March 23, 2012

Arthur's Seat

                So a veeeery bright and early morning with only about an hour and a half sleep for all of us.  But, we rallied and set off in high spirits.  There was a thick fog covering the mountain and we could only see about three feet in front of us and it was still pretty early and dark.  We had printed out directions at the hotel, but nothing was marked and there weren’t signs anywhere telling us which trail to take.  We took the first trail we found that looked like it would lead us straight to the top.  It was basically a vertical climb and we honestly had to stop every two minutes to catch our breath.  That’s when I started thinking maybe we should have kept walking around the base of the mountain to try to find an easier hike.  But we kept pressing forward until the path started to decline.  We wondered if we had taken the wrong path or if we had to take a different path along the way.  We found a small sign with a terrible map and tried to map out our way to get to Arthur’s Seat.  We hiked all over, climbing up mountains and scaling hills for a good hour until we got to the top of a very high mountain.  We decided to pull our losses and decreed that this was Arthur’s Seat. 

This is all we could basically see the whole morning.

                Our original plan had been to leave early enough to catch the sun rise atop Arthur’s Seat but the fog basically ruined that.  The fog masked Edinburgh and the sunrise.  We sat on top of the mountain, watching the city and waiting for those few moments when the fog would temporarily clear over the city. 

A nice view of Edinburgh

When the fog cleared

We were soaking wet from the fog and finally decided to head back.  On the way down the mountain I spotted a wallet and passport laying a ways off from the trail.  It belonged to a British girl and was dripping wet from being out in the fog.  I took it to a police station on the way back and really hoped that the girl who lost it wasn’t lying dead somewhere on the mountain after having dropped her wallet and passport.  Also, why would she have her passport with her hiking Arthur’s Seat?  She was born in Edinburgh, so she wouldn’t need to have it with her on a normal day.  Luckily I just got a letter from the Edinburgh Police Department that the wallet and passport has been “claimed by the loser”.  Well, I’m glad to help out a fellow “loser”.

We spent the rest of the day around Edinburgh doing some souvenir shopping.  I got a great little silver Celtic necklace and then it was…back on the glorious bus.  

During our souvenir shopping we took a picture next to the
Ghost Tour sign.  We were too frightened to do it the previous night.

Four hours later we were at Fountain’s Abbey, founded by Benedictine monks and now basically in ruins.  We only had one hour to explore the abbey because we had hit bad traffic.  So we quickly ran through the ruined abbey and through part of the extensive grounds.  I would have loved to have seen more, because the brochure I picked up described some great gardens, but we had a dumb old schedule to stick to and after an hour it was back on the stupid bus.  I’m never getting on another bus again after this trip.  Never.

Chillin in an ancient fountain

A short hour later we were in York and were set free to explore and go get dinner.  It was my friend Becca’s Birthday so we went to O’Neils, an Irish pub I’ve gone to in Wales and England, to celebrate.  It was a much needed break from that dreary old bus.  Dinner was great and the company was even better.

Becca's (second over on the left) 20th Birthday

March 22, 2012

Scotland :)

         Onto Scotland!  Our first stop (after a splendid 3-hour bus ride of course) was New Lanark, a cotton mill village that was founded in 1785, founded by Robert Owen.  It was built during the Industrial Era and Owens wanted to create a new kind of village and mill that provided decent homes, fair wages, free health care, and an education system for villagers.  It was an interesting little town and had a few gems in it that included a replica of working cotton machinery and the “Annie McLeod Experience.”  The cotton machinery was awesome to see, it was huge and you could tell how amazing it must have been when it was first introduced into factories.  It spun hundreds of yards wool quickly simultaneously.  It obviously brought huge changes to life and efficiency.  And yes Mom, I was thinking about North and South the entire time and wishing you were there to see it with me.  I’ve seen hell, and it’s white.  It’s snow white.  

New Lanark

                Ahhhhh…the “Annie McLeod Experience.”  Best.  Thing.  Ever.  Basically it was a short ride (yes, ride) that took you through the life of a factory worker, Annie McLeod.  Two people could sit in small seats (like in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland) that propelled you slowly through a series of rooms that had wax figures acting out factory life and Annie narrated.  It was fantastic.  Here’s the description of the ride:

“We are the past…but we are part of the future too….remember us remember us…”

Enter the spirit world of New Lanark and travel back in time on this exciting dark ride.  Be taken on a mesmerizing journey of discovery by the ghost of mill girl Annie McLeod who magically appears and tells her story of life in New Lanark in 1820.

The Annie McLeod Experience!!

If that doesn’t make you want to hop on a plane and fly to New Lanark then you don’t know the meaning of fun.  It was the most thrilling, 1 mph ride I’ve ever been on.  And that’s saying something.  Sadly, the professors said they probably would skip New Lanark with the next group of students.  I guess they just couldn’t handle the intense Annie McLeod Experience.  Shame really.

Cotton being made

Look at how much it's making!  Soooo much and so fast!

                 So back on our beloved bus (this driver was a heavily tattooed British smoker who sold water for 50p.  Our bus was built for people who have legs that are 1 foot long (it would be very roomy for people with stumps for legs).  The bus included a creepy, tiny toilet in the middle of the bus.  Most of us refused to use this disgusting porta-potty and judged any weaker girls who succumbed to the temptations of a smelly, hot, portable bus toilet).  An hour later we were in Edinburgh and our first stop was at Edinburgh Castle.  We only had one hour to explore the castle (which is not enough at all to explore a huge castle and the grounds surrounding it), so we basically walked through a couple rooms and took lots of pictures on the cannons.  A successful castle trip.

Castle time

So apparently they had British red police boxes back in castle times too...?

A palace bagpiper

                Then we were off on our own for the rest of the day (with places we were assigned to see of course on our own time).  We stopped off at the Scottish Parliament (just saw the outside of it.  Boring), The Palace of Holyroadhouse (where the royal family stays when they’re in Edinburgh), the Sir Walter Scott Monument, Capitol Hill, the Royal Mile, and other dull sites.  

                Best moment of the day was definitely when we stumbled upon a traditional Scottish band who were playing in a little area outside a museum that looked like the Parthenon.  I’m not sure exactly what they were doing, because there was a red carpet rolled out in front of them, lit torches, and a man furiously snapping away with a professional camera.   Band pictures maybe?  Two members were very large (one shirtless, one in a tasteful cutoff tee), playing drums.  They’d wave their arms around and bang on the drums, making their fat jiggle.  I tried including a video I took, but I couldn't get it to load....but trust me, it was AMAZING!

Best. Moment. Ever.

                Then dinner where I couldn’t get my burger until I said that I didn’t want any tomaaahhhtoes (instead of “tomatoes” like I had been saying).  After that we went on an “Underground Tour of Scotland” where a tour guide, dressed in a creepy cape, took us around Scotland telling us creepy stories from the past and then took us into some dungeons.  It was actually a very disturbing experience and we all wish we’d never gone.

                But then we made “fun” plans to wake up at 4:30 AM the next morning to hike up Arthur’s Seat and catch the sunrise.  So around 3 AM we finally went to bed, the promise of a nice and early jaunt in our heads.

March 21, 2012

A day out in beautiful nature!  We escaped the more scholarly interests of the previous day to explore the countryside.  We took a beautiful walk outside of the town that led us to millions of sheep and beautiful views.  Really, sheep enthusiasts or weirdoes with a sheep-fetish (I’m sure there are some out there) should move to the Lake District.  Along the way we stopped at a waterfall with a tiny little shack built at the base of the waterfall.  It was built by people from Wordsworth’s time who felt that the best way to experience nature was to “frame” it.  Inside the shack was a huge paned window that literally “framed” the waterfall.  A very interesting idea.  Some people from the group felt that by trying to frame the waterfall they were actually spoiling the natural beauty with a man-made building.  But I liked the idea and thought it was an interesting addition to the view.

SHEEP

The waterfall and the shack

Framing the waterfall

I have NO idea what this thing was...

Heading over to the waterfall

At the base of the waterfall

                Along the walk we stopped at a beautifully manicured mansion, another house Wordsworth lived in for a while, the church he attended, and his grave.  It was a relaxing jaunt about the countryside and just what we needed after a previous day of stressing out our eyes trying to read chicken scratch.  Oh, and in England (and especially in the Lake District) daffodils grow like, well, wildflowers.  They are EVERYWHERE.  Luckily they are really beautiful flowers and you see yellow everywhere you turn and in the corner of your eyes.

At the mansion

At Wordsworth's other house

Wordsworth's church

"BEWARE OF THE CHICKENS"
I don't need to be told twice

Wordsworth's grave (with his wife and daughter)

                We then took a short bus ride to Beatrix Potter’s country home.  Beatrix Potter was well recognized in her day and was wealthy enough to own several houses that she could escape to to write her books.  Her house was adorable and had her drawings all over the place.  It looked exactly like one of the cottages out of her books.  Her gardens, however, did not look like they had inspired her books.  That was probably because it was winter and everything was dead though.  So, understandable I guess. 

Beatrix's (dead) garden

Beatrix's house

Beatrix's rabbit

                 Then it was back to the countryside and another walk.  But this one was more of a hike.  It started off leading us up almost vertical stairs up the side of a mountain.  Then it plateaued off for a bit and slowly increased the incline.  Some girls decided to end the hike about halfway up the mountain, but not me.  My friends and I literally climbed to the top of a mountain.  It was just about the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done.  The mountain was semi-muddy from rain and there wasn’t a real path for us to follow.  It was rocky in some parts and steep the whole way up.  To make it even scarier, there were random sheep really close to us all the way up.  I was so exhausted from climbing that if one of those sheep had decided to attack me I would have been helpless and he would have found an easy meal.  

Taking a quick break halfway up the mountain

You can barely make out my friends making their way up

Luckily we made it to the top in one piece and were rewarded with a clear view of the entire town.  It was pretty chilly up at the top, with the wind blowing and being about 2 light-years away from where we had started our hike.  Getting back down luckily wasn’t bad at all – it was just a matter of knowing which mud patches to slide down in and which demon sheep to keep clear of.  You never know when one of those things is going to charge you.  What I really wanted was to sneak up on one, latch onto its back, and ride it all the way down the mountain.  But those sheep were too smart and starting backing up when they saw me approaching wearing a cowboy hat and swinging a lasso around.  Sheep aren't as dumb as they look.

At the very top!  It doesn't look like it's super high up, but trust me,
it was.

View from the top

See how close we were to the sheep?  Scary.