You Have Not Experienced Cold Until You Have Experienced Scotland

Hello dear followers! I apologize for the week without a word...but I was in Scotland for five days without Rufus, my darling laptop, and then I was a smidge busy on Monday with a play and a paper for class. But here I am, at 11:38 PM on Tuesday, come to update you on the highlights of last week galavanting off around Scotland.

Let's do this by day!

So first, Wednesday.
We left London bright and early at 7:50 AM, which meant waking up around 6:00 AM which is bloody early. The train ride was approximately 4 hours, and we arrived in Edinburgh just past noon. We walked a mile and a half (in reality, it was only 15 minutes, but when you're carrying bags and the weather is...well, the weather in Scotland in February, it feels like forever!) to our hostel, where we deposited our items and then we took off for the Edinburgh Castle.
Now, I would like you to know, that the entire time we were in Edinburgh (from Wednesday to Friday), it was either pouring rain, snowing, or doing a combination of both, and it was at all times very windy. So we explored the castle in these very conditions. Despite the horrid weather, we had fun wandering around the castle and looking at the Scottish war museum and learning about their rich history.
After the castle, we went to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery where we wandered around looking at paintings. It's a rather small art museum, so we managed to see everything in it within one hour before they kicked us out for closing time.
We returned to the hostel where we were given dinner and then everyone went to bed as we were utterly exhausted.

Thursday, the hostel fed us breakfast and provided us with sack lunches for our day. Then we headed out for a visit to St. Giles Cathedral. We split in to two groups and got tours around the cathedral. It was really cool, I even saw an angel playing bagpipes!
After the cathedral, we went to the Scottish History Museum (or whatever it happens to be called) where we had free reign to explore the museum. I played dress-up again (I love these Brits and their dress-up opportunities in the museums!), this time as a Viking. I didn't get far through the museum, but that's okay, because after the museum we had the option of going to Linlithgow Palace. I chose to go, and I'm ridiculously happy that I went; you get to wander around the palace at will, and it's just a ton of fun. We climbed up in every tower.
After the palace, several of us went to The Elephant, a coffee shop with a claim to fame: J.K. Rowling began the Harry Potter series in that very shop. We took pictures, we ordered hot chocolate, and a few people wrote (like Rowling). Then we briefly went shopping, which contained stops at an antiquarian book store and a yarn store.
After dinner at the hostel, I went to a pub Thursday night with Corrinne, to try some pear cider. Turns out, pear cider is delicious. After the cider, I had a Guinness. After two drinks, I was more than ready for bed, and so Corrinne and I walked back to the hostel and I promptly climbed in bed (but did not sleep very well).

Friday was the class's final day in Edinburgh. We took a walk to a hill that I can't recall the name of. On top of said hill is an unfinished monument in honor of all that the Scots have achieved. It was built in the 19th century and is meant to resemble the Parthenon in Greece. Although it's unfinished, it's still pretty impressive up about the city.
Then we went to Scottish Parliament, where we were given tours around the building. The Scottish Parliament, if you do not know, is barely ten years old. They have a pretty snazzy building, though.
Once the class finished up, Annie, Sasha and I took a train to Glasgow. In Glasgow, we checked in to our hostel and then wandered out for dinner. We found a pub in the town center where we chose to eat, and then we went back and read Shakespeare out loud in our room.

Saturday was the most interesting day in Scotland. Annie, Sasha and I had booked a tour to take us all over Scotland. We were worried the horrible weather would cause problems, but fortunately the weather cleared up by Saturday. As we drove north we saw lots of snow, but for once the sky was clear! The tour took us up north, stopping in places to let us take pictures. We saw the Three Sisters of Glencoe, we visited Urquhart Castle by Loch Ness, we took a cruise on Loch Ness, we got to explore the town of Inverness, and we stopped for dinner in Perthshire, where Annie and I were brave enough to try haggis. We returned to Glasgow by about 9:30, and Annie and I decided to go explore Glasgow for the evening. We're clearly such wild party animals, we chose to go to a pizzeria where we had coffee, tea, and dessert and we chatted. Sasha did not join us, she rather went to the hostel. When Annie and I returned to the hostel at 11:00, we came in giggling and being silly. Sasha thought we were drunk, which we were intentionally acting like.

Sunday morning was the only day we got to sleep in, and so we slept until 9:00! Annie went to get a shower, and when she returned I went for a shower. And, as luck should have it, right as I was preparing to rinse the shampoo out of my hair (and finish my shower), the power went out. First, the lights flickered out, and then the water (which was only just a trickle in the first place) ceased. So I wrapped up in a towel and returned to our room, where the power also was out. The sink was still running, so I rinsed my hair in the sink. Now, the thing with the sink is, it has two faucets: one for hot, one for cold. And you cannot find middle ground. The hot is HOT. So I rinsed my hair in the sink with freezing cold water. As soon as I was finished, the power returned. I went back to the bathroom and hopped in the shower again just to make sure my hair was properly rinsed. We spent the rest of Sunday traveling back to London...it was truly unexciting.
I am happy to say that my shower that morning was the only Trains, Planes and Automobiles moment which I experienced that day (although, Sasha and Annie had to inform two guys on the train that they were sitting in their reserved seats).

Yesterday (Monday), was class as usual. However, the theater class was going to see Dunsinane, a play about Scottish history that is the sequel to Macbeth. They had 10 extra tickets, and I was informed that this production is the world premiere of the show. I had a paper due the next morning for art history which I had yet to write, but I eventually decided that I couldn't resist going to the play. So I went, and I was glad that I did. The show was very well done, with good music accompanying the drama, and just enough jokes to keep you entertained amidst all the serious drama and death. My subject line, by the way, is a line from Dunsanine. I, personally, didn't find Scotland too terribly cold. Berlin in January last year was worse.

And finally, today, after class I came home and took a nap, and then went to see Waiting for Godot with Annie, Sasha, and Hannah, starring Sir Ian McKellan and Roger Rees, the actor who played the Sheriff of Rottingham in Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Our seats were amazing, and they only cost us 11 pounds each. We bought "day-of" tickets, which the theatre reserves and you cannot buy until the box office opens on the day of the show. The tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis, and we really lucked out! It was a great show, and a great day.

You can see my Scotland pictures all together in one photo album here.