Spring Break part II

Once again, I apologize for my inability to write on this blog with any thread of consistency.
Continuing on with my Spring Break (Which has now been a month ago... WOW time flies!)....

As I said in my last blog, I had only 3 hours to sleep before waking up and leaving for SCOTLAND!
I was determined to make this half of the trip INCREDIBLE! With limited sleep two of my Closest friends and  headed out to Glasgow and Edinburgh. I must say that I wasn't planning on going originally, however whether or not Becca talked me into it, I decided to go (I am soooo glad I did). Again, We got off to a rough start and by rough I mean missing our bus (Transportation fail 3). Thankfully the Stansted Express runs constantly, unfortunately the tickets are like 20 pounds. So, We got there and had to rush a little to get our passport checked out (Ryan Air requires that if you are not EU, they need to check your passport at the desk). Then, we got in security line which took FOREVER. I kind of begin to get stressed when things take a long time. I tend to lack that whole patience trait. Also, I forgot I had a liquid in my purse and so they had to search EVERYTHING! So, I told Abbie and Becca to go on without me and I would meet them at the terminal (in case they needed to stall). Once the guy was through checking to make sure I wasn't going to use my contact solution for destruction, I RAN to the terminal. However, I was starving so I went to the vending machine and got chips... I panicked because we were boarding and accidentally picked steak flavored (Who knew they had those?).

The flight was SUPER short. As soon as we fully got into the air, it was time for our dissent. When we got into the Airport, we searched for the train to take us into Glasgow then on to Edinburgh. The train was kind of confusing because you have to pay on the train so we were all confused and thought we were going to get kicked off. When we got to Glasgow we walked to the other train station and that is all we saw of Glasgow!

We headed on another train to get to Edinburgh. When we got there we were sort of turned around and so we headed in the wrong direction. In any other circumstance I would have been frustrated, but I had Abbie and Becca and that made it an adventure. We ended up going to a Hilton to ask for directions and it turns out we were on the opposite side of where we needed to be. So we took a bus because there was no way I would be walking ALL the way across town. On the bus, Becca came into contact with a strange man who told her not to use shampoo and soap on her face. To which I tried sooooo hard not to laugh and I held it pretty well until he got off the bus and we all busted with laughter.

We got off at the wrong bus stop.... Perfect.... and we ended up having to walk to our Bed and Breakfast (which was kind of a walk). We finally made it, but had no time to spare! It was 2:00PM and we needed to go to Edinburgh Castle before it closed. So we headed back the direction we came and walked up a hill to the castle. It was so pretty. Perhaps one of my favorites (apart from Hampton Court Palace). They had the Scottish Crown Jewels which don't hold a candle to England's Crown Jewels! It also had a dungeon area where they held prisoners and people captive. It reminded me of Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride (Which made me home sick).

After the tower, we walked down the hill which was lined with shops. I looked high and Low for a kilt and Bagpipes for my dad and anything for my mom (I have no idea what she wants). Scotland is known for it's Whiskey and I really wanted to bring some home for my dad. Not because he can drink it (Mom wont let him lol) but because he collects bottles. Unfortunately, Pepperdine frowns on alcohol in the house and I wasn't going to down a bottle of whiskey so I ended up not getting it. Becca and Abbie were going to do a Ghost Tour because that's what Edinburgh is known for. I on the other hand wanted to hide out in the Bed and Breakfast while they looked at scary stuff.  At the end of the day, they were to tired so they decided not to go either.

For dinner, We ate at TGI Fridays (How American!), but really all we wanted was a hamburger and fries after a day of hard travelling. Then we went to a place called Chocolate Soup (basically a hot chocolate cafe). They had a TON of choices! I got this Mint one, It was so good. Things that Britain would do well in America. Like Hot chocolate shops and Bagel sandwich shops. This would also make me not be as "homesick" (foodsick) for Britain! After that we slowly made our way to the hotel and passed out! We were so tired!

DAY 2

The next day, we woke up at 7, packed our stuff, and headed out for a 12 hour bus tour through the Highlands and Loch Ness. Our guide was amazing I absolutely loved him. We stopped at various places through out the trip. The first of which was at the base of the highlands where there was a shop, cafe, and Hamish. Hamish is a cow (I think) or he could be a yak (I don't really know what those are) anyway that's beside the point, he was HUGE and so cute! If I lived in Scotland I would definitely own a cow/ yak thing. As we headed through the highlands, we began to hit SNOW! I love snow, its so beautiful. Whenever something is covered in snow it looks so gorgeous. I had to throw a few snowballs while I could!

Next stop, LOCH NESS. If you would have asked me over a year ago if I would go to Loch Ness I probably would have laughed. But, here I was in the midst of the Loch Ness monster and I couldn't believe it. The story behind Nessie, thats what the people call her Nessie, is that its a huge monster that lives in the Loch. It wdoesn't really harm anyone there has just been SEVERAL sightings of her throughout the year. The most recent sightings being in 2007 and 2008. Some say its a Fish, Some say its a Plessiasaur Dinosaur, and some say she doesn't exist. When looking at the facts I have come to my own conclusion. She is real, now I am not crazy (well not at this current moment), but this Nessie in there now isn't necessarily the same Nessie that was from decades ago. Things tend to procreate you know. If you want to ask me why I think she is real feel free, but it is too much to post on my Blog. Mainly, because the sightings are from people who gain nothing from the monsters existence. Anyway, We did a boat cruise on the actual Loch to a castle and back. It was cold, but it was an awesome experience.

On the ride home, We played a music guessing game on the bus. I was PRO (specifically because it was movie/ broadway music). I almost guessed all of them! The bus was about 2 and a half hours and I studied for my mid term the whole way. We made it back at 8 and then hopped on an earlier train to go to Glasgow. Unfortunately, we had to pay extra for tickets and I am so glad we did because when we got into Glasgow we were in for a long night.

We had a hostel, but before we went to it we decided to look up the bus schedule for the morning (again, I am glad we did). The first train out to Preswick Airport was at 8:00AM and this wouldn't normally be a problem except for the fact that our plane leaves at 7:40AM and we had to get to the airport at 7AM! So we walked to the other train station and asked about trains for that night. Luckily we got there just in time because the last hope of us getting out there was a bus that was due to leave in 5 minutes! So we got tickets and waited outside.

Now in the daytime Glasgow is gorgeous and nice, but at night its awful. There were children everywhere (by children I mean 13-16 year olds). They all were scantily dressed and on drugs and drinking alcohol. Maybe it's just a culture thing, but these were little kids drinking at 11 at night in miniskirts and others outfits and make up not even suitable for my age. I was shocked, no horrified would be a better word, specifically because these are children and they are already throwing their lives away. There was also a girl, who couldn't have been more that 16, with a child and as they walked past us she was screaming at him and then aggressively picked him up. These kind of situations make me appreciate the fact that I have a loving family that actually cares about me.

So we boarded the bus and headed to the airport. We got there around 11, however our plane wasn't scheduled to leave until 7:00AM! So, instead of trying to find an expensive hotel around the area, we decided to set up camp on benched in the airport. I passed out, but kept waking up at random times then when the clock reached 6, Starbucks opened up so we sat there for awhile.

FINALLY, we boarded the plane after the longest night of my life. Its was an experience and we laughed the whole way home.