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What a weekend!

I must say, this past weekend in Scotland has been one of my favorites so far (I keep saying that, but I really mean it!).

We arrived in Edinburgh (I can't pronounce it correctly- it seems only the Scottish can) via train about noon, and had a bus
tour around town. I was really tired so I didn't pay much attention, but the scenery was beautiful! It's like a cross
between Prince Edward Island and the mountains around Fort Davis. Really, that's all I can really compare it to. We stayed at
the University of Edinburgh, which was SOOO nice. Like a hotel really, as we all had our own rooms and our own bathrooms. Mind you,
King's College is fine enough, but this was REALLY nice. Belmont should take note. Oh, and my window's view of the town was great as well...

After dinner in their massive and tasty caf, a proffessor who used to teach at Duke spoke to us about Scottish literature that
we should read to "get to know the area". One of them was James Hoggs' "Confessions.." which I procured on Saturday. After that
lovely lecture, myself, Lindsey, Tara, Elizabeth, and Cassie decided to tackle Arthur's Seat, the mountain next to the dorms.

I'm not much of a climber, but I made it to the top, as did Cassie and Tara...the other two were slower but tehy made it later. At the
top was a white pillar thing that people could sign, but I didn't have a pen..ah well. the views were BREATHTAKING. But then
the sun set and it got chilly so we marched back (down an easier way) with another group we met uptop. Came back and hung out
at the Uni's bar/restaurant, where we discovered that the Homeless World Cup was being held in Ediburgh, and all the participants were
staying there! I wish I had seen it and gottan a shirt or something.

so on saturday we all got up insanely early (okay, 7 ish) to get in line for tickets to go into Edinburgh Castle. Good thing too, as the lines
got really long after we had gottan there. But yes, the castle is quite amazing. It's on top of a huge mountain hill thing, and
is still used by the scottish military and such. I took alot of photos there.

once we left that, we went to this Scotch Whiskey Factory where we thought about taking a tour but it was 9.50. Eeeeh not so much. But I did
taste some diluted whiskey and ew, that's gross. No thank you. Whew. Their restaurant, however, was quite quite good!

After that we did some souvenir shopping (I did some for friends) at those cheap places that exploit the local culture. I always feel
guilty shopping there, buuuut at the same time, I don't want to spend alot of money buying people stuff. It's like when I shop at WalMart- I hate
it and feel guilty, but hey, I'm a poor college student. har har.

I also went by a bookstore and checked out their travel guides to America. I'm always curious as to what books say about us, and one book that
told about whether or not one should live in America brought up an interesting point- that public transportation is nonexistant over there except
in a few major cities. And it's really true too. Most people in Dallas get around by car. If you don't have one, you're basically screwed. I like
relying on the tube and such here, but right now I really miss just hopping into my car, as you don't have to look out for suspicious packages
or take detours because they're still repairing the Circle Line or something.

Anyway, sorry about that tangent. Took a nap later on, then Tara and I met up with more people and ate at Edinburgh's oldest pub. I forget the name,
how lame is that? But I did have a GREAT meal called "Bangers and Mash"- sausages on mashed potatoes in an onion sauce. mmmm.

Sunday we had to be on the coach by 9 AM. Before we left Scotland, we were taken into the countryside and saw Sir Walter Scott's
Abbottsford mansion. If I could only go back to one place over here, it would be that place, because it's so beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn't
have my camera with me....I was sad about that, but oh well. I wish we could've spentmore time there, because the house had alot
of wood trails and picnic areas and such around it that I'm dying to explore one day.

After that we stopped in Melrose to look at a ruined abbey there. That was pretty nifty. After lunch at a place that had the slowest
service known to mankind (okay, maybe to just this American), we drove all the way back to town and embarked on our 5 our train ride back
with some drunk women in the back who were obnoxiously loud.




Still with me? Visited the Museum of London today with my EU class. Quite cool, I liked all the artifacts on display from the various
stages of London. or Londinium if you will. Man, this city is really older than I thought.


MB class...boring. hehe. I need to do laundry and homework tonight. That means skipping out on going to the Walkabout Australian dance club with Paul and Tam who keep nagging me to. hahah no thanks guys.

photos tomorrow, perhaps? or the next. or maybe tonight. I'm going to Cardiff, Wales tomorrow!

posted by Marion M. @ 5:57 PM Comments: 10