Oh Glasglow!

The view outside my window, you can see the Castle!

I don't get why the Scottish have an aversion to salt. Not in their food, but on their roads. It is blistering cold. So logically ice will form. You would think the first thing people would think is, "let's combat this ice!" No, of course not, that would be asking too much. Instead ice forms. Their little crystallized particles just waiting for an innocent bystander just trying to get to class. It is malicious. It is vicious. It plots. Well not really, but it is awful. I've seen people flung off bicycles as they skid to avoid the patches of black ice, girls wearing heels slide down slopes (dummies), and joggers instead of running they just try to maintain their balance. It is atrocious. If your shoes do not have traction, that's it, you are screwed. Converse? Forgettaboutit! You will be dancing all the way to class. And not 123 waltzing, no you'll be doing a mixture of the chicken dance and the chacha. Flailing. It happens. I was most displeased this morning with the ice surrounding the ENTIRE courtyard. It was hilarious as Sara had to navigate me through it. Since it gets dark at 3:30, the ice has the last laugh, but come afternoon when that sun is burning bright, in your face ice! You melt! SUCKER!

Today Sara and I ventured to a whole different part of Scotland! We went to Glasgow to do some Christmas shopping (but in reality shopped exclusively for us!) At the Queensway train station, there was the sign for the Superloo. The bathroom was not just an ordinary bathroom, it was super! The main reason for Glasglow was the Primark (an Amazingly affordable--even in dollar sense--HUGE store) in the city center. It was really different from Edinburgh. Less Europeany looking buildings. Given, I was only in a specific area and did not see much of it, I definitely got a different feel. The people first off had thicker accents. One guy passed us and asked, "got the time, loves?" and I only heard the latter, and did not stop. Sara though, shouted back 12:05. I was confused and realized, OH! he had only asked for the time. Good one. At Primark I bought a dress/shirt. It is my New Years outfit! Then I bought Penelope the cutest mittens in the world--they're for tiny lil' hands. And I bought my puppy. I have yet to name him, but he is adorable.

The View Out of the Train to Glasgow

The Superloo! Ahaha.
My Puppy!

After Primark, Sara and meandered around the area. I bought several Christmas related things. Since I was looking for Scottish things, we clearly had to go to Celtic, a store dedicated to the football team. I was struggling with the door (as I had bags in my hands) and Sara was right behind me. Suddenly, a guy weasled his way between the two of us. He was SKETCHY. Super sketchy, his nose was long and narrow and his eyes full of criminal intent. As soon as he passed me, I doubled checked if I still had my wallet. As we enter, I drift to the side and peruse an shelf. I hear Sara go with utter disbelief mixed in her voice, "Um, excuse me, but that guy just took six of your Dvds and left." The woman working their shakes her head and went, "Not again!" I guess it was a common occurance! Apparently the sketchtastic guy looked up to see if anyone was watching him, grabbed a STACK of dvds and left. Talk about subtle. Sara was absolutely stunned. And we both agreed, he was SKETCHY. Witnessing crime in Glasgow!

TARDIS!
The GoMA of Glasgow, Glasgow Modern Art Museum

George Square with Christmas Festivities

I have concluded the Glasgow is much sketchier than Edinburgh and the people are definitely of a lower cut. Not to generalize the entire population of Glasgow, but the glimmer I saw of the city made a deep negative impression. All the people I passed seemed seedy. But I am eager to go back later to investigate the actual city. Not just the interior of Primark!

Winter Wonderland

Prince's Street Christmas Fair

Yesterday, Claire, Semeli & I went on an excursion to Princes street. They officially opened up the Christmas fair on Turkey Day. Going the first weekend was a poor life decision (Ah, the crowds!) But it was quaint. It was very food orientated unlike the Union Square Christmas Market. Plus, they had the Ferris Wheel and a bunch of awesome games/rides (uh...GIANT slide anyone?!) They set up a tiny ice-skating rink in the Princes gardens. It was quite pretty. We came across "Fire Punch" which is esentially mulled wine. The guy behind me was reading the sign that offered non-alcholoic fire punch and he exclaimed in disgust, "non-alcholoic?!? what's the point!? Who does that?!" Well, me for starters, plus little children! It was yummers. Semeli & I split a cup while Claire got the real fire punch. I tasted some, but I prefered my grape juice! It was wonderful because it went down warm which was much needed (it was freezing!) The Christmas Fair was adorable.

Fire Punch!

Semeli, Claire, and I

The Ferris Wheel Lit Up!

Before we made it to the fair, we ate Oink! YUM! And we walked around everywhere. I dragged Claire and Semeli into store after store. They were very patient with me. =) St. Giles Cathedral was all ready for their Christmas festivities! All around there were strung Christmas lights and Christmas trees peeking out of balconies. It was quite a sight. While on Princes street we weaved in and out of various stores. I bought lots of Christmas presents. Teehee. Good times!

St. Giles Cathedral is Christmas Ready!

This morning I woke up for the second day in the row and realized it had snowed the night before! I keep missing the snow! Damn! I will see it snow...one day!

The view outside my window this morning

awwwwww PRETTY!

A Scottish Thanksgiving Fit For A King

Semeli, Claire, Sara, and I after a fufilling Turkey Day feast!

It was a meal fit for kings. Or rather, four wonderful queens. It was scrumptious and for being miles away from home, it was a pleasant Turkey Day! I haven't written in ions (partially because there is nothing enticing to make an entry, but a succulent chicken roast named Ed, deserves one!) I made a roast chicken! And if it I do say so myself, it was delectable (I am after all, shamefully modest!) Papa Chew sent me the recipe, a simple, and do-able alternative to a 15 pound turkey. I smothered Ed (I dubbed it that) with butter and lemon juice. Then stuck lemon thyme, tarragon, lemon and crushed garlic in his cavity. Yum. He simmered in his own fatty juices for a good hour or so, and was yummilicious. His white meat was even juicy! Way to go Ed the chicken! Though carving him proved to be difficult. Despite watching four youtube videos on "how to carve a chicken, 5 easy steps!"I had some issues. 5 easy steps? All lies. But once the legs were off, the breast slid off with the help of my knife. Good stuff.

Prepping Ed the Chicken

Ed the Chicken. YUM.

The Attempts at Carving!

No Thanksgiving meal would have been complete without the mash. The mash potatoes are critical to the overall enjoyment of a Turkey Day meal. Claire the ever-so-helpful, peeled tatters and it was brilliant. They were AMAZING. They're so easy to make, which is very dangerous...Sara made two FANTASTICAL apple pies, a solid way to round out a very fulfilling meal (salad, mushrooms, mash, chicken). As we ate, we listened to Christmas songs (as it now officially the Holiday season!) It was Semeli's and Claire's first Thanksgiving and it was adorable.

MASH!!

We were going to go to Princes street for the opening of the Christmas fair and the Ferris Wheel, but it was raining cats and dogs. I heard later that it was not only wet but unbelievably crowded. Maybe it was a good thing that it didn't pan out. This weekend Sara is going to Dublin to see Papa Leatherbarrow, so Claire and I plan to go to Princes. Yay!

After Turkey Day feast. We all four sat around, lazying clutching our tummies. We reached full capacity. Sara and I had to inform Claire and Semeli the technique of Thanksgiving eating. It is an art form, and they made us proud! I have never seen either of them eat so much before. Overall, I believe it was a rousing success!

Then I skyped with the family and the 60 people at my house. It was extremely nice just to see their faces. Though they couldn't hear me, it just made me happy. The usual suspects are there and I miss that. Next year is another Thanksgiving! I'll be home in 2 weeks anywho! Oh but Black Friday shopping, how tempting you are...

I've been doing pretty swell. Minus the flatmate drama (but more on that later, that'll take a whole entry in itself!) More on my life here later. I'm wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving from Edinburgh. Hope you fill your stomach to capacity and beyond some. Lots of love.

Birthday Celebrations Amongst Royalty

Parliament & Little Ben At Night

The Queen, Betty, brought her court with her to London. Princess Alex, Princess Sai Pin and King Dennis were all there to celebrate as the Queen rung in her birthday!

On Friday we went to the London Eye. Most expensive but luckily we had amazing weather (clear skies!) It was beautiful. It was definitely a little different view from St. Paul's Cathedral (because you could see Parliament and Buckingham Palace from the Eye). After the eye we walked along the Thames to the Borough Market. It was a lovely walk (Betty commented that she had never seen me walk so far before!) I got my pull pork sandwich, yummilicious. There were more vendors on Friday then the last time I was there with my parentals. We finally made across the Thames to get on a boat to Greenwich, the home of time. Greenwich was beautiful, but we did not have enough time to fully explore it. We went to the Royal Naval Academy which itself was gorgeous. We came back to London and saw Sound of Music. The Maria and Captain Von Trapp were passable--I was not a fan. But the children were remarkably talented and adorable.

Betty & I in the eye!
Dennis & Betty!

Nearly At Top of the eye
Drunk Cheese in the Borough Market!
Royal Naval Academy in Greenwich!
Regent Street Stars!

On Betty's birthday we decided to venture to Windsor. Unfortunately, we had a later start and did not arrive there until 2:30 (it's an hour an half bus ride). The weather was a bit upset as it kept on crying in period intervals. We went into the castle and damn, those royals really have too much money!! We walked around the grounds but the castle was going to close in an hour or so. In the statesrooms, you were strictly prohibited to take photographs. But, being my mother's daughter, I couldn't resist. It was quite hilarious. I was stealth taking photos of chandeliers, ornate brocade ceilings, until I took a photo in a corridor (it was too pretty not to be captured by my camera!) when a guard hounded Sai Pin. He went up to her and in a accusatory tone told her to hand over her camera. Sai Pin, all innocent, stated she had none. The guard then looked to Betty, as I evaded his wrath by moving to the next room. He announced loudly "If anyone is caught with a camera they'll be THROWN out." Good thing I wasn't caught!

Windsor Castle
The King's Bed Chamber! (me & my stealth self)
Pretty hall & look at that brocade!

Dusk at the castle

On Sunday we went to Harrods. Shockingly you no longer have to pay for the restroom! We spent some time perusing the chocolate and teas. It was quite a sight. I left for Edinburgh that afternoon and it was an interesting shuttle home. The woman struck up conversation with me and I soon discovered that she had lived in Alaska, Texas, Hong Kong, and has three properties in the U.K. She was in fact coming to renovate her Ediburgh flat. The shuttle pulled up her house, and my jaw dropped a little. It was a brownstone with a hanging chandlier and just beautiful. Jealous!

It was overall a very glorious weekend (despite some rain) and I hope Betty had a fantastical birthday! Much Love!

The London Eye

Yes we can. And we did!

OBAMA! enough said.
This election was worldwide. There was an event on campus dedicated to live footage of the election (I opted to stay at home and watch it on msnbc.com) but it would have been wild. All day yesterday I saw various people wearing Obama shirts. It is really amazing how American politics affects the entire world.

I am so thoroughly impressed and pleased with America. Yesterday I was quite proud and happy with everyone on facebook. Everyone's status' were incredible. Each person who appeared on my mini feed (it tells you what everyone else is doing on facebook) had a status relating to voting and to Obama. Here are some of my favorites...

Alexandra has voted, have you?
Jeremy played with the black knobs and almost voted for the Green Party's Cynthia McKinney. I loved pulling that lever!
Lauren is votevotevotevotevote! (For Barack, McCain, Saxon. Just vote!)
Chloë is in an Obama state of mind.
Mike is If Mccain pulls off a miracle and wins get ya passport game straight, we ain't stickin around.... WE OUTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!
Joan is O-O-O-OBAMA O-O-BARACK OBAMA

And this morning...
Laura has never been so happy. Barack Obama '08 ♥ It's just the beginning!!!
Lauren is yes. Yes we can. And we did.
Chloë is going to apply "Yes We Can" to every aspect of her life.
Jaclyn is thinking wow, history was just made.

There were just so many. I watched the speeches this morning and I will say that John Mccain accepted defeat graciously. I appreciated how he patted his hands down in the air when his supporters booed Obama, and said, "please". Obama's speech was amazing and I especially loved the spanning the audience. It was very touching and made me wish I was back in the States to celebrate. Change has definitely come. Exciting!!!

What a Drinking Culture..

Not much has happened in the past week or so to regale you with an exhilarating entry. So let me pick up where I last left off. I stood in line for the tickets to Lochness for two and half hours...in the blistering cold. The wind blew at me from all sides, and finally I made it into the hallway they sold the tickets in. I saw the guy in front of me smile widely, then I heard the words, "we are out of tickets." My face fell, Melissa was pissed, Sara was freezing and unhappy. They have this absurd policy where a person can buy a ticket for themselves and a friend. There were 150 tickets for the trip, and there were not even 60 people in front of me. There were the cutters too (French man with red & black striped scarf, you won't be able to evade my wrath forever!) The cutters were the worst. I tried to blockade the line, but alas was unsuccessful. We were RIGHT there, when they sold out tickets. AH! So we are now in the front of the waiting list--so please let people not go!!!

I have a tutorial at 9 in the morning. I went in and there was a guy sitting there, bundled up and asks, "is it five to?" As I confirm it, he proceeds to curse saying he's either too early or too late. We were the only two in the room--and we fell into an uncomfortable silence. Then he broke it with, "I didn't go to sleep." He beckons me with a finger and in a low whisper says, "in fact, i'm still drunk." Then in a small voice goes, "shhhhh, don't tell!" After I reassure him, that it's our little secret, the class shows up. Ed was a riot. Our assignment was to wear our favorite article of clothing. He wore a vibrant hoodie covered in metallic Yankee symbols, and proceeded to demonstrate what his hoodie could do. He zipped it all the way up to his forehead, and on the process of coming down the zipper got caught in his nose and the room was filled with, "OUCHHHHHHH my nose!!!!!!!!!" It was hilarious. He was so intoxicated yet functioning. We then talked about binge drinking--and in the articles we've read, they classified binge drinking as having 6 units of alcohol. Ed said belligerently, "that's a normal run to the pub!" Clearly, Ed, loves to pack it in.

OH BIG NEWS--before I forget (but how could I?) DOCTOR WHO! David Tennant has announced he is stepping down from being the Doctor after four special episodes. GASP. It was extremely upsetting to read.

I'm knitting mittens (or attempting to) and I've got to write more essays. I got to get on that! Ciao for now!

Blown Away By The Scottish Gale

Man, if they call Chicago the windy city, I don't know what Edinburgh should be called. The wind here is intense. I was walking across the meadows (this open field with trees lining the sides) and I felt myself being propelled across the gravel! And when it rains, the wind blows the rain sideways so it pelts you at all directions! It is the opposite of fun.

Yesterday, it was raining and the wind was blowing like CRAZY (the rain can get heavy, but it usually dissipates-but it's the type of rain that you can't use an umbrella, unless you want to be Mary Poppins) so I had my hood up. But the wind was so fierce that it blew my hood down every twenty seconds. As I was walking the wind blew my hood down for the umpteenth time too many, so I raised my fist to the wind and said, "Damn you, wind!" I hear a chuckle behind me. A guy comes up to me and goes jokingly, "angry much?" I replied, "just maybe a tad..." And he asks, "you're not from around here, are you?" and after I tell him no, he reassuringly tells me, "well, you'll never get use to it." And he walks on. I was then left in my agitated state mulling on home. Then it started to rain hard, and the wind died down, so I risked the umbrella. I was nearly home when the umbrella plan started to malfunction. So I said to myself (out loud), "Come on! Don't fail me now!! we're nearly there. Curse you cruel fates!" (I really got to stop voicing my opinions when no one is listening!)The same guy comes by again and chuckles, and asks, "still angry?" As I play it off like the wind is absolutely nothing. It was good times.

Today I was grossly under dressed. I have to queue up soon (and stand in the cold!) for tickets for this weekend trip to Lochness. I get to stay in a castle! To say the least, I am most excited. Plus Betty and Dennis are coming to London and I get to go see them! So yay! But that means I have two papers to write before that...and next weekend is Sara's birthday. So I got to get my act together! Papers, oh how you hate me. I will conquer them and have an amazing November! Hope you're all dandy!

I Miss Chaucer.

There I said it. I miss Chaucer. I miss him & his easy Middle English. If I thought Chaucer was difficult, the Pearl Manuscript is like a nuclear explosion going off in my head. There will be casualties (mainly my brain cells dying a slow and vicious death). The Pearl Manuscript, I am convinced is the devil's work meant to torture its modern reader. I'm not painting a clear enough picture of this monstrosity. Let me see. My teacher introduced the text to us by saying, "Oh, don't be alarmed when you don't recognize several letters. They are no longer in the English alphabet." Er?! No longer in the English alphabet?! What are they? Greek? Latin? The thorn and ezh make me think quadruply as hard as I would have had to in Chaucer. Meet the thorn, þ, its pronounced with a "th" sound. So, þat becomes that. Now let me introduce you to (the extinct letter) ezh, ʒ which is pronounced with either a "y" or a "gh". So for example, lyʒt translates to light, ʒet turns into yet. You may think, well that's not too shabby (i'm not trying to get sympathy, just an understanding of the torture i'm enduring). You sprinkle those throughout sentences and it's barely English. Don't believe me? Try this on for size...

Gilofre, gyngure, and gromylyoun,
And pyonys powdered ay bytwene.
Ʒif hit watz semly on to sene,
A fayrre flayr ʒet fro hit flot,
Þer wonys þat worþyly, I wot and wene,
My precious perle wythouten spot.

Enough said. What does that mean? Well, you've got me! I have spent the entire day reading this (I started at 9, it is now 2) and I have gotten through 5 pages. Even if that much. Chaucer, G-dawg, how cruel I was to mock you and scoff at your dream literature, how I wish we could be reunited! Pearl Manuscript, ergh! Bring it on. I will conquer you and you will succumb to my literature prowess! (insert evil laugh--BWAHAHA!) Wish me luck. God knows i'll need it, in LARGE doses.

A Foggy Day In London Town?

The Parentals & I in front of the Tower Bridge

A foggy day in London town? No, not really. It was more like Mr. Sun (Mr. Golden Sun) smiled down at the Chews. The weather was trying to make up for the last (miserable and wet) London adventure seven years ago. The weather was crystal clear blue skies with puffy marshmallow clouds. But when my parents leave Wednesday it's going to start pouring. Mother nature is looking out for the Chews!

We left at the butt crack of dawn on Wednesday to get to the Luton airport (an hour outside of London) The flight was painless (as it was only an hour long) Easyjet airways has a system where they have a first come, first serve policy. It was intense. The queues were pretty hefty--but luckily we were special, and had priority passes (where we passed the queues! SCORE!) When we got off the plane, waiting for our luggage I caught sight of the BEST thing ever. A little boy of three was wheeling a suitcase. Not just any suitcase. No, this was much more than a suitcase. It was a TARDIS case! It was the best thing my eyes have ever beheld (well, maybe with the exception of the Great Wall, oh and maybe James McAvoy). It was AWESOME. I was so tempted to snuff the little kid and make off with his tardis (except that would be a) horribly cruel and b) I would have to kneel to wheel that suitcase as it was made for little people. It wouldn't have been a clean get away).

We made our way to London and immediately went exploring (after a hearty Chinese lunch). My godfather, Charles' wife, Sai Pin was our incredibly able tour guide. She took us to the Thames (where Little Ben resides). Since it was such a gorgeous day we thought we might go to the London eye (the giant enclosed Ferris Wheel) but it was literally, £15.50 (what a laugh!) We obviously looked elsewhere. We instead went on a boat ride up (or maybe down?) the Thames River. A crew man of the boat told us that he was not a tour guide, but would try to give us a little taste of the history regarding the buildings along the Thames. For someone who claimed not to be a tour guide, he was pretty darn good. He was hilarious. We saw the remake of the Globe theatre, the London Tower, Tower Bridge, the gherkin (the financial rocket shaped building) and many others. We attempted the Westminster Abbey (where the G-dawg, Chaucer is buried in Poet's Corner) but it was too expensive. Instead, we sent my mom in (who managed to obtain an unused ticket) to take photos of the wondrous church. Unfortunately, photos were not permitted, so not being a religious person it was not worth the £12 to look at it myself. It was a glorious first day in London town.

London Eye with Pretty Clouds!

Little Ben

Westminster Abbey

The next day we went to Borough Market (an open market with a variety of stalls set up selling scrumptious food!) My dad was in heaven. It was quite an experience. We proceeded to walk by the Thames, seeing the ship Francis Drake sailed around the world in (It took him three years, and a crew of 80 on the teeniest boat ever. They must have slept on top of one another). We went into the Tate Modern (just the the gift shop!) and walked across the scariest bridge. It was made entirely of metal and does not seem stable (in fact, they had to close the bridge down when it was first open, because so many people were on it that it began to wobble and shake. Yikes!) My dad and I walked up the 582 stairs to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral (which took a ridiculous 35 years to build, but it was absolutely stunning) It was a bit of a hike! But it was breath-taking!

Saint Paul's Cathedral

Pops & I on top of the 582 steps!
Francis Drake's Ship!

Friday, we went to Primark (the target of the U.K.) and I was expecting to kneel down on my knees and kiss the ground. The prices were beyond reasonable and quite inexpensive (but for some reason I didn't go CRAZY, as I would at Target) We saw my godfather's office and ventured to Buckingham Palace (where we found a rogue beefeater!) The palace itself was nothing to write home about, but the gates guarding it were intricate and extremely interesting. Later that night after some GOOD Malaysian food, we went to go see the 39 Steps. If you have seen the Hitchcock movie, you know that it is far from a comedy, but the production was rip-roaringly hilarious. I loved it. If you can get tickets (in London or New York) I highly recommend it.

Buckingham Palace

Saturday we ventured to Stonehenge. They are definitely not just any ordinary stones, they are amazing and organized in such precision. What made it even better was the clear weather! Wicked stones!Stonehenge!

On Sunday we went to Oxford. Oxford was also beautiful. I saw Ashley (for a millisecond) and it was LOVELY! She's being worked to the bone. 700 pages of Middle English. Painful! After Oxford we ventured to Woodstock which is the Duke of Marlborough's massive estate. There we came across Chaucer Lane. Oh Chaucer.

Prettiness in Oxford

Well, that's how I feel about you, Geoffrey!

Well that pretty much wraps up the whirlwind adventure in London (where I did no work, boy, am I screwed) Overall, London is quite nice (especially the diversity!) but I would have been overwhelmed if I went there. Edinburgh remains more beautiful architecture wise. Hope you've all been swell!!!

The Chews Conquer Edinburgh!

The Chews + Yee!

Chaucer & Asian politics since 1884 want me dead. The work load here is intense and overbearing. With that said, I have to meet up three of my classmates to discuss Chaucer at a pub. We sit down on the comfy leather seats of the Pear Tree and exchange our insight on the good ol' G-dawg. Lyle (I just want to be his friend because his name is Lyle!) has his pint. And as the pint progressively diminishes in the glass, Lyle gets gradually more insightful. Good times. Discussing Chaucer while inebrieated, oh the English/Scottish drinking culture...

On Friday the parentals flew in from Dublin! After class I walked to their apartment (literally the opposite side of town from where i'm living. Luckily, the bus system drops them right off at my door!) It was actually quite a lovely walk. I had never been to their part of town. I brought them back to my flat with two giant suitcases filled up with all the requests I made. We dropped the suitcases off and took Sara out to Lemongrass, a Thai restaurant (that always tempted us, but due to the fiscal crisis and our ever-shrinking wallet, Sara and I never dared to enter) It was down right expensive. Outrageously so. 2 pounds something for a bowl of rice?! How can it not be included with curry?!? How are you supposed to eat curry without rice? Later I returned to my room. As I unpacked, Melissa, Semeli, and Sara were astonished at how much ramen, tuna fish, and macaroni and cheese the suitcase held. It was quite hilarious.

The next couple of days was a whirlwind of walking and exploring the quaint town of Edinburgh. I took my parents to Grassmarket street (where they used to trade livestock AND watch public executions. There is nothing like killing two birds with one stone. Person 1: "Hey, let's go pick up some chickens as we watch Burke hang!" Person 2: "That sounds like a bitchin' good time!") On a side note, for you history buffs, William Burke and William Hare were two Scots who went on a rampaging murder spree to collect bodies. This was around the time when they were really into disecting bodies for medical research. A doctor, Robert Knox bought each body (depending on condition) for 10 pounds (most men back then made roughly 25 pounds a year, so the Williams were rolling in the dough!) Unfortuantely for the Williams, they were not too bright and were caught. Burke was hung before a crowd of 26,000. Oh man, what they did for entertainment before the clever invention of television...

A little street, Victoria's Street, connects to Grassmarket where there is a delectable eatery called Oink. It literally has a roasted pig in the window (head and all!) You go in and order pulled pork on a roll with crackling. Yummy. It was GOOD. We then perused the Royal Mile, Princes Street, my campus, the writers museum, and various other Edinburgh highlights. Sunday we went to the Walter Scott monument and climbed the 287 steps. It was marvelous. Excruciatingly narrow once ontop and really weird vertigo, but it provided a paraonmic view of Edinburgh. It was wonderfully sunny, and bright out the whole day which made everything more vivid and worthwhile. We also went to see the Impressionist exhibit and Ocean Terminal (which is a mall with that the Britiannia is docked at--the Queen's private yacht) In addition we went on a bus tour around Edinburgh which was helpful, and took me to new places I had never seen. It was a wonderful day!

Tonight my dad is cooking for my friends and I (Sara, and her entire apartment!) and i'm quite excited! Wednesday we're off to London for another adventure! =)

Victoria's Street, ain't it cute?
Yum!

Ocean Terminal, look at the clouds reflected in the water. Gorgeous.

Do you understand? This WHOLE telephone booth belongs to Lionel Richie. I thought it was HILARIOUS.

The Jolly Judge Pub! & look, there's a jolly judge standing in front of it!

The Parentals!
Part of the Castle, can you imagine scaling those rocks?
Prince's Street from the Walter Scott Monument
Another view from the Monument!
The Walter Scott Monument, Look at those spirals! I climbed em'!
The Monument at Dusk.

Hope all is fantastical!
<3