Tuesday, August 14, 2012

So Long Scotland, Hello United States

Sunday August 12, 2012

Hard to believe that 12 days have flown by and we are now on the way home. Headed to the Edinburgh Airport at 3:30am to catch our flight to Paris at 6:10 we were all reminiscing about the past few days and all of the good times that we had.

Once at the airport we checked ourselves in and printed our boarding passes before going to get our bags weighed. Luckily mine was under the 50 pound weight limit! Once we figured out where our departure gate was we headed in search of breakfast and grabbed some muffins. Soon it was time to leave Scotland, and board the plane for Paris.

The flight to Paris was about two hours and not too bad at all. Once we arrived, we had to once again go through security, which was rather difficult because I don't speak any French! I made the alarm go off, so I fell victim to the popular TSA pat down. How exciting. My carry on bag also needed searched because I forgot that I had left a water bottle in it. For a few minutes I had a fear that they wouldn't let me into the country! Once the whole security conundrum was over we headed to our departure gate and went to get our passports checked.

Soon it was time to board our flight to Pittsburgh. I started to watch a movie on the plane, but soon I was out and catching up on some much needed sleep! The flight seemed a lot shorter to me than what the actual time of it was supposed to be, but maybe that is because I slept for a majority of it. Before I knew it, we were in Pittsburgh heading through customs and saying goodbye to new friends.

I soon found my parents at baggage claim and headed home, excited to see my family and full of many new exciting Scotland memories! Can't wait until the next time I can go back!

Pentland Hills Hike: Scotland Day 11

Saturday August 11, 2012: Scotland Day 11

It is hard to believe how quickly these past few days have flown by and it is even harder to believe that it is time to head home to the United States and Pennsylvania tomorrow. Due to it being our last day here, we have another free day to do what ever we would like. Dr. Thompson said he was interested in hiking the Pentland Hills and whoever wanted to accompany him was welcome. Paige, Beckie and I, along with three other travelers from the Edinboro group accompanied him.

We hopped on a bus and headed out of town and towards our hiking destination. The original plan once we got there was to take a chair lift half way up the mountain, because this area is also a ski resort. However, we came to realize that the chair lifts do not operate on Saturdays, so we got to hike up the entire mountain!

During the hike we were able to take in the beautiful views of the city of Edinburgh and also see some sheep eating on the hillsides. When we reached the summit and looked around the rolling hills around us were stunning. It looked like the scene where Julie Andrews spun around singing The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music in the movie The Sound of Music. We all had brought a little snack with and were able to eat it at the top. When we were up there taking in the views, we all forgot about how strenuous the climb actually was because the views were totally worth it.

When we headed back to the city, Paige and I headed up to the Royal Mile to do some last minute gift shopping before heading back to Pollock Halls. While on the Royal Mile we decided to stop and watch some of the different street performers that were advertising their show for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The Fringe is the world's largest arts festival and lasts a total of 25 days. The Fringe is a showcase for the performing arts, particularly theatre and comedy, but music and dance are also well represented.

Once we were done watching some of the street performers and gift shopping we headed back to Pollock Halls where we freshened up before joining the entire Edinboro travel group one last time for dinner before heading back to the States. We had dinner at this nice Italian restaurant, where I ordered pizza and sardines were hidden underneath my cheese. Not too pleased, but luckily the amazing dessert made up for the sardine incident.

Once dinner was over, the usual 6 of us headed to the Royal Mile to participate in a ghost tour. It was interesting to be able to travel underneath of the city and into the vaults. It is hard to imagine that people actually lived in these vaults at one point or another. The tour was fun and well worth the money, because not everyone is brave enough to travel under the city, but unfortunately we did not see any ghosts!

Once we arrived back at Pollock Halls, I finished packing up the rest of my things and showered and just hung out with the rest of the group until it was time to leave for the airport at 3:30am!

 Sheep on the way to the top of the Pentland Hills
 At the summit of the Pentland Hills
 Summit of the Pentland Hills
 City of Edinburgh and Arthur's Seat in the distance from the summit of the Pentland Hills
Falling on the way down from the hike

Glasgow: Scotland Day 10

Friday August 10, 2012: Scotland Day 10

Today we were back meeting at our usual time, 9:00am in the Reception Hall. Our trip today would take us to Glasgow.

Glasgow is not too far from Edinburgh, so that bus ride was not long at all. Once we got to Glasgow, our first stop was at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. The building houses one of Europe's great civic art collections. The museum has been the most popular free-to-enter visitor attraction in Scotland, and the most visited museum in the United Kingdom outside of London. Inside, visitors can find an Ancient Egypt exhibit, learn about the history of Glasgow, and see many European artwork collections.

Once we were done at Kelvingrove, we headed to the Cathedral where we were able to explore for a little bit before heading into the city centre. While at the Cathedral we heard many different bagpipe bands practicing because they would be competing in the World Pipe Band Championships the following day. When we got to the city centre many of the bands were even putting on a practice show for spectators to enjoy. We watched for a little bit before heading into the main shopping area of the city.

After a few hours of shopping and watching the bagpipe bands it was soon time to head back to Edinburgh.

 Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
Glasgow Cathedral

Isle of Arran: Scotland Day 9

Thursday August 9, 2012: Scotland Day 9

Today the marimba playing on my iPhone alarm woke me up at 5:30am. Early day in order to catch the ferry to the Isle of Arran, we were even gone before breakfast was served!

We boarded the ferry around 9:15am and we were able to grab breakfast on board. I had a muffin and two slices of toast. Very good and very cheap! Once we arrived on the Isle we all got back onto the coach bus, which also made its way on the ferry and headed to the Isle of Arran Distillery.

Once we got to the Distillery, many of the travelers in our group sampled the different whiskys that are available for purchase, but I didn't really have an interest in that. We did not stay at the Distillery long and we were soon on our way to the town of Brodick where we had the option to get off and explore the town or stay on the coach and head to the next town on the Isle to look for sea lions. Paige, Beckie, and myself decided to get off in Brodick and rent some bikes.

Biking around the town was fun and at times a little nerve racking! It was weird biking on the opposite side of the street with the rest of the flowing traffic so it took a few minutes until it felt comfortable to us. Biking was quite relaxing, and a nice alternative to walking all over the place. We didn't really have a set location as to where we wanted to go on our adventure so we just rode until it was time to head back and catch the ferry. We discovered a nice little wading area by the beach and skipped stones and found some crabs.

Soon it was time to get back onto the ferry and make our way back to Edinburgh. Due to another long day of traveling, we decided to stay in for the night and once again order some Papa Johns pizza and just hang out in the Pantry.

 Beach area in Brodick
 Bike I rented for our bike ride
Highlands on the Isle of Arran
Leaving the Isle of Arran on the ferry

North Berwick: Scotland Day 8

Wednesday August 8, 2012: Scotland Day 8

We had another free day today, and the usual group of us plus Dr. Thompson felt like getting out of Edinburgh for the day. Dr. Thompson told us about this nice seaside town called North Berwick, that was a 30 minute train ride away and we all decided to go there.

On the way to the train station, Dr. Thompson decided to take us the scenic route and show us many of the different streets of Edinburgh such as the Cowgate and Grassmarket districts, which was extremely interesting to see.

The town of North Berwick was beautiful and is a holiday destination for many Scots. We got off of the train and made our way down to the shore. The tide was out and many children were playing in the water and searching for crabs. Once again, I felt the need to go stand in the North Sea. The water was a bit warmer than when I was at St. Andrews but still not typical United States Beach weather.

Once were were done walking along the beach and collecting sea shells, we decided to head into town for lunch. We ended up at the North Berwick Diner. I ordered some chips because I was not too hungry, and they were extremely undercooked. Not too impressed. After lunch we made our way to the Scottish Seabird Centre, because you can take a boat out to Bass Rock which is home to thousands of seabirds. We decided to look into the telescope that you are able to see the rock from and then changed our mind about taking a boat out to the rock. Way too many birds for us!

We made our way back down to the west side of the beach and the tide was beginning to come in. We sat on the beach for a bit before we decided to take the train back to Edinburgh.

When we got back to Edinburgh, we decided to have dinner at Garfunkel's on the Royal Mile. Food was overpriced and service was terrible. Other than the food, the free day was well spent!

 Beach at North Berwick
 Bass Rock - Home to thousands of Seabirds
Tide coming in at North Berwick

Glen Coe and Oban: Scotland Day 7

Tuesday August 7, 2012: Scotland Day 7

Today has been a day that I have been looking forward to since the itinerary for the trip was announced. I have always wanted to go to Glen Coe because the pictures that I have seen of it make it look almost magical, and I wanted to see it for myself.

We departed the Reception Hall at 8:30am. The bus ride was long, but it was nice to listen to the usual songs on my iPod and see the rugged mountains of The Higlands and some 'hairy coos' out the window.

When we finally arrived in Glen Coe, we did not have as much time as I would have liked, but we still made the most of the time that we had there. We went on a short hike to see if we could get some decent photographs of The Highlands and then decided to make our way back to the small town where there was a loch that we spent some time at just taking in the amazing scenery before it was time to get back onto the bus and head to our next destination of the day.

We were soon on our way to Oban - Scotland's Seafood Capital! Paige, Jake, and I obviously decided that since we were in the seafood capital, we must find a great place for lunch. We decided on The Oban Bay Fish Restaurant where I had an incredibly British and delicious meal of fish n' chips and a cup of tea. After lunch we decided to walk around the town and go into a few gift shops. I purchased a lovely wool sweater that will keep me very warm in the cold Edinboro winters. Before we knew it, it was was time to get back on the bus and head back to Edinburgh.

Because we had spent a long day on the buses, we all decided that we wanted to have a relaxing night so we ordered a pizza from Papa Johns and just hung out in the pantry of our building for the rest of the night.

 Glen Coe
 Rolling Scottish Highlands
 Town of Oban
Fish n' Chips!

Hike Up Arthur's Seat - Round 2: Scotland Day 6

Monday August 6, 2012: Scotland Day 6

Today we had our first free day of the trip, so we decided to sleep in for a bit. We made it to breakfast just in time before the doors closed for the day. A few of us decided to hike up Arthur's Seat again, because a number of people missed out on the first day, and because the views were so stunning, I had no problem doing it again! Paige and I met Jake, Beckie, Katelynn, and Karissa in the Reception Hall and waited for a quick rain spell to finish up before we decided to make the trek up the mountain.

The climb was a little more treacherous due to the rain, but we all made it to the top safely. Since we were in no hurry to do anything the rest of the day we sat up at the top and just took in the different views of the city. While up at the top, we decided to plan out what we wanted to do the rest of the day.

We made our way back down the mountain and stopped at Pollock Halls to pick up Kate before heading for lunch at the Malt Shovel which was near Princes Street. I decided to splurge a little bit and order a steak. It was a little pricey but well worth it. Soon after lunch, us girls decided to head down to Princes Street, which is known for its many shopping stores to look at the latest British fashion trends. We made our way into a store called Primark, which has many selections at great prices. It was fun in the store because the music playing over the speakers was all British artists including Adele, One Direction, Jessie J and many others. Although these artists are popular in the United States, it was nice to hear some recent song debuts from them that have yet to become popular and well known in the US.

After we had enough shopping, we decided it was time to head back to Pollock Halls to rest up before dinner. We thought taking a bus would be an easy and quick solution. Boy, were we wrong! We stopped at the bus stop that was on the wrong side of the street, so instead of taking us to where we were staying, the bus began to take us out of the city of Edinburgh. We soon realized the mistake and remedied the situation by getting off at the next stop and crossing the street so we would be headed in the right direction. Once we were on the correct bus, it began to rain, which surprisingly has only been the only rainy day we have had on the trip so far.

Because it was still raining by the time we got back to Pollock Halls, we decided to do dinner somewhere close, so of course we chose The Abby and Dr's Thompson and Grant joined us!

 Top of Arthur's Seat
 Top of Arthur's Seat
Edinburgh Castle from the top of Arthur's Seat

St. Andrews: Scotland Day 5

Sunday August 5, 2012: Scotland Day 5

Spending the day in one of my favorite towns today, St. Andrews! The last time I was in Scotland, I fell in love with it. It is small, quiet, and beautiful.

We began our day in St. Andrews at the Cathedral. Unfortunately the tower with the observation deck to see the views of the town was closed so we missed out on seeing that. Paige, Jake, and I walked around the graveyard and explored the different parts of the Cathedral before heading to the Castle that was just a short walk away and allowed for lovely views of the North Sea.

The Castle in St. Andrews is small, but that does not mean that it is not interesting. We found areas where you could look down into the dungeons and also crawl into the underground mines. Way too claustrophobic in there!

After we were done at the Castle, we decided to make our way down to the golf course, because after all, St. Andrews is the home of golf! It was nice that we visited on a Sunday because golf is not played on these days. Although there were many signs on the course saying to keep off, we decided to venture out onto the course anyway, because many others were out there also. We stopped for photo ops at the famous 18th hole bridge on the Old Course and also found one of the giant bunkers, that was roped off, but I still decided to jump into it. Those bunkers are huge! After we were done at the Old Course we then made our way to the beach area. I was the only one brave enough to take off my shoes and test to see how cold the water was. It is fun to say that I was able to stand in the North Sea! The water was not as cold as I was initially expecting it to be, but I still would not volunteer to take a swim in the Sea as others were doing.

We still had some time to kill before we were to meet back at the Cathedral to grab the bus back to Edinburgh so we decided to just walk the streets of St. Andrews. We passed many of the buildings that house different classes for the University of St. Andrews, saw a wedding take place (and yes the women actually do wear those crazy fascinator hats), and then grabbed a quick lunch at the North Point Cafe which is where Prince William and Kate Middleton first met while studying at the University. How many people can say that they did that?!

On the way back to Edinburgh, we stopped in the town of Queensferry to take pictures of the Firth of Forth railway bridge. The bridge has amazing architecture, and is said by some to be a landmark instantly recognized in Scotland.

Once we got back to Edinburgh, we once again headed to The Abby to grab dinner and catch up on the Olympics.

 Cathedral in St. Andrews
 Castle in St. Andrews
 Bridge on the 18th hold on the Old Course in St. Andrews
 Giant bunker on the Old Course in St. Andrews
 Standing in the North Sea
 Firth of Forth Bridge
Paige, Jake, Beckie, Kate, Katelynn, Karissa, and myself at The Abby

Rosslyn Chapel and The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo: Scotland Day 4

Saturday August 4, 2012: Scotland Day 4

Participated in the usual morning routine and once again met the Edinboro University travel group in the Reception Hall at 9:00am to begin the day. We would be heading to Rosslyn Chapel by way of the Edinburgh Group Travel coach service.

The Chapel has been under restoration for many years and expected to be done next summer. The Chapel is home to amazing architecture both inside and out, but unfortunately photographs are not permitted inside. We were able to sit in the pews of the Chapel and learn about the history from a talk that was being given. Rosslyn Chapel is known to many by being a setting in a part of the Da Vinci Code. Once we were done listening to the talk, we were given time to explore the surrounding area. Paige, Jake, Beckie, and myself made our way down to some castle ruins and a small brooke. It is interesting to see where different castles have been throughout the country. Once we were done exploring, we decided to head back to the main Chapel area and grabbed a quick lunch at the Stable Shack. I had a hot dog and an ice cream bar.

Once done at the Chapel, we then headed back to Edinburgh to tour the Scottish National Gallery. It was fun to look at the different portraits from the different time periods, but I got in trouble by one of the workers at the Gallery because my sunglasses fell off the top of my head and onto the floor. I guess the woman did not like this because she proceeded to follow me around for the duration of my stay. Not amusing. Once done at the gallery, Paige, Jake, and myself headed across the street to the Princes Street Gardens to just relax and enjoy the sunshine. We lounged in the grass with many other tourists and Scots and listened to a local band perform some songs from The Beach Boys. Very fun!

After we were done spending time in the Gardens, the three of us headed to dinner. We chose the Southern a very nice looking place known primarily for their burgers. I of course, ordered mine plain. However, I did not know that a plain burger in Scotland means that it does not even come with a bun, just a patty on a plate. That gave everyone a good laugh! Once we were done with dinner we headed to the Royal Mile and went into some of the souvenir shops before it was time to get into the queue for the Tattoo!

Before we knew it, we were walking into the Castle Esplanade and taking our seats for the show. The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of Military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and International military bands and display teams. The performances were absolutely incredible. The different groups participating in the show included the Queen Victoria School, The Band of the Australian Defence Force, and the US Naval Forces Europe Band. My favorite performances of the night however were the Massed Pipes and Drums and the Top Secret Drum Corps. Each band had a unique show to offer and was always keeping the crowd entertained. Many people think that when they attend the Tattoo, all that is going to be performed is different bagpipe groups. That however is not the case. Sure, there are bagpipes but there is also brass bands, singers, and even some dancers. The Tattoo is a spectacle and everyone should experience this amazing show at least once in their life! Because we went to the show on a Saturday, we also got to see fireworks which was a special treat and just made everything so much more exciting. Definitely a highlight of the trip.

The show ended late in the evening, so unfortunately buses were no longer in service which resulted in all of us walking back to Pollock Halls and ready to go to bed after a great day.

 Rosslyn Chapel Entrance
 Massed Pipes and Drums: The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
 Massed Pipes and Drums: The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
 Top Secret Drum Corps: The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Finale: The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Linlithgow and Sterling: Scotland Day 3

Friday August 3, 2012: Scotland Day 3

Once again woke up at 7:00am thanks to the lovely ringing of the marimba on my iPhone, showered, and grabbed my usual cereal and banana breakfast. The morning was beginning great without any issues, until Paige, my roommate, discovered that she had misplaced her wallet. We were just about to walk to the bus stop and we all grabbed our bus passes when she made the discovery. Luckily, her wallet had been left on the couch in the lobby of our building and was turned in, with all of the contents still in place! Once we solved the mystery of the missing wallet, we hopped on a bus (a double decker one) and made our way to the Edinburgh Waverly Train Station.

We would be taking the train to the towns of Linlithgow and Sterling. Both home to castles and much history. Once on the train, it was nice to be able to just sit and watch the Scottish countryside go by as I listened to some music on my iPod, mainly consisting of artists such as One Republic and The Fray. The train ride to Linlithgow was not long at all, and we were soon making our way through the quaint little town and walking up the street to Linlithgow Palace.

Linlithgow Palace was the birth place of Mary Queen of Scots and is also said to be haunted by her mother, Mary of Guise. We however, did not have any ghost encounters! We were able to tour the Palace and learned much about the history, thanks to two wonderful tour guides. The guides are actually school children from nearby Linlithgow Primary and Linlithgow Academy that are participating in a summer project. Once we were done at the Palace, Paige, Jake, and myself wondered throughout the town until it was time to meet back at the train station. During this time, we stumbled upon a wonderful little bakery called Oliphants Bakers' Shops. It is not large in size, but its pastries are mighty delicious!

Once it was time to meet back at the station, we boarded the train for the town of Sterling. Sterling is also home to a castle, which played a very important role in Scottish history. Several Scottish Kings and Queens have been crowned at Stirling, including Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1543, and there have also been at least eight sieges at the Castle. I however thought that this Castle was a bit too modern looking. It has recently been restored so I feel that it has lost some of its historic spark. Once were were done at the Castle, we then made our way to the William Wallace Monument which is also located in the town of Stirling. The monument commemorates Sir William Wallace, the 13th century Scottish hero. Visitors first get to hike up bit of a mountain before reaching the base of the monument, and then get to climb a 246 step spiral staircase to the viewing gallery inside of the monument's crown, which offers breathtaking views of the Ochil Hills and the Forth Valley.

Once we were done at the monument, we made our way back to the train station in Sterling, and boarded the train back to Edinburgh. Most of us fell asleep on the way back thanks to the stair climb!

Once we arrived back in Edinburgh, Paige, Jake, Beckie, Kate, and myself headed to find a place for dinner. We decided on Pizza Paradise, one of my favorite restaurants from the last time I traveled to Scotland. Pizza was wonderful and the chocolate cake for dessert was also very good. However the water that cost a over 2 pounds was a bit outrageous. After dinner, we decided to catch a bus because we were all pretty worn out from the day. Once we got off the bus stop at Pollock Halls, Paige made the discovery that she had left her bag at Pizza Paradise. Both her and I walked back to the restaurant to retrieve the bag while the others headed to The Abby to hang out and watch the Olympics. Once the bag was retrieved we met the others and hung out until we decided to call it a night.

 Courtyard in Linlithgow Palace
 Entrance to Stirling Castle
 William Wallace Monument from a distance
 246 spiral steps!
Rolling Scottish hills from the top of the Wallace Monument

Monday, August 13, 2012

A Tour of the Royal Mile: Scotland Day 2

Thursday August 2, 2012: Scotland Day 2

Awoke at 7:00am thanks to the lovely marimba sound on my iPhone alarm and jumped into the shower ready to begin the first full day in Scotland! Around 8:00am, my roommate Paige and I headed to breakfast in the cafeteria of the John McIntyre Conference Centre, which provided a lovely eating selection each morning. Of course, due to my picky-ness, I just got a bowl of what looked to be Frosted Flakes, but accidentally put soy milk on it and also grabbed a banana.

We then met the rest of the touring group in the Reception Hall at 9:00am and headed out for the day. We were able to utilize our bus passes for the first time, and grabbed a bus to the Royal Mile. Our touring of the Mile began at Edinburgh Castle which is at the top of the street.

Edinburgh Castle is a fortress that dominates the city skyline and is perched atop a volcano known as Castle Rock. The Castle is sill in use today, and is the home of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which we will be attending on Saturday night. We explored the different areas of the Castle such as the Scottish National War Memorial and the chapel and also took in the views of Edinburgh.

After we were finished with the Castle, Paige and I began to make our way down the Royal Mile hitting up a few of the different gift shops along the way and browsing for different gifts to get later in the week. We also took the time to listen to a bagpiper that was performing on the streets! Very fun! We soon stopped at the World's End to grab some lunch.  The pub has the name it does, because that is where the city used to end before the development of the new town. We both grabbed burgers and chips for lunch, which were very good!

We once again began to make our way down the Royal Mile and ran into Jake, another Edinboro member. We were early to meet up with the rest of the group so we just rested outside the Parliament Building and took in the different sights and sounds of the city such as the buses and cars and the multitude of different tourists visiting from other countries and speaking different language.

The rest of the group then gathered at Holyrood Palace at 3:00pm to take a tour. The Palace is the official residence of the Queen of England, and is located at the bottom of the Royal Mile. The tour was quite interesting, and it was delivered over a headset that we all got to rent that taught us a lot of different facts and figures about the Palace. When we were done with the tour we took some time and strolled the beautiful gardens. When leaving the Palace, we met up with Kate and Beckie and decided to take the scenic route back to Pollock which was a walk around Arthur's Seat. The walk was long but definitely beautiful!

We then freshened up quickly and the five of us decided to go find a place for dinner. We discovered The Abby, which was not a far walk from Pollock Halls. I had nachos and a delicious chocolate-fudge dessert. We spent the rest of the time getting to know each other better and watching the Olympics before we decided to call it a night and head back to Pollock Halls.


Bagpiper on the Royal Mile
 Edinburgh Castle Entrance
 Holyrood Palace
Walking back to Pollock Halls from the Palace

Welcome to Edinburgh! Scotland Day 1

Wednesday August 1, 2012: Scotland Day 1

It is 8:30am and we have finally arrived at Edinburgh Airport in Edinburgh Scotland!

Exhausted, delirious, and full of excitement we departed the plane, made it through customs without any problems, and went to baggage claim to pick up our luggage. One of my biggest fears was of my suitcase getting lost, but it made it to Edinburgh safe and sound!

We soon stowed our luggage underneath of the Edinburgh Group Travel bus that came to pick us up (and would also be the coach service we use for the rest of the week) and we made our way to the city and arrived at the Lothian Bus Station to get our bus passes that we would be using for the week. Nothing is better than getting a picture taken after being planes for 8+ hours! After we received our passes we then made our way to the Ocean Terminal, which is a shopping mall located in Leith, a suburb of the city of Edinburgh, to kill some time before we were able to check in to where we would be staying. While at Ocean Terminal, we just walked around, looking at the different shops and finally came across a Starbucks, which was much needed! Soon it was time to head to Pollock Halls, which is where we would be staying for the duration of our trip.

After checking into our rooms at Pollock Halls, I decided to take a much needed and refreshing shower and a little cat nap. Dr. Thompson gave us the opportunity to hike up Arthur's Seat with him after we were settled in, and last time I went on the trip I took a nap instead of going, so this time I jumped at the chance! There were only a few of us that went up, Dr's. Thompson and Grant, my roommate and myself, and six others. The climb was a little tough, but the views of the city of Edinburgh were breathtaking. On our way back down, we got hit with a quick rain shower, but hey, that is Scotland for you!

After the hike, we had some time to freshen up before heading to dinner with the group. We ate at the Salisbury Arms which was just across the street from Pollock Halls. I had a traditional fish n' chips dinner and a wonderful dessert. After dinner a few of us then headed to the Peartree Pub with the professors to check out the Scottish night life. We didn't stay long due to exhaustion and soon headed back to the halls for some much needed sleep!

 Beginning the hike up Arthur's Seat
View of Edinburgh Castle from the top of Arthur's Seat

Planes, Planes, and More Planes: Departure Day

Tuesday July 31, 2012: Scotland Departure Day!

Finally, the day I have been counting down to all summer has arrived. The day I once again get to depart for Scotland!

Beep! Beep! Beep! I awoke with a start at 5:30am thanks to the annoying beeping and buzzing of my alarm clock. After the initial annoyance of being up dreadfully early, I soon realized that I was leaving for Scotland, and my annoyance soon disappeared. I showered and finished up some last minute packing and was out the door with my parents and on my way to Pittsburgh International Airport by 7:00am. I had a quick breakfast with my parents before heading to check-in and get my baggage checked. While at the baggage check, I met up with two other travelers in the Edinboro group, Beckie and Kate. We soon said goodbye to our parents, zipped through security, and made it to our departure gate, 84. We were the first ones from our group to arrive and it was nice to just be able to sit and relax before the rest of the group arrived. The airport was playing wonderful and relaxing classical music, which made it possible for me just to close my eyes and think about what the upcoming 12 days would be like, and mentally prepare for the flight, because I'm still not too keen on flying. The rest of the group finally arrived, and it was soon time to board the plane at 11:40am and head to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

Arrived at JFK at 1:50pm. Flight was not too bad, only had some slight turbulence but that was because the plane was a bit smaller than what I'm used to. Had just enough time to grab a quick lunch, a fruit salad, and get to know some of the others traveling in the Edinboro group before preparing to board the next flight to Amsterdam at 3:30pm.

Arrived at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol! The flight to Amsterdam was long, but not bad at all! We arrived at 6:00am and we are all feeling super tired. The plane to Amsterdam was huge! Definitely the biggest plane that I have ever been on! Watched one of my favorite movies Morning Glory which was provided by Delta, and then listened to some of the fabulous music choices provided by the flight including, Michael Buble, Mumford and Sons, and Celtic Women to get me into the Celtic music mood. Thought that listening to the music would be able to help me sleep, but I was wrong. Probably slept a total of a half hour on the entire flight. All that I can count on to keep me running is the adrenaline. 

Next time I post, I'll officially be in Edinburgh, Scotland!

A Scotland Summer

Hello all! I have always dreamed of being a travel journalist and when I traveled to Scotland this summer with my University to participate in a study abroad opportunity, I thought this would be the perfect time to start blogging about my different adventures.

This summer I would be spending twelve wonderful days in Scotland. I traveled to Scotland two summers ago, once again with my University, and I fell in love with the country, which is why I jumped at the opportunity to go again. There is just something about Scotland that just makes it feel like 'home' to me. Maybe it is because the air is crisper, the grass is greener, the people are nicer, and bagpipes are everywhere. I know it is a country 'across the pond' and miles and miles away from home, but something about it just makes me feel incredibly comfortable and a place I could picture myself living in a few years.

As mentioned above, I will be blogging about my adventures, so when I want to look back in 10+ years on the experience I had, I'll have more than just pictures to remember it by. Also, you may be questioning the title 'Nothing But Chips'. A colleague on the trip gave me the idea for the title, because I am by far one of the pickiest eaters in America, and for the majority of the trip, I ate nothing but chips (also known as french fries in the USA).

So, without further procrastination, I present to you Nothing But Chips: A Scotland Adventure. I hope you enjoy!