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!!!