Overview of Scotland

Ok, so the bus ride to Scotland Wednesday night into Thursday morning was NOT pleasant. 10 hours jammed next to a stranger in an uncomfortable seat is not really my idea of fun, but we grinned and bore it because it was, after all, much cheaper than the train. We were asleep on our feet by Thursday afternoon, but we still managed to see Edinburgh Castle and a little bit of the National Museum of Scotland that day.

We checked into our hostel right away, which was quite close to the castle but a good distance away from the bus station. Then, as I said, we went out and saw some of the sights. We crashed hard at night and didn't go out, but that was good because we had to get up at 6:30 the next morning for the first of our tours. I quickly realized that I had forgotten pajama bottoms, so I had to sleep in jeans.

Friday we went on the Loch Ness Tour. Serena got left behind because when they say 8 o'clock to be on the bus, they mean 8 sharp! We felt bad, but apparently they let her take a different tour that day (to the chapel from The Da Vinci Code). Anyway, we headed off and stopped at a few places here and there to eat and recuperate on our way up to Loch Ness. It was a very winding, hilly drive, and all of us felt ill after awhile.

We did get to stop and see Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the UK, so that was cool. The weather was PERFECT, warm and beautiful.

We got to the Loch, and decided to hop on the boat tour. What do I proceed to do just before the boat tour ends? Drop the camera on the deck. The camera itself is fine, still turns on and takes pictures, but the inner digital alignment is whacked; there's a long jagged line on the viewing screen, to the left of which you can't see anything. To the right of the line is blinding whiteness. And yet, I continued to take pictures with it, and they turned out really well! I feel guilty about ruining another camera (seriously, what is it with me and technology?), but now that I know it still takes pictures I'll just continue to use it.

Friday night, people convinced me to go out on a pub crawl. I was a little bored (since I wasn't drinking, and it got real old real fast watching the older men try to sleaze it up with my friends), but eventually, Janie and I escaped from the loud, drunken crowd, and we ended up having a good time on our own.

Saturday/yesterday, we had our St. Andrews tour. The town greeted us with a veritable hurricane. Sheets of rain, driving wind, rumbling seas - we got completely soaked, head to toe. The wind inverted my umbrella the second I unfolded it. It would've been fun, if it hadn't been such a cold rain. Janie and I grabbed chocolate cake from a Starbucks and huddled away, trying to dry off. I did get to see the cathedral, which is 90% wrecked but still imposing.

On our way back, the driver took us to a fishing village that's a standard part of the tour, and of course the storm was still raging. He jokingly asked if anyone wanted to get out and take pictures on the sea wall, clearly assuming that no one would be crazy enough to do it, but all of the UGA at Oxford students piled out of the van to do it! The adults in the tour were smart enough to stay behind. In the end, only Serena, Janie and I actually climbed the narrow stone steps to the top of the wall. We got a great view of the seas frothing below us...and then we felt the wind push at us and got the hell out of there.

We then had one last dinner at The Elephant House, a coffee shop/restaurant where JK Rowling worked on the first Harry Potter books. It overlooks Edinburgh Castle. Another 10 hour bus ride, and here we are!

One minor problem that did crop up was time management. People said they'd be ready to leave by 9:30 Wednesday night; the bus was at 10, and it takes 20 minutes to walk to the center of town. I was ready at 9:30, but no one else was. Now, I know that I am not the greatest at being ready on time. In fact, I am often late. And yet, I get extremely anxious if people aren't ready for big things like overnight buses. I tried not to be pushy about it, but when 9:45 came around and one of the girls was STILL not ready, well...it was difficult to keep calm. Jordan is way too acquainted with this side of me, I nagged him all up and down Italy and France to get into gear faster. I'm constantly paranoid that I'm going to miss the tour/flight/what have you. We ended up having to pay for a bus to get to the bus, just to make it on time. The kicker is that on the way back, the same girl held us up again! I managed to keep my crankiness in check, but others didn't.

Pictures coming.