Since I'm so far behind in the updates, I'll do a brief recap of my trip to Scotland, like I promised! We went to Edinburgh, the Scottish Highlands and Loch Ness the weekend of January 28-30. It was amazing. Friday we had to get up at about 4:30 to make it to the tube in time to be at King's Cross (yes, Harry Potter lovers, THE King's Cross - we didn't make it to Platform 9 3/4 but I will be back) by 6:30. We took a train to Edinburgh, had a nice bus tour of the city, ate some lunch at The Conan Doyle Pub, walked around the shopping district since the museums were closed, and we crashed early at our guesthouse watching some Scottish soap operas and game shows.
Saturday was our exciting day of trekking through the Scottish Highlands (which were beautiful). We drove through Glencoe, past a good number of lochs on our way to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle. It was absolutely phenomenal. The castle was being attacked in 1692, so those inside blew it up. We were able to walk through the remains and see some great views of Loch Ness. We took a boat ride across the Loch, I caught Nessie, and we moseyed on back to the bus! We ate dinner at this little cafe that was also a techno-music place, and right next to the tables was a turn table and the walls literally bounced with the music playing in the restaurant. But they had the best pizza I'd had in a long time.
Sunday we walked through Edinburgh after we checked out of our guesthouse. Edinburgh itself is an ideal city. It has the feel of a big city, with intense crosswalks and busy areas, but in reality, there is less than a million people who live there. We visited the National Gallery Museum of Scotland, which had a Vermeer exhibit, and a good collection of Impressionist and Renaissance works. We hiked (it was quite a steep hill) to Edinburgh Castle for a view of the city below though we didn't actually go through the castle. We went to the National Museum of Scotland which basically tells the history of Scotland - from its development geographically by the breaking apart of tectonic plates (I watched the very informative video) to its development as a powerful country. Next, (the most exciting part) we ate at The Elephant House, which is rumored to be the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote the first few Harry Potter books. It was amazing. There were pictures around the cafe, and I didn't know it at the time because the girl's loo was out of order, but if you went inside, you could sign your name for Dumbledore's Army. I was quite upset when I found out and I didn't have a chance to do it. After that exciting day, we took the train back to London, which was a harsh jerk back to reality and school work.
That week, my friend Adrienne and I attempted to take the tube to our Architecture in London tour but unfortunately, someone "took ill" on a train/platform at the Marble Arch / Bond station (they kept changing the story). This meant that all trains were held in their platform until the ambulances arrived. So we didn't make it. Wednesday night we went to a football game! It was Fulham v. Newcastle and it was amazing. We were supposedly in the neutral zone of the stands, but we were definitely in the Newcastle section...I wanted to cheer when Fulham scored, but feared death. So I cheered internally, especially when Fulham ended up winning 1-0. Thursday I had a paper due, which consumed a lot of my time and energy for those days. I was also sick which didn't help much. Friday we went to Camden Market, which is known for their clothing stalls and other shops. We walked around a lot and tried on ridiculous outfits. We went into this store called Cyberdog which is all futuristic and neon clothes (many of them glow), so that was an experience. Unfortunately, that weekend I spent the entire time in bed resting. I watched Miracle, which I had never seen before, and was really surprised how much I enjoyed it... then I watched Buffy. :)
This past week has been filled with classes. Tuesday night we saw Wicked on the West End since our program adviser could get us cheap tickets. It was strange to be at a show that they play every night opposed to being at an Omaha show that plays for three days only and every show is sold out. At the Apollo Victoria Theatre, it wasn't even close to being sold out. We were on the floor level and were allowed to move closer if we wanted to. That was a new experience. Wednesday, since it was nice out, we journeyed out to Hyde Park which was once the hunting grounds of Henry VIII. It is a huge park and there is a lake in the middle where you can rent kayaks or paddle boats if you're up to it and brought heating pads or just enjoy hypothermia. We also walked by Marble Arch, which is London's version of the French Arc de Triomphe. Still impressive, and they also had this strange horse statute that I thought was a leg at first. I'm not quite sure how that worked out. There was also a piece of artwork that looked like a gummy bear family. You'll have to see it to understand.
Friday was another busy day. Deanna, Adrienne and I went to the Notting Hill market at Portabello Road. They have a lot of little antique shops, fruit and veggie stands, waffle and crepe stands, and just a lot of places that are more than willing to take your money. And they happily took a lot of mine!! We tried these amazing waffles drizzled with Belgian dark chocolate and I got a box of raspberries that never made it home, and my friend Adrienne bought a suitcase that journeyed with us for the rest of the day and became a joke (and we named him Louis - French pronunciation). After spending several hours there, we took the tube to Abbey Road. Or as close as we could since the tube was closed at the station we needed, so we had to go to the next one and back track back to Abbey Road. We found Abbey Road Studios and signed our names on the wall outside. We got some poor man to take our picture walking across the crosswalk a la Beatles. The man taking the picture was genuinely confused when we asked because there were only three of us: "But there were four Beatles!" Adrienne just said that she had the suitcase acting as a fourth person; he even has a name!! They thought we were crazy and we walked across the wrong way (but there was no one on the other side to take our picture!), but it was perfect and very touristy. I loved it.
We went to Covent Garden and managed to find a hair salon I had looked up so I could get a haircut. We walked around for a while at all the little shops before we met a few other girls for dinner at an Italian restaurant called Cafe Pasta. It was delicious, but I would go back for the garlic bread alone. It was simply...indescribable. I'm already dreading not having it in the States.
Today was an IFSA-Butler outing to Hampton Court and Windsor. Hampton Court was the residence of Henry VIII, so there was a lot of exhibits dedicated to him. We saw his apartments, Queen Mary II's apartments and staircase, and went through the most famous maze in the world in the Hampton Court Gardens. We then went to Windsor, home of Windsor Castle which is the official residence of the Queen. It is the oldest castle that is still used a residence. We didn't go through it as it was quite expensive, but it was so cool just being outside of it. We took pictures in front of it, and also a long road appropriately named The Long Walk. We walked around Windsor to find Eton, the college (aka high school) that the princes attended and also the current Prime Minister David Cameron. It was closed to the public, but was still an impressive campus to walk outside of. Then we bussed back!! It was a busy day and the tube was packed on the way home, and I just wanted to crash. Instead, I found out I can watch Channel 4 TV on their website, which is a British TV channel. I watched a TV mini-series called The Promise which is about the Jewish and Arab conflict in Israel. It was fascinating and I want to read more about it. Luckily, the next episode is on tomorrow night so I don't have to wait too long in suspense!
Tomorrow is a homework day. It must be. I have lots of papers coming up due and I want to focus on those rather than having to worry about my regular coursework. Adrienne and I are going to find the Prince Albert Memorial so we can write a paper for our Architecture in London and then I have readings for my other classes to work on.
This coming weekend, Deanna and I booked a tour to Paris! I'm so excited. As St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) would croon... I'll dance fair Paris to the ground. Its going to be great. Our days are booked with tours and sightseeing and we added on the trip to Versailles. SO excited! :)
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| Deanna and I at Urquhart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness in Scotland! |
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| The sun setting over Loch Ness, taken from the Jacobite Spirit, the ferry that took us across the Loch. |
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| A stop in the Scottish Highlands. |
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| Me outside Abbey Road Studios in London. |
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| In order: Adrienne, Louis the Suitcase, Me and Deanna walking across the zebra crossing a la The Beatles. Going the wrong way with a suitcase and missing one person. It was lovely. :) |
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| Standing in the main courtyard of Hampton Court Palace, the Tudor residence and main residence of Henry VIII during his reign. |
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| Odd statue of a horse next to Marble Arch. From far away, I thought it was a leg... |
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| Gummy bear-looking family next to the horse! |
I promise to update sooner than I did this time. I hope.
Now I can tell you to go listen to some UK music that I've been listening to since before I got here. I'd recommend Florence & the Machine (non-Glee versions, please) or Laura Marling for some England music, or else Marina and the Diamonds (she's from Wales) is also quite entertaining. Adele just came out with a new cd and thanks to Sara Schulte, I am obsessed with the song "Someone Like You." The girl can sing. I'm done pimping out British music now. :)
Until next time...which will be after Paris!! Yay!
Megan
