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I just uploaded three photo albums so make sure you take a peek at those. Sorry Ive stopped labeling them all. Honestly, Im just extremely lazy. I will be happy to tell you exactly where I am and what is going on in person, if you are really that curious. : )
Im rushing around getting ready to leave for Spain tomorrow (sweet!) so this is going to be a short entry. The highlights of the last several weeks are 1) classes ended, 2) Sarah visited, 3) We went to the Highlands/ Loch Ness, and 4) Dad came for my birthday.
Yes, classes are over. Isnt that bizarre? I feel like Ive been in classes forever though. We have a couple weeks off for Easter Holidays, than the exam period begins, which I am not looking forward too. I have a TON of studying to do. But Ill think about that later. Right now Im on break!
The trip up to the Highlands was great. Long, but great. We covered approximately 400 miles in one day! The landscape was absoultely magnificent. My pictures do not do it credit at all. And unfortunately I had to delete many of my pictures because they were taken through a bus window and there was just too much glare. But there are a few Im happy with. The weather was wonderful, and it was really cool to see the little villages and the miles and miles of untamed land. You would go for miles without seeing a house, and then there would be a cottage all by itself perched on a hill. It all looked liked something off a postcard. In Scotland they have the right to roam, which I find really interesting. It means that you are free to travel through and camp on any land as long as it isnt someones private property. And as the Highlands are really under populated you can generally hike around and camp wherever you want to at any time. So much freedom! Anyway, highlight of the tour was Urquhart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness. It is a ruined castle, built sometime around 1200 and blow up in the 1600s to keep the Jacobites from controlling it, but it is still beautiful and very fun to explore. Unfortunately I only have one picture of the castle because my camera died and the stupid batteries I bought didnt work, but Sarah has a bunch of pictures from it which shes promised to upload for me sometime.
There are a bunch of other pictures of me and Sarah goofing around, mainly acting like 5 year-olds on playgrounds and being irreverent in graveyards. Hey, if I were dead I would enjoy the company. Look for the statue of Abraham Lincoln. Apparently he was popular in Scotland. The pictures with the Roman looking ruins were taken on top of Calton Hill, a hill that overlooks the city from the west side of New Town. The Roman thing was begun after Napoleons defeat at Waterloo but was never finished, so there is randomly on row of columns sitting on a hill in Scotland.
Dad visited for my birthday and it was really great to see him. I felt rather bad though, as British Airways lost his luggage and the weather turned foul just for his visit. Oh well, cant fight the weather and the luggage was eventually found. We went to the Edinburgh Castle, and of course it was Easter weekend so every tourist in the world was in Edinburgh and touring the castle with us. I have never seen that many people on the Royal Mile. It was insane! Anyway, we saw the Scottish crown jewels, then escaped to eat at the Elephant House (the café where J.K. Rowling wrote a lot of the first HP books), then went to the Scotch Whisky Experience. The Scotch Whisky Experience is this hilarious attraction that teaches you about how awesome scotch whisky is, and then gives you a nip and a whisky glass. There is a barrel ride that takes you through the history of scotch whiskey. No joke, a barrel ride. And the whole thing is fun for the whole family! Bring the kids!
Thats about it. I went out and had some slightly belated fun for my 21st, and am planning to continue that in Granada. I am really excited to see people and not have to wear a coat all the time! We (Sarah, Nora, and I) are going to a beach town for a couple days and it is supposed to be really warm there. The bbc is promisng me temps in the 80s, which is much much warmer than it is here right now. Did I mention that it snowed on my birthday? Oh well, the cold doesnt really bother me, but it will be nice to stick my feet in the sand.
Also the normal disclaimer that Im not responsible for OffExploring deleting half of the punctuation. Sorry about that!
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