For reading week, Margaret and I headed up to Scotland, where we did a lot of sightseeing, picture taking, and shopping. (This is a very small portion of the photos I took on the trip.)
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| the coast of Scotland from the train |
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| We'd been in Edinburgh for about five minutes when we saw a kilt-wearing piper busking on the street. |
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| Edinburgh at night |
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| Tuesday we went for a bike ride around the lowlands, which included a detour down to the beach where we saw a seal in the water. It was really cold and super windy but great fun anyway. |
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| We came across a field of cows. We started talking to them.... |
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| ...and pretty soon the entire herd was at the fence where we were. When we left, they followed us until the end of their field. |
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| Cow! |
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| Hamish on my bed in the hostel--Argyle Backpackers. |
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| We stayed in an 8 person dorm room. It was clean and quiet--very nice. |
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| Wednesday we went for a sunrise hike up Arthur's Seat--an extinct volcano in Edinburgh. |
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| Sunrise. |
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| Sunrise over Edinburgh. |
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| the summit of Arthur's Seat |
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| Edinburgh |
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| Me at Edinburgh Castle |
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| Scottish flag |
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| Me at Edinburgh Castle |
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| Me and Edinburgh |
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| another piper, this one on the Royal Mile |
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| creeping on this guy walking around in a kilt |
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| From the top of the Walter Scott Monument. The higher peak in the back is Arthur's Seat. |
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| me at the top of the Walter Scott Monument |
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| There were 287 steps to the top of the monument. They got VERY narrow towards the top. |
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| The Walter Scott Monument |
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| Blackadder! in a graveyard in Edinburgh |
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| Potter! --the gravestones that inspired Harry Potter |
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| Riddell, which became Riddle |
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| rainbow over Edinburgh |
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| The Elephant House--the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter |
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| We went for a tour in The Scotch Whisky Experience, where we learned all about how Scotch Whisky is made and got a taste of it (bleh). |
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| the largest collection of Scotch Whisky |
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| me & whisky |
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| Friday we went for a tour of the highlands with an alternative tour group called the Hairy Coo. This is the first rainbow of many. (www.thehairycoo.com - this is a fantastic tour where there is no set price, you go on the tour and tip the driver what you think it was worth at the end) |
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| Stirling Castle--a very important castle in the history of Scotland |
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| Doune Castle--a very important castle in the history of comedy |
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| "Hello? Who is it?" |
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| Donald, our tour guide, was nice enough to provide coconuts, which I clacked around the castle (we couldn't go in because it was closed for winter hours). |
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| We met Hamish, a very famous Hairy Coo--a breed of Scottish cattle |
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| Hamish |
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| Snow-capped peaks |
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| Loch Earn |
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| the bus--the back says "Honk if you're horny" |
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| me at the loch |
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| Loch Earn is a tidal loch, so there were some pretty crazy waves. |
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| Rainbow up at a glen. |
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| Dam up in the highlands. |
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| Where we were. |
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| the very narrow road we were driving on. the little stuffed hairy coo is named Hector. |
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| As part of the highlands tour, we went for a tour of a whisky distillery, so I got another sample of whisky (the first was much better). |
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| inside the distillery |
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| a barrel of whisky from 1952, they're hoping to keep this one going until 2012 and have a special 60 year old whisky, in honor of the queen, but it's down to 42% alcohol (it has to be 40% to be considered whisky) |
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| casks of whisky maturing |
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| photos from Margaret (that are out of order)--me at the summit of Arthur's Seat |
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| Me looking very disheveled and windblown at the top of Arthur's Seat |
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| the Harry Potter themed toilet in the Elephant House |
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| Margaret and me |
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| me photographing the rainbow |
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| me, water, mountain, and rainbow |
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