My friend from Haverford, Sarah, is currently studying
abroad this semester in Edinburgh. Since my finals are late in May, I decided I
would visit her in Scotland. As it worked out, another friend from Haverford,
Christie (AKA Quake) would be there the same time as me and it would become a
mini reunion!
Coincidentally, the other week I went to the square where William Wallace was executed (Think of Mel Gibson screaming FREEEEEEEDOMMM!!!) So I guess after that I was ready to visit Scotland...
May 10
The trip started with me catching a train out of Kings Cross
Station up to Edinburgh. The train ride was a little longer than 4 hours and I
expected to study and rest a little on it. I had not traveled much out of
London and into the rest of England, so this would be a nice way to see the
countryside. I was pleasantly surprised by how nice England was. Especially I
guess this time of year there were fields everywhere of yellow flowers. It was
really gorgeous. We made stops in cities along the way like York and Newcastle
and I would have to agree with my British friends that the Northern cities are
not the prettiest things. Newcastle was seriously hideous.
My trip was somewhat interrupted by a northern man sitting
next to me. When he initially came up to my row, he asked me a question. I
literally had zero idea what he said to me and he had to repeat it like 3
times…he was only asking if he could sit next to me. Looking back, I should
have said someone was sitting there, but at the time I thought nothing of it.
Well, THIS GUY decided to call almost everyone in his freaking mobile contact
book and talk LOUDLY to them. To make matters worse, his northern accent was SO
strong, that he just sounded like he was talking gibberish. My English friends
always joke about the Northern accents, but I never fully understood them until
I heard this guy talk. Ohhhh my lord. With my iPhone, I creepily recorded him
talking in order to prove how awful this guy’s diction was. [Side note: When I
got back to my flat, I asked my friends to see if they could understand
him/translate what he was saying. They had
zero idea. I guess that just goes to show that even though England is a
small country, each part just really drastically differs from one another.] To prove how awful his accent is, please watch video below:
Finally, I got to Edinburgh around 8 PM and met up with
Sarah. It was raining when I arrived (no surprise). Edinburgh is much more
highly than London (which has no hills) and I was pleasantly surprised by the
different surroundings. Edinburgh had a great feel to it. It is an older
looking city with nice stone buildings. Plus, on the outskirts of the city
there are really pretty hills and you can even spot Arthur’s Seat from spots
around the city.
Sarah had her last final the next day, so we went back to
her room and studied. Well…more like caught up and studied a little. I met some
of her study abroad friends, who were really cool. After getting a little work
done, we decided to go to bed.
May 11
We woke up a little late and decided to watch 30 Rock from
the night before. Sarah wanted to de-stress before her final, so the TV show
was a perfect touch. When the time for her final came around, she dropped me
off at a coffee shop nearby, so I could do some work while she took her final.
I attempted to be productive and was so happy when Sarah came to pick me up! To
celebrate Sarah being done her last final, we went to a bar and got a cider.
From there, we went to the bus station and waited for Quake to arrive. Since it
was torrential down pouring, everything was super delayed. Two hours and a lot
of rain later, we finally met up with Christie. Quake is studying abroad in
Grenada, Spain, so the 45-degree weather and rain was a rude wake up call. Oh,
the pleasures of the United Kingdom!
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| The Weather Channel....everyday. |
After Quake dropped her stuff off in Sarah’s room, Sarah took us out to
a local restaurant she likes. Sarah got Quake to try a Scottish dish called
Haggis. Haggis is made from a sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs mixed with onion,
spices, and oatmeal. I was and still am convinced it is not kosher, so I got
out of trying it. Quake said it wasn’t too bad, but we withheld the ingredients
from her. After dinner, we sat in Sarah’s kitchen for hours just talking and
catching up with each other. I saw Sarah earlier in the semester when she
visited London, but I haven’t seen Quake since December. We talked about our
study abroad experiences, Haverford, and field hockey. We then went off to
sleep in preparations for the next day.
May 12
When we all awoke, we were BLESSED with a gorgeous day.
Well…a gorgeous day in the United Kingdom is (1) a blue sky (2) little wind (3)
any temperature over 48-degrees. Quake strongly disagreed with our definition
of a ‘nice day,’ as she thinks Spain’s temperature is the best, but for Sarah
and I this weather was a gift.
We began our day by walking towards the Edinburgh Castle.
Edinburgh’s castle is situated on a ragged hill and overhangs on some cliffs.
It is truly beautiful and can be viewed from all over the city. We walked up to
the gate, but decided not to pay to go in. Sarah said she had gone in
previously and didn’t think it was worth it, partly since it is 16 pounds to
enter! AH! We found a market behind the castle and decided to explore. Like
Borough Market, it is full of freebies and yummy samples. We got some good
chocolate, salsa, and bread. We splurged and got some porridge. A little bland,
but I can’t really complain.
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| Edinburgh Castle |
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| Edinburgh Castle |
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| Edinburgh |
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| Edinburgh Castle |
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| Edinburgh |
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| Edinburgh Castle |
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| You could tell we were really enjoying ourselves. |
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| Enjoying our Porridge! |
From there, we walked to Calton Hill. Calton Hill, Arthur’s
Seat, and Castle Rock are all part of the inactive volcano from the Ice Ages.
On the hill were a bunch of random monuments each dedicated to something. The
hill also provided a breathtaking view of the city and Arthur’s Seat. We all had
mini photo shoots since we all three had cameras and wouldn’t stop taking
pictures of the view and each other.
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| Walking to Calton Hill... |
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| Union Jack & Scottish Flag |
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| Calton Hill |
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| View of the city from Calton Hill |
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| View of the city from Calton Hill |
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| The Crag + Arthur's Seat |
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| The Crag + Arthur's Seat |
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| Calton Hill |
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| Calton Hill |
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| Calton Hill |
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| Quake and I exploring the monument/having a photo shoot |
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| Quake and I exploring the monument/having a photo shoot |
After we explored Calton Hill, the three of us walked toward
the Crag and Arthur’s Seat. In doing so we walked by Scotland’s Parliament, which
is surprisingly modern and drastically different from England’s. If you didn’t
know better, you would’ve just thought it was ugly apartment buildings.
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| View of Calton Hill from afar. |
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| The Modern Looking Parliament |
Sarah decided that we would climb the Crag before we climbed
Arthur’s Seat. For some reason, I thought it would be a nice little hike, but I
was rudely surprised with the steep incline. This was a nice workout and a wake
up call. We each would hide our breaks for breath saying “Oh, I stopped to take
pictures!!” but really we were dying. Sarah said she tried once to run up it as
a workout, but failed miserably. I still give her props for trying. After what
felt like forever, we made it to the top of the crags and got an awesome view
of the city.
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| Starting to climb the Crag |
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| View of the city from the Crag |
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| The Crag |
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| View of Arthur's seat from the Crag |
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| The Crag |
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| View of the Crag as we walked towards Arthur's Seat |
Nature always likes to play tricks on us, so in order to go
UP Arthur’s Seat, we had to go back DOWN the Crags. Arthur’s Seat is higher and
much more steep. Also, Sarah admitted she took us up the harder way. Love it.
When you see children running up this thing, it just gives you motivation to
keep on going. The funniest thing is that while we were climbing, there was
some guy practicing playing his bagpipe. How cliché, right? It echoed through
the hills and was like a battle song as we climbed.
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| About to climb Arthur's Seat! |
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| The bagpipe player at Arthur's Seat. |
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| Climbing Arthur's Seat. |
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| Just gorgeous! As we climb Arthur's Seat! |
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| Looking down at the Crag from Arthur's Seat. |
Finally we got to the top and the view made it completely
worth it. Seriously, Scotland is GORGEOUS. It is so green. Yes, it is rainy and
mostly cold and has little sun, but really….it is beautiful. From the top of
Arthur’s Seat, you could see the sea, the city, and the landscape beyond the
city. We sat up there for almost 30 minutes just looking out. When climbing, we
sweat a lot, but once at the top it was super windy and cold. Thank the lord
Sarah told me to bring an extra jacket since she knew we would be cold from our
sweat.
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| Almost to the top! |
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| The top of Arthur's Seat. |
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| The top of Arthur's Seat. |
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| The top of Arthur's Seat. |
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| My failed attempt at a 'falling' picture. |
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| The sea! |
After descending from Arthur’s Seat we walked towards the
ruins of St. Anthony’s Chapel. It provided a nice seat of the valley, a lake,
and Arthur’s seat. On the walk there, we got to wander through fields of the
yellow flowers. I couldn’t get enough of it. We got both perfect weather and a
perfect landscape. Sarah said before she left Edinburgh, she was going to try
to climb Arthur’s Seat for the sunrise. I think that would be AMAZING. I really
hope she does it and takes fantastic pictures.
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| The walk down from Arthur's Seat. |
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| Can you spot me in the wall of flowers?! |
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| Looking out from St. Anthony's Chapel |
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| St. Anthony's Chapel |
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| Group + Arthur's Seat |
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| Looking up at St. Anthony's Chapel |
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| BEAUTIFUL! |
A fun story is that there was a pile of rocks near the
Chapel where a little boy was climbing around with his dad. At one point, his
dad crawled around saying in his best Gollum voice to his son, “Come here lil’ hobbisis!”
It was a magical Lord of the Rings moment
and I decided right there and then that was how I was going to interact with my
children. That being said, Sarah, Quake, and I filled our conversations with
Hunger Game and Game of Thrones theories. We are truly nerds and I am so
blessed with my friends. When I cry about Samwise Gamgee being a good friend to
Frodo despite Frodo’s lack of love in return, my friends agree instead of judging me.
What else could I ask for?
After the climb, the three of us got a quick lunch at
Sarah’s apartment and headed back out. We walked through Sarah’s campus and a
huge park/field complex called The Meadow. We walked through by ‘The Elephant
House,’ where J.K. Rolling wrote Harry Potter. Not being an avid Harry Potter
fan, I took a few pictures and lost interest. On the other hand, Quake flipped.
Oh, Harry Potter fans….
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| The Meadow. |
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| Casual Bagpipe. |
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| And nine months later, Harry Potter popped out... |
We then walked around Edinburgh’s shopping district. I got
my necessary postcards and magnet. Sarah and I decided we would introduce Quake
to Primark, as there was one in the city. Edinburgh’s Primark is much smaller
than mine and much less crowded, but it seemed if Quake was properly enchanted
by the store. Shoes for 3 pounds? Yes PLEASE!
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| Wandering through Edinburgh... |
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| Wandering through Edinburgh... |
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| Bagpipes everywhere! |
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| Real men wear skirts! |
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| Traveled to Edinburgh. Went to Primark. YOLO. |
Afterwards, we headed back to Sarah’s apartment to get ready
for dinner. We headed out to a diner type of restaurant and then headed to
Sarah’s school’s student union bar/club. Their student union played the
WEIRDEST music, such as the YMCA and Macarena. We were goofy and ‘danced the
night away.’ They played a lot of British music that Sarah and I have become
accustomed to being living the UK for so long, but it was all new for Quake. I
was happy when she liked the rappers and singers. [On a side note: Since Sarah
and I have become so used to life in the UK, we forgot what Quake would know
and not know. Like, we know how to properly shop in a Tesco, how to use the
self-checkout, and how to properly use our credit cards. We realized Quake was
completely lost and had to help her out. Also, I forgot that ciders are a UK
thing and we had to recommend different drinks she should try. In Spain all they
drink is wine, so she got to experience the UK pub scene…]
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| Out at the student union. |
When we got back to Sarah’s apartment, we skyped with a
group of friends since it was normal time for the US people back at home. Also,
Haverford’s graduation was the following day so we left a bunch of videos for
our leaving seniors. It was really hard to not be at graduation this year, as a
lot of my best friends graduated and are moving so far away! We then decided we
were exhausted and headed off to bed.
May 13
When we woke up, we headed off to brunch at J.K. Rolling’s
‘The Elephant House.’ We tried to sit at the ‘famous table’ where Rolling sat
and wrote the series while looking out onto Edinburgh’s Castle. Though we did
not get ‘the’ seat, we were close. Sarah told us to bring our camera’s into the
bathroom and told us we would understand why once we got thee. I did as she
said and understood right away. The bathroom was COVERED in Harry Potter
graffiti. There were such cute messages like “THNX FOR MY CHILDHOOD, HARRY
POTTER!” and “RIP DOBBY!” My personal favorite was, “I may not be Luna, but I
can still Lovegood.” I spent way too much time taking pictures in the bathroom
since people were knocking angrily on the door.
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| Inside the Elephant House |
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| Graffiti in the bathroom |
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| Graffiti in the bathroom |
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| Graffiti in the bathroom |
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| Graffiti in the bathroom |
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| Graffiti in the bathroom |
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| Graffiti in the bathroom |
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| Graffiti in the bathroom |
After eating, the three of us went to Scotland’s National
History Museum. The big site was ‘Dolly,’ which was the first cloned animal
ever. Other than that, the museum was eclectic, unorganized, and all over the
place. One room was ancient history and mummies, then you walked into a room
about the cosmos, and then went up a floor to learn about sea animals. The
highlight of museum was the terrace on the top that gave a good view of the
city.
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| Biology before our eyes! Dolly! |
Once we left the museum, we walked around Edinburgh more and
went into some vintage and second hand stores, which Sarah told me Edinburgh
was known for. We got goofy with the outfits, as I tried on a corset and weird
dresses. I actually bought a pair of suspenders (I know you just love it Mom)
and so far, they have been a huge hit.
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| I thought the suspenders worked. |
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| Hopefully the corset did the trick... |
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| Wandering through Edinburgh. |
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| Wandering through Edinburgh. |
For dinner, we brought over some groceries to her friend’s
apartment and we all pitched in to make burritos. I chopped the tomatoes and
peppers, as I have gotten good at! Sarah’s friends are really cool and
hilarious. Oh by the way, during dinner it started SNOWING OUTSIDE. Don’t you
just love the UK weather?
After dinner, the group of us went to a nearby pub for the
Sunday night PubQuiz. Just to let you know, we came in DEAD LAST. To be honest,
we were doomed from the start since we were all American. We really tried to be
creative with our answers, but when the question is “What British Journalist…”
there is just no hope. Sarah’s friends were pretty helpful with answers and I
must say held the weight of the team. I did have some clutch answers that I
want to share with ya’ll.
- “What
you would find in a formicary?” WELL, in 7th grade Latin, we
translated a little story about ants. The Latin word for ant is formica! A
formicary is just a fancy word for an ant farm! Who knew middle school
latin would come in such handy? Especially in a Pub….
- “Who
was the last British monarch to win the throne on the battlefield?” Well,
since I am a royal historian, I knew this answer RIGHT AWAY. Ever head of
the War of Roses and the guy named Richard III (made famous by
Shakespeare’s play)? Well Henry VII defeated Richard III on the
battlefield, ended the War of Roses, and declared himself King of England.
He then fathered the famous King Henry VIII and the rest is history. BOOM.
- “For
all those geeks out there….what is the name of Gandolf’s horse?” OBVIOUSLY
THE ANSWER IS SHADOWFAX. I love LOTR trivia. Also, I then got in a mini
debate with the pubquiz guy about the ‘ownership’ of Shadowfax, but I
guess that is all semantics.
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| Our best round. Note SHADOWFAX! |
One question that it did help to American with was “Which US
state has the largest coastline?” I would have gone with California, as they
wanted you to, but the guys realized it was Alaska. Those Brits probably don’t
even know Alaska exists! So yes, we came in dead last, but we had a TON OF FUN
doing it.
After the pubquiz, we went back to the apartment and skyped
with our friend Bridget who is studying abroad in Argentina. The four field
hockey girls were finally reunited and we had a nice long conversation about
our experience and the next season. It was so nice seeing Bridget, as I
literally haven’t talked to her in forever!
May 14
The three of us had to wake up super early at 6 AM to see
Quake off to the airport. It was nice seeing the sunrise on the city while it
was empty. Sarah and I rightfully went back to bed after dropping Quake off and
awoke sometime later. We watched our episode of Game of the Thrones from the
previous night and then headed out to the city. I stopped by an AMAZING (and super cheap) chocolate shop to pick up some fudge friends. (Literally, the best fudge ever.
All my friends raved about it and still are…) We then went to a coffee shop for
me to do work/studying. As the time approached for me to leave, I stopped by
Tesco to get dinner for later and made my way to the train station. It was
bittersweet saying goodbye to Sarah, but I knew I would see her this summer
since she is living at Haverford!!
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| Best chocolate store ever! |
So, now…the drama about my train home. My train was supposed
to leave at 4:30. While I was waiting for the platform to popup, I saw the
notification that my train was CANCELLED. I started to flip and I ran to the
ticket booth. I was informed that I could easily take the next train to London
at 5 PM and I wouldn’t need to buy a new ticket. I was also informed that my
train was cancelled due to a FATALITY ON THE TRACK. I’ve found that in the UK
they have zero qualms about informing you about a fatality. If anything, they
make it their job to tell you. They will announce it over and over again on the
loudspeakers that someone killed themselves on the track. THANK YOU. We got it!
Ahh!!!
Well, since the 4:30 train was combined with the 5 PM train
now, all the seat reservations were canceled and it was a free-for-all.
Well…around 4:45 the platform was still not announced. At this point, around
200 people were waiting under the screen waiting to sprint off and get a seat.
So much anticipation…Finally, around 4:49 PM, the platform was announced. Since
I was traveling alone and didn’t have a rolling bag, I could easily sprint
ahead of the pack and got a good seat. I then learned that since the two trains
were combined, we would be stopping at more stops than usual. Meaning my train
ride went from a 4 to 5 hour train ride. Awesome. I got some work done, but
then suddenly the train stopped on the track. We were informed that we had to
be delayed since another train broke down on the track! AHHHH!!! FINALLY AFTER
6 HOURS, I GOT BACK TO LONDON. I literally was going crazy and since the guy
sitting next to me wouldn’t let me out to pee, I thought I was going to die.I
got back to my flat and was reunited with my friends.
Fun fact: While I was gone, I missed a HUGE Manchester City
football game. Toby recounted the game for me and I am so bummed I missed this.
Basically, Man City won the Primere League, but won it by the skin on their
teeth.
Edinburgh was the first place I traveled to that I could
have seen myself studying abroad in. It was definitely smaller than London, but
I really enjoyed my time there. I wish I could have seen the rest of Scotland
since judging by Sarah’s pictures it is truly beautiful. Also, three weird/unlucky things happened to make this trip the best and unforgettable. (1) When we were walking on a main street, we saw some random girl just chunder everywhere. She literally vomited in the street. It was also at 2 PM in the afternoon. (2) We saw a really strange car accident. (3) Sarah found a small worm in her food in a restaurant.
Comically, I noticed
the huge push for Scottish Independence. Scotland is voting in the next year or
two to separate from England and continually I heard anti-English comments and
jokes. My English friends are convinced that Scotland couldn’t survive without
England, which I find plausible for multiple reasons. It’ll be interesting what
the vote comes down to, but I did learn that Scotland truly hates England.
In talking to Sarah and Quake, I got to tell a lot of my
stories and experiences from my time in London. It made me really nostalgic
about my time here. While I wish my finals were over, that means that I would
be leaving soon. I miss my family and friends at home, but I know that I will
never get this experience again. I have made so many amazing friends and it
will really hurt to leave them behind. I wish they would come home with me.
I’ve already made it known that if they ever came to Philly, they HAD to stay
with me…but Philly isn’t really on many people’s tourism lists. I have begun to
understand why people find it so hard it go back to Haverford after studying
abroad. I have so many fun stories, but no one will understand them or be able
to relate. Also, each of my classmates will have their own study abroad
experiences that they will want to tell. My time here has been shared with a
special group of [English] people and I will just have to skype with them at
odd hours during the day to relive it with them.
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| Home away from home. |
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