The train ride (albeit 3 hours long) was beautiful. It went through the countryside and little villages and hills and past sheep and lots of green. We actually saw a couple of rainbows on the way which was really cool. The trees were changing so even though it took up a large portion of our day it was worth it.
We got to Inverness around 2ish. Its a cute town with some old buildings we grabbed some lunch to go and got a cab to the lake (Loch Ness) and Urquhart Castle. The castle itself was burned by the owners to avoid an attack years ago so all thats left is ruins but it's still a great spot. While we were on the way it had rained a bit there and by the time we were leaving there were two rainbows spanning the entire width of the lake in a full arch. It was perfect, it made it worth the 6 hours on a train.
We got back to Stirling where we were staying for the night to get dinner and hang out. We went to an American resteraunt which had a lot of Tex Mex stuff, but it was the only place still serving food. It was surprisingly good and it was a nice break from the train. Our waiter asked if anyone like baseball and when I said I did he said I better not be a Red Sox fan which was problematic since I categorize myself as anti-Yankee which makes me a Red Sox fan by dis-association. He was a funny scotsman though.
We went to a pub afterwards where this Scottish woman with a really thick accent started talking to us and cursing the English and teaching my friend Nick a lot of curses and slang, she was very drunk and very crazy.
Our second hostel was really nice. It was called the Willy Wallace (william wallace braveheart). We hung out and people watched in the main lounge a bit but then went to bed.
The next day we split up. Bari, Nelle, Stephen and I went straight to Edinburgh which was an hour away and the rest of the group went to Doune Castle which is the Monty Python Castle. We met up with Stephen and Bari's friend Amy who's studying at the University of Edinburgh. She gave us a mini tour of Old Town and we dropped our backpacks at her dorm. On the way we passed the Elephant House which is where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter (we went back for dinner later). We then walked up to Edinburgh Castle which was the castle for Mary Queen of Scots and James I/VII. The view from the castle was, again, gorgeous. We left as it was pouring and headed to lunch.
One of Amy's friends had recommended a pub that was actually an Irish Pub but apparently had good food. Stephen, Nelle and I had already decided we had to try Haggis despite the unpleasant thoughts of what it actually was so Nelle and I split a plate of "Haggis Nips and Mash" (Haggis, parsnips and mashed potatoes) and Stephen had his own. It was soooo good. It had this cream sauce that was also very good. Also at the pub was a rugby match on TV and along with it many rugby fans in the pub which was entertaining, especially when the guy behind us would yell at the TV "HIT HIM"
After that we went to the royal mile and got souvenir stuff before meeting up with everyone else. Once we met up we went to a hill/park at the other end of the Royal Mile and walked to the top and got another amazing view of Edinburgh and another rainbow.
We then walked around that area and saw the current Queens palace (Queen of England) but didn't go inside though I'm now thinking about doing the Buckhingham Palace tour. We then walked up back to our hostel after getting our bags. Some people went on a short underground tour of the vaults where there were a bunch of murders and stuff. The rest of us just did dinner and then got a couple of drinks and hung out in the lounge and talked.
We flew back early this morning before our classes. It was over all a really good trip, I'd post pictures here but theres alot to show.
4 comments:
That sounds like a lot of fun. This post gave me some travel ideas for this summer.I can't wait to see your pictures when you get back.
Urquhart Castle is so pretty, even in its demolished state.
I was SO not brave enough to try haggis.
Julie...this is what studying abroad is ALL about....I am really enjoying the blog.....but haggas....not me:(
Hi Juliemac!
What a great trip!I'm sure you remember Uncle Charles and Aunt Betty.. during WWII he was a member of a paratroop division called the Black Watch based in Inverness which wore the black Tartan kilt as its dress uniform. We were talking to a Scotsman this past weekend named Bob Wart who was from that area, in fact he said that there was a Wart Castle nearby (no relation). He seemed very impressed with the Black Watch. He also said that he and his older brother used to hang out up and down the Royal mile. The brother was a police officer, so they used to get in everywhere for free! If I can believe him, the brother is now the head of the DEA in Scotland! He described Haggis to us and said there are as many different recipes as there are people who make it - everyone adds there own little extra spice! Did you spot Nessie? Sounds like you were pretty busy. Hope classes are good. BTW - there is no way that you are a Red Sox fan, even by dis-association! Love - Daddymac
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