Posts Tagged ‘Edinburgh’

Flew into Edinburgh this morning. Edinburgh is the most beautiful city I have seen. I am enthralled – entranced – captivated, scintillated. I cannot describe how wonderful this city is.

As the bus rounds the corner onto Princes Street you see Edinburgh castle and old town. It is so stunning – the scintillating sounds and colours, the buildings and gardens – hills covered in ancient artwork of generations past– history literally etched into the mountain right before your eyes. I felt like I was in a fairy tale looking up at the ancient kingdom of legends. I got off the bus from on Princes Street and walked from 3:30 until 9:45. I’ve only just touched the surface of this wonderful city. I’ll start getting pictures as soon as I can download and clear my memory card. The feelings of wonder and desire to stay and explore here for years are beyond my ability to describe. Without second thought and immediately I knew that I could live here – that in fact I wanted to. I’ve got so much to do here and only eleven more days. Not to mention I need to visit the highlands and all the rest of Scotland. I am sad already that there is such limited time. But I plan to make the most of every moment.

Love you and thinking of you – Wishing mum the best and you know I’m thinking about you all while I’m here.

Last few days-

Pretty darn excited to be here in Edinburgh. It is an unbelievable city. Without a doubt one of my favorite places. This last weekend was a trip – spent Friday through Sunday on day trips. Slept 14 hours from Thursday night to Monday night – killer but so worth it. When I get home I’m going to crash for a few days lol! So, Friday went up into the Highlands stunning scenery Loch’s, waterfalls, and a whisky distillery what a trip the emerald green hills, heather and fern, bracken and flora and fauna from around the world. Sheep, sheep, a few more sheep, then a sheep here, and another sheep right over there, two more sheep up there and four down below! Some cattle big toffee furry beasts. Ate haggis and lots of potatoes. The waterfalls were amazing because of the peat draining into the rivers due to all the rain the rivers looked like huge flowing rivers of Guinness splashing and sparkling its dark deep colour across the rocks. Beautiful – stunning – clouds and mist ranging across the mountains and glens. Windows of sunlight breaking through and illuminating the world as thought covered in a sparkling silver veil. Each day trip took all day leaving at 8:15 and returning between 5:30 and 7:30 each time.

Saturday I went to Stirling Castle – Saw the Wallace monument and explored a little there then headed out to two huge nature reserves before winding down a single lane roadway to Inversnaid on the banks of Loch Lomond. I couldn’t stop myself from singing the song as I sat on the shores. We hiked our way up to a high overlook and explored the beauty of the Loch. Again the Greenery, rushing tumbling and falling streams playing amongst each other splashing and frothing on their mad dash to the loch from the heights of the mountains. Unbridled beauty – indescribable the feelings which filled me as I stood and climbed through such land. Birds, rabbits, squirrels, sheep…. Stunning. The view from the top of the path left me completely breathless. We emerged just as the rain broke and the sun broke through and illuminated where we were standing then spread along the gap in the clouds and join the waters giving them a scintillating prismatic effect as the water sparkled within the loch.

Sunday – Down south – southern Scotland down toward the border lands. Melrose Abbey, Scots view, And Roslyn chapel. Roslyn is an unforgettable experience, unbelievable stonework, carving and unique expression in the stone. Each spire on the external is different and original the stained glass and the pillars are all ornate and then the carved cherubs, faces, and scenes from the bible each express through the stone emotion and stories without need of words. Saw the building where they cloned Dolly!!!!

Monday – Upper Highlands, Glencoe – Loch Ness – I went swimming!!!!!!! – Inverness – all around that area. Again the surrounding land is stunningly beautiful – high cliffs, tumbling waterfalls, caves and jagged juts of stone. Loch ness was FREEEEEEEZING! But I felt so alive as I jumped in the second time! I have video as well. Muhahahhahaha.

Collected Experiences of first two weeks in London:

Day 1: 16-5-06

After a safe arrival, we have landed in Heathrow. We disembarked from our aircraft and moved through security, excited by the new smells, temperatures and sensations of our destination. After passing through security we were escorted outside and got on a tour bus hired to take us to our new accommodations. This bus ride was to be our first exposure to London. Riding the bus, new sights and sounds surrounded us. As I looked around I saw old brick buildings, stone, mason work, mixed in with new high-rises and steel, and everywhere about us, Green. The city around us is a wonderful change from the hot, dry desert of phoenix. Instead of the eleven shades of brown there are a million shades of green.

We made it to our accommodations and proceeded through the steps which would allow us to start to explore Chelsea and Kensington. After a brief tour and registration for the computer labs we were allowed thirty minutes for a quick meal and some exploring. My room-mate, William Cook, and I began exploring and four our way to The Prince’s Regent, a small pub right around the corner from our new lodgings. After a startlingly refreshing Guinness (Much better than the American Guinness) we were back on our way. We arrived at the university which is hosting us and geared up for a brisk walk to our orientation. After some quick speeches on safety, shopping, and the general expectations and areas in London we were released to find our way around and get a real dinner.
We returned to our room and grouped up with four others, and then we decided to head to the pub and look for some grub. When we left the apts. we discovered it was raining, much to our glee. Sadly by the time we made it to the pub we discovered that the kitchen was closed and had to change our plans.

We hiked down Gloucester rd. and made our way to a super market a little over three blocks away. After figuring out the cheapest alternatives for food we decided to head over to the counter and pay.

This was a nightmare. I having a debit card began to pay for my groceries. The Debit card my father had worked diligently to procure for me, free of fee’s and charges for overseas use incurred a flurry of angry questions from the teller and the involvement of the manager. The ATM/DEBIT card is in dad’s name, the signature on the back is also his. Because the signature is his and not mine, I am legally not allowed to use the Card. After telling the manager again and again that it was my father’s card and that I did not realize that it was a problem I was forced to pay using my VISA Chase credit card. I was told that if I tired to use the card again, it was illegal and would not be accepted. It seems from here on out I use Cash until I can figure out whether the charges are waived on my credit card like they are for the debit card. Despite being frustrating I know there’s a way around it.
We came home, and after some thought I continued on with the help of William and cooked penne pasta with an excellent tomato and herb sauce mixed with minced lamb. The meal was excellent and quite filling. Now I’m about to do some class work for tomorrow’s first class – 9:00am!