Searching for Nessie

"The poetry of the earth is never dead."
John Keats, "On the Grasshopper and the Cricket"

Sometimes it is good to get out of the city and explore the places that haven't been disturbed by humanity.  Yesterday, I took a day tour with a group of other St Andrews students to Loch Ness and got to see the natural beauty of Scotland.  As we journeyed up through the Highlands, I was blown away with just how beautiful Scotland is and saw some of the most wonderful places.

Our first stop of the day was in a town called Dunkeld which seemed like it was plucked straight out of a fairytale.  It is a sleepy little town situated on the bank of the River Tay.  It stopped raining shortly after we got there, and the sun came out for a bit, illuminating the true beauty of this place.

Dunkeld Cathedral

Dunkeld Cathedral

After Dunkeld, we made a quick stop for a beautiful view of this river where Queen Victoria once bathed (obviously in the calmer part of the river as seen in the bottom left picture).  

I think one of my favorite places that we visited was Loch Laggan.  It was so beautiful and reminded me of just how lucky I am to be here.  The sun was starting to come out once again, there was a bit of blue sky, and the view of the lake was spectacular.

Loch Laggan

Loch Laggan

Loch Laggan

Laggan Dam

By the time we actually made it to Loch Ness, it was cloudy and cold again.  The majority of the group took the boat tour, and we learned a lot about the lake and the monster that dwells in its depths.  The lake itself is almost black from the peat that the rain washes into the lake, so you can't see more than ten feet in front of you; you would never see Nessie coming!  Apparently there are also fish big enough within the lake that are often seen to eat the birds that dare float on the surface!  Unfortunately, Nessie didn't want to come out to play...

Loch Ness 

Loch Ness

Loch Ness

Loch Ness

Me in front of Loch Ness!

After Loch Ness, we journeyed up through Aberdeen then made our way back down towards St Andrews.  Even though we had made it to Loch Ness and seen a lot of the Highlands on the way, there were still some beautiful sights to see on the way back!

 I absolutely loved this tour and am so glad that I did it!  I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who wants to get out of the city and see a more natural side to Scotland.  I definitely want to see more of the Scottish Highlands and the west coast.  I also hope to visit some of the islands as well.  I guess it's time to start looking into other trips!

Edinburgh Take Two

I think I have finally settled into life in St Andrews.  I have gotten through two weeks of classes and been involved in the student life around town.  I have joined some clubs/societies here that I hope to get more involved in.  I really like it here and have met so many great people, and I look forward to living here for the rest of the semester.

I have started looking into other adventures while I am here, and I have so far booked a trip to Dublin for St. Patrick's Day weekend as well as a day trip to Loch Ness.  I am looking forward to seeing more of Scotland and even more excited to go to Ireland!  

Today, however, I went back to Edinburgh with some friends and explored the city a little more and participated in the cliche tourist event of eating haggis.  I didn't think that it was too bad, but I don't think I would order it again.  My friends and I also tried some Scottish whisky which I enjoyed much more than the haggis.  

We spent the day exploring the city.  We went to Edinburgh Castle and Calton Hill which both provide great views of the city.  Despite the gray skies and rain, Edinburgh is such a beautiful city.  I hope to go to Glasgow in the near future and compare the two cities, but at this moment, I love visiting Edinburgh and love that it is easy to access from St Andrews.

Wandering through St. Andrews

I am finally in St. Andrews and have spent the last couple of days exploring the town.  It is such a beautiful little place, and I think I will really like living here.  It has been pretty cold and gray, but it can be nice if the sun comes out.  Right now, however, it is raining.

St. Andrews only has three main streets, so it is pretty easy to get around.  These three streets all converge at the St. Andrews Cathedral which was mostly torn down in the 16th century and now remains as ruins.  Apparently, many of the nearby buildings were built from the stones of the cathedral.

The town sits right up against the shore of the North Sea, and walking along the coast is quite cold and windy, but it is still quite a view.  I am hoping for a sunny day to get better pictures of the beach.

The St. Andrews Castle also sits on the beach, and the stretch of of the coast that you can see in the background of the top right picture was the filming location for the famous opening scene of Chariots of Fire.

The University itself is intermixed with the rest of the town, and it is pretty cool to think that I get to study in some of these old buildings that look like they come straight out of a fairytale.  There is so much history here, and it's nice to think that I am now a part of that.

I am very excited for classes to begin!  I think they are going to be pretty challenging and very different from what I am used to in the U.S.  It will be really great to meet other students and see the university in full action.  There aren't many other students here yet, and I am looking forward to meeting people who go here full time rather than just other study abroad students.  One of the things that has surprised me was the amount of American students that attend this university.  There is such a huge proportion of students from outside of Scotland which is pretty cool.  I think it is going to be really fun to study here and can't wait to officially start this semester!

Finding Harry Potter

Being a huge Harry Potter fan, I thought that this deserved its own post.  On the last day in Edinburgh, we found a nice little cafe called The Elephant House, also known as the birthplace of Harry Potter.  That's right; we ate lunch at the same place where J.K. Rowling began writing the Harry Potter series.

It was such a nice little cafe with really good food.  In the back, there are windows that look out over a graveyard where Rowling supposedly found the name "Tom Riddle."  I want to go back eventually to see if I can find it.  The bathroom walls are also covered in notes made by fans of the series.  There is hardly any empty space left, but I managed to find a little space to leave my own note.  Thanks for all the fun J.K!

Exploring Edinburgh

Well, I made it to Edinburgh and have spent the last few days exploring the city and doing orientation activities with Arcadia.  Edinburgh is a really pretty city, and I have really enjoyed wandering around and seeing all that it has to offer.  I love all the little pubs and shops that line the streets.  It's so different from what you encounter in America.  I have been surprised at how long it takes for the sun to come up in the mornings and how early it gets dark in the evenings.  By the end of this semester, the sun will come up really early and set really late, so I am looking forward to that.

The Walter Scott Memorial

Sir Walter Scott

Yesterday was probably the most eventful day here so far.  There are about 14 Arcadia students going to St. Andrews, so it is nice to have a small, intimate group to explore the city with.  We were sent on a scavenger hunt for a few hours which also gave us the opportunity to buy all of the necessities that we still need before going to St. Andrews.  We ended up spending more time shopping than doing the scavenger hunt which was unfortunate, because I would have liked to see more of the city and the historical places that we were supposed to find.  It was still nice to find our way around the city and figure out how to get around.  I intend to go back to Edinburgh and explore the city with more time.

Last night, I went with a group of friends to a pub where I had my first Scottish beer!  It was at a little place on The Royal Mile (which is the street between Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace, but it's actually a little longer than a mile) called The Royal McGregor.  The pub was pretty quiet being a Tuesday night, but it was still fun to hang out with some friends and relax after such a busy day.

This pub had quotes from Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns on the walls.

I am now in St. Andrews, and I hope to get some good pictures during the tour of the town during orientation tomorrow.  From what I have seen so far, it seems like a nice little town, and I look forward to seeing all that it has to offer and starting classes next week.

New Year, New Adventures

Two weeks from today, I will be living my life very differently, starting a new, exciting, (and yes, a bit scary) adventure across the Atlantic.  I will spend about six months studying at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

I have always loved to travel, and since I first went to Europe nearly six years ago, I have desperately wanted to return.  I love the atmosphere that seems to envelop most of Europe: simultaneously old and new, forever remembering the past but also looking to the future.  Studying abroad is a great opportunity to immerse myself in that environment and be more than just a tourist.  I hope to do a lot of exploring and make many new friends from all around the world.  There are just so many opportunities that I cannot wait to embrace!

This blog is a way for me to keep track of all my adventures but also a way for me to share my experiences with anyone who wants to follow along.  I hope to keep it updated as much as possible with pictures and stories and any other shenanigans that may find their way here.  I hope that my readers will enjoy hearing about my experiences as much as I am looking forward to writing about them!