Second Star to the Right: And then Came Scotland (And Other Adventures)

On days like today I am very grateful that I have my photos to remind me of all the things that have happened. I am so tired right now, but that is always a sign that it has been a very productive and amazing day. So far this entire North trip has been fantastic. We are discovering new places every day and I am continually finding new things to love about Britain. This evening we finally arrived in Scotland, which made us all very happy. We will finally be staying still for a bit, as we will be here until our trip is over and we head back to London.

This morning we woke up and had an amazing breakfast in our hotel in York. I loaded up on food and got so full. Abbie and I then proceeded to shove cereal boxes in my pockets and baguettes up the sleeves of my hoodie so that we could have some food for the road. It was rather ridiculous, but saved us from having to spend money on lunch! They even had hot chocolate and I drank from it and almost cried from how much I loved it. I also had more baked beans, which I still find to be highly interesting but quite delicious.

Our first stop today took us to Fountain Abbey, another beautiful ruins to look at and enjoy. This one was huge and we were given free reign to run around the grounds, climb up things, and enjoy a sunny day. People keep telling us that we have been very lucky with the weather, and that is hasn’t been this sunny in a while. I love it because it is sunny but not hot, as there is always a very wonderful breeze to come as well. We played in the abbey and got in touch with nature. I really loved these particular ruins and couldn’t believe how huge they were. The grandeur of some things continues to amaze me.

Our next destination was Hadrian’s Wall, which is an amazing group of ruins and a giant wall that runs down the countryside. We went on a hike that goes along the wall and once again I was blown away by how beautiful it all is. It is so green and the weather continued to cooperate and the sun shined down on us. We befriended some sheep, walked down to a lake, recited some poetry at the top of a large incline, discovered a tree that was filmed for the recent version of Robin Hood, pretended we were in Mario Kart as we ran down a hill and held our own Olympic games in the ruins. I won the pillar-hopping contest. Paul might lie and tell you otherwise, but I definitely won. At the end of the hike we stopped for ice cream and soda and then hopped on the bus one final time to make our way to Scotland. Well, semi final, as we stopped briefly to take a picture with the welcome to Scotland sign.

First thoughts on Scotland. It is gorgeous. It is fun. It is amazing. It is everything I thought it would be. It is more than I thought it would be. It is surprising. It is an adventure. We’ve only been here a few hours as of now, but I feel like we have seen so much. Frank knows a man that lives here that he taught at BYU several years ago. He has since come here to get a PHD from Edinburgh University. He came and gave us a short tour of the city. We walked through the old part of town, going through cemeteries and looking at castles. We passed people playing bagpipes and were shown where all the cool museums are. Later we went into the newer part of town where we saw where they were preparing for the Edinburgh Festival that officially begins tomorrow. Also included in our little tour was a “Harry Potter Detour” where we went to The Elephant House, the café where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book. Later we went to the cemetery where she found the tomb of Tom Riddle that inspired the name for Voldemort and his father. It was all very cool and satisfying for us nerdy students.

After the tour we were all starving and began our search to find some food. Kim and I ended up going to an Italian restaurant that was recommended to us by some locals. It was just the two of us as the other people from our group bailed. It was super funny because we ended up having a nice candle lit dinner for two. We decided it would be our first “date.” (Just don’t tell the professors). As we exited the restaurant and made our way back towards the hostel, fireworks started going off in the sky to celebrate the coming festival. Talk about a perfect first date. Haha.

I managed to find a pub right next to our hostel that provided free Wi-Fi, the first that I have seen in about four days. Hopefully I can get a post up before the pub closes. If this isn’t posted on the actual day or anytime soon, then it didn’t go well. Ah the adventures we have. So stoked for all that we will be doing tomorrow and for the chance to explore this place some more! Thinking of you Dad!

And with that I may finally be caught up. I am going to have to leave this pub soon though, so photos shall hopefully be loaded tomorrow morning!