In Which I Discover I am Not a Hostel Girl

This past weekend I traveled up north to Edinburgh, Scotland. After a lovely 8.5 hour bus ride there it was a welcome relief to stretch and go explore the city. Our hostel, however, had much to be desired. I suppose half of it was the smell, which was the most awful combination of unmentionables. That, and the fact that my friend and I were so very out of place. Everyone else there had blond dread locks and didn't believe in the principle of bathing. Oh well, we only used it to sleep in. Now I know that I was designed to stay in hotels, not hostels.

We started off day one by trying to get to the Castle. There weren't any signs (which we should have considered), so we figured the path would take us up the hill towards the Royal Mile and the Castle. Well, it took us up the hill but blocked all access above and beyond. Besides getting a nice work out at 8:30 in the morning, we did get a gorgeous view of Edinburgh.

The Castle, once we finally reached it, was a very cool place to explore. I couldn't imagine being a prisoner of war there, or actually using it to defend against an invading army. Today it does nothing more than earn revenue for the city as a tourist spot, which is a much more pleasant role all around I should think. The Scottish Crown Jewels are kept there, as well as some very nice paintings of the Stewart Monarchs in the Royal Hall. After spending a few hours touring the Castle we decided to taste a few whiskeys, which then prompted a need for lunch to get some food in our bellies...

Saturday we spent exploring the Highlands, which was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen before. The day was cold - 9 degrees C! - but the sites were gorgeous. Below are some of my favorite pictures from the day.

Here is me on the banks of Loch Ness. No monster I'm afraid but worth the trip nonetheless!

4th of July and PRIDE

I apologize for the delay in updates. A summer cold came through and completely knocked me out. After far too many doses of this nasty licorice tasting syrup intended to treat 'Chesty Coughs', I am feeling slightly more human again. I have never longed for the good old days of Nyquil and Dayquil before. I figured I could load up before I come back in the fall, but then the customs agents might think I'm making meth. Huh...

Anyway, Fourth of July weekend was a busy one here in London. Events kicked off around the third when CAPA through a BBQ for us at our flats in south London. The food was tasty and was a nice taste of home. The actual Fourth was a lot of fun - we basically used it as an excuse to be unapologetically American. My co-workers weren't very responsive to my very enthusiastically wished "Have a Happy Fourth tomorrow!", but I'm sure it was just British reserve. The Brits did get into the Holiday a bit, with some selling beers that day in dollars instead of pounds (where the exchange rate actually worked in our favor for once!), while others gave out free Budweisers to anyone who could prove they were American. We decided to spend the night at the Sports Cafe, because what is more American than a sports bar? And yes, American football was on the television. A few of the girls there had bought American flags and were wearing them as mini-dresses. I preferred to stick to my blue jeans, white tank and red shirt.

The next day was PRIDE in London, and it couldn't have been a more beautiful day. The sun was out and it felt like Summer. Finally. The parade was entertaining - my favorites are pictured below. It's actually ok to be out and in the military here in Britain, so all of the different forces had banners and floats and everyone cheered as they went by. After an exhaustive night celebrating Independence though, I needed sleep. It's tough being an upstanding citizen...