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!

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 

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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 

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

"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).

"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:  



McGonagall's gravestone!

3. 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)
4. 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.



Billiam protecting the castle








3. 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).
4. We drove through the Highlands, which I thought was the highlight. we saw lots of sheep and even some Highland Cows!



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