Chapter 2: The Balmoral...Hotel

Shipping Leah Off to Hogwarts

The next morning we left our hotel and headed to Edinburgh. My parents were surprised how easy the boarding process was. For anyone who does not know, trains are nothing like planes. You just have to get to the train station about fifteen minutes early in order to make it on your train. Well I guess I should say that the boarding process was easy but of course, with the Rosenthal's we almost missed the train because we bought lunch at the station. 

The train ride wasn't the best. We were supposed to all sit together but someone was sitting in our seats! My mom, dad, and ben ended up sitting together and Leah and I sat together. I think I annoyed her though because I was writing my paper most of the way. 

When we got to Edinburgh, we headed straight to the hotel, The Balmoral (Yes that is the name of the Royal Family's Castle in Scotland. I felt like Princess. It was so gorgeous! Of course, I took pictures. Leah didn't feel well so my brother, dad, mom, and I went to dinner at a restaurant I can't remember the name of. It was classy but good. I tried haggis and it was surprisingly good! 

After dinner we went on a night tour of Edinburgh. I know I know. Why go on a night tour with you're family? Well my mom thought my sister would like it but she didn't end up going so she didn't come. So my mom, dad, brother, and I, who don't necessarily believe in "things that go bump in the night" that went on the underground tour of Edinburgh. It was fun though. I was surprised that there were actually people on the tour on a freezing November night but it was completely booked! Our tour guide was amazing! He got so in to it. It was fun to be "scared silly" with my family.

I had to be at my lecture because it was essential to my exam, so the next morning my mom dropped me off at the train station and I made my way to Glasgow. My family was supposed to pick me up around noon so that we could make it to Stirling castle, but they were late so I went to my one o'clock class. It was good that I went though because it was useful on the exam. Anyway my parents picked me up after class and we headed to the highlands.

My Favorite Family. Chapter 1: London 1

After my fantastic Thanksgiving dinner I headed into London to meet my brother and my dad! (My mom and my sister came in the next day...my parents like to space out their flights). The train ride was good but I was just so anxious to meet up with my family that I hadn't seen in the last 2 months! I did, however, have to write a paper during the train ride :/.

When I made it into London, I wanted to take the tube to show myself that it was no big deal and that  I could be a wise city girl. Unfortunately, I went down to look at the map and was all confused. So I took a cab to the train station my dad thought I was coming in to and met up with him. There is nothing like meeting up with a family member you haven't seen in awhile. It is the best feeling in the world. Just by seeing them, you feel an instant comfort and warmth... but enough of that sentimental stuff :D.

Next, my dad and I took the tube (yes, he knew how to use the map but he grew up in Brooklyn!) to our hotel and just chilled while my brother just slept. When I went to see him, my big strong brother looked so pathetic. When we tried to get him up, he sounded like a little kid again as he said "just 5 more minutes..." It definitely made me feel all powerful.

Around seven, my dad, brother, and I headed into town to get Indian food. I can't remember the name of the place, but it was amazing! They served authentic Indian food with a french twist. I had chicken tika massala, which my brother told me was the most popular dish in Great Britain. But my favorite part of the restaurant was its decor. I felt like I was in the movie Casablanca or something.  After dinner we headed back to our hotel and went straight to bed.

As soon as I woke up, my mom and Leah were on their way to the hotel! I was so excited! But of course, Leah was so tired and didn't want to have anything to do with me. As we promised her though, we made our way toward Baker street. We found this little pub on a side street to have lunch. It was nothing special but I did finally have a salad (I hadn't had one in so long!).

We then walked to 221B Baker street to meet Leah's good friends Sherlock Holmes and James Watson. The museum was cute but it was tiny. If you are like me and don't know that much about Sherlock Holmes, you could easily visit the museum in thirty minutes. It was cute though. They decorated it as if Sherlock Holmes and James Watson really lived there.

After the museum, Leah was really tired so she and my mom headed back to the hotel while my dad, Ben, and I headed to the Churchill Museum and War rooms. On our way there we passed by the Prime Minister's grand residence, which is across from Parliament. That area of London is really pretty, especially in the fall. I could have just walked around that area the rest of the day but we were determined to go to the war rooms and the Churchill museum.

The war rooms were amazing. I felt transported back in time to  the 1940's. The underground safe haven was so erie. England wanted to protect their Prime Minister and defense team and thus stuck them underground. It would have been so scary to be under constant threat of attack. The thought of having to go underground in a crampt space to protect you from a weapon you probably couldn't really have been protected against would have been so scary! Anyway the war rooms were definitely amazing. The museum also had a Churchill exhibit. It was kind of hard to navigate but it was very informative. My favorite part were Churchill's cute love letters to his wife.

By the time we reached above ground again, it was dark outside. We rushed back to the hotel to change and immediately left to see Our Boys, a play about a war hospital during the Falkland War. The play had an amazing cast that included Jonathan Lewis (Neville Longbottom), Arthur Darville (Rory on Doctor Who), Laurence Fox, Cian Barry, Jolyon Coy, and Lewis Reeves. The actors were phenomenal and the story was funny but heartfelt.

Matthew Lewis! 

Cian Barry

Arthur Darville

After the play we waited by the stage door to meet the cast. For any of you who have ever done this on Broadway in New York, it is a completely different progress. In New York, the littlest character is surrounded by a burly security guard. Furthermore, you are cut off from the cast by an metal fence. It is not the same here. We met Jonathan Lewis without any barriers. He was really down to earth and acted a little bit like Neville. We asked him for a picture and he said "yeah, sure". He didn't act above us at all. I wanted to say something clever to him but, of course, at the time I couldn't think of anything! I could have said "Neville is my doppleganger self" or "I love you" or something but instead I just said thanks. Although my sister is the biggest Harry Potter fan in the world, she was dying to get a picture with Arthur Darville. He was a little different than Lewis. There was a girl in front of us that was practically crying over getting a picture with "Rory". He heard this and said "Now, now, you know its not real". Even though it's obvious, I would have been so sad to hear that my favorite character in a TV series wasn't real. When we finally made our way up to him, his phone started ringing. While still signing autographs, he looked at his phone to see who was calling and shut it off. I bet that it was his mom :). Leah told him that our cousin was his biggest fan and he wittingly replied, "Tell your cousin I am her biggest fan". We also met Cian Barry, who arguably played the main character. I asked him if he was really from Northern Ireland and he said that he wasn't. I made him smile by telling him that I have a Northern Irish flatmate that he sounded exactly like. He was so sweet.

After the show we had dinner at Medditerranean food place. It was nice to finally have a family dinner that I hadn't had for the past two months. After dinner we hurried back to our hotel to go to the land of Harry Potter, ie. Edinburgh, the next morning.

The 44th President of the United States

Note: This was supposed to be after Ireland

The Obama logo

The next night was election night. I was nervous-excited about the election that I told myself that I was going to stay up. I painted my nails Obama-ly and went with Liz, Katy, and Lauren to an American watching party for the election. I had been nervous all day. It’s not that I was vehemently against Mitt Romney running the United States, I would just rather Obama run my  country. The party was good. A lot of the group was from the East Coast, although there were people from California, Portland, and Georgia. The party was liberal leaning, as there was only one Republican. About twenty of us watched ABC news reports on an apple laptop (typical college life). We had hotdogs, chips, mac and cheese, apple pie, and cookie pie. The DU group and I left about 2 in the morning. When I left, Romney was winning.

When I got back to my flat, Lauren and I talked about politics for about 30 minutes. It was an enlightening conversation. We talked about how many politicians today seem to want bipartisanship, yet no one upholds it. Many people are one-sided and don’t respect people who have different ideas than them. As I’ve said before, although I am very one way, I am open to all ideas. I hold my values steadfast, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like people who don’t agree with me. Passion is a blessing but it can also cause destruction.

To calm my anxious self down, I watched an old Colbert Report. I set my alarm for 5 to see if I should smile or cry. My phone went off around 5 and I logged onto my computer to see who won. I was able to smile. Then I realized that it wasn’t my alarm that went off, but someone had called me., my mom. I called back and my mom told me that my sister wanted my mom to tell me that Obama had won. I thought that was so cute. I remember how thrilled my sister was when Obama was elected the first time. It was adorable, I started to tear up.

The next day, I received a care package from my Mom. It had my new bank card, an Obama t-shirt, Obama pins, and an ipod nano my dad had won at an auction. It was so sweet. I wore my Obama shirt the rest of the week.

Not my picture but it is so sweet

The weekend was pretty slow compared to the previous weekend. Sunday was Remembrance Day, for all the soldiers that have fallen in battle in Great Britain. It was so comforting to be in church that day and publicly recognize those two moments of silence. The light was shining through the stained glass, and I felt so touched. Even though Remembrance Day started after World War I, I believe the previous soldiers were just as remembered as the current soldiers. 

PS. Maria, I made your rice! It wasn't as good as yours but it was enough to remind me of home :D

Happy Slapsgiving

Since my parents were coming to visit me over actual Thanksgiving, I had an early Thanksgiving party with my flat the Thursday before Thanksgiving (This sentence has to many "Thanksgivings" in it). I never noticed how much effort it took to shop for dinner. I mean, I knew what an effort it was to make Thanksgiving dinner but I mean shopping. Really? Anyway I travelled from store to store but found green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, squash, things to make pecan pie with, and turkey. The turkey was 16 pounds (so expensive) but it was worth it.

Thursday evening, around four, I  started cooking the meal. Ivan helped make the stuffing, Julie baked the pecan pie, Bryony brought a vegetable dish, I monitored the turkey, and Cal helped with the decorations. I tried to show him how to draw a hand turkey but I don't know if it makes the same impression it makes on a 5 year old. Cal is so crafty though and the decorations were great. We made a paper chain and wrote down everything we were thankful for. Everyone asked me why we were doing this and I told them, "It's Thanksgiving, that's why!"

 

So Ivan, Bryony, Julie, Julie's friends, Cal, Calum, Alicia, Reece, John, Bram, Gordon, Stewart, Sorcha, and I had Thanksgiving dinner. It was so fun. We went around the table and said what we were thankful for again. My friends from outside the United Kingdom were so happy to experience Thanksgiving. Since I was the only American, they were only able to experience my kind of Thanksgiving. I never realized how many different Thanksgiving traditions different families have. Mine usually entails me watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade or going on the Turkey Trot, helping my mom with food, getting ready, going to my grandparent's house or having them come over to ours, eating dinner, playing football or playing a board game, or walking Marley, and then watching some Christmas episodes. But other people have different things they do on Thanksgiving. Oh, and I have to have pecan pie, especially Mamaw's pecan pie.

So after dinner, the people that didn't cook cleaned up while we all played touch football. Bram, John, Reece, and Gordon were on one team, and Alicia, Cal, Calum, and I were on another team. Surprisingly, Gordon knew a lot about American football and there team were the Packers. My team weren't the most confident sports team so we were named the "Cuddly Cowboys" (after the Dallas Cowboys). Although we had the most spirit, my team did not score a single touchdown. Even after we switched around the teams a little bit because the Cuddly Cowboys were so horrible, my new team didn't score a touchdown! It was ironic that the only American playing football was so horrible! At the end I was able to score and "honorary" touchdown. But everyone was done with football because they wanted to watch Love Actually.

Just had to include my favorite scene, and for that matter one of the best scenes of any movie

We watched Love Actually, because every American knows that Thanksgiving signals Christmas :D. We transformed our kitchen into a movie theater. We brought in our big sofa chairs and sat in rows around the computer. Most of everyone had seen the movie and were dying to watch it. It was one of my most memorable moments of the semester. Although the Thanksgiving party ended early, I had to rush to bed in order to catch my train to London to meet up with my family!

It was a really memorable Thanksgiving. It was hard to be away from home because of my love of traditions. Although I was in a train during actual Thanksgiving, my make-shift Thanksgiving was one of my best Thanksgivings ever. I missed my family so much but while I have been here, my flat has become my home away from home, my new family.

"Take her to sea Mr. Murdoch"

Lauren and I left on the last flight from the Prestwick Airport to Dublin! We left for the airport around 4ish. We took the subway to the train station to catch the train to Prestwick. We hurried on the train but we made it. It was an easy train ride that only took about 45 minutes. We were actually really early for our plane (because Lauren thought it left at 8) but we took our time and had a nice dinner (I actually had the Chile Con Carne :D).

The flight was ok but there was a lot of turbulence (I think because we were flying over the sea). We landed early and went smoothly through customs. We thought about taking the bus to our hotel but it would take about an hour and half as opposed to about twenty minutes so we took a cab. Our cab driver was very nice and told us all about Dublin. He told us to go visit the old prison and told us about all the writers that were from the area. When we told him that we were going to Belfast for a day he said "Ew, why would you want to go there?" I had to remember that Dublin and Southern Ireland is a separate country from Northern Ireland and is not part of the United Kingdom.

Lauren and I splurged a little bit, because it was only the two of us traveling, and we stayed at a hotel. It was not too expensive because we split the price. It was a cute little inn. It had a bar, a dinning room, cable tv, and wifi! It was a nice change from University accomodation.

Our first day in Dublin, Lauren and I took the train to Belfast so we could go to the Titanic museum. The train was a little long but the sights were beautiful. It looked a lot like Great Britain. As soon as we got off the train, we went to find food. We happened upon St. Georges market.  It was a cute indoor market with everything you could imagine. We had really good Greek food.

Cool Lampost 

Awesome View

We made our way along the Titanic walkway to the Titanic Museum. We bought our tickets for 3:00 so we had time to spare. We decided to take a cab to Belfast Castle. I thought the castle would be magnificent but it was a tiny little castle. There was a little exhibit on Belfast but it was not castle worthy. After the castle, we hiked a little ways up a trail and got a great view of Belfast. There were apparently some ancient ruins at the top, but unfortunately we didn't have time. We were headed to sea!

The architecture at the Titanic Museum is a work of art. It looked as if it was made of steel and had a creative shape. Lauren and I arrived ahead of our time slot, so we explored the giftshop and got a snack. It might just be me, but it was amazing to me that there was a gift shop. It seemed to me as they were glorifying the sinking of the Titanic. It just was ironic that they were selling white star line merchandise (the cruiser line of the Titanic) when millions of people died on that cruiser.

The museum was fun though. The first exhibit was about life in Belfast in the early 1900s. I learned that Belfast was a merchant/ shipping city. Therefore, it was appropriate that the Titanic was built in Belfast Harbor. The next was on the making of the Titanic. Lauren and I always happen upon rides, so of course their was a slow ride on how make a massive ship. The shipbuilders worked in dark and deep spaces, and the chance of dying while working was high. Riveting was a horrible process of inserting the bolts into the ship. From World War II's propoganda, I had a glorified view of Rosie the Riverter and believed that they had it easy and were doing their tiny part to help in the war. Now I know that riviting is probably the hardest job ever and I don't know if I could have done it. They also highlighted the first sail of the Titanic from Belfast to South Hampton (Were the interior was created and were it would take on passengers). During this event in history,  a man died from a log falling on him when they let it out of the harbor. It was very sad and ominous.

The next exhibit was my favorite. It showed you what the Titanic was like for passengers. First, you got a first hand look at what first class accomodation would have been like. The recreated room looked just like Rose's room in the Titanic. Next was second class accomodation. My family would have probably stayed there. It was similar to first class, but I don't think the room had its own toilet and sink. Lastly there was third class. These were cheap rooms had bunkbeds and very little else. It reminded me of the hostels and accomodation I have stayed in. However, boys and girls had their own quarters and could not mix.

Nearer my God to Thee

Next, they showed us the sinking of the Titanic. It was a very dark gallery. Afterword, they showed us all the propaganda and the news reports from the sinking. Like today, many newspapers started printing things before they were given the proper facts. What I found most interesting though, was that some characters in the movie existed in real life. Coming from Denver I already knew that "The Unsinkable" Molly Brown was a real woman. However, so was Captain Smith, Thomas Andrews, Bruce Ismay, John JacobAstor, Benjamin Guugenheim, the Straus', and the conductor, and the officer that shot himself. I think James Cameron scripted these characters very well. He definitely did his research.

Kate, Leo, and I...Well kindof :D

The last two exhibits explored  the sea exploration that found the Titanic's remains and showed the Titanic in popular media. Of course they had a big display of the 1997 movie, fully equipped with the actor's costumes! Although the museum could have gone into greater depth, it was still amazing. I am so glad we went.

The actual Temple Bar

After the museum, we headed back Dublin. However, we got to see the arena where Belfast's hockey team plays. I almost cried. I know my beloved Stars aren't playing this year, but I still miss my sport. It was so cool to see the ice again! Anyway, when we got back to Dublin, we went to Temple Bar, which was basically a row of pubs and bars. We grabbed dinner at one pub, got cocktails (I had a sex on the beach :D), and then went to an Irish pub. Because we went straight from the train station, I had on comfy clothes, my rain jacket, and my backpack. This dodgey married guy came up to Lauren and I and started flirting with us. He told us to relax and to dance. It was funny now that I look back on it, but he was so weird! We had one drink and headed back to the hotel.

The next morning we checked out of the hotel and went to go find breakfast. Never go out on Sunday to find breakfast in Dublin. Nothing's open! After walking for about thirty minutes, we found a breakfast place and had a good brunch. Then we did some sight seeing.

I spy Oscar Wilde

St. Patrick Cathedral

My Perfect Pint!

So erie

First we went to the Jameson Whiskey distillery. We were shown a short film of the old distillery and then taken on a tour. At the end we tried some Jameson (mine was mixed with gingerale). It was good but I am not really a whiskey person. However, whiskey and gingerale I can do. Next we got on a hop on hop off tour and saw the sights of Dublin. First, we stopped at St. Patrick's Episcopal Cathedral. It was really big and pretty. Next we drove past the Oscar Wilde monument, saw James Joyce's house, saw a famous hotel where Grace Kelly stayed, and saw where the author of Dracula got married. So much literature! Of course we made our way to the Guiness factory. Unlike the Jameson distillery, there were no guided tours. However, we were able to try it and we learned how to pour our own pint. Let's just say, I started to feel all the alcohol and got a little tipsy. It was fun though. We attempted to see Kilmainham Jail (the old jail) but did not have time. We did get to see the big jail room and it reminded me of Mr. Bates on Downton Abbey and the insane asylum in American Horror Story. It was really amazing.

Lauren and I caught the bus back to the airport. For a Sunday night, the Dublin Airport was so busy. We made it through security but had to go to the gate because of stupid Ryan Air's policies. We were able to get dinner though. When we arrived back at Prestwick, we ran into Lauren's friends and took the train back with them. Unfortunately, the train line was having work done to it, so we had to get off the train, take a bus to another train station, wait at the train station until they realized that that the train was coming late, and take a bus to Glasgow Central. It was ridiculous but we managed. It was a funny ending to a great trip.

"Double, Double, Toil and Trouble"

The next week was Halloween. My sorority sisters Aspen (studying abroad in Rome) and Kaye (studying abroad in Brussels) came to visit along with other DU people. Aspen and her friends, Julie and Cheyenne, came in the morning. A couple DU friends and I had lunch with them at our favorite crepe place, but then I had to go back to school. Later that evening, we went to Katy's flat for taco night and to carve pumpkins. It was fun but I cannot carve a pumpkin to save my life. I tried to be creative so I carved ghosts with "Happy Halloween" on my pumpkin. I thought I was being crafty but no one could guess what image I had carved.

My wimpy pumpkin cannot compare to Lauren's Scotland one

Aspen and Julie stayed with me. The first night we played monopoly with my flatmates. Cal, who is super crafty, had made a monopoly board. It was really cool. All the chance cards and spaces on the board have to do with our flat and the University of Glasgow. It took him 5 hours! Although I do not have a good strategy for monopoly, it was still fun.

The next day was Halloween! Last Halloween I was sick, so I was ready to "live it up", even though I had a presentation due the next day. Lauren R., Lauren H., Katy, Kate, Cheyenne, Aspen, Julie, Kaye, and I got ready in Lauren H.'s flat. Aspen did my make up and Lauren R. did my hair. Everyone had great costumes. Lauren R. was a cat, Lauren H. was the Statue of Liberty, Katy was a giraffe, Kate was a day of the dead skeleton, Cheyenne was a zombie hipster, Aspen was a witch, Julie was a french person, Kaye was Sherlock Holmes, and I, of course, was Leslie Knope. Katy did most of the makeup and it looked amazing!

Sorority Squat!

All the Laurens!

Best Group of DU friends abroad (and Kate)  a girl could ask for

In character

After taking lots of pictures, we headed to the QMU. It was so crowded! The decorations were fun though (I've never been to a Halloween party so I guess I am not a good judge). The DJ was ok. He played Halloween music, like "Ghostbusters", but he also played 90's stuff, like Blink-182 (which is ok if everyone knows the song). Aspen, Julie and I got separated from our group (again it was so crowded!) but we found my flat and danced with them the whole night. We headed back pretty early but it was a good night.

What the Halloween Party Reminded me of

Aspen, Cheyenne, and Julie left early the next morning. The flat was so quiet without them :(! But Kaye stayed until Friday so it was ok. On Thursday Kaye, Lauren, and I watched Criminal minds. I had seen the show but I wasn't a big fan. My friends (Angela and Shar :D) were obsessed freshman year). The show is actually pretty good. It's kind of reminds me of Law & Order. It was a fun night but I had to cut it short because the next day, I was off to Ireland :D!

"Carry on my Wayward Son": An Ode to Supernatural

This post is dedicated to Leah Rosenthal. You are the Dean to my Sam

The next day, I was finally able to skype Clair. I was so excited to skype my best friend (minus Jackson)! Even though we don’t go to the same school anymore, we text each other almost daily. Sadly, I am in the UK and the international cell phone rates aren’t exactly cheap. So it was so good to talk to her. But why am I narrating this part of my life with you? Well Clair’s boyfriend, Brennen, studied in Edinburgh this summer for about a month. Ever since I’ve known Brennen, we have this running joke that we disagree on everything. So the fact that we both pledge allegiance to different Scottish cities is nothing new. But he told me that Glasgow was to industrial and not very pretty while Edinburgh was more touristy and had a better landscape. So in true Barney Stinson fashion, I took that as a challenge to find the idyllic parts of my city. I did not have to go too far.

I took these pictures on my walk back from my education lecture. Unlike usual, the sky was not overcast and leaves were falling. It was picture perfect!

On Saturday, my friend Lauren and I headed out to Edinburgh on the Megabus. Although it was early in the morning and I had stayed up pretty late the night before, Lauren and I talked all the way there! As soon as we got to Edinburgh we stopped at this cute pub right by St. Giles Cathedral. One of the waitresses looked familiar and later I figured out why. Remember when my mom and I went to Arthur’s seat? Well we ran into a mother and daughter from South Africa who told us all of the cool things to do in Edinburgh. The daughter told us that, if we were eating dinner in Edinburgh we should grab dinner at her pub… near a touristy church. We didn’t eat there that night because we went to St. Andrews but its so weird that I would end up eating there eventually. When I first met her, I was this helpless tourist that had no idea what Scotland had to offer me and by the time I saw her again, I was aquainted with and living in Scotland. It was so weird!

St. Giles Cathedral

After lunch, we were supposed to meet our friends that stayed with a friend who lives in the Borders. However, they told us that they hadn’t even left yet. So Lauren and I decided to walk around and see what we could find. And we happened on “The Scottish Whisky Experience”. It was insane. They had a huge gift shop filled with different types of whiskey. If you bought a 10 pound student ticket, you could go on the whiskey experience tour. It reminded me so much of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. First, you got on this ride that took you through the whiskey process. The seat was in a shape of a barrel and they had projections of an Einstein looking guy describing how whiskey was made. I was just waiting for Gene Wilder to pop out of a barrel and start singing about the factory. After the ride was done, we were brought into a room and given an educational whiskey talk. Now I know that Scottish whiskey tastes different wherever it is harvested. We were also given a sample of whichever kind of whiskey we’d like to try. I tried the lowland whiskey, because it supposedly has a flowery taste. I found out that I don’t like whiskey, but the experience is something that I will never forget.

 

I couldn't help myself. This is how I feel about whiskey :D

 Next we went exploring through the city. We got a picture with “William Wallace”, went to the Tartan museum (it wasn’t really a museum, it was just the place where they made tartan), and then went to get a snack a cute coffee shop. By the time we were done with our snacks, it was time to meet the rest of our friends at the hostel.

            The hostel was fine but I had never stayed in one before. It’s kind of a weird concept of sleeping in a room filled with people you don’t know. But we were a party of six, which made things better. My friends were all hungry when they got there, so we ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant by the Haymarket train station. The food tasted good, but it was pricey and they did not have good service. But food for me didn’t matter. I was too excited to go on our ghost tour!

            Our ghost tour met at St. Giles Cathedral, near where we ate lunch earlier that day. The weather was cold and rainy, perfect for a ghost tour. First we went to the underground part of Scotland, where the lesser off would sometimes hide and even live. It was humid and cramped in the caves, but I didn’t feel any supernatural beings. I did get pretty frightened though. Then we went to a graveyard where a suspected poltergeist is. I didn’t feel anything there either. However, the tour company did have someone jump out at us while we were in a tomb and I almost wet myself. I crouched down into a little ball and tried to shield myself from whatever entity jumped out at us. Thank God no one was mad at me for my crazy reaction. The tour ended by telling us the story about Greyfriars Bobby. The story goes when his master died, the dog was so loyal that he stayed by his grave until he died. It was the sweetest story and a comforting way to end our horrifying tour.

After the tour we headed back to our hostel and went to bed. I’ve decided that I probably wouldn’t have minded the hostel if my university rented it out but I don’t think hostels our for me. I don’t want to sound to “posh”. It’s just that every time someone moved, all the bunk beds would move and squeak too. The restrooms were also coed and it wasn’t very pleasant. But it was fine for our group and the time we spent there.

The next morning we got up and went to breakfast (because breakfast was not included in our hostel!) We spent the rest of our time in Edinburgh souvenir shopping and going to Edinburgh Castle. It was a pretty relaxed morning. Then Lauren and I had to leave early to catch our bus. We made it back to Glasgow safe and sound.