Welcome to Scotland

I'm truly trying to stay on top of the blogging, its difficult and I know its not fun reading without pictures but there's nothing I can do about it (at least for now). Last week we took a tour of the Houses of Parliament. It was incredible. It honestly blows my mind to walk through these amazing places and wonder how the crap did people so long ago build such detailed and gorgeous buildings. Pictures don't do justice. I try to take pictures of the beautiful stain glass windows, wood carvings, arches, and all of the above so I can always remember how amazing they are, but it doesn't even come close to the real thing. You have to see it for yourself. 

Anyways... after I learned somewhat how the government works here, we took a lovely little ferry ride down the Thames River to Greenwich. It was surprisingly not freezing cold, chilly but manageable. Being on the water made me incredibly happy. (I am such a warm weather and water kind of girl, I learn that more and more about myself everyday here). Sitting on a boat with a even a chance of sunshine is my happy place. 

Once we got to Greenwich we ate at a fun little food market, I couldn't help but try all sorts of yummy treats (and spent way too much money). Then we headed to The Royal Observatory where smart people (like Sir Isaac Newton and such) first looked at the stars and moon. It's also the international hub for time in the whole world because the prime meridian (where latitude and longitude are both 0 degrees) runs through it. I got to stand with one foot in the Eastern hemisphere and the other in the Western hemisphere. I've always wanted to be in two places at once.. so I guess that means that another one of my dreams came true... haha. On the boat ride back to London, the sun was shining and there were blue skies. I decided at that moment that I never want to come home (sorry Kass and family). It was amazing to feel the sun on my face. It was a good day to say the least. 

Last night I got home from a week long trip to Scotland and Northern England. It was a lot of being on a coach (some of the funniest moments happen on there) but so so worth it. Scotland was amazing. It was really cold and foggy but I would definitely go back. The people were so much nicer there than they are here in London and I loved the Scottish accents. We visited a couple castles (Edinburgh & Durham), Durham Cathedral, Fountains Abbey, York, Hadrian's Wall, Newcastle & Lindisfarne Priory. 

We saw a lot,

 walked a lot, 

froze a lot, 

ate a lot, 

spent a lot,
laughed a lot,
stayed up too late, 
 and had A LOT of fun.

One night a group of us went on a ghost tour (Edinburgh is known as the most haunted city in Scotland). Fortunately we didn't see any ghosts but it was fun walking through cemeteries & underground vaults while listening to scary stories. We also visited The Elephant House where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter on napkins and looked out the same window overlooking Durham Castle that inspired Hogwarts. We also saw the "real" Tom Riddle tombstone, went on a tour of a dungeon, shopped for cashmere & kilts, listened to the bagpipes, had a Scottish sausage and experienced my first hostel (not looking forward to living in one for the last two weeks here).  

I can't believe how little time I have left here. I only have 3 full weeks left in London (on top of my other travel weeks). Next week we are headed to France and Belgium!

xoxo, 

Christina