Going to Edinburgh

Today we are heading back to Edinburgh to explore the castle, and hunt up places that J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book. Mike is excited about the Harry Potter part! :)
Today is St. Andrew's day, so the admission to the castle is free and then there are parties tonight, so I will post pictures tomorrow!

Last blog of the month!

WOO HOO!!

Well, I just got the ''official'' word that my mama and dad will be coming to see us in March!! I am so very excited!! Only 4 more months and I can actually see them!


For anyone that's interested...
Sunrise: 8:20am
Sunset: 3:51pm

THE List

I am sure that I am now on some list in the Pentagon. This weekend I accidently tried to call Iran, the other post for today, and I have been researching the Muslim religion (because of the current book I am reading) and some militant Iraqis... but to further their reasons for me on the list...
Look at these opinion polls!

Georgie

I have been fortunate enough to travel to other countries. During my travels I always find it amazing how in tune other countries are with our politics. While I was in South America, the US was just starting the election process for the 2004 elections. People knew of the upcoming election and who was running it. It amazed me that a country that far away from us knew so much. Granted, they didn't like George W because he had offended the entire country in one swoop by essentially telling them they were daft for not just listening to him and instead asking questions. Everyone was incredibly accepting of the fact that I was American. What was equally interesting is that is one minute they could excitedly ask you about America and tell you how much they liked the country and in the next moment tell you how much they disliked the president and hoped for his failure in the upcoming elections. Not going to lie, I agreed. And not just because I feared for my saftey. It was one moment in my life where I was bigger, or the same size as most people.
In Scotland its much of the same. People are very accepting of the fact that we are Americans. They will tell us all the places that they have been in the US (mostly Florida) and then the next moment tell us they hate Bush. Everyone is interested in the next elections and cannot wait until he is out of office. I have heard him often called ''the war-monger.'' The fact that the Democrats won the houses was a point of great amusement here and even made the papers. I must say I chuckled along with them. But I have never been a supporter of Bush nor any of his policies.
Needless to say not many people are very supportive of Tony Blair either. But at least he didn't make the Metro's list of top threats to world peace like George W did. He lost only to Osama Bin Laden, and it was a close call.
Tonight, I was poking through old documents and came across a ''resume'' that my father-in-law had sent to Mike before the 2004 elections. I was able to find a more current one online. After reading all this, I am pround to say, ''I voted for the other guy.'' The next President has a lot of work ahead of him to help the United States to get back on track, and maybe to impeach Bush.

Our Un-Thanksgiving

Yesterday we were pretty bummed that everyone back home was having turkey, and we weren't. There is no way that we can fit a turkey in our oven, so we bought the next best thing. A chicken. And it was pre-stuffed! I am pretty sure that this is the first whole chicken I have EVER cooked of my own free will. Most of you know that I don't really like meat, and I especially don't like it when the thing I am eating looks like what it was before it ended up on plate. I much prefer the boneless, skinless variety of chicken. Much less guilt and thinking what its function was before it was food for me.
We were planning on making this same kind of chicken for Christmas, but I don't think that it would feed two men, and me. (our friend, Justin, is coming over for Christmas.) Any suggestions for possible alternatives?? Look at how small the wishbone is!!

Global Warming??

Its almost the end of November, and we are currently living VERY north. We are about the equivalent of almost halfway up Canada. Thankfully we are on an island, so we don't get the incredibly cold weather that mid-Canada recieves. But, sunshine and temperatures in the mid-50's is crazy!

Cheap International Calls

I must admit, I am a 'mama's girl' AND a 'daddy's girl.' My parents have been my support, my guidance and wonderful examples throughout my life. Until I met my incredible husband, they were the ones I turned to when anything was wrong or I just needed someone to talk to. Ever since those tumultuous teenage years, I have been very close to them, so moving miles and miles away was, and still is, very difficult. Not to mention that we are 5 hours ahead here, makes communication, other than email, a bit of an obstacle. Of course we got cell phones right away, but because we were not willing to sign a year long contract, the international call rates were rather steep. Thankfully, through a friend of ours we found incredibly cheap international rates. At one pence a minute, I can now call people without paying a fortune! (Or feeling guilty about using minutes.)

Bringing in the Season

Today we rang in the Christmas season by walking down to the German Christmas Market. I suppose that we really did this the the Christmas lighting display, but for us it really feels like the Christmas Season with Thanksgiving behind us. I have no idea why its called the 'German Christmas Market' since there were booths from all over the world, including Scotland, China, Russia, and Africa, but all the foods were primarly German. All the booths were amazing, and some were even in our price range, including handmade Hungarian Lace, decorations, purses, bags, etc. So, we will be returning for some Christmas shopping later on.

Then we walked around the city looking for a Christmas tree. We thankfully found a 'value' Christmas tree in Woolworths. Its only 2 1/5'' tall, but for the tree, lights, and ornaments it cost us less than $10. We have come to love Woolworths and wish there was one back home.

Thanksgiving in the UK

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Things that we are thankful for:

1. Each other

2. Our families -- they have been a great source of great examples and support for us.

3. our health -- ever since my mono experience, we have been nearly 'sick free'!

4. living in Europe for the year

5. our education -- thankfully at virtually no cost to us

6. Public Transportation so great that having a vehicle is not a necessity

7. (Mike) having brothers and a sister

(Trish) having a sister

8. Sara Lee Apple Pie. We tried Apple Pie here and its just not the same.

9. Real Coffee. Thankgod we bought frech coffee presses so that we don't have to drink instant coffee.

10. Being able to travel.

11. the beauty of nature and mankind

12. a sense of humor

Its Raining... bread??

There are many things that we will miss when we move back home: the smoking ban, not having a car, having everything within walking distance, the Indian food, etc. But there are of course things that we will not miss at all. One of these things is the pigeons. These stupid birds congregate outside our apartment building and used to wake us up every morning at 6:30am. When you have nothing planned for the day, this is really irritating. We had no idea why these birds would flock to our building every morning at 6:30, until one day we were sitting at the table and it started to 'rain' bread. We started paying more attention to it, and throughout the day, the lady above us just throws slices of bread out her window. Some days its whole bags of bread! Of course since I have to live under her, I don't let her know how bothersome these birds are to us. But Mike and I have come to hate the pigeons that seem to be so popular here. When I was little and watching Mary Poppins it looked like great fun to feed the pigeons, now it looks evil. When we were eating our lunch on a park bench in London, I thought a few portly pigeons were just going to fly up and take my sandwich from me! (The picture on below is one of those birds.) In London they have started putting signs on benches telling people not to feed the birds, but we don't live in London, and every time we walk through George Square, the pigeons are everywhere! I have no idea what the appeal is to feeding these rats with wings.

Stupid People - 2

Some twit put a comment on the post I had written for Dartmoor. This person's comment was 'the tor you are talking about was not a settlement.'
Not a problem, but the irritating thing is that (1) they told me essentially that I had no idea what I was talking about, and (2) they left no fricking name! I am well aware that I am not always right, but have tried to consult maps and many other reference points to make sure that the information that I post is actually accurate. And I had in fact looked at many different guide books indicating that this was an old settlement, and even went with 3 historians to the tor. That and if you are going to try and make an ass out of someone, at least have the decency to leave your name!!! So, in a moment of supreme irritation, I deleted the comment.
Then spured by more irritation (because I knew I was right), I found an online map to make sure that in fact I was right. Here is the map to show that I am correct. Just keep on clicking by Princetown and eventually you will see Merrivale. There are two blue 'P' signs. Just under and between the two signs, there is the word 'settlement' on the tor we hiked to and took picture of. So, whoever you are, I was in fact correct. It was a settlement.

Tobacco Warnings

Within the past year, Scotland has banned smoking in all public places. We love it. We can now grab a pint or go out to eat without having to wash everything as soon as we get home. Ireland was the first, then Scotland with the rest of the United Kingdom to follow suit soon. I must say that we love the no-smoking laws and were really irritated in London when people were smoking in bars and restaurants, until we realized that they were not on the ban as well. But soon they will be and I hope that the rest of the USA will follow as well. This does not mean that bars have totally eliminate smoking on their premises. Many now have 'smoking patios' that are covered by umbrellas and heated somewhat. But at least its contained away from the rest of us at the bar. Others are left out in the cold and rain to fend for themselves.
But the best thing about Scotland's 'smoke free' and healthy campaign is the tobacco warnings on all the packages. They are hilarious! They have all the usual about pregnancy and smoking, and it can lead to cancer and other health problems, but then there are the crazy ones. And of course all are in huge block letters that take up the half the package. Here is one of our favorites:

A couple of them that we could not get a picture of are: YOU WILL DIE YOUNG. and SMOKING CAUSES IMPOTENCE. You cannot tell me that some guy would like the impotence pack. It has all the ingredients for an awkward encounter. That and cigarettes are really expensive here, about $11 for a small pack. Really different from the $1 dollar packs in Chile or even the $5 pack in Michigan. Given all this, there is an amazing amount of people that smoke here. If you told me I had to pay that much money for 20 cigarettes AND stand out in the cold and rain to use them, I would quit.

Mom disclaimer -- This does not mean that we, at any time, have bought, or did I buy in Chile, cigarettes.

Sunday, November 19th

The Castle Maol was right outside our hostel. We stayed at the Kyleakin Youth Hostel, which was spectacular. Unfortunately we heard that the Scottish Youth Hostel Association is thinking of selling it. Silly idea since its a great location, but hopefully they will decided to keep it.

The Kyleakin harbour

We left Kyleakin early in the morning so that we would be able to make all of our 'touristy stops' on the way back to Glasgow. Here are pictures from our stops.
We again stopped at Eilean Donan Castle but this time in day light so that we could wander in the garden and really see the view. As I said before, Lady MacRae still lives there. I would love to wake up every morning and have her view, but the upkeep on a castle like that would be quite costly.
The Highlands from Carr Brae Viewpoint

This is a picture of Loch Garry from Glengarry. It is supposed to look like a map of Scotland. (If you click on the link you can again read about another Scottish legend.)
These are the mountains that make up the Nevis Range. If you look at the 'sunny' spot in the middle of the photo, you will see the peak of Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in Scotland.

Our last tourist stop was to Glen Coe, which has an incredibly sad history of murder and treachery which can be read through the link. Other than that the Glen (valley in Gaelic) was beautiful.

For fans of Harry Potter -- this grouping of pine trees is where the scenes of Hagrid's house were shot for movies 1-3. If they filmed another while we are here, I am going. We were also miles away from the railway they used in filming as well. Very thrilling indeed!

This is the Hidden or Lost Valley where the MacDonalds hid from the soldiers during the massacre.

Saturday, November 18th

On Saturday we took a tour of the Isle of Skye. It was a little interesting taking a chart bus down some of the little country lanes. They were a lot like the roads in England, and after the trip this weekend I am convinced that being a bus driver in the United Kingdom (and probably the rest of Europe as well) is not my calling. Here are some pictures of what we saw Saturday:

These are the Black Cuillins. There are two ranges, the Black Cuillins and the Red Cuillins. Oddly enough people who are practicing for treks such as Mount Everest, come here. The weather was so spectacular that we were able to see these very clearly.
The Red Cuillins with the Black Cuillins in the background.

On the Isle of Skye, the primary language is Scottish Gaelic so all the signs and buildings were in English and Gaelic.

This is the Portree Harbour. Portree is the biggest town on Syke.

The Old Man of Storr If you click on the link it will give you the legend of the old man.

Kilt Rock and the waterfall The rock in the background (and below) is called kilt rock because it striped, like a kilt. It was a really pretty view, but after reading the website I am really glad that it wasn't too windy!
T

I am sure that at one time this was a very impressive castle, but now the Duntulm Castle is in ruins. The view from the castle was amazing. Its too bad that the castle is now in ruins, but its probably too out of the way for Historic Scotland to make enough money on it to justify re-building it. In various links there is a lot of reference to the large storms -- they have knocked of the 'Old Man of Storr's' head, caused the castle to crumble even further, and helped discover fossils of dinosaur footprints in one of the bays. Apparently casts were made of the prints and then they were again covered by sand until someone could figure out what to do with them.

This is a traditional cottage replica in the Museum of Island Life but interestingly enough, houses like these are still in use today on the island.

Friday, November 17th

We left Glasgow at noon at travel the 200 or so miles up to Kyleakin, Isle of Skye. It is amazing what is a 'major road' over here. After Glasgow, the big towns up north are amazingly small. I think Mount Pleasant would be a big metropolis area compared to some of the towns that we stopped in. And the major roads we took were really small and winding. The bus would actually have to stop at times and wait for traffic to pass it just to ensure that accidents did not happen. Makes sense why all the cars are really small!



We actually ran into snow on the way there too. I didn't think that I would miss it this year at all. But I do. Snow is very beautiful in its own way and if its going to be cold anyway, it might as well be pretty outside. Since this was an International Student trip, it was funny to see people's reactions to their first snow. Mike and I and the others from Canada just shrugged it off -- it was only a light snow -- but many others were enthralled with the idea of snow and how one even drove in it.


The only 'touristy' stop we made on the way up was to Eilean Donan Castle. You may recognize the castle from various Hollywood movies. Though the only movie I remember Jim telling us it was in was 'Highlander'. Unfortunately the castle is closed to visitors right now, but in the daylight hours you can walk around the grounds and go to the gift shop.




As I mentioned before, Kyleakin is a small town. No grocery stores, etc. Just hostels, the locals, and three pubs. One of which is named ''Saucy Mary's.'' (After a Norwegian Princess that charged high tolls to go across the sea.) We felt that we had to go into it just once given the name. We walked in, and were the only patrons in the bar for most of the hour. Apparently there is some small town dispute regarding the owner, so none of the locals go there. There was supposed to be live music, but no one working there knew when it started either. We left and went to the other bar the rest of the weekend.

Christmas Lighting

Our weekend trip to the Isle of Skye was wonderful. The weather was beautiful the entire weekend and we were able to see everything, even the Hebrides Islands, which are incredibly far away. It was rather amazing that the weather did hold out, since in the island is "The Misty Isle" and it was November in the Highlands. So, our first trip to an Isle and to the Highlands was a huge success. (I will post pictures tomorrow.)
We were able to get back in plenty of time to see the annual lighting of the Christmas lights in Glasgow. Unfortunately, while we did have excellent weather all weekend, it only lasted until our last official 'tourist stop.' Then it started raining, and raining, and raining. But, we didn't want to miss out on 'an experience of a lifetime.' So, we raced back to our apartment, dropped off our bag, and raced back down to George Square to see the lighting of the Christmas lights. We didn't get there with tons of time to spare, but with the rain it felt like FOREVER before the lights were lit. There was also a spectacular fireworks display. It was odd to us that it was the fireworks even went off, since it was raining and the wind was blowing -- in Michigan, they would have been cancelled for sure! By the time we got home, all but our feet were soaked, but the fireworks were spectacular and the Christmas lights were beautiful. It will be nice to have the streets all lit up and decorated for a while.

We came to Scotland prepared for lots and lots of rain. We packed raincoats and boots, and I even hauled my rain pants over. We got here, and it rained. Then miracuoulsy the weather cleared and stayed sunny and warm for most of October. It has now become cold and has started to rain more. But whats wonderful, is that the sun is out at most days. It can be raining on one side of the house, and sunny on the other. We often see rainbows around our apartment building because of this crazy aspect of the weather. We have not so far missed the cold snowy winters of Michigan because the sun has shined upon daily... even if its only 20 minutes a day, its better than nothing.

The Isle of Skye

Today we head to the Isle of Skye for the weekend. We are going with the International Student Department here, so everything is all planned out for us. It will be great to sit back and relax while someone else worries about the logistics of the trip. Today we will be bussed up there, and tomorrow we will be taking a day long tour of the island. We are staying in Kyleakin, which sounds really interesting. According to the official village website, they don't have their own grocery store, but do have three pubs... should be interesting! And on Sunday we make a lot of 'touristy' stops on the way back home. I will hopefully post pictures by Sunday night.

Pictured Rocks

My first trip to Pictured Rocks was with my brother, James, and my dad when I was 15 years old. That week we ended up hiking about 70 miles, often waking up early, hiking to our campsite and then hiking more after we arrived at our site. The trip is filled with memorable events and I loved the time with my brother and dad. The best memory from that trip was my rocks. I am pretty sure that I still have them all, somewhere in a box...
I love rocks. They are the best souvenirs too -- the ones I like never cost anything. The only down side is that rocks weight quite a bit, but most of the time its not too much of an issue. But because this was a backpacking trip, picking up rocks as souvenirs was a problem. After the first day down at the beach collecting rocks, dad put a stop to it. He told me that my pile was enough and I shouldn't put anymore weight than that in my pack. But I could not resist the beauty of the rocks!
So, I quietly emptied a bag and shoved the contents somewhere else and slowly began to fill my bag. I knew that if my dad knew what I was doing I would have to ditch the rocks and that was not something that I wanted to let happen. I was just going to carry the extra weight and not say anything to either my dad or brother -- I wanted my rocks! I would shove rocks in my pockets all day long and at night put them in my growing bag.
Surprisingly my dad never noticed me taking the rocks. Each day he would help me put on my pack... each lunch he would offer to take items from my pack and I would eagerly give him some of my gear. Unbeknownst to me, after helping me on with my pack he felt really sorry for me and my heavy pack, so he would take more of my gear. Even though dad kept taking more and more items from my pack, he couldn't figure out why my bag was getting heavier.
Finally he demanded me to empty my pack so that he could see what was making it so heavy. Well, 5 days of smuggling rocks in my pack came out. I somehow managed to convince him that I was really okay with all the weight and would gladly take all my gear back. All I wanted was to keep my rocks. It was more than likely the astonishment that I had horded away all those rocks in 5 days and never complained about the weight of my pack. Also, the next day was our last and we didn't have to hike all that long. When we got back home he did make we weight the now large bag of rocks. I had eventually carried 16 pounds of rocks. All collected in just 5 days!

The Joys of NOT owning a car!

Thanks to my dad, we have finally got the Pathfinder sold! We are now very happy non-car owners. Surprisingly, neither of us miss having a car. Over here we can walk to all over or take public transport. There are many ads every week about cheap cars for sale, but we are happy without one. Unfortunately, we will have to get a car when we go back to the States.
The lack of public transport is something that has amazed me about the States ever since I went to South America. I had heard about Europe's wonderful transport system, but I always figured it was just because everything is so compact. Then I went to Chile. My friends and I were able to go all over with no need for a car. Some of the towns with bus stops were no more than a General Store and a few houses, but the bus stopped anyway. There were flights all over too, and they were cheap too.
In Europe you not only have an excellent bus and train system, but the airlines are currently in a 'price war' so plane tickets are incredibly cheap. There are times that we can fly for less than £1 per person (plus taxes). We can even take a bus from Glasgow to London for £1 as well. There is definitely no need for a vehicle of our own.
I know that this has been a difficult adjustment for many people that come to the States to live. They come assuming that the public transport system is as great as their own country's, when in fact you really cannot get from city to city unless it is a huge one. And even then the bus, train, or plane tickets can be quite pricey
But why isn't there a better and more affordable system? It really makes no sense to me. Why would a country that boasts to be one of the best, not have a better public transport system?

Saturday, November 11th

On Saturday we headed to the Atlantic Coast. We started out going to a private beach of a huge estate. The owners allow the public on the beach every weekend and one day out of the week as long as they don't have any need for it. The beach was great. The Earth Scientist came out in me and I took pictures of just about everything. The other guys with us were even picking up rocks for me and pointing things out for me to take pictures of. It was wonderful! Mike was not really excited about all the rocks I grabbed for souvenirs, but at least it was a small bag. We spent quite a bit of time on this beach looking in at the rocks, climbing them, and looking in the tide pools. We even saw very tiny sea anemones!

Then we drove over to the town of Dartmouth which is another fairly small town (but much larger than Modbury.) Dartmouth harbor actually docked the Mayflower before it headed to America. Apparently it needed repairs and there is a plaque commemorating this event. There is also a pub that dates back to 1380 called The Cherub. Since I was there with three history geeks, we went. The bar still had a lot of the original interior, complete with low ceilings and doorways (for Mike, not me -- although I am 5' 3'', not 3' 5'', Steve!!) And of course, there was a fireplace. Both Mike and I enjoyed these small pubs a lot. The atmosphere in them alone could tempt you to stay in them all day and just watch the people. We then headed over to Dartmouth Castle. Unfortunately, it had just closed, but we were able to walk around outside the castle. The Graveyard was beautiful with all the celtic crosses and the views across the river and over to Dartmouth were stunning. The view was especially great as we were walking back and all the lights were starting to come on across the river (it was already getting dark.) We did stop at yet another beach so that James, Justin and Mike could through stones into the ocean. I have no idea what it is with grown men that makes them ast so young when they all get together, but it always makes me laugh.

Pictures of Beach

These boys were playing rugby on the beach. Not something you see much at home...

This is the size of one of the little country roads we were driving down in England. And most of the time the hedges were even taller. James is standing next to Mike and I.

Pictures of Dartmouth

The traditional red telephone booths of the United Kingdom dotted the countryside. Even in the smallest of towns there would be a telephone, complete with e-mail and text!

The plaque to the Mayflower.

Houses down by the harbour. I love all the different colors.


The Dartmouth Castle

Friday, November 10th

Our friends, James and Julia, live in a very small town outside of Plymouth called Modbury in Devon County. It was a picturesque England town. I loved it. You had to drive down very small lanes with huge hedges running along each side of the road. And when you met another car in the lane, serious maneuvering was in order. If we ever move to the UK, I want to live in one of these small towns.

On Friday we got around and headed over to Dartmoor National Park for a hike. We took the scenic route there and ended up in the little town of Meavy. We stopped there for lunch before we hiked and it was spectacular. The bar dates back to the 15th century and still has a fireplace in the bar for heating. Most of the people there seemed to be 'regulars' and knew everybody. One older man even showed up with his dog and a huge head of lettuce. There was also a Normandy style church is Meavy. There are many of this style of church doting the landscape across Southern England. We were also able to walk into this church. It was very small, but the stained glass windows were still amazing along with the rest of the interior.

The National Park was great. Its a lot different from ours at home. There are many functioning towns in the Park, and there was a maximum security prision. Apparently the moor is a great place to build a jail becuase its hard for excape. The landscape looks similar throughout and when the fog rolls in its hard to see anything and it can be easy to lose all sense of direction. Knowing that, we set off for or hike in fog. We started at this 'car park' in light fog. Luckily, these were the only trees for miles so it was easy to see where the car was. We hiked to the top of this tor. The view was not all that great, but at one time there was an iron age settlement here. All that is left now are piles of rocks and indentations on the ground where a building may have been. By the time we hiked to the top of the tor, and came back down again the ground had become very, very saturated and when we got back to the car we were soaked! Without it even raining. This walk is also supposed to include a loop through more or Dartmoor bringing you to stone rows and a stone circle, but given the mist, we decided that we would probably get quite lost. Already the 'car park' had disappeared from sight at the tor and you had to walk down it to see the shadows of the trees. We drove by the road in which the stones were supposed to be near and couldn't even see them. But, there is always a next time and we were able to see this...