Scotland

I love sitting down to update my blog. It's been such a good part of my England trip. Plus I was craving candy just now, and I happened to have some- don't you love when that happens. (side note- a good chunk of English candy is baby shaped. I think that's just really weird. Gummy babies? Really?) Anyway, nothing better than a satisfied craving and a blog update :D

Went to Edinburgh, Scotland this week for two days. What a country. On my way over to the UK, I met a Scotsman in the airport who told me I must must must see Edinburgh. He also insisted that I take the train, not the bus, as the scenery was unbeatable. He was right. I boarded a 7am train with Jordan (after 2 hours of sleep- Ugh), who let me have the window seat; what a gentleman. My earphones had broken the night before, and believe you me, traveling with no music is my idea of a nightmare. However, the scenery was enough to entertain me for the three hours I spent aboard. The coast of Scotland is so beautiful! I even saw a trailer park on the side of a Scottish cliff. Not too shabby.

I was welcomed off the train with bagpipes and sunshine. Oh, Europe. I love you. Jordan and I met up with Chloe and Danielle who were already there. The four of us had a great two days. I was dubbed navigator right off the bat; Danielle is determined to sharpen my map reading skills before this term is out. The first day we had more than one moment of me hunched over a map, with Jordan "I'll give you a hint- it's that way," and Danielle "Jordan- Let her do it!!" Sigh. I am going to miss these people :) We did heaps of sightseeing, and spent a large chunk of the day hiking up to Arthurs Seat, 823 feet above Edinburgh which was quite the trek, but totally worth it. Up top is a 360 degree panoramic view of the city. I accidentally littered a Tesco plastic bag off the top. Oops.

That night, we were thrilled to find a great Tex Mex place similar to Chipotle (we all miss Chipotle :), and ate a well earned meal of burritos. Sweet. We headed back to our accomodation, an artsy fartsy 1960s themed hostel. There were three, yes three, snorers in our room that night. It was a little unreal. After a day of hiking on two hours sleep, I slept like a log. (This is funny, because when I sleep my body is actually quite log-like. Anyway.)

The next day started and ended with Nutella on toast, a breakfast I am definitely bringing back to the States. We went on a free walking tour that was amazing. Saw everything, and heard lots of history. A highlight was seeing the cafe where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter. Awesome.

Our train ride home was lovely as well. The train was mostly empty, which is always nice. Jordan did manage to flick a guy off when he meant to give him the peace sign- cultural gap at its finest.

Back in Leeds now. The weather did a 180 while I was gone. The sun bakes my room all day, and window hardly qualifies as a window. It opens enough for me to stick my pointer finger out :(
This afternoon my flatmate, Todd went at it with a screw driver, and it opens fully now. I have found that if I crack my door open with my bedside table, I create a pleasant cross breeze. Thank goodness!

Sara and Heather arrive tomorrow, and will stay for the remainder of my semester. In a way tonight marks the end of my individual experience abroad. What an adventure.

More later!
Abby