Lindsay Goes to Edinburgh!

Whisky Trip to Islay!

2010-04-26T04:43:00.000-07:00

With the Water of Life Society I went to Islay, a small island famous for it peaty and smoky whiskies which just happen to be my favourite!

Our first stop before taking the ferry to Islay was the Auchentoshan Distillery. Here we had a tour of the distillery and a dram of whisky. A wonderful way to begin our day and the trip!

Then, after listening to Runrig's "Loch Lomond" we stopped and admired the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond! It was a beautiful day and the loch was crystal blue. Very beautiful!

Before heading over to the ferry, we stopped in a little town called Inverary for lunch. It was a very small but quaint and charming town that had a nice pub where we had a couple of pints. There was even a wedding taking place while we were there, so we got to see lots of men in kilts! ;)

Now for a 2.5 hour long ferry ride... Luckily, for the trip to Islay, the weather was nice and the sea was calm. Thus, with my motion sickness medicine I coped well with the ferry. The sea was beautiful and we entertained ourselves with cards, games and of course whisky! On the trip back to the mainland, however, I was not so fortunate. It was stormy and the sea was rough. Not a pleasant trip :(

When we landed on Islay, we drove to our hostel to settle in for the night. The hostel was great! We had the entire place all to ourselves with a beautiful backyard right on the ocean. Sometimes the beauty of Scotland absolutely amazes me!

The next day, we headed over to the Laphroaig Distillery! Being "Friends of Laphroaig" grants you a plot of land and a free dram of whisky. So of course we all become "Friends", have a dram of whisky and set out to find our individual plots of land. Now to find our land, we had to put on size 12 wellies (because they are exactly a foot long) and measure out step by step where our plots were in relation to the start point. All in all, we had some great laughs and "found" our own square foot of land on Islay itself!

After, we drove over to Islay Ales, Islay's own little brewery! It was a great little brewery, with fabulous ales and a wonderful host who gave us a tour of his brewery (one small room) and free range of the taps and bottles of beer to try!

Given that we were staying on an island, a trip to the beach was imperative. It was a beautiful day but still cold. We had whisky to keep us warm, especially after being splashed with freezing water and swimming in the ocean! But we had a blast!

The next distillery we went to was Ardbeg! We had a wonderful tour of the distillery and even got to taste wash and new spirit straight from the cask! Then, we also has a great selection of whiskies to try from including the newly released Rollercoaster! And all this followed by a superb lunch! Living the good life :)

Now of course we haven't had enough whisky for the day so we head over to the Bruichladdich Distillery for another great tour and a warehouse tasting! We sampled three whiskies from their casks including the Octomore! The world's most heavily peated whisky straight from the cask! Cask strength! Unbelievable! I was in Heaven!

The next day, we visit another distillery: Bunnahabhain! It was the coldest day so far, and we were all a little hungover, but the tour guide was wonderful and of course the whisky was great!

The last distillery of the trip was Bowmore. One of the best distillery tours yet because they let us play in the barley! It was so much fun with great whiskies to taste. A great note to end our fabulous whisky trip on!

Then, we left wonderful Islay and headed back to Edinburgh through a snow storm. A long ending to a great trip!

Cheers!

Another American in Edinburgh!

2010-04-11T02:58:00.000-07:00

For almost two weeks one of my friends from New Mexico, Shay, came to visit me! We had a blast, and were able to fit many adventures in her short visit! First, we went to Glasgow to see Dave Matthews Band! The concert was fabulous, and we were also able to tour around the city center which is much more urban and fashion trendy than Edinburgh. We visited a modern art museum as well, and overall were able to fit in a lot of sightseeing for only staying one night. :)

Now, of course I took Shay to all of the major tourist attractions in Edinburgh, but I don't want to be a repetitive bore… So, the next major adventure was St Patrick's Day in Dublin!!! Dublin is a great city with a happening pub culture and on St Patrick's Day everything was more extravagant and exciting by tenfold! There was a huge street parade with music and floats followed by a enormous party in the temple bar district. Plus, we stayed in a fabulous hotel thanks to Shay's extremely generous parents! I can easily say it was the absolute best St Patrick's Day ever! ;)

And here are some pictures from the Parade and Street Party!

Cheers!

Happy Holidays!!

2010-01-03T08:15:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Years!! This year's holidays were very exciting, and I had a couple of adventures along to way…

First off, my flight to Germany was cancelled from all the snow here in Edinburgh. But after waiting in a queue for three hours, I was able to book the last seat on the last flight to London. Meanwhile, I ran into a friend, Demi, who was also trying to fly out of Edinburgh and on the same flight with me to London. When we arrived in London, we of course had to sort out our flight from London (which weren't until the next morning), but the guy who was helping us totally hooked us up to stay at the HILTON!!! So we got to spend the night in London at the Hilton!! SCORE!! Totally worth the cancellation and delays!

So the next day, I finally arrived in Stuttgart happily greeted by Julia through screams, laughs, hugs and tears!!! It was wonderful to see her and her family again!!! We stayed at her Grandma's house in a little village called Ichenhausen, outside of Ulm. The day I arrived was Christmas eve, so we all exchanged and opened presents after a wonderful German meal…mmmm…. I love German food!! Then, Julia and I headed over to her cousin's flat for drinks to celebrate Christmas!!!

After all our Christmas celebrations and the annual Christmas lunch with Julia's family, Julia toured me around Ulm. In Ulm, we climbed the highest Church tower in the world, called Ulmer Muenster! 768 steps!!! Straight up a spiral staircase… I was getting so dizzy! But we made it to the top and could see a 360 degree view of Ulm! It was outstanding!!

Also in Ulm, Julia and I went out to dinner with her cousins and friends at a restaurant called the Wild Man!! Haha! Then, we went to a German disco that was a blast! It was a crazy night and I just love the way Germans dance!!

The next morning, after we got back at half three in the morning, we had to wake up at 6!!! It was bloody difficult… but totally worth it in the end, as we were headed out for Julia's surprise!! DOG SLEDDING!!! The dogs were so cute and fun! And Julia had a blast on the ride!

After a wonderful Christmas with Julia's family, Julia and I headed over to Munich with her cousin Benedikt. It was sad saying goodbye to Julia's family. :( I had a wonderful time with them and miss them terribly!! But I have to admit… Munich was great! Benedikt took us all over the city and we got to see most of the tourist attractions including the Castle Nymphenburg (which Julia and I decided would be our future home ;)!!!) We had a wonderful Turkish dinner and got to see the BMW museum!!

And here are some pictures of the Castle Nymphenburg!

Then we left fabulous Deutschland and flew to Scotland! It was Julia's first time in Scotland and she fell in love with it as well! We did all the touristy things like Edinburgh Castle, National Gallery, National Museum, Edinburgh Dungeons, Arthur's Seat, and much more! And one night, we were having dinner at a restaurant called the Filling Station that has a map of New Mexico on the menus!!! Check out the pictures!!

And then it was time for Hogmanay!!! The best New Years ever!!! Edinburgh hosts a huge street party with fireworks, bands, lots of booze, and tons of fun, laughing, and belligerent people!!

Then on New Years Day, Julia and I ended our festive celebrations on the Royal Mile, where a huge chandelier was glowing above the street! It was a fabulous holiday and unbelievably fun, and I'm glad I got to spend it with Julia!!!

Happy Holidays to everyone! Miss you!!

First Snow!!!

2009-12-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

I know there's only a light dusting, but the first snow it just so special that I had to share it with all of you!!

Cheers

Christmas is Here!!

2009-12-09T02:40:00.000-08:00

The Christmas season has kicked off with a bang here in Edinburgh! To get into the Christmas spirit, my friends and I went down to Princes Street for the German Christmas Markets and the lighting of the Christmas Tree!!!

The German Christmas Markets are adorable and charming. It was quite cold outside, so we started with mulled wine to warm ourselves up, and then wondered through the booths looking at all the little Christmas trinkets. And of course, all the walking made us hungry, so we had to enjoy some of the amazing German food! As for me, I went straight for the desserts and had apple strudel with cream and black forest cherries! It was divine!

Then, we wondered around the rest of the festivities! Complete with a merry-go-round, a Ferris wheel, an ice skating rink, gigantic snow globes, and much more!!! Absolutely amazing!!

As the time for the Christmas Tree lighting grew near, we headed up to the mound to search for a good spot. It was freezing, but we all endured the blistering wind by singing Christmas carols while we waited for the Christmas lights! And boy was it worth the wait! The gigantic tree light up like magic, and fireworks blasted off as thousands of people shouted and cheered!

And to end the night on a great note, we walked around Georges Street, also gorgeously decorated for Christmas and stepped into the Dome Bar to admire the decorations (which were stellar!!)

Hope everyone is also enjoying the start of the holiday season!

Cheers!

Morning Walk

2009-12-04T03:23:00.000-08:00

To give you all a better idea of my daily life here in Edinburgh, I took some pictures from my morning walk around Arthur's Seat. It was a very wet and dreary day, so I'm sorry for the poor photos! I'll try to catch a sunny day here for better pictures!

The Bonny Green Land of Leprechauns and Guinness!

2009-11-23T04:44:00.000-08:00

For the weekend, I flew to Dublin with seven other friends, for a bargain price of 20 pounds (around $35)!!!!!! I flew out on Friday, the morning after another whisky tasting, so I was a little rough around the edges. But Sam and I didn't fly out until 1 in the afternoon, so we were able to have a nice, slow morning. We walked to the train station and then took a bus to the airport. We met our friends at the airport and then flew to Dublin!! It was the shortest flight, only 45 minutes and we were in the bonny green land of shamrocks, leprechauns and, of course, Guinness!!

Here's a picture of Amanda and I in the taxi to our hostel:

We stayed in a great hostel right in the heart of the Temple Bar district. It was clean (very important when you are sleeping and sharing restrooms with 30 other people). The people were nice and there was great banter in the common rooms.

Pictures of the outside of the hostel:

When we arrived, we were starved so we went to a pub for dinner. I had the best fish and chips ever!! And a Guinness to drink!! After, we walked around the temple bar district looking for pubs to drink and banter. While walking we saw the Molly Malone Statue!! And walked down the most charming street, Grafton Street, decorated with Christmas lights and street performers!

We ended the night at what we call an old-man's pub! My favourite type of pub with great drinks and folk singers!! We sang some of my favourite Irish song such as "Whiskey in the Jar" and "The Wild Rover"!!!! It was a blast!

After a good nights rest, or at least as good as a hostel gets, we started the day in pouring rain. Before Scotland, I would have been put out by the rain, but now rain doesn't even phase me anymore!! Besides, nothing was going to stop me from seeing the Book of Kells!! Thus, our first stop: Trinity College and the Book of Kells!

Trinity College was charming and beautiful! Almost as much as Edinburgh Uni…

Here are some pictures of Trinity:

Inside the library of Trinity College in the famous Book of Kells! The Book of Kells is a historical manuscript, probably created by the monks of Iona during the spread of Christianity in the British Isles and Ireland. It is just so amazing to see how much effort was put into making the book and the details and artistry… I am such a history geek! I loved it!!

After seeing the Book of Kells, we visited the Long Library of Trinity and wow! My dream come true! I love books, especially old books, and this library hall was packed full! The library was incredible! A taste of heaven on earth!!

Then, we ventured back outside into the rain to tour Dublin. We stopped by the river Liffey, which separates the city of Dublin.

Then we walked over to the Dublin Castle. Not quite as grand as Edinburgh Castle ( I may be bias), but still a classic medieval and gothic castle with modern additions. Here are some pictures of the castle (Sam told me to act like a princess)

Next stop was the Christ Church Cathedral, which like every cathedral was outstanding and gorgeous!!

Then, I made Sam walk over to the St. Patrick Cathedral with me! You can't go to Dublin without seeing it!! Unfortunately, due to a graduation ceremony, we were unable to go inside, but the architecture outside was stellar and the courtyard was beautiful.

After, and to truly experience Irish culture, we went to the Guinness Factory!!! The queue was very long, but we managed to get inside and tour the seven floors of the tourist factory! We toured through the process of brewing the draft and even had a gigantic Guinness chocolate cupcake!! Here are some pictures including a map of the factory:

Then, at the top, is the Gravity Bar, where we received our complementary pint of Guinness (complete with a clover on top) and could see a 360 degree view of the city of Dublin!!! :)

After, we walked back to the hostel, and met back up with everyone else for dinner. I had Irish stew and Guinness! Yum!

After bantering for awhile, we walked over to another pub called the Porterhouse. A great pub with four floors, each with their own bars and live Celtic music!! It was so much fun, and a great note to end this fabulous trip!!

I really loved Ireland, but I am Scottish through and through. It was a great trip, but I was happy to come home to Edinburgh!

Slainte!

St Giles' Cathedral

2009-11-16T01:18:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a while... I apologizes, but as you can imagine, as my first semester here in Edinburgh is wrapping up, things have been hectic.

One of the highlights of the last week was visiting St Giles' Cathedral! I have walked passed it many times, as it is placed in the heart of the Royal Mile, and admired its beauty from the outside. But only decided to go inside recently... and wow! The inside is magnificent! Tall Gothic ceilings with intricate stone-carvings, gigantic windows filled with stain-glassed narrations, and a overall connection with the ancient past. I was speechless, and my friend Sam, who has been studying Architecture History, gave my a grand tour of the history of the building. :)

No photography was allowed inside, so I bummed some pictures off the net so you all can see for yourselves!!

In one corridor, the walls were lined with family crests of families who have either contributed to the cathedral or to Scotland. One of the crests, and all you Outlander fans will love this, was from the Frasers of Lovat, complete with their motto, "Je Suis Prest"!! And as I recall, one of Jamie's favourite places in Edinburgh was St Giles' Cathedral and I can clearly see why (even though it would have looked entirely different in the eighteenth century :))

Cheers!

Goodbye Warm Weather :(

2009-11-03T10:39:00.000-08:00

It seems the glorious heatwave here in Edinburgh is over. It has been cold, raining (and I don't mean the little drizzle we've had here lately, but pouring buckets! Water leaking into my room through the windows. Just wonderful) and windy as all get-out!!

Thank god (or Mama rather) for my wonderful supply of Vitamin D! And for my heavy-duty ski jacket, and surplus supply of gloves, hats and scarfs! Winter in finally here! I hope it snows at least once here!!

Hope everyone's enjoy the change of seasons as well! ;)

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T05:54:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a blast! The weather was terrific -- bright blue skies, no wind and it was warm! This was by far the warmest Halloween I think I have ever had! And in Scotland too! Go figure.

But it was wonderful because we could all wear our costumes without having to hide them under big coats to keep warm!

Sam went as a pirate, Steph as a builder and I went as a cat (trying to keep it low budget ;)) But we got all dolled-up, then when to a pub called Leslie's Bar for a pint for pre-drink. Here's a picture of Steph and I at the pub:

Then we walked over to Teviot (the Student Union) for a big Halloween bash called the House of Terrors! It was fun! There were dj's, bands, chocolate fondue, tons of people in great costumes, and place was totally decked-out with cobwebs and dry ice! It was really cool!

Then, when Sam and I went to leave for home around 2, there was outside in our little plaza, another band playing African drums and everyone was dancing!! So of course Sam and I joined in and danced into the wee hours of the night under the stars to bongo drums! An amazing Halloween! I can't remember the last time I had this much fun!

Hope everyone's Halloween was great!

Slainte Mhath!

Whisky Trip!

2009-10-26T04:12:00.001-07:00

This weekend was one of the best of my life! With the Water of Life Society (the whisky society) we travelled through the highlands and to the Isle of Skye. The weather was not the best...cold and dreary and rainy. But the weather just felt more Scottish and the whisky kept me warm! :)

First stop: Oban!! Oban is a charming seaport town with a fabulous distillery: The Oban Distillery. After a tour of the distillery, we each were given our own snifters and got to sample some whisky. All of them were good!

Then we continued on the road to Fort William, where we stayed the first night. We went to the Ben Nevis Distillery, for another tour and lots of whisky. We even watched a funny movie about Hector MacDram!! Then, we cooked dinner for 30 people and bantered in the common room before another whisky tasting hosted by the president of the society, Tobi. Yes, we all consumed a lot of whisky!!

The next morning we continued on the road towards Skye. We stopped in a little village called Glenfinnan to take pictures. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been! Just breathe-taking! The bridge was used in the Harry Potter films as well!!! Enjoy the Pictures!

After, we continued on to a port-town, and took a ferry over to Skye. Being prone to motion sickness, I hated the ferry... but it wasn’t too long and then we were on SKYE!!! We drove through such gorgeous land, and had lunch at a charming hotel (sandwiches and Scotch broth—my new favourite soup!) The hotel also had another little tasting for us of Gaelic whiskies. The whisky was called Poit Dhubh (pronounced something like: Poch Gu... Gaelic’s crazy!)

Then we ventured to the other side of the Isle to the Talisker Distillery!! Yummy whisky! Here we got another tour and of course more whisky!! I bought a bottle of the Talisker 10... empty now, but it was delicious!! After we drove to our hostel, cooked dinner, drank more whisky, and slept!

The next morning (a wee bit hungover) we left Skye (by bridge this time :)!) and drove to the famous castle used in the Highlander movie! It was exactly how you would picture a Scottish Castle!

Then we drove alongside Loch Ness, spotted Nessie a few times! And then stopped at Urquhart Castle!! We proceeded to take more pictures before hitting the road to Inverness!

Then we drove home to Edinburgh tired, hungry, but full of great whiskies!!

Slainte Mhath!

Class Trip with Medieval Scottish History

2009-10-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day! Crystal blue sky, no wind, bearable temperatures = Splendid! We so lucked out! The class trip consisted of traveling to the border lands to visit the Melrose Abbey, Smailholm Tower, and the Abbey of St. Bathans.

Melrose Abbey was exquisite! And the scenery was stunning! I can see why all those monks would want to live there :). Plus, on the grounds in the allegedly grave for Robert the Bruce's Heart! Who doesn't love that! All in all, it was great there and I already want to go back!

Next stop, Smailholm Tower. It was as if I stepped into Middle Earth in the Lord of the Rings! I was just waiting for Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas to coming riding out :)! So picture that but just add cows and swans and that was Smailholm Tower! From the top there is a spectacular panoramic view where you can see all of the land for miles! I just love the land here so much!

Last stop, well, we kinda got lost, so we made our last stop the Abbey of St. Bathans. It was a charming area with a small church, a pretty river, and my dream house with horses!

Cheers!

Pics of B-Day with Friends

2009-10-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

Birthday Weekend!

2009-10-14T01:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a wonderful birthday weekend! A little crazy -- but I won't go into that! On my actually birthday for dinner, the girls and I went up to Sheep Heid (the oldest pub in Scotland) and I had haggis for dinner...and guess what? I thought it was great! If you can believe that! I probably enjoyed it so much because it was spicy and usual the food here lacks spice entirely (I deprived! :) )

But sorry I haven't updated in a while (my family's been nagging me!) but I have been super busy as you can imagine.

I went back to the National Gallery with Sam and Suzanne and we conquered another floor: The Scottish Exhibit! So that 2 floors down, 5 to go! And as usual, I was in absolute awe! I even dragged Sam back up to the impressionism exhibit to see Monet's Haystacks with Snow again!!

Megan came down to Edinburgh this weekend, even though poor thing was so sick. But Sam and I still dragged her around Edinburgh to all our favourite pubs -- or at least the top four! ;) A particular favourite of mine is Sandy Bells which plays folk music almost every night!! Megan enjoyed it a lot as well!

Megan and I tried to go back up to Edinburgh Castle but the queue was way too long! So we walked along Royal Mile and Market Street which as usual was like a street fair!

Also, last week was another whisky tasting! Specialising in finishes from the Glemorangie distillery!! Squeal!!!!!! We had sherry cask, port cask, the original... the I stopped remembering the details... but altogether I had seven whiskies, two sherries and a port! I love Scotland!

Soon, I’ll post some more pictures for all of you! Miss You!!!

Royal Mile and Street Performer

2009-10-03T09:27:00.000-07:00

Today had the most bizarre weather! It was rainy, sunny and extremely windy all at the same time!! Now how do you dress for that?

But still Sam and I braved the sporadic weather and ventured down Royal Mile and Victoria Street! The day started a little slow for both of us... we had had a very long night yesterday, so we read and drank tea (lots and lots of tea) at a quaint, little cafe on Victoria Street. Then we continued walking down under the castle and circled around to Royal Mile. As usual the streets are busy with people, venders, bagpipers and street performers.

One street performer in particular (which I have a photo of above) was hysterical! He was so outrageous and flamboyant, not to mention extremely gifted in juggling, and definitely something I would expect in Edinburgh, being such a vibrant city. We watched him in the cold wind for an hour!

So as could can see, Edinburgh is such an alive city! There is always something new everyday. You can walk around the streets all day long and never be bored!!!

Typical Scotland

2009-10-02T02:58:00.000-07:00

More Sunny Edinburgh!

2009-10-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

Well, today is another beautiful day in sunny Scotland! I am currently wrapping up my courses for the week so I can enjoy the weekend. All of my classes are going swell. I especially enjoy my Medieval Scottish History class and am going on a field trip to explore some of the ancient cites and forts in two weeks!!!

Last weekend, Sam and I went to the National Gallery of Scotland. It was marvellous! It is a huge and -- given that this is Scotland -- a beautiful building with many exhibits. Sam and I explored the impressionism exhibit which filled me with absolute awe! I got to see works by Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, Renoir and Rembrandt to name a few!!! I could have fainted! And on top of all that, the gallery is completely free!!! I love this country.

I have also joined two new societies on top of the Whisky Society (which I did get my deposit in and am going to the Isle of Skye in three weeks on a whisky trail trip!!!!) The clubs and societies here have the brilliant idea of blending informative meetings with socials at pubs, so they are tons of fun! Thus, I have also joined the International Development society and iCUE which is an innovative consulting club for business students. Both have great projects that I have volunteered for. When I get started on them, I fill you all in on the details!

And as usual, I am having a blast! Miss you all!! (I'll load some more pictures soon)

Touching the Sea

2009-09-28T06:56:00.001-07:00

Braving the Bus to the Sea & Around Town!

2009-09-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

Well, today I touched the North Sea for the first time!! My friends and I decided to be brave enough to jump on a double-decker bus and ride up to the port! It was a blast! The bus was like riding a roller-coaster!

The sea was beautiful and what a perfect day! The sky was crystal-clear blue and super sunny (I seem to have bought the New Mexican sun with me)! The wind was pretty intense though. But hey! I'll take the sun anyway I can get it!

Then, we toured around town through Princes Street and along the Royal Mile. The architecture is so beautiful here and vastly different from the New Mexican pueblo style. I've included a couple of pics below.

A couple of nights ago, I had my first whisky tasting with the whisky society! We sampled (very generous samples I might add) five very different-tasting whisky, which on top of a couple of pints, found me very merry! ;) I even recited a poem about whisky in front of a hundred people! But I'm not going to go into that...

The whisky society is planning a whisky trail trip up to the Isle of Skye!!! Geez, this is my kinda club! Hopefully I can go... I'm on the waiting list.

Classes are going well. All of my lectures' accents are understandable (thank goodness!) My back-to-school ambition has kept me ahead of the reading, so this weekend is free for more exploration!!!

Love you all!

Pics of My Dorm!

2009-09-26T10:55:00.001-07:00

More Adventures

2009-09-22T09:52:00.000-07:00

The rest of my Freshers' Week was a blast! I dragged Megan and Sam up to the top of Arthur's Seat (a big hill that I have a gorgeous view of from my dorm window). As you can see in the pictures, it is not that big (about 250 meters) but it is steep! Going up was fine. A little exhausting but nothing we couldn't handle. The views from the top are outstanding. Coming down, however, was a different story....

I had the brilliant idea to try another trail down to we could see Edinburgh from a different view. The trail started out very modest and not very steep. Then, out of nowhere, it kinda dropped off.... It was still climbable, and we could see the stairs we climbed up below. So we decide to slide down to the stairs...

Well, I made it down no problem (luck mostly). Megan slipped and fell down on her butt, much to my amusement. And Sam, well, she didn't fall on her butt, she just sat down from the beginning and slid down. It took us over an hour to get down! But we had some good laughs!

Then we went back to the Museum again because it's just so fabulous. I have some pics from that as well!

For the weekend, Megan and I took a train up to Aberdeen to move her in. Her flat is decent and her flatmates seem very nice.

Aberdeen is a charming town, much more quiet than Edinburgh which will better suit Megan. As for me, I got rejected from a pub there, so that all I'm going to say about Aberdeen.

Today, I started class. I had my first lecture for my Medieval Scottish History class and loved it! I'm definitely a student at heart and look forward to my studies. I just hopes that my motivation lasts long! ;) One of my lecturers for my history class is named James Fraser which is just great! (Donna will understand my inner squeal!) I start my international business courses tomorrow, so I'll let you guys know how those are soon.

But overall, everything has been so much better than I could ever imagine it being, even with cold and deary weather. I could live here forever and want you all to visit me!!!!!

Pics from Hike to Arthur's Seat!

2009-09-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

Some Pics from the Museum!

2009-09-22T09:47:00.000-07:00

New Skype Phone!

2009-09-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! I just bought a new Skype phone, so all of you can call me on Skype anytime!... As long as I'm awake ;)

Just Keeps Getting Better!

2009-09-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

Ok! It absolutely rocks here! I never want to leave! Sorry Mama.

I started today, another sunny day in Edinburgh, at the Societies Fair for the university and want to join every one! There are so many clubs for sustainability, fair trade, and international development. Plus, there is a Whisky Society, the Water of Life Club, that does tastings every two weeks and plans whisky trail trips in the Highlands! Sold! There are also many dancing and theatre groups, and the choices are just endless.

After, we went to the Elephant House for tea, which is famous because this is where JK Rowling sat and wrote Harry Potter. The front looks nice and modest and you think, "this is where she wrote Harry Potter... kinda lame." But then in the back room there is a beautiful view of Edinburgh Castle and the theme song to Harry Potter comes into play. It was the perfect setting. Hogwarts actual slightly resembles Edinburgh Castle and you can just see her sitting there staring at the castle creating the wonderful story of Harry Potter. Sigh.

Then we ventured over to the National Museum of Scotland (which is free by the way, and turning into one of my weekly hang-outs). This adorable old man, most hospitable, gave us a tour in a very thick brogue, in which I could understand maybe 75% of what he was saying at the end ;).

But it was a lot of fun, and the museum had an exhibit of the Jacobites (my favorite part) with actual letters from Bonnie Prince Charlie who you have to like even if he was a wishy-washy wimp.

Anyhoo, after the museum we trekked up Royal Mile (another overly exciting street) up to the top of the hill to the famous Edinburgh Castle. Megan and I purchased a year pass for entry into most castles in Scotland (hundreds) for just 30 pounds instead of the 13 pounds for one day. So now I can go to Edinburgh Castle any time I wish along with Sterling Castle and, as I said, hundreds of other castles. What a deal!

The castle was amazing! Word cannot describe so I included some pictures posted below so you can see for yourself!

Hope everything is going well for all of you! Miss you!

Pictures of Edinburgh Castle

2009-09-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

And the Fun Continues!

2009-09-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

So the Ceilidh was a blast! Drinks only cost around 1.80 pounds! Everyone is so so so nice! I meet people from Australia, Paris, Denmark, a few Americans and of course my friend from Sweden. Not to mention the many Scots have I met!

But my days have been full of orientation, registration and just figuring out what the heck is going on! Today Megan, Sam and I walked up to new town down Princes and Georges Street! It was fabulous, even though day was a typical dreary and gray day in Scotland. My hair sure springs up into perfect curls in the rain so I can't complain! But the city's architecture just makes you feel as if your in the 17th or 18th century!

Tonight Megan, Sam, and I explored the other side of town. My dorm room window outlooks Arthur's Seat and the countryside... So we headed that way to the oldest Scottish Pub called Sheep Heid and had some cider and whisky! It was charming. I have some pictures from the walk.

I'm Here!

2009-09-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

I have finally landed in Edinburgh after 22 hours of flying and waiting in airports, sicker than a dog (poor Megan has had to deal with me!) But I am feeling much better now after a good night sleep.

Getting here was interest....Long flights (I luckily mostly slept!) with swollen and stiff joints....heavy luggage (that I had to rearrange to avoid a $150 fine for being over by 1.5 pounds!) that we had to tote around...passing through immigration where my throat is so swollen and inflammed I couldn't talk but do see a notice that states that those who show any signs of influenza will be quarantine, so Megan did all the talking while I smiled!...catching a cab from a driver whose accent was so thick I could barely understand him....and last, carrying our luggage up three flights of stairs to my dorm room. We had a guy help us (I think he carried three of our bags!) :) What can I say, we were weak by then.

As for Edinburgh, it is an absolutely gorgeous city! And we have lucked out with wonderful weather. The last two days have been sunny and warm (around 60-70 degrees). Megan and I have been trying to spend as much time outside as possible to soak up some vitamin D before the rain starts, but unfortunately I had orientation today (inside) for international students.

The hall, called McEwan Hall, where we were welcomed for orientation was beyond magnificent! It definitely puts the Kiva (place of UNM's orientation) to shame. McEwan hall was a large dome shaped, castle-like building with murals and paintings decorating the inside. Everyone that welcomed us was very sweet and the director of Edinburgh was hilarious!

One of the topics discussed in the orientation was the difference between the language American (and yes they say we do not speak English but speak American) and English. It was quite funny and alarmingly helpful. Megan and I already made a mistake of asking someone in the cafeteria where the silverware was. She looked at us as if we were being uppity and asked if we meant the "cutlery." Ha!

After the general welcome with had lunch with new friends, Sam from Sweden and Lars for Denmark whom we are meeting tonight at a Scottish Ceilidh (dancing, pronounced Kay-lee).

We have yet to go to a pub...we were way too tired, sick, and jet-lagged after the flight to go last night, but definitely tomorrow we are going!

Sorry for taking so long to blog, email, etc... we had a couple of issued with the internet in my room. We just fixed it! So now if I'm online, Skype me!! I miss all of you!

Slainte!

Address

2009-09-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

And for those of you who prefer to write by post (or have the urge to send me anything special ;) !!) my address is:

	HOB201 Holland House
	Pollock Halls of Residence, 18 Holyrood Park Road, Edinburgh EH16 5AY

Courses

2009-08-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a list of the courses I'm taking next year:

Semester one - BS0037 International Business: Globalisation and Trade 2A
BS0197 International and Comparative Employment Relations
U00266 Theoretical Foundations of International Business: Course B

Semester two - BS0176 International Business in Emerging Markets
BS0038 International Business and the Multinational Enterprise 2B
BS0028 Marketing

testing

2009-08-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

testing testing 123!