With a day to go in the land of haggis and whisky...

I'm always a sap when it comes to saying goodbye, and in less than 24 hours I'll be bidding farewell to Scotland. Bear with me, because this post will be gushy.

Before I talk about what this experience has meant to me in general, I'll fill the readers of this blog in on what has transpired since I returned home from Rome. Not anything too notable last week, if I'm remembering correctly. On Tuesday night we celebrated an intern's birthday at the Filling Station, an American-like pub I've mentioned here before. And on Thursday I went to the Southsider, a local pub that's supposed to have great fish and chips. Naturally, I got the fish and chips -- the first I've had here and an experience I wanted to check off my list. Very greasy, but very tasty. Oh and chips = french fries. The British can make some good chips.

On Saturday, I went with another intern and another intern's friend (but not the one who came with us -- confusing sorry) to St. Andrews. The three of us were the southern triumvirate - one from Mississippi, one from Alabama, and me from Louisiana. They are very nice girls, and we had alot of fun chatting about the South and its customs that are befuddling to so many. A crawfish boil? What? One of the other interns referred to it as a less classy lobster bake.

St. Andrews: what a beautiful little town on the sea. It's the home of golf (boring!) and also home to St. Andrews University. We picked a great day to go -- lady luck was on our side -- because the Kate Kennedys (from what I gather a club of St. Andrew's poshest students) were doing their annual procession through town. We happened upon a group of lads on campus decorating a buggy in yellow flowers and got the scoop. The whole town came out to see the students dressed convincingly as historical Scottish figures walk through the streets. St. Andrews students wear red dress robes that are right out of Harry Potter. It was a really neat thing to see.

The rest of the trip centered around walking through the town and visiting its castle and cathedral. St. Andrews is very small; we could see the whole thing from the cathedral tower. 

[caption id="attachment_372" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The Kate Kennedys decorating the buggy on university grounds."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_373" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The sea!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_374" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Ruins of St. Andrew's Castle"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_375" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The town from the cathedral tower."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_376" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Kate Kennedy procession."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_377" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The oldest golf course in the world -- it takes years on a waiting list to be able to play here."][/caption]

And that plus some mandatory gelato at B. Janetta's was my St. Andrews experience. I'm glad I was able to see it on my last weekend here.

This past week has been full of intern romping through Edinburgh and some formal goodbyes. On Tuesday night we had our "graduation" from the parliamentary programme. I have a certificate and everything! Paddy gave a surprisingly brief speech followed by others who were involved with the program. When it was the interns' turn no one else spoke up so I told Paddy I would say a few words. 

[caption id="attachment_378" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="PADDY!"][/caption]

Yesterday was my last at Parliament, and while it's been a really good internship I'm glad to be done.  I finished up my project and did a few other things before cleaning out my desk and saying my goodbyes. I will miss that cafeteria food and its custard covered desserts.

[caption id="attachment_379" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The interns minus two on our final day at Parliament."][/caption]

Last night was the INTERN BLOWOUT, but it didn't turn out to be much of a blowout at all. We're all really, really tired. We started at an apartment and went to two bars/pubs before calling it a night.

I realized last night that I probably won't see some of the people who I've shared the last 15 weeks with again; it's a saddening thought. The interns spent an exorbitant amount of time together -- we saw eachother every day and most nights. It was a great group and we had had alot of fun. (Yes, I did cry a little when I was hugging everyone goodbye). 

Now I'm starting my last day in Edinburgh, and it's cold and dreary as it should be. I wouldn't have wanted to go out any other way. I really am ready to go, but I'm still a mix of emotions. 

Four months has been a long time to be cold; I will not miss the weather at all. What I will miss: the interns and other people who have made this experience, being able to walk everywhere I want to go, lovely Scottish music in pubs, pubs, being able to drink legally (my 21st birthday is in July), cider, Scottish accents, kilts as normal dress, train rides, Parliament gossip, I could go on...

Tomorrow I'm flying to Paris with Lilly and two other girls and thus will start my 3-week European adventure! I'm doing a week in France, a week in Germany, and a week in Austria. I'm ready to see some more of this world.

Thanks to those of you who kept up with this blog; it was fun to write and I hope fun to read as well. I may not be able to blog so much in Europe since I'll be at the mercy of hostel computers, but I'll try to do some if I can. 

One last time from Scotland, with some Deep Scottish Love!

Sun and gelato in ROME!

Edinburgh is covered by a blanket of fog today, and it's making me miss Rome even more. Ahhh Roma, what a beautiful city! 

Easter weekend is a pretty great time to go to Rome, but it's also one of the worst. Everywhere we went was crowded, don't get me started on the Vatican. But it was such a special experience that it was well worth it...

Four of us interns awoke at the so early hour of 3 am on Friday to make it in time for our 6:30 am flight out of Edinburgh. Our flight was delayed, of course. As Lilly put it well, Ryan Air is now on my "dead to me" list. I suppose that you get what you pay for is an accurate description of the airline, so I shouldn't complain so much. I would just prefer that my flights aren't 3 hours late, as happened on the way home. But for 1 p, which is what I'm paying to fly to Paris in a couple weeks, I will settle for literally anything except a plane crash. I will never buy a scratch lotto ticket on board, though.

When I stepped off the plane I was met by wonderfully warm air and the light of the sun. How I've missed thee! Then and there I decided it was going to be a pretty great trip. 

We took a bus into the city and then found our hostel near the Cavour metro station. An older Italian lady who didn't speak a lick of English greeted us and showed us the hostel - aka her apartment with bunk beds stuffed in a couple rooms. But it was clean and in a great location, so we were rather pleased with the find. 

Then it was time to explore! We had a pizza lunch at an outside cafe then roamed the streets in search of the Roman Forum. We found it, but as it closed early for Good Friday, we made our way to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps instead. On the way we tried our first gelato -- I remember thinking "I love my life" as I downed it in the sun. There are as many gelato shops in Rome as there are 7-Elevens in Taipei and pubs in Edinburgh; they're basically everywhere you look. Which is a great thing, because gelato is amazingly delicious.  We had it 5 times in the 3 days we were there and it wasn't enough.

[caption id="attachment_341" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The accordion player who serenaded our pizza lunch."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_342" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="One of our first views of the city."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_343" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The ladies in Rome! I believe the building behind is a shrine to Emperor Emmanuel. Notice my tank top - woo hoo!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_344" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The Trevi Fountain. The saying is that if you throw a coin into the fountain you'll be back to Rome. I threw in two!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_346" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The Spanish Steps, covered in people. We hiked to the top and had a nice view of the city from there."][/caption]

After dinner at a lovely place  - mmmm homemade pasta, bruschetta, and red wine of course -- we went to the Coliseum for a very special performance by DA POAP! That's Pope Benedict XVI, who led an outside stations of the cross for Good Friday. It was all in Italian so we didn't understand a word, but it was still a really cool experience, one that I'm sure I'll remember and talk about for the rest of my life.

[caption id="attachment_347" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Very bad, blurry picture of the pope leading stations of the cross - he's in the red!"][/caption]

The next day we woke early again, but not early enough. By the time we made it to the Vatican it was already mobbed by thousands of people. The line to see St. Peter's Basilica wrapped around the square, and after waiting for a bit we decided to do the Vatican Museums (which house the Sistine Chapel) first. The path to the Sistine Chapel is overwhelming to say the least: you are surrounded by amazing art, sculptures, and images and there's simply not time to truly appreciate it all. The Sistine Chapel was, as expected, breathtaking. I must say I thought the painting of God touching Adam would be more prominent since that's the image everyone knows from the chapel, but it's almost hidden among everything else.

Next we went back to St. Peter's and were relieved to see that the line was much shorter. We made it into the basilica and were hit with more extreme visual stimulation. The basilica is HUGE, ornate, and just all in all filled with really incredible things. Michelangelo's Pieta is in there as well as many famous works of art. Unfortunately the crypts were closed for the day, but that only gives me a reason to go back.

[caption id="attachment_348" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Moi in St. Peter's Square with the Basilica in the background."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_350" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Ornate pathway on the route to the Sistine Chapel."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_351" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="God touching Adam, the most iconic image of the Sistine Chapel."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_352" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Another view of Michelangelo's greatness in the chapel."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_353" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Lilly and I with the square to our backs -- the entrance to the basilica was being adorned with flowers for Easter mass."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_354" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Inside the basilica."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_355" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Michelangelo's Pieta."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_356" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The dome inside the basilica."][/caption]

After some much-needed gelato (coconut mmmm), we hiked it (or rather metroed it) to the Piazza del Popolo and had an unforgettable experience with one of Rome's hustlers. They're everywhere, shoving flowers and other items in your hands and then asking you to pay for them. This one fella wouldn't take no for an answer, and even after he gave us the flowers and promised us they were gifts, asked the guy in our group to pay for them. He relented, only after I threatened to put the roses on the ground. 

[caption id="attachment_357" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Holding the hustler's roses in Piazza del Popolo."][/caption]

My Europe guidebook says Rome has more ruins and historic sites than dog poop, and that's a pretty accurate description. Everywhere you look is something amazing. Close to the Piazza is Villa Borghese, a really lovely park with a pond, museums, and lots of green space. We strolled, sat, and enjoyed being in the sun. I came back with a bit of a sunburn that's turned now to a little bit of a tan, and I couldn't be happier about that.

Dinner that night was in Campo, a great little square lined with restaurants and bars that's centered around a fountain. I enjoyed lasagna and red wine as another accordionist serenaded us. 

[caption id="attachment_358" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Lilly and I at dinner in Campo - this semester has turned me into a red wine fan!"][/caption]

We went to a couple bars for a bit, but nothing too exciting was going on, probably because it was the night before Easter. Lilly and I departed a bit early to head back to the hostel and had some interesting encounters with Italy's gentlemen. Prior to then I was a bit skeptical about the rumor about Italian men being true, during the day it's completely fine. But we were very uncomfortable walking back - with men blantantly staring at us and making comments as we passed. We encountered some real sketchsters in the metro and were glad to make it home.

The next morning we attended Easter mass at the Pantheon, which has recently been converted into a church. I was surprised that there were not many people there at all, but I guess most tourists were at the Vatican - we chose to avoid it.

[caption id="attachment_360" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The Pantheon inside..."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_361" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="and outside."][/caption]

After a delightful pizza lunch, more gelato, and a canoli, we went back to the Roman Forum to see what ancient Rome was all about. I must admit I didn't have much of an idea what anything was, but it was fun to imagine the site in its heyday. We also climbed Paletine Hill, which was where the ancient Romans built their fancy homes. It has a great view of the city and the forum below.

[caption id="attachment_362" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Standing amidst the Roman Forum, ancient Rome's cultural and political center."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_363" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Beautiful flora on the way up Paletine Hill."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_364" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Rome view from the top."][/caption]

Next up was the site of fighting and death for the Ancient Romans: where else but the Coliseum? The building itself is pretty fascinating, as is its macabre history.  Funnily enough I associate the Coliseum first with the Lizzie McGuire Movie since Lizzie performs there. Kind of a contrast of ideas, but I would associate fighting and death with a Disney chick flick.

[caption id="attachment_365" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The inside of the Coliseum, with the maze below. I believe the people would wait there before they fought?"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_366" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Shamelessly sunning myself in front of the Coliseum. Those pale, pale legs are a little tanner now!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_367" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="A question I posed to the group: Do brown pigeons know they're different? What do you think?"][/caption]

 We hiked it to Trastavere, Rome's hippest neigborhood so says the guidebook, for a 3-hour dinner followed by more gelato. Our waiter spoke no English, but he did speak a bit of German interestingly enough, as do I, so that's how we communicated. It was so nice to sit outside as the day turned to night and enjoy delicious Italian food and wine. A good end to a great trip.

And that was Rome! The next day wasn't so great due to the 3-hour flight delay, but we made in back to Edinburgh with enough time to rest up - I was completely exhausted. I must admit I wasn't so happy to be hit with a wall of cold air when I stepped off the plane, but in about a week and a half I'll be in France enjoying the warmth again.

Why did I love Rome so much? 1. gelato 2. gelato 3. gelato

hehe but seriously, it was refreshing to be in a place so entirely different. The UK is very similar to the US, while Rome screams ITALY! The culture is everywhere, and I'm so glad to have experienced it. I'll be back someday, for sure.

My adventures in Scotland are soon coming to an end; look for one more post from Edinburgh and then I'm on to more places! I'm ready to go!

I've got DSL, and I'm not talking about high speed internet

After three days on a bus in the Scottish Highlands, I feel as though I've really gotten to see the best parts of this country. USC paid for us studying in the UK to take the trip -- my tuition dollars at work -- and it was a great time.  Luckily Lilly was able to go too, and she was my seat mate for the journey. If we had seen six more white horses, she could have been The One -- I'll explain later.

We left early Tuesday morning from Edinburgh in a bright yellow Haggis Tours bus. In addition to being bright yellow, the bus had WILD & SEXY written on the side, so there was no way we wouldn't attract attention. Our tour guide, a hip guy named Matt, assured us we would, in fact, have a wild and sexy time.

[caption id="attachment_311" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Lilly and I showing what wild and sexy is."][/caption]

There were 23 USC students to begin plus our director, and the bus was almost completely packed - I joked it should be called the "Chain Smoker Express" since it seemed many people were often late due to their smoking habit. The first stop was the tiny town of Dunkeld, not too far away from Edinburgh. The main site there is the Dunkeld Cathedral with its adjacent ruins. Plus some ancient murderer is buried behind the altar. I'm blanking on his name, but I know it contains "wolf." He was a bad guy -- so bad, Matt said, that most tours don't mention him.

[caption id="attachment_312" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="da ruins"][/caption]

Then it was into the Highlands! We stopped first at Aviemore, a ski resort village, for lunch, and then made our way to Culloden Battlefield, the site of the massive 1745 battle between the Jacobites and the Hanoverian British Government. It's a very solemn place -- just an empty expanse marked by flags. 

[caption id="attachment_313" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Culloden Battlefield"][/caption]

Next was Loch Ness, time numero dos for me, for some Nessie hunting. I'm an honest-to-God Nessie believer now; we didn't see anything but Matt  went through the different theories and told some very convincing stories. The lake is 23 miles long and as deep as 900 feet -- plenty of room to hide for a  friendly monster!

[caption id="attachment_314" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Bonny Loch Ness"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_315" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Copping a feel -- es war sehr kalt! (But that didn't stop a couple guys in our group from swimming in it)."][/caption]

 We drove along the shores of the loch, stopping for photo ops, and then moved very quickly to make our way to the Highland culture presentation. We sat in a recreated Highland dwelling and watched a guy explain how Highlanders lived -- what they ate, wore, and did. He needed people to demonstrate traditional Highland dress, and when no other girl volunteered I stepped up to bat, after being assured I would not have to strip completely, as Highland women did. 

[caption id="attachment_317" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Undergoing the intense tying and folding process."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_318" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Me as a Highlander woman! Notice the red wig: 95% of Highland women were gingers!"][/caption]

Don't I look great? Funnily enough, Highlander dress was very versatile. Think one of those things from American Apparel that you can twist into a million different outfits. The basic piece is just a super long strip of tartan fabric that is folded, tucked in, and wrapped many different ways depending on the occasion. No undergarments allowed, which I think could be very freeing. One other great thing about being a Highland woman was that the bigger your butt was, the more beautiful you were considered. Later that night, we ran into the the man who gave the presentation at a pub and he said he knew it was me from across the room because of my bottom! I should have lived in the Highland times.

We stayed that night at a nice hostel near the loch in a sleepy village.  A search for dessert later at night turned into quite the experience for Lilly, another USCer, and me: We met some interesting English chaps who had a penchant for dissing everything American. I held my own, but Lilly tells me making fun of Americans is many an English person's favorite hobby. Gotta seep in the culture, right?

The next morning it was up bright and early to hit the road again. First stop: Eilean Donan Castle, the most photographed place in Scotland. For the ladies reading this, Made of Honor was filmed there. The castle is on a small island connected to the main land by a stone bridge, and it is a lovely sight indeed.

[caption id="attachment_320" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Eilean Donan Castle"][/caption]

Then it was on the road to the beautiful Isle of Skye. We first made a quick pitstop by a river to hear the tale of the one-eyed woman. It's too long to recount here, but basically a woman who had her eye ripped out dipped her face into the river's water and was made beautiful again. Lilly and I dabbed water on ourselves in an attempt to preserve our 20-year-old looks, of course.

[caption id="attachment_321" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Hip tour guide Matt recounting the tale."][/caption]

We crossed over the Skye Bridge, a very expensive work of engineering that caused a public protest, and were greeted with amazing coastal views. Ahhh the sea! I must go down to the seas again...

Skye is commonly regarded as one of the most beautiful places in Scotland, and it's easy to see why. Why don't you take a look:

[caption id="attachment_322" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="In Portree, Skye's main town, hoping the seagulls don't poop on me."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_323" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The most commonly photographed image of Skye."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_324" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Sheep!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_325" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The lovely, lovely sea."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_326" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Oh, Skye."][/caption]

A night at Saucy Mary's, our hostel/pub combo, was a good time. Saucy Mary was a woman who back in the day would flash ships passing by. There are many imitators, but no one in our group got saucy (at least as far as I know).

On to day three (I was exhausted by this time)...We left Skye and made our way west to Glen Coe. Matt stopped for several photo ops on the way - the road traveled through a very scenic mountain range.



 



 



Glen Coe was the site of the intern trip many weeks ago, but it was great to go back. I think it's now officially my favorite place in Scotland. Matt took us on a different route through the "valley of the weeping," so I was able to see more of the Glen's amazing scenery. 

[caption id="attachment_331" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Moody, wonderful Glen Coe."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_332" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="da bridge in da glen."][/caption]

I was sad to leave Glen Coe, but I'll be back one day, I'm sure. I've got DSL, Deep Scottish Love. Matt talked about DSL throughout the whole trip; he says everyone on his trips catches it and it definitely happened to me :) The other thing Matt talked about alot was what happens when one sees 30 white horses on a trip to the Highlands. 30 white horses spotted, and the person sitting next to you is your true love.  We got down to 6, so there is no Insalata/Moser wedding - at least not yet. JOKES!

The final two stops of the trip were Hamish and Stirling. Hamish is a Highland cow, Stirling is a town. Hamish was awesome!! Except he has Bovine herpes, so no mouth-to-mouth allowed, shucks. In Stirling we went to the William Wallace monument aka Braveheart. I still haven't seen the movie, shameful I know.

[caption id="attachment_333" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The most photographed Highland resident. "][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_335" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The tribute to the man who had a very brave heart."][/caption]

After what felt like an eternity on a bus, we rolled back into Edinburgh Thursday evening. It was a great trip, but it's good to be back. The Lillycat spent one more night here with me; it was fun showing her the Parliament and of course a trip to the Elephant House was necessary for us Harry Potter fanatics. 

Only three weeks to go in the land of haggis and whisky. Time has flown by. From Scotland, with love.