Day 13: Glasgow

Today, we all went on an ISS organized day trip to Glasgow.  Maria, Clare, Alex (a girl I met on the hill walk) and I spent a few hours shopping.  At 1:00pm, Alex left to go on a tour she signed up for and Clare, Maria, and I went to the Willow Tea Rooms for lunch. 

Exterior of the Willow Tea Rooms

 The Willow Tea Rooms were designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, a famous Art Nouveau Designer/Architect who was from Glasgow.  We got to eat in the Room de Luxe area of the restaurant.  It was beautiful!  I loved all of the little details that brought the room together. 

Room de Luxe

I wish I could have gotten a better picture of these doors...they were amazing!

Really cool mirrors

The three of us ordered afternoon tea, which came with mini sandwiches, scones, shortbread, and  cake.  I wasn't a big fan of the sandwiches, but the rest of the food was good.

This is how our food came

After lunch, the three of us walked to the Kelingrove art museum.  The museum had a few of Mackintosh's designs and a bunch of other interesting art.  We didn't have much time to look around the museum because we had to get back to the buses by 4:30pm. 

Kelingrove Art Museum

More Mackintosh Designs

Overall, I would say that Glasgow is a nice city, but it is a little too big for me.  Tomorrow I leave for a three day tour of the Isle of Skye!  I can't wait!

Day 12: Edinburgh Film Festival

Yesterday, Clare, Maria, and I took a train to Edinburgh for Edinburgh International Film Festival.  When we got there, we had a few hours to burn, so we decided to go to Edinburgh castle.  It took us a while to find it because Edinburgh is a much bigger city than Stirling, but we eventually found it. 

Walking up to the castle

We only had an hour and a half to spend there, but we got to see most of the castle.  We all agreed that we liked Stirling Castle better, but it was interesting and fun.

I love this ceiling

After the castle, we went to a film called "Feel My Pulse".  It was a silent film from the 1920s about a hypochondriac woman who travels to a sanitarium she inherited to stay safe from the world.  What she doesn't know is that the sanitarium is really full of bootleggers.  There was also a live piano accompaniment.  None of us had ever seen a silent film before, and we all loved it!  It was really funny.
We spent a little bit of time shopping after the first film and then found a cute little cafe for dinner that was giving a 20% discount for people who went to the film festival.  The sandwiches were delicious and cheap!
After we ate, we went to our next film, "Day of the Flowers".  It was a comedy about two sisters who stole their dads ashes from their step mom and took them to Cuba.  It was a really cute and funny movie.  After the movie, we had to take a taxi to the train station and then run so that we wouldn't miss the last train from Edinburgh to Stirling.  Luckily, we made it on time and got safely back to the campus.  It was definitely a good day!

Day 10: Dumyat Hill Walk

Yesterday at 6:00 pm, a big group of us went on an ISS organized hill walk on the giant hill behind our flats.

The big hill in the background is the one we climbed up...it looks even bigger in person!

A few others and I fell behind pretty quickly because it was a tough climb, but we pushed through and kept going.  We came to several forks in the path and had to decide which way to go to catch up to the group.  They didn't give us any clues about which path to take.  There were sheep roaming around the hill and at one point we were definitely walking along the sheep path...there were little hoof prints!  We had to walk through a cute little tunnel that looked like it came straight out of a fairy tale. 

Fairy Tale Tunnel of Branches

 Once we got to the top we thought it was too good to be true...it was way too easy for that to be all.  Then we realized we had to walk over another hill! 

Me at the half way point

We could see the rest of the group in the distance, so we kept going.  We could see the top and it didn't look too far away.  One girl passed us on her way down.  We thought she must have made it to the top and was already heading back, but she said she just gave up because it was too steep.  We took the opposite approach.  Why would we want to turn back now when we had already come so far?  We had to pass a few fences (There is no law against trespassing here...as long as you close the gate behind you, you are free to roam wherever you want.) and climb up a few more little hills, but eventually we made it to the top!  It was definitely worth it!  The views were breathtaking. 

The sheep were taunting us

One of the fences we had to climb over

I made it to the top!

Sheep at the top of the hill

I will probably never go up there again, but I am so glad I did it!  After the sitting at the top for a little while, we started our journey back down.  When we got back to our flats, we just wanted to collapse.  We ordered some Chinese food and talked for a little while before going to bed.  Today was just another (rainy) day of classes and homework, but tomorrow we will (hopefully) be going to the Edinburgh film festival!

Day 9: Stirling Castle

Yesterday, Clare, Maria, and I went on a trip to Stirling Castle.  The castle was built in the 15th century and is the oldest building in the city of Stirling

Built on the edge of a cliff

The exterior of the castle had a lot of cool statues and other details.

These statues were talking to each other

The ceilings were really cool

After the castle we worked on homework and went to bed early.  We had to get up bright and early this morning to go to classes.  At 6:00pm we will be tackling Dumyat Hill, the huge hill behind our flats!

Day 8: The Highlands

Today was my first trip into the highlands.  I went on a one day tour with Timberbush tours.  The tour guide was an old Scottish guy who seemed to know a lot about the history of Scotland.  It was a long drive with only a few stops, but the views were spectacular.  I felt like we were driving into a fairy tale! 

At our first stop, the Three Sisters of Glencoe, we only had a few minutes to take some pictures.

Two of the Three Sister Mountains

Our next stop was Loch Ness, but we stopped to eat lunch before going monster hunting.  When we finished eating it was pouring rain, but we went to see Loch Ness anyway.

Loch Ness

Even though we all had umbrellas and rain coats, we were still soaked for the ride home.
Our next stop was Inveraray Castle, home of the Duke of Argyll.  Sadly, we weren't allowed to take pictures in the castle, but I got a few nice pictures of the exterior.

Inveraray Castle

Inveraray Castle

When we stopped at the gift shop on the way out, we actually got to meet the Duke of Argyll!  He was very friendly and apparently he plays elephant polo.  I will definitely have to find out what elephant polo is and find out where I can watch a game!
On the way back we were supposed to see Loch Lomond, the largest Loch in Great Britain, but we had to skip it because a landslide blocked the road.  Tomorrow we are off to see Stirling Castle!

Day 7: Doune Castle

Today my Scotland on Screen class went on a trip to Doune Castle.  Doune Castle is one of the filming locations for Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  Since I have only seen parts of the movie, it didn't really mean much to me, but it was definitely an interesting and very old castle.

Doune Castle

There is a tiny spiral staircase (slightly bigger than the one at the Wallace Monument) that leads to several floors of rooms and eventually up to the top of the castle.  The stone steps were uneven and it was dark, so the stairs were a little crazy to walk up.

All of these spiral staircases are making me dizzy!

Eventually we made it to the top to see the beautiful views of the countryside.

After the tour, Clare, Maria (one of my flatmates), and I watched Mirror Mirror online before calling it a night (I know, we are boring).  I need my rest because tomorrow is a day trip to the highlands!  I can't wait!

Day 6: A Rainy Day in St. Andrews

Yesterday was our first Thursday excursion.  We went to St. Andrews, home of golf (and where Prince William and Kate Middleton went to college).  The first thing we did was walk by the university.  It is one of the oldest colleges in the world, so the buildings are amazing. 

St Andrews University

After that, we were let loose into the city.  I walked around with a bunch of people from another flat.  The Fudge Donuts from Fisher & Donaldson are apparently legendary, so we stopped to try them.  They were not at all like I expected a fudge donut to be.  They were filled with a vanilla flavored cream or custard and topped with a maple-ish glaze. 

Fisher & Donaldson

After eating out donuts, we stopped at a few stores.  There were a lot of thrift shops in the city.  When we all started feeling a little hungry, we stopped at a fish and chips place called The Tailend.  I tried the smoked salmon because it was much cheaper than the regular salmon.  It was really good! 

Smoked Salmon

After lunch, we decided to check out the castle ruins.  There were great views of the North Sea even though it was pouring rain.  The ruins themselves were very interesting and there was a mine that you could climb down.  I just stood in the entrance, but a few of the girls I was with climbed down. 

Castle Ruins

After seeing the castle, we roamed around in the rain for a little while before seeking refuge in a Starbucks.  By the time we got back home we all just wanted to snuggle up in our rooms and never leave again!  I made some hot chocolate and one of my flat mates and I watched a movie on BBC before we went to bed.
Later today I will be going on an excursion for my Scotland on Screen class to Doune Castle, where Monty Python and the Holy Grail was filmed.

Day 5: Wallace Monument and more Roaming

I did not have any classes today, so Clare, Catherine, and I woke up early and walked from the campus to the Wallace monument (up hill) and then up the 246 steps to the top.  We were pretty exhausted once we made it to the top, but we had enough energy to take a few pictures.

Walking toward the monument

The tiny spiral staircase...it was kinda difficult when people were walking down as we were walking up.  We had to squeeze by on the smaller inside part of the stairs.  I wouldn't recommend this if you are claustrophobic...or afraid of heights.

Clare and I at the top (That is Clare's victory pose)

The city from above

Another great view

After the Wallace monument we all ate a quick lunch in our flats and then went to explore the city again.  We now realize that the city is pretty tiny.  We have already walked down all of the main streets several times.  Today we spent a lot of time sitting on benches because we were so exhausted.  We listened to a guy who was singing Beatles songs on the street for a little while before we headed back for the campus.  We discovered that we can not watch Netflix or Hulu while we are here, so we watched a show about midwives that is set in the 50s on the BBC website.  It was definitely an interesting show.

Today the RAs dropped off our "Taste of Scotland" item of the week...Irn Bru.  Irn Bru is a Scottish soft drink that is absolutely everywhere around here.  It is made from a secret family recipe and has even beat out Coke as the number one soft drink in Scotland.  It smells like bubble gum, but it tastes like a fruity version of ginger ale.  It's not bad!

Tomorrow we are going to St. Andrews for the day.  I'm looking forward to the change in scenery!

Day 4: A Stroll Around the Loch

Today wasn't a very eventful day.  I met friends for lunch between classes in the student union.  Our classes ended at 3:00 pm and we took the bus into town.  We stopped to get ice cream and wandered around for a while.The shops in town close around 5:00, so we went to Tesco, the grocery store, to pick up some food for the week and took the bus back to the University.  We ate dinner in our flats and then went for a nice walk around Airthrey Loch, the Loch in the center of the campus.

A mother swan watching over her sleeping babies

The Ugly Duckling

A strange type of bird that we kept seeing everywhere

Bunnies are literally everywhere

Ducklings--While we were walking, we stopped to take a picture of a big group of ducks.  The ducks all started walking toward us and as I was getting my camera my chap-stick fell out of my bag.  All of the ducks went running for it thinking it was food.  Luckily I picked it up before any of them could get it.  I can't live without my Burt's Bees!

Swan

Tomorrow we will be going to the Wallace monument.  We see it every day, so I am excited to finally get to climb to the top!

Another great view of the Wallace monument from the campus