Isle of Skye

This weekend I went on a trip to the Isle of Skye with a group from the International Student Centre, including four girls from Queen's University.

On Friday night we left Edinburgh and drove about 4 hours to Inverness, the capital of the highlands. I have to admit I was expecting Inverness to be much more remote but it was a proper city. The hostel we stayed in was quite nice despite our room being freezing and the outside looking like a prison. The bathrooms were right across the hall and we never had to wait in line to use them. Not bad in my opinion!

Saturday morning we woke up early and had continental breakfast before boarding the bus and heading off along Loch Ness to Skye. We were in the first bus so we were the first to wake up and to leave at 8:30 am. We stopped off at Urquhart Castle and Eilean Donan Castle for photo opportunities and to try to spot Nessie. No luck though! We crossed the bridge to Skye then and spent the afternoon touring the Trotternish Peninsula stopping at Kilt Rock, Fairy Falls and the Old Man of Storr. 

Eilean Donan Castle

Kilt Rock

We stopped for lunch in Portree, Isle of Skye - a cute little town with colourful painted houses. We had a pastry from a bakery there, went in the gift shops and took photos from the harbour.

That night we stayed in a B&B called Saucy Mary's on the Isle of Skye.We had dinner in their pub/restaurant which was great after a long day on the bus. Quite a few of us had Fish and Chips, a dish I have learned to love after living in the UK. The pub had a really nice atmosphere and it felt good to be off the bus and to relax. The next morning we had cooked breakfast from the restaurant and then set off for another day of sight seeing!

Our second day took us away from the Isle of Skye and through the Great Glen past Ben Nevis and Glencoe.We stopped at Glencoe for a short walk where we managed to fit the whole group on a wooden bridge for a photo. The ground was very wet and muddy and everyone's feet got thoroughly soaked, including mine in my running shoes.

Snow!

Glencoe

Glencoe

We made an impromptu stop at the side of the road to photograph the snowy mountains. It was so exciting to see snow after not really having any all winter in Edinburgh. I'm sure snow is no novelty for my friends and family in Canada at the moment! A few people in the group decided to take photos while standing on the road and got a tongue-lashing from the tour guide/driver.

The tour guides during the trip really helped to make the bus rides more fun. They taught us Scottish history, folklore and told us anecdotes and bad jokes from their own lives. The long drives would definitely have been a lot more boring and monotonous without them. On our trip we saw the Fairy Falls where you can make a wish to the fairies if you take the water from the falls and spit it onto a nearby rock. We also learned about kelpies, supernatural horses that lure people and drag them into the lochs to die.

Our final stop was in Stirling to see the site of the Battle of Stirling Bridge and the Wallace Monument. After that it was a short one hour drive back to Edinburgh. It was such a good trip and I'm really glad I went. It was great to see the highlands after hearing so much about them. The scenery was fantastic and I was so amazed that it could be so different and yet not very far from the city. 

Uncle Keith's Visit

Last weekend my Uncle Keith came to visit me in Edinburgh from Somerset. We met up on Saturday afternoon at Waverley station and had coffee and a catch up in the Costa there. We decided to walk up Calton Hill and look at the monuments and see the views over the city. Afterwards we walked along the Royal Mile. We tried to go inside St. Giles' Cathedral (mostly for the toilets) but it was closed. We went inside Deacon Brodie's Tavern (something from bucket list) and had a pint there. It was St. Paddy's Day weekend and there was a Six Nations game on so it was quite busy with people celebrating. Deacon Brodie was a cabinet-maker who led a double life as a thief but was caught and hung. My tutorial leader for Scottish Literature told us that he built the first gallows in Edinburgh and was hung on the very same ones. We walked up to Edinburgh Castle and looked down over the Grassmarket where we had dinner in an Italian restaurant called Gennaro's where I went with Grandma and Auntie Joanne on their visit. 

The next day we met up outside the Surgeon's Museum and walked down Nicholson Street to Holyrood Park where we managed to scale Arthur's Seat. It was very windy up there but the view was great. We had lunch in a little cafe and then I showed Uncle Keith the University of Edinburgh including the building where I have my lectures and the Student Union. We walked back through the Meadows the way that I walk to and from classes and I showed Uncle Keith my house. I was excited to show him the Golf Tavern where we went for a pint before heading to Greyfriar's Kirkyard. I love the gravestones there because they're so gothic and scary looking but also beautiful. We saw Greyfriar's Bobby's gravestone and the sticks that people leave beside it. We took a photo of Bobby's Bar and the statue of the dog. I felt slightly offended when a man walking past said "It's only a dog!". There's no harm in being a silly tourist every now and again! We had dinner in Mum's Comfort Food that evening and Uncle Keith had haggis, neeps and tatties. I opted for something a bit less Scottish but I was impressed with his choice! 

Unfortunately I did not remember to bring my camera on either day which is why this post has no photos but perhaps I will be able to persuade Uncle Keith to send me his!

Spring!

Spring is officially here in Edinburgh! One day this week it was so sunny that the Meadows was packed with people sitting on the grass and chatting, cycling on the bike paths or playing sports (including quidditch). I was jealous of everyone enjoying the sun, thinking I'd be stuck in tutorial all afternoon but my tutorial leader let us have class in Meadows. After class I went with Joe and Puck to Meadowberry in Bruntsfield to get frozen yoghurt. I got a mix of strawberry and plain with raspberries and chocolate drops as toppings. It was good but not as good as the froyo place I worked last summer! I think the best part of Spring here is the flowers blooming in Bruntsfield Links. They seemed to have popped up overnight in purple, white and yellow. The daffodils are the best.

On the 1st of March I took myself on a little exploration. I went to the Farmer's Market on Castle Terrace which I've been meaning to go to for a while. There were all sorts of local meats, cheeses, jams and homemade cakes and tarts.

View of Edinburgh Castle from Castle Terrace

I wandered through the Grassmarket where there were Morris dancers performing and another set of stalls selling local products. I found a cute little book shop which had a big box of postcards, 5 for a pound or something so I picked up some of those to send to friends. I followed the Morris dancers and the little bells attached to their outfits down to Princes Street where I did a little shopping and then stopped off in a cafe called Affogato where I went with Auntie Valerie and Uncle Adrian when they were visiting. I might have sampled a bit of their gelato! Princes Street Gardens looked great with all the Spring flowers.

Heading to the Grassmarket

Princes Street Gardens

The following Friday Puck, Joe and I went to see Erin perform in the Edinburgh University String Orchestra's Spring Concert. It was really good and amazing to see people my age with such talent and skill. It made me feel bad for not having playing an instrument! They played Adagio & Fugue by Mozart, 'Ich Habe Genug' by Bach and String Quartet No. 8 by Shostakovich. The last one was my favourite as they played really fast and crazy. The singer and flute soloists were great as well.

On Saturday night we went to see Bondax and Karma Kid (basically house music) at Liquid Rooms. It was a great night but was very busy compared to when we saw Breach and Route 94. Also someone stage-dived into my face at one point which hurt a lot!

This Wednesday we went to the pub quiz at the Golf Tavern. We haven't been in a while so it was good to make a return. We did fairly well with a round of musicals which had everyone singing songs from Grease.

Last night Amelia and I went to see another of Erin's concerts. This one was Symphony Orchestra Spring Concert. It was a much bigger performance and was held in Greyfriar's Kirk. The acoustics were great and it was great to see the inside of the church. They performed Wagner's Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde, Canteloube's Chants d'Auvergne and Tchaikovsky's Symphony no. 4. Apparently the singer was a professional and she added facial expressions and gestures to her singing so it was much more of a performance.

I'm feeling the school stress a bit at the moment as I have a Scottish Literature essay due on Wednesday and my final report for my group project assignment due on Thursday. The Scottish Literature essay is done now but it was about how Scottish writers draw on popular and vernacular culture to establish Scottish literary identity. The final report for my group project has me stumped with the stats and data analysis but hopefully I'll get it all sorted before Thursday. The good news is that after that's in I don't have any other assignments until exams in May. I got my exam schedule yesterday and I have exams on April 28th, 30th and May 9th. Considering my flight back to Atlanta is on May 30th it looks like I'll have a lot of free time (about 3 weeks!) after finishing school to hang out in Edinburgh/the UK before going back to Canada.

Uncle Keith is visiting me this weekend and should be arriving soon so I'd better get going!