Scotland and York

The past few days have been very busy but a lot of fun. Our first night in Scotland a small group of us got together and went on a ghost tour of a large cemetary in Edinburgh. It was actually a lot cooler than we had anticipated and was well worth the money. We went on the last tour of the day which left at 10 so it was starting to get dark. Our guide was awesome. The next day we got up early in the morning to get on a bus and drive to the highlands. We spent the day riding the bus and stopping off in different places. We stoped to see the William Wallace staue, which was quite a hike. We literlly had to climb a small mountain to get to the top. It was cool though, and there was a great view. Then we got back on the bus and drove through some of the most beautiful countryside I've ever seen. I loved the highlands. They were SO undescribably beautiful. I tried taking pictures, but they're just not the same and don't do them justice. We took a short potty break and visited Hamish, a large hairy highland cow that is probably one of the most photographed scotts. We got back on the bus and stopped in a small town for lunch and a group picture. Next we headed to The Famous Grouse distillery. We went on a tour of the facility and they taught us about malt whiskey and how it's made and what makes a good whiskey. At the end we had a smell test of the different whiskies and then they gave out free shots. After the distillery we headed back to Edinburgh where we walked around and had a cheap dinner and dessert. We met up with a bunch of people in the lobby of our hostel from Autralia, Wales, and Ireland. They were rather amusing, so we hung out with them for awhile before going to bed.

The next morning we were up early to catch a train to York. We spent about 6 hours in York. We took a bus tour around the city and then we spent the rest of the afternoon walking the wall, eating lunch, and poking around the little side streets and shops. It was nice, but I honestly was expecting something a lot more spectacular since everyone talks about it so much. It was pretty, but after the scottish highlands nothing really compares. Then we got back on the train for about 2 hours, then we had to switch to a bus for about an hour and a half, then we got back on a train to King's Cross, and then we walked back to Byng. It was a long day of crazy transportation. I think I may have liked York better if the transportation would have been easier. The trains were nice though, and when I had one of the table seats it was nice and comfortable. Everyone was really tired last night so we all went to bed early and a lot of people skipped class this morning. I went, and we walked all over London for 4 hours. Then I stopped at the grocery store on my way back from class and now I'm just taking it easy before we go see Chicago tonight. We also just bought tickets to go see Into the Hoods this Wednesday. I'm really exicted for that. It should be a really good hip hop show. We're also thinking about going back to Oxford this Friday. Krysta's sister gets in on Wednesday so we're trying to take her around, plus we didn't have nearly enough time in Oxford on our day trip. Well, I think I'm going to take a power nap to recharge a bit before this evening. I'm so happy to have the internet again, even if the connection is spotty.