambuskenneth Abbey. James III King of Scots was buried there and parts of William Wallace are said to be buried there. The city was just beautiful to walk through and the mountains, though nothing in comparison to Utah, were beautiful.

We then walked to literally a mountain where the William Wallace Monument stood on the very top. I didn't think we would actually climb it... But we did! It was actually a really nice hike, it would've been better if I hadn't been wearing a sequin black shirt, red skinny jeans, and toms... But whatever! The view from the top was incredible! The monument was huge and super cool. We went on a walking tour where two men, one of them playing Wallace, told us the story portrayed in Braveheart. It was really cool, they took us to a few of the battle fields and acted it out. We walked around a bit, took lots of pictures, then headed back down the mountain.

We then walked to Stirling Castle, which was on another mountain across from the Wallace one. We walked across Stirling Bridge on the way, which was really cool.

There was seriously a ton of uphill walking. We looked it up later and we only walked like 8 miles but it felt like a million. When we got to the castle, everyone was tired, cranky, and hungry. We grabbed some ice cream to hold us over then went into the castle. Once again a beautiful one! We did a short wall walk and saw the beautiful scenery. We walked down to the textile place and saw a lady weaving this incredible print. We walked around for a bit longer than headed back down to the train station, grabbing another ice cream, don't judge us!

We stopped at a Subway on the way to eat because we were all starving. Tayler realized she had left her passport at one of the Castles gift shops so they called and tried to get it all figured out. When we got to the train station, a policeman met her with the passport which was such a miracle because that would've been such a pain. We got on the train and headed back to Edinburgh. We just chilled in the hostel, ate shortbread cookies, just talked. The boys took a shower and were singing so we snuck in there and listened to their beautiful voices. They were probably embarrassed because we were creeping on them in the shower but we didn't see anything! They sang Hallelujah and that's one of my favorite songs, and of course they sang it beautifully! I took a shower and then around 11:00 we went downstairs and wanted something to eat but the kitchen closed so we just got sodas and sat there for a while. We went up to bed. It was a very long day but it was fun. I will definitely be sore tomorrow. Love you! Night!

Day 27: July 5, 2013 - Castles, Bagpipes, and Ghost Walks

Today was a really fun day. I slept really well last night and woke up around 8:00. I got ready then went downstairs for breakfast - cereal and toast which was actually nice, I miss that. We then headed out to Edinburgh Castle. We walked through Princes Park which was beautiful and had a great view of the castle. It was really warm and a beautiful day.

We got up there and stood in line for tickets. We got our tickets for that castle along with the one in Stirling (where we are going tomorrow), showed them our student discounts, and saved a lot of money which was cool. We walked in and went on a free guided tour. The castle was actually much smaller than I thought it would be but it was still interesting and cool. We went inside the mess hall, the World War I memorial, saw the Crown Jewels, took pictures with the beautiful view. When we got to the castle, it was freaking freezing and I hadn't brought my jacket because it had been a really nice day earlier. it was bad. We waited and heard the 1:00 cannon go off (it's a famous cannon thats been going off at 1:00 every day for years) and it scared the crap out of me, Kasee dropped her phone haha we went into a little cafe and got hot chocolate with marshmallows and we sat by this wall behind the vending machines so the wall was really warm and I didn't want to leave it.

We then headed out to the main street and did some shopping. I'm not going to say what I got my brother because it needs to be a surprise but I am so excited about it!!! On the way, there was a guy playing bagpipes. This was the first time we had heard them since being in Scotland and it really hit home to me that I am actually here! The day had turned beautiful and warm again. We got pictures with him and listened to him play that mighty instrument then kept shopping. We signed up for a ghost tour but more on that later. We went to lunch, I got nachos which were really good. We watched this artist on the street make this beautiful picture out of spray paint which was really cool. We did a little more shopping. In one of the stores, I had bent down to grab my purse and my pants ripped so that was fun...

We walked back to the hostel. I snacked on some shortbread cookies and took a nap for a couple hours. Our ghost tour was at 10:00 so we walked up and had some pizza at a place called Mamma's which was actually pretty good. We walked up and met everyone for the tour.

Our tour guide looked like a nice, ginger girl at first but she turned out scary! We walked around town for a bit learning about some of the creepy history then we went underground in the vaults, Sam and I were a little freaked out. Nobody like jumped out at us or anything but it was really dark and she was telling scary stories. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There are really only two times when I have a potty mouth - when I'm pissed or scared. I will admit some swear words such as holy shit balls (that's for you Stephen) slipped out. We got out and everyone was fine. A few people did hear footsteps or feel hands brush against them but I think that's all silliness. We walked back to the hostel and had a cup of water at the bar. I showered and got ready for bed. I hope everyone is doing well! Love you! Down to two weeks and I'm sad but excited to come home. Night!

Day 26: July 4, 2013 - Off to Scotland!

Today was a really fun day. I woke up at 9:00, FaceTimed with my family for a bit but they were all going to bed so I had breakfast and showered and got ready. I went to class. I finished my proposal for my final paper for Nate's class. I went upstairs and finished packing, chilled in the living room for a while. I decided not to go to Nate's class because I was beginning to get a headache and wanted to sleep it off. Also i just really didn't want to go to class... So i finished watching When in Rome and just hung out until we left at 2:55. We took the tube to the train, the train to the plane, the plane to the bus, the bus to the hostel haha the hostel is actually really nice. However, there are 18 of us girls in one room, nine bunk beds... This is going to be interesting. Also there are three showers but only one toilet. We walked around the city for a bit. Stephen, Brandon, Tayler, Sam, Kasee, Cassidy, and i went to a pub. We had like ten minutes to order food before the kitchen closed so I got a burger. It turned out to be really weird - like it tasted good but the texture was really weird and soft. We also tried haggis which had the same soft texture. I feel full after but also kinda sick. We walked around for a bit more and then came back to the hostel and played cards. We discovered a new game where whenever someone said that's what she said, everyone has to put their finger on their nose and say a color and if you're in last place then you have to moan haha Stephen pretty much lost the whole time so it was hilarious. We got ready for bed, I'm writing this, we keep getting yelled at for slamming doors and being too loud. Oh well. So far I like Scotland! I'm excited to go out tomorrow and see more of the city. Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! It was super weird not being in the states or really even celebrating it at all. I hope everyone had some yummy food (I am craving Aunt Deb's sugar cookies), cruised the Provo parade route, and shot off some fireworks for me! Love you! Good day. 

Day 25: July 3, 2014 - Siggy, Primark, and "They may take our lives but they will never take our freedom"!

You know who loves waking up at 6:00 am to construction? This girl! What is that all about? I was tossing and turning until about 9:00 when I finally woke up and FaceTimed my family in Hawaii. They were walking back to their hotel so we got to talk for a while. It was really fun to see them. My dad is convinced that the Loch Ness Monster has swam from Scotland to Hawaii and he saw it... Um I'm not even going to grace that with a response... We talked for about an hour. I went down to Myths. We talked about William Wallace. I finished my paper and chilled on Facebook. In between classes, I did like a million dishes because apparently my roommates are incapable of doing so. I had some breakfast, got ready for the day, then went down to Nate's class. It was actually very interesting, we talked about Marx and the industrial revolution. I grabbed some lunch (bread, cheese, and Dr. P) then we all headed out to the Freud Museum. It's actually in the house he lived in which was quite cute. Apparently I wasn't supposed to take pictures... Oops! It was really cool to see where he lived, they had his couch where his patients would lay and he would psychoanalyze them, his desks, his cool library. The garden was beautiful. I didn't know that he had to escape Nazi Germany so that was interesting.

After the museum, we stopped by South Ken and picked up Tayler then went to Primark. On the tube on the way there, a few of us ran on the tube because we thought everyone else was on there and I got stuck in the door and really hurt my arm haha if I have a giant bruise, I'll definitely post a picture, it'll probably happen - I bruise like a summer peach. Anyway, we got to Primark. I got some more ties, a mint version of the shirt with the bow on it because I loved it, and a red and white tank for Rome. We went back to South Ken and on the way home I grabbed a sandwich from Subway.

I ate the sandwich and some chocolate then I went down to the study room with Kasee and Sam while they did laundry. We watched Braveheart to get in the mood for Scotland tomorrow. I worked on my final paper proposal for Nate's class. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't come here to study - I came here to live and experience London and travel around Europe. Having to do homework is a pain along with having class, granted its only two hours three days a week but still. Really school was just my excuse to come here. Oh well, only four more days of class. Overall it was a pretty chill day. I hope everyone is doing well. Good luck on finding Nessie Dad and good luck with that Mom, Al, and CJ. Love you! Can't wait for Scotland tomorrow!