Sunday, February 27, 2011

"This pub is older than your country!"

 I took advantage of my sunny weekend in Edinburgh and went exploring. Yesterday I went down to the beach with my friend Mary Caroline and a bunch of people in her dorm. It's about 3 miles away from the residence halls and not the most scenic walk, but it was really nice to see the beach and parts of Edinburgh I didn't even knew existed. 2 of the guys we went with even went for a little dip in the ocean..burr. We didn't do much exploring around the beach, but I do want to go back again and explore the shops and arcades that are there. Apparently there are some really touristy/tacky arcades that I want to check out.

On the way back we stopped into the oldest bar in Scotland, which was established in 1360. I didn't stay for a drink because I wanted to go to the gym (which closes at 5:30 on the weekends so I didn't even make it), but I will most definitely be going back. Also, people here find it very strange how young the United States is in comparison to Europe. I've had several separate conversations about it. It blows their minds.
"This pub is older than your country!"

Today I went exploring by myself and went to the National Gallery of Scotland. It's a small museum with an okay collection, but I did find some works that I really loved. Here are two of my favorites:
Robert Burns' 'Diana with her Nymphs'

'Olive Trees' by Vincent Van Gogh
It was another beautiful, sunny day and I'm excited for it to be like this all week! Unfortunately I have loads of work to do, so my adventuring will have to wait until this weekend, when I will be going to a concert Friday night and a trip with Arcadia to the Scottish English borders.
I did not edit this photo at all: the sky is this blue, and the grass this green



Saturday, February 26, 2011

sunglasses in Scotland

Sorry I slacked off yesterday by not posting, but I've been quite busy.
Thursday:
National Museum of Scotland
I had four classes and didn't feel like lugging my computer around, so instead of doing work in the library in between classes I went to the National Museum of Scotland. It wasn't too exciting, just a bunch of artifacts. The point of the museum is pretty much a way of proving that Scotland has a separate culture from England.


Thursday night:
I went to a bar with some of my friends and met up with my friend that went to Newton Country Day School. The ski team was having a party there and they had a snow machine! Pretty wild. The main reason I wanted to go there was because they have a drink special where you drink your drink out of a fish bowl. The novelty of being able to legally drink has worn off, but not the novelty of drinking out of weird containers. We then went to a club.
Drinking out of fish bowls

Kiki and me
Friday:
It was 55 and SUNNY. I went to a football (soccer) match between my house and my friend's house and wore sunglasses while spectating. Everyone was really jealous of my brilliant idea of wearing sunglasses and I was very happy to not look like an idiot while wearing sunglasses in Scotland.

Friday night:
I went out with my friend and we went to a really cool bar called the Brass Monkey where they have a lounge in the back that has numerous incredibly large couches that look like beds. The dim lighting and warm temperature was putting us to sleep so we had to leave. We went to a a club where a DJ I had never heard of was playing but he was really good and I'm glad I paid the high cover to get in. I ended up finding some guys I know in my dorm and hung out with them the rest of the night.
Dorm friends: Callum, Juan, Jack, and Dan

Today:
It is 45 and SUNNY (again). yay! I'm going to go adventuring with my friend Mary Caroline in this beautiful weather. We're going to go to the art museum and then see where the wind takes us. Hopefully I'll have some good pictures and interesting new facts to share.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

eyebrows, library, and eating

WARNING: this may be a very boring post, especially if you are a man.

Today I tried something new: I got my eyebrows threaded instead of waxed. Much less painful and supposedly lasts longer. And my eyebrows look awesome! I had never heard of it before. It's an Indian thing and the woman who did mine said that if you just ask an Indian that lives in your area they probably know where to go. I am very particular about who cuts my hair and who touches my eyebrows, but they look great and I would highly recommend trying it.

I spent 5 hours at the library today doing research for an essay, hence the highlight of my day being getting my eyebrows done.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a way of preventing binge eating, because self-control does not work for me? Appetite suppressants? I'm not trying to lose weight, but eating in a cafeteria and having mass amounts of french fries every night is NOT healthy.

Start the countdown: according to Facebook, national cat day is on March 4. Get excited!!

Also, I am not the only one who loves Major Lazer; Harry and Ron do too!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

smooth grooves

Nothing too exciting has been happening since I've finally buckled down and have decided to do my four essays due in March in these next two weeks. I finished one today and am going to start another one tonight so I'm on a roll so far!
Even though I have been frequenting the library, I have been quite social. I had lunch today with a girl I met at the beginning of my trip who went to Newton Country Day School and who I definitely played back in my Beaver basketball days.
I have also been spending quite a bit of time at the gym working on my fitness. Lifestyle change.
I'm in Edinburgh this weekend and will be taking a study break Thursday night through Sunday afternoon so hopefully I will have some fun stories and good pictures. But I must do my work now because I have a VERY exciting March coming up:
  • Afrojack (DJ) on March 4
  • Arcadia trip to the Scottish English borders March 5
  • Madrid with Maddy March 11-13
  • St. Patrick's Day March 17 (supposedly it's really fun here)
  • Hannah comes March 20! She is our friend from Boulder and me and Christine's future roommate
  • Kicking off spring break in Amsterdam March 28.
Even though I'm taking a break from fun during the week, it will be well worth it for my month ahead!

In the meantime, I will leave you with a link to a really great song by a phenomenal band called Railroad Earth. The song is 'Long Walk Home' which I listened to on my long walk home from the gym today and thought of my dear friend Kate who gave me the song. Enjoy!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Extreme Blogging After an Extreme Weekend

I just got back from a weekend at the University of Edinburgh's Firbush Point facility on Loch Tay. They have a beautiful facility that sleeps 40, and more than enough waterproof apparel, kayaks, canoes, bikes, and other equipment for outdoor activities. Because of my extreme weekend, I have decided to take my blog beyond words and photographs, and add videos I took as well.
Saturday:
We woke up at 8, had breakfast, and got ready for our day long hike. We had to wear waterproof pants, hiking boots, and gators. They told us we would not be climbing up any of the munros (mountains over 3,000 feet) because of the terrible weather. we started off on a wonderful, challenging hike through beautiful, magical, enchanted forests with our boring guide, Bob. I was so happy to be seeing the bright greens of the underbrush with a light snow falling on us when all of a sudden, we started ascending into a white never ending abyss. We were told we were hiking to the top of a "hill" whose translated Gaelic name is "rocky mound." Let me tell you, IT WAS NOT A MOUND. It was a hard hike in knee-deep snow and white-out conditions. So of course, when we got to the top, we couldn't even see anything. However, the trek down was quite fun since we slid down in the snow for most of it.

Ready for our 6 hour hike in our awesome waterproof outfits
This is how we knew we had reached the top

Sliding down


at the top...do I look happy or WHAT?





Saturday night:
We had a traditional Burn's Night supper complete with Haggis, Burns poetry, and a Cedlih. We even learned different dances and had a live bagpipe player. I had much more fun than expected; just really an overall wonderful/grand/fun time . I've decided to take my blogging to the next level and take VIDEOS (gasp) so you can have a better idea of what Burns night is all about...even though it was not Burns night. I even took Christine's experience to the next level when I volunteered her to demonstrate a new dance we were learning, which was hilarious since she constantly was bumping into my partner and I, took off my shoe, and allegedly fractured someone's toe. Below you will find videos of the blessing of the haggis and Christine showing off her awesome Scottish dance moves.
The blessing of the haggis


Christine learning how to dance with Bob



Sunday:
I went on two bike rides down to the town. There was not much of a town but I got to see more beautiful, magical forest. All in all, Scotland is Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and all things mystical combined. It is wondrous. And I'm tired.


Magical forest

SHEEP

Bike ride with Lauren

Friday, February 18, 2011

Random thoughts: universal health care and Irishmen

I have a post-Dublin thought that I completely forgot to share: Irish people are unbelievably friendly and proud of their culture. The taxi driver of the cab we took from the airport to Taylor's flat immediately struck up conversation with us. When I told him I was an English literature major, he told me that some of the best poets and writers are from Ireland, and promptly popped in a CD with someone reading Yeats poems. Quite impressive that he had Yeats on hand.

I've had many ailments this week and just want them fixed. My newest problem: I've been getting worse and worse allergic reactions to something. I get itchy, raised, red blotches on my body. Right now my  right wrist is swelling ahh!! Anyways, I went into the school's health center on Monday and finally saw a doctor yesterday, when nothing seemed to be the matter. So basically, the way universal healthcare works is you get really sick, you make an appointment and suffer for a few more days, and if you're still sick they'll try to treat you. Or just tell you to take ibuprofen and allergy medicine. Or if you're dying they'll save you. My views on national healthcare are quite mixed right now, as I am not getting help/treatment that I think I need, but it is good because anyone can get treatment. However, the doctors seem like much bigger idiots than they do in the states. 

This weekend I'm going up to the Highlands to Loch Tay with Arcadia (my program). There will be students from other Arcadia locations such as Glasgow and Stirling, so it'll be fun to meet some new people. It's a university owned facility so hopefully we'll meet some Edinburgh students too. It's supposed to be rainy and snowy for our hiking/kayaking/biking weekend. wooo. I am actually really excited though. 

This weekend marks the third weekend in a row I will be traveling away from Edinburgh, but I will be here the next two weekends after which I'm really excited about. I have a lot of essays to do in that time, but hopefully I'll be able to make time to do more exploring.

I was a bum this week and didn't take any pictures, but I promise you all some from this weekend! And I'm working on a slideshow of my trip so far.

Thank you everyone who has voted for me on the world traveler internship website! It means so much to me! If you haven't voted or if you're on a different computer, you can vote at : http://www.worldtravelerinternship.com/member/laura-bulkeley/


Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Vote for me!

Hi everyone! As mentioned yesterday, I am applying for a travel internship that would pay for me to travel around the world. If you could like me on my profile page that would be awesome! Thanks!

http://www.worldtravelerinternship.com/member/laura-bulkeley/

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Kittens

I have really bad athlete's foot so I just stayed in today and worked on a slideshow for a travel internship I'm applying to. I'll be done with the application today or tomorrow so look out for the link and to like me on the website!
Since nothing happened, I thought I'd share a silly video. Marisa showed this to me but it came up when I was stumbling upon. It's utterly ridiculous

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Guinness, leprechauns, and tropical plants

I am back from an amazing weekend in Ireland with my high school friend Taylor and Christine. Taylor goes to Trinity University in Dublin for her undergrad, so we were able to stay with her in her dorm and get shown around the city by someone who knows it well. Though we were only in Dublin for a day and a half (our flight was at 7:50 this morning), we got to see quite a bit.
We got to Taylor's dorm, where she lives in flat-style living, and took the bus into the center of the city. I thought Pollock Halls were far away from campus at a 20 minute walk, but it takes Taylor 45 minutes to walk to campus because it's 2 and a half miles away. So I'm not complaining anymore. Anyways, we walked around, saw Trinity which is so beautiful, old, and magical. Similar to Cambridge. I wish Edinburgh had the old feel...but I suppose it's so old they had to build new buildings. Sad. That night we went to one of Taylor's friend's flat parties which was a nice change of pace from the pubs and clubs. We also got to meet all of her friends who are incredibly nice. Most of them are from Germany on exchange for one year.
Yesterday we took the bus into the center of town, saw an adorable street market and then went to the Guinness Storehouse. I thought we would be seeing the actual factory, but the Storehouse is where the factory used to be and is now a tourist attraction. The building is built around the world's largest pint glass and is quite informative about the making of beer and the history of Guinness. The best part is that you get to enjoy a free pint of Guinness in the gravity bar on the top floor of the pint glass and get great panoramic views of the city. Taylor's friend then picked us up from the Storehouse and drove us to Howth, which is a 30 minute port town outside of Dublin. We walked around a little bit, took in the scenery, and ended the day with the first fish and chips of my trip (delicious)!
Last night we went to two different pubs, hung out until 3 AM when they closed, and then I decided not to go to bed since we had to wake up at 5:30. It was sad to say goodbye to Taylor since I haven't seen her in so long, but it was amazing to see and and she was truly the best host!

My (what I consider) interesting thoughts about Dublin:

  • Oscar Wilde went to Trinity and studied classics, like Taylor
  • Arthur Guinness signed a 9000 year lease for the Guinness factory. They are only in the 250th year
  • Irish people, especially the cab drivers, are unbelievably friendly
  • It is incredibly expensive. Made me appreciate Edinburgh prices.
  • They love the fact that tropical plants, such as palm trees, are able to grow there so they have them on the streets, in the parks, anywhere they can really
  • birds chirp at odd hours, similar to Edinburgh




Trinity University

Olives at the market

palm tree?




Howth

Friday, February 11, 2011

Celtic Central

Christine and I are off this morning to Dublin to visit my friend Taylor! Get excited for an awesome post Sunday. We're planning on going to the Guinness factory and going to a town outside of Dublin to see a little bit of the country side.
I'm skipping my Celtic poetry class this morning...I think they'll understand.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Singapore

Whoever is reading my blog from Singapore, reveal yourself! I am so flattered that you're following and I didn't (or unknowingly) gave you my blog address.

Traveling Adventures!!!

Fun facts:
chundering=vomiting
birds chirp at really strange hours...including 4 AM

I made my spring break plans last night. We have three weeks for spring break so Christine and I are going to travel together for 10 days and then I'm spending a week with my mom. Christine and I are going to Amsterdam, Florence, Prague, and Copenhagen. And then I'm going Istanbul to meet up with mother. I was really proud of myself because I found the cheapest flight from Milan to Prague AND figured out how to take the train from Florence to Milan in time. These are the achievements in my life. If it weren't for spellcheck I would have spelled achievements wrong.

I joined the gym and stopped eating potatoes (well, far fewer). At the gym(which is BEAUTIFUL, CU needs to step it up) I watch music videos and TV. I saw a commercial (or advert as they say here) and thought it was oddly funny...I couldn't find it but this is equally as funny


I really enjoy using parenthesis as side thoughts...and I have a lot of side thoughts...I also like using dots 
........................


Monday, February 7, 2011

It's rainy, it's cold, it's Scotland

It was cold and rainy today. It was Scotland today. I handed in my paper. I booked a flight to Madrid to meet up with two of my high school friends, Maddy and Sara, for March 11-13! Yay!

I was very confused about the difference between England, Great Britain, and the United Kindom before Marisa sent me this video. I'm assuming some of you are confused as well. 
Educate yourselves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBSn10&feature=player_embedded 

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Bye Bye Billiam

Sorry for the cheesy title everyone; I'm trying to be more creative than the dates (since the blog so cleverly puts them there for me) and this is me being creative...it sounds more like a Hannah Montana episode than the thoughts of someone trying to go into the advertising agency. Oh well. And sorry for the extremely long sentence...also shameful coming from an English major.
Okay. Enough with the rambling. I went to Cambridge and I loved it. The end. JUST KIDDING. You all got excited.
high points:

  • It was amazing to see Ian, Fifi, and Claire again (Fifi is my dad's cousin, Ian is her husband, Claire is their daughter. I have no idea how I'm related but I am)
  • Ian and Fifi's home is beautiful and it was so nice to get two home cooked dinners
  • I got to meet Finlay, Claire's one year old son who is absolutely ADORABLE (yes, caps emphasizes the cuteness exponentially). He does not stop smiling and laughing or saying "ba"
  • Ian gave us a tour of all the different colleges of Cambridge University (they are all living areas that are part of Cambridge University. No learning actually happens in the colleges--the lecture halls are on the edge of town)
  • Because Ian went to Cambridge we got VIP access to all the colleges
  • We saw King's Chapel which is absolutely amazing. The ceiling is fan-vaulted, which I have never seen before
  • Billiam got a bargain on dress shirts


Low point:
Billiam left

Pictures:

bridge originally designed by Newton with no nuts and bolts; punters on the Cam underneath

Queen's dining hall where Ian used to dine

Fan vaulted ceiling in King's chapel

Ian and me

Ian and Dad admiring the beauty of Cambridge

the family: Ian, me, Dad, Fifi, Claire, Phillip, and Finlay in the front

Finlay!
Overall, this past week has been amazing and family-filled. Many thanks to Ian and Fifi for hosting us and for Dad coming out to visit me!
Love to everyone--not just family. MUAH

Thursday, February 3, 2011

"a wee dram"

The title of this post is my father's new favorite saying. He thinks it means "a little drink." They definitely don't say that in Scotland...anymore.
Today we had an eventful day. We went to a pub and had haggis, which was much less scary and far more delicious than I anticipated. We walked down the Royal Mile and took a tour of Holyrood House Palace, which is the residence of the Queen for three weeks in July. It is also where Mary Queen of Scots and James the IV and V lived. It was absolutely beautiful. In the back there is the ruins of Holyrood Abbey. The Abbey is said to be one of three churches that once held the remains of the cross that Jesus was crucified on, hence the name Holy Rude.
Once we left the Palace the beautiful, perfectly sunny day had become gray, windy, and rainy. Before going back to my Dad's hotel, we stopped at the brand new Scottish Parliament building (new because the Scottish parliament itself is new) and saw parliament in session. Not as interesting (or just as boring) as you'd think. After that we went back to Dad's warm hotel room and had a nap and watched the news, mainly about Egypt, before dinner and our ghost tour.
Dinner was delicious, though not as good as last night's which was truly amazing. We had a few drams(?) and then headed to the Royal Mile for our tour. Our tour guide painted his face and neck white and wore a cape; he essentially looked like a vampire. The guide was hilarious, but as the tour progressed his sidekick, who was supposed to scare us, became more and more disobedient while our guide became more cynical about his acting career. However, we did learn some interesting facts including:

  • In an area where 6,000 people live today, 40,000 people lived in the middle ages
  • The Royal Mile used to be the only road in Edinburgh
  • Because of over population, buildings would be about 10 stories high
  • Edinburgh burned the most witches out of anyone in the world
Lots of learning today. Lots of Billiam. It was awesome.
Since formatting got messed up yesterday, some pictures:
oh meeoww holyrood palace

holyrood house palace (the left side is much older than the rest and is where mary queen of scots resided after her time in france)


our tour guide
random thought: girl next door to me has friends and they are loud and annoying. sounds like they are drumming?

Tomorrow my dad and I are going to Cambridge, England to visit some family. On Saturday our cousin Claire and her one year old son, Finlay, are coming as well! I am very excited to meet Finlay and to see Ian, Fifi, and Claire, who I haven't seen in a couple years. Expect lots of pictures of an adorable one year old...and pray for better weather! (though I know everyone reading this is probably experiencing worse weather than high winds and occasional rain in 40 degree weather).

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

"no food on wednesdays"

So I'm pretty tired after an eventful day with my dad today, but let me give you a few highlights (numbers instead of bullets since I get more page views when I have numbers...and you all like them better):
yesterday:
  1. took dad to elephant house...magical (obviously)
  2. explored the graveyard that supposedly has Tom Riddle's gravestone...didn't find it but found:  
  3. McGonagall's gravestone!
  4. We went into Edinburgh Castle on a beautiful, sunny day, and watched the clouds roll in; when we left it was raining. However, we saw a rainbow (and a FULL rainbow this morning)
  5. We had the best Indian food last night at the Indian Cavalry Club. If you ever go to Edinburgh, you must dine here.
Today:
  1. Woke up at the crack of dawn to rent a car. Not only did Dad have to drive on the wrong side of the road, but also drive stick!
  2. We went to Stirling Castle, and even though it was raining we got a good feel of it. They are currently in the process of restoring it. In my opinion, the restoration is questionable since it is more of a recreation than a restoration, but a very noble and ambitious project (why do I talk like a grandma now?! no offense if grandmothers see this). I thought the completed projects looked bad, but it's still impressive. They are also recreating 'Hunt of the Unicorn' tapestries to hang in the Great Hall, which we saw them making. I approve of this since they look pretty good and are making them to last.
  3. Billiam protecting the castle


  4. After the castle we tried to find a place to eat. One of the pubs we stopped into told us that they don't serve food on Wednesdays....so we found another place and had a delicious Scottish meal of meat pies, chips, and mash (with peas and carrots, of course).
  5. We drove through the Highlands, which I thought was the highlight. we saw lots of sheep and even some Highland Cows!
  6. Highland Cow...what a cutie!
    5. We went to Loch Lomond. It was pretty:
     

      6. Before dinner tonight, my dad and I went to Deacon Brodie's Tavern. TRIVIA QUESTION (surprise me with comments): what book did the real Deacon Brodie inspire?? hint: it's by a Scottish author that was born in Edinburgh. Prize: I will be seriously impressed that you a) know it, and b) comment on my blog 


the moment you've all been waiting for: a picture with me in it!
if the formatting is weird, it's because I wanted the pictures to correspond to my writing and I apologize but I thought I could pull it off. It also rained all day today...a lot...unusual....bleak....supposedly normal Scotland....will keep you updated with actual Scottish weather