Give me but one hour of Scotland

Trapped in Edinburgh Castle

I find that writing large paragraphs is getting dull and I feel bad I haven't updated since I've been busy. I didn't know writing about my awesome adventures could be so complicated and tiring. There is just so much I want to tell you guys! Knowing that my loving family eagerly awaits hearing about my awesome adventures inspires me to continue, though I really can't wait to tell you all about the places I've seen in person. If you're not sick of my travel adventures by the time I get back!

Anyway, this trip is probably better shown through pictures with captions rather than me typing 10 paragraphs telling you what we did. So here we go:

Ok so first I don't think I ever told you how Casey and I conquered the lions in Trafalgar. We did.

This reminds me of the "Long Live the King" stampede
scene in The Lion King. 

Oh yeah, we rock

Ok so Edinburgh. Summary- 5 am wake up for 7 am train + Drowsiness inducing motion sickness medicine = exhausted Tina

Still worth it.

DAY 1

Cool walkway

Rose Street- fun times!

Where JK apparently started HP

Scotland has the right to print its own bank notes
they look really different from England's

Every time I ask them to smile I get something like this

We stopped at Edinburgh Castle

It's just chillin there in the middle of the city

So after a walking tour of Edinburgh, my friends and I headed over to a Ceilidh. Which is pronounced Kaylee. Yeah, I don't get it either. Anyway, this was a night of traditional Scottish music and dancing. Complete with kilts.

This is Liz and I being partners at the Ceilidh

aaand inevitably screwing something up

Cuties at the Ceilidh

Coolest old Scottish guy ever. We Scottish waltzed together

Anyway, if you ever get to go to a Ceilidh, in the States or anywhere else, do it. It is so much fun. The lack of pics is a combo of laziness and the fact that we were dancing almost the whole time so there was no time for pics. This dance lasted well past midnight and I didn't get to bed till like 1:30. So. Worth. It.

Scottish flag car/taxi. Cool stuff. 

Please add Edinburgh to the list of "Places Tina will probably end up living if she gets the chance" because I would LOVE to live here.


DAY 2

Soreness kicks in. Hours of walking ahead of us. Let's do this.

Holyrood House, the residence of the Queen
when she visits Scotland

Destroyed Abbey- common theme in the UK

Bein a guard. I'm cool like that.

The gardens were BEAUTIFUL

We have to climb that!?!?!?

yes. Yes we did. But not before stopping at:

The tree themed Scottish Parliament building.
I'm serious. It is tree themed

I wish I could remember some of the interesting things about the Scottish Parliament. I mean, they basically told England "HEY, WE WANT TO MAKE LOCAL LAWS FOR OURSELVES," and England/Westminster said "Ok." And that is the story of the Scottish Parliament.

On to more fun and painful things: Climbing Arthur's Seat.

The beginning of the walk

scaling rocks to get to the top

Then we got to the top and took about 500 pics. Here is a sampling of them:

lovely views

We conquered it. With silly poses

and some dangerous ones

Bill is a beast. He danced all night at the Ceilidh AND climbed
the seat. Did I mention he just turned 65?
He's the director of the London Centre

Oh you know, just relaxing on top of the world

so we decided to do an awesome jumping shot

Then Casey and I decided to be brave. Really brave. And do what my father before me did not even attempt:

Diggin in to my Haggis, Neeps and Tatties

It actually wasn't bad at all. It doesn't look gross and was pretty tasty!

Then I got cake with ice cream. Of course!

DAY 3

A short day, as we had a 5 hour train to catch at like 2, so we got some snacks then headed to a car boot sale that Bill had directed us to. The boot is the trunk of the car, so basically it's a sale where people drive to this parking garage and sell stuff. Giant garage sale. I only bought a few small things, but Andrea, Casey and Liz came across something, er, larger and more useful... I think.

Yes, that is a foot bath. They got it for 3 pounds

Casey and Andrea also got some cool stuff for their apartment next year. It was a good time. Satisfied with Edinburgh but exhausted, we hopped back on the train to King's Cross and headed home. 

3 weeks left, YIKES.