scottish fun

Saturday in Carentan. I wish I could say that today was exciting, but that would be a lie. The weather was nice, though, plus I got groceries and called my Mimi for her birthday, so the day wasn’t so bad. Hopefully I’ll be in Caen next weekend for my birthday? We’ll see.

So Scotland. Gorgeous. Amazing. I loved it. As I flew into Edinburgh, I could look out over the Firth of Forth (I guess what we would call the Bay of Forth?) and Arthur’s Seat, which is this huge mountain-like hill in the city, apparently caused by an underwater volcanic eruption a real long time ago. When I got there on Friday, it was rainy, so Nate and I got some groceries, ate an excellent dinner, and then stayed in for the night. Saturday he took me to see some of the local sights, including the not-so-Scottish Scottish Parliament Building and Holyrood Palace, which is Queen Elizabeth’s Scottish residence that she apparently visits once or twice a year. Oh, and she also has her own pond full of geese and swans, which I find pretty funny. Nate and I walked up to the top of Arthur’s Seat for a great view of Edinburgh and the surrounding area. It was fantastic, and so crazy that something like that exists in the midst of rather large city (Edinburgh’s population is about 500,000). After that, we set off for Britannia, the former Royal Yacht that is now permanently in harbor in Edinburgh. Talk about royal comfort. Holy cow. I still don’t quite get the point of monarchies, but I do know that when you’re royal you pretty much get what you want. In all fairness, the “yacht” wasn’t quite as extravagant as it could have been, but the fact that it ever even existed is pretty crazy to me. It was, for Queen Elizabeth, the homiest of the all the Royal homes, but alas, it was decommissioned in 1997 because it was costing Britain too much money. Well, shoot. Saturday night, Nate and I met up with a couple people from his program for a drink, and then home again, home again, jiggity jig.

Sunday we overslept for church (oops!) but had a nice big breakfast instead. Then we walked a few steps up the street to Edinburgh Castle. The castle itself was nice, but I could have done without the huge admission fee that included things like the Scottish War Museums and the Scottish Crown Jewels, which required a 15-minute walk through a “storybook” before I actually saw anything. Show me the jewels, tell me they were hidden from Cromwell, lost and then found by Sir Walter Scott, and send me on my way. The castle does have a beautiful view of the city, though, and it’s huge, so it was fun to walk around, but some of it was a bit too touristy for me. I might be wrong, but I have a feeling the former Scottish royalty wouldn’t appreciate a magic show in the Great Hall. Strange.

On Monday, Nate had to do some work, so I had a day to explore Edinburgh. I decided to start out at Calton Hill, which overlooks the city and Arthur’s Seat. Again, beautiful weather, so the view was incredible. I could have spent all day up there, but Nate had recommended that I visit the Royal Botanic Gardens, so I decided to keep going. The Gardens were beautiful as well-the leaves on the trees were bright orange, and some flowers were still holding on. I took advantage of a few opportunities to play in the leaves, since it was Halloween and it only seemed appropriate. Don’t worry, Mom, I made sure there was no one around first-I know I shouldn’t make a fool of the family. Speaking of which, did you know there’s a Cunningham plaid? It’s black and red, and actually quite nice. I have no idea if my family is actually related to the Scottish Cunninghams though. (Grandma, Dad, any help?)

Monday night Nate and I watched some scary movies with people in his building, because we had to do something for Halloween. In the middle of one of them, Nate came running in from upstairs and told me to follow him, and we went outside to find this crazy Halloween parade. Come to find out, there’s a decent-sized Pagan community in Edinburgh, and every Halloween (All Hallows Eve) they have a parade to celebrate the spirits and such before All Soul’s Day. I wish I had my camera on me to take pictures, but it was basically a bunch of crazy costumes and makeup and dancing. Think Carneval, but on a smaller, less debauchery scale. Craziness!

Tuesday I left to go back to France, and what do you know, here I am. England and Scotland were both fantastic, and the break was just what I needed. Beautiful scenery, good talks with good friends, and plenty of rest. Oh, and plate after plate of good food from Nate, who, as it turns out, is an excellent cook. So now that you’re all caught up on my British adventure, I think it’s time for bed. Don’t want to sleep through church two weeks in a row.