Scotland - Day 2

Saturday morning we left Loch Ness and headed to the Isle of Skye where we were staying for our third night. I was feeling much better and back to breathing normally so I was ready for what the day had in store. Here are some shots from the bus early in the morning...


Caitie and Katie

Kaitlyn and Barbara

Me and Ann



Our first stop of the day was at the castle that was used in the movie Maid of Honor:





We made a couple other scenic stops along the way... so pretty and so much like home!









Our lunch stop was in a town called Portree which is the capital of the Isle of Skye. They had a bakery there that was amazing. I got 2 tarts, 1 shortbread cookie, a bottle of Coke, a hamburger and a bag of chips for less than 5 pounds. And it was good too! After we ate, we headed down to the water:




Once we were done with our lunch stop, our tour guide took us to the top of a hill that was the windiest place on the island. And boy was it windy! It reminded me of the Santa Ana's except it wasn't warm.





The views were amazing!



We finally arrived at our hostel and while it wasn't really that nice, this night was my favorite night by far. First, Barbara had a book of temporary tattoos that she brought with her. They were sea creatures, but that made it all the more fun!














There was a pub in our hostel but it was really crowded with locals who seemed be to annoyed with our presence. So, some of us went to the only other pub in the area, which was like 100 yards away. This pub was so much fun! They had an awesome cover band that kept singing American songs for us. There was also another group from Oregon too.





After we'd hung out at the pub for awhile someone got this brilliant idea to go walk across the huge bridge we had to drive over to get on the island. Of course I went, be cause you all know how much I looooove bridges. Right. Ok so it was a little walk to the bridge and it had rained some and Robert decided that he wanted to go worm hunting. It wasn't hard, they were everywhere. So funny though!





No, he didn't eat it. :)

We finally made it to the bridge and I ended up walking across with my eyes closed hanging onto Aaron's arm. I was doing fine until he pointed out when we were at the highest point... we turned around after that and headed back.

After we got back from the bridge, we decided to hang out in the boys room and play some Uno. Didn't last long though because the boys were tired...


Day three is coming soon!

Scotland! (Day 1)

After being in Scotland for only three days, I can safely say that it's one of my favorite places ever, and I've been alot of places. There have only been two places that I've absolutely loved (not including London and LA) and they are Louisville and the whole country of Scotland.

From the get go in Edinburgh I loved it. The people were friendly and the city was beautiful and clean. I wish were able to spend more time there but in the few short hours I was there I can say this: I will go back.

Our tour was only three days which meant it was alot like the tour Deb and I did: drive a ton and sleep in a different place each night. We left London at 330p last Thursday and got to Edinburgh at about 830p. By the time we got off the train and checked into our hostel it was about 930p and we were all starving. One of the girls had been there before and recommended a Mexican place (yeah, yeah I know, but it was late and we were hungry) and it was pretty good and fairly cheap. After that our AIFS rep took us to a pub where we hung out for a little bit then headed back to the hostel for the night. Even at 1am I felt completely safe in Edinburgh... not a feeling I often get in London.






The next day we started out at the Wallace monument. It was a really nice day so I decided to hike up to the monument even though I hadn't taped my knee. 15 minutes later, my knee was the least of my problems. It was kind of cold and I hiked up the hill pretty fast and am pretty sure I had some form of an asthma attack. I could not breath and it felt like someone was sitting on my chest. Then I started wheezing and if I talked or laughed even a little bit I started coughing like I'd been smoking for years. It was awful. Ann walked with me down the hill and I got some water but it didn't help much. I had coughing fits for most of the rest of the day and because of all my coughing I just felt like poo for the rest of the day. The Wallace Monument was really cool and the views from up there were amazing.







After we were done at the Wallace Monument, our tour guide took us to the castle that was used in Monty Python (Holy Grail). At this point, I still couldn't really breathe so I got off the bus and sat on the ground while everyone else went up to the castle. I've never seen the movie so it wasn't that big of a deal to me and I got a couple cool pictures from where I was sitting.




Next we stopped to see Hemmish the hairy cooo (cow). He’s kind of a mascot for Scotland and responds to his name when called.





Scotland reminded me alot of Oregon. My guess is that if I showed people some of the pictures I got and asked them to tell me where they were taken, most would say Oregon... especially once we got to the Highlands.







Next was a stop to see Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain on the British Isles. So pretty, but the pictures don't do it justice! There is also a Veteran's memorial at the look out where we stopped.






Finally after a long day of driving, we made it to our hostel in Loch Ness. We got to go to a show where a guy explained us how traditional kilts were folded worn and then did a weapons demonstration with Erik and Tyler. Although they look scared, neither of them were harmed. :)






After the show, Ann and I stopped off and took some pictures with Nessie. Alright, not the real Nessie, but it was so cute... and the baby too!







Once we were done with the wire Nessie we headed down to thee Loch Ness. The sun was just setting so it was beautiful, and again the pictures don't do it justice. The water was really calm and I looked as hard as I could for Nessie, but never saw any signs of her. :(







As I was standing on the rocks in Loch Ness, it hit me (again) how lucky I am to be doing what I'm doing right now. Not too many people from little Lebanon can say they've stood in Loch Ness. Even though I was feeling awful that night, I was in awe of everything that I'd seen and done in Scotland in the last few hours. I'd spent the day with one of the best groups of people I've ever met, doing things most people can only dream about. One lucky girl indeed.