Afternoon hike

On Sunday, I packed a picnic and headed to Salisbury Crags, which is near Arthur's Seat. This is a photo of the steeper side of the Crags.

You can see the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is where the Queen lives when she's in Scotland-- usually at the beginning of the summer. Apparently she's not too fond of the Scottish winters.

Some people climb up the cliffs, but most make their way up from the other side. The base of the crags is filled with families picnicking, playing football (soccer) and flying kites. Dogs run freely everywhere, as there are no leash laws. But the dogs are extremely well trained, from what I've seen in my few weeks here. Even in the city, they seems to stay right with their owners all the time without a leash.

Doing some reading for Scottish Lit...

I love that I can see the ocean from up there.
After my hike, I picked up some groceries from a corner market and then headed back to the flat. I went to an evening service at a small church near where I live. It was definitely an interesting experience-- the musical worship consisted of only voices, and no accompaniment. The people there were incredibly friendly and welcoming, and it was really cool to be a part of such a different type of church service. After a chilly walk home, I made some oatmeal-pomegranate bread, which was a huge hit with the flatmates-- it's almost all gone after only 24 hours!

Daytrip to Stirling

This photo was taken from the Old North Bridge in Edinburgh, while Marjo and I were on a hunt for Indian food.

On Saturday morning, Marjo and I met up with the International Club to take a train to Stirling, which is about a 50-minute train ride away from Edinburgh.

This is the outside of the Great Hall at Stirling Castle, with a side shot of an extremely entertaining and enthusiastic tour guide. We loved him!

The castle is situated high up on a volcanic rock, so that the inhabitants could see all of Stirling and beyond.

In the Great Hall. All hail the new queens of Scotland!

Here is a recreation of an original tapestry in the castle depicting the capturing of the unicorn. There are so many legends about what significance the tapestries have; here's a link that will tell you a bit more about them. A group of weavers is working on recreating the tapestries in the same way that they were originally made. Weaving the whole set of seven tapestries, which date from around 1495, is an 11-year project.

Me, with my best friend, Robert the Bruce.

We found this charming little cafe in downtown Stirling that served home-cooked food, which we were both really craving. There was a whole cart of gourmet desserts, so of course, we had to try a few of them. So delicious!

That tower off in the distance is the Wallace Monument.

Day at the beach

On Friday, I went with two of my flatmates to Portobello Beach, which is about a 25-minute busride from Edinburgh-- even though it's only about 5 km outside the city center.

It was low tide, so the breakers were all exposed.

Portobello is a suburb of Edinburgh, situated along the coast of the Firth of Forth.

Marjo, Eleni and I had a picnic near the water and enjoyed the uncharacteristically sunny and warm afternoon.

Pretty Scottish kitty!

Exploring the city

Edinburgh seems to be set up on a few levels, so sometimes maps aren't especially helpful; you think you're going to come to an intersection and turn onto another street, and then realize that the street is actually about 20 feet above you. But I'm starting to get the hang of this very hilly city, and I'm almost used to the millions of stairs throughout it.

I took this photo of North Bridge right next to a restaurant called "Tasty Tatties," haha-- every kind of potato dish you can imagine.

Throughout the city, there are these little public gardens. It's always surprising to be on a busy street one minute, and suddenly find myself in a quiet garden the next.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse is at the very bottom of the Royal Mile, near the new Parliament Building.

Look how green the grass is here! It seems that the landscapes are in every shade of grey and green you can imagine.
I think one of the best things about Edinburgh is the amount of coffee shops. I could spend the next semester just discovering all the tiny little cafes. There are Starbucks on almost every block, but I can't imagine why anyone would even go in them. I just got back from meeting with my tutorial group (four other third-year students) in a place called The Blind Poet to talk about our Chaucer assignment-- isn't that great?!

Settling in

This is a mural in Edinburgh Castle that depicts all of the Scottish rulers. Right after I took this photo, someone else got scolded by one of the guards for taking pictures near the crown jewels. So, I guess I was lucky!

This is the view from the top floor of my flat.

Here are a few photos of the kitchen I share with three other girls. Two of my flatmates are American (from NYC and CA) and the other is from Dijon, France.

And here is my room! It's small, but there's a big window that lets in the sun-- when the sun happens to be out.

I've had all of my classes at least once now, and I've already got sooo much reading to do by the end of the week. But there isn't nearly as much writing as I'm used to; at Allegheny, sometimes I wrote an essay or two a week. Here, I really only have two papers for each class, both worth a large percentage of my grade.
I went to my first choir rehearsal today and found myself singing with a Scottish accent, since everyone else was!

On Friday night, I went to a ceilidh, which is a traditional Scottish dance. Beginning in elementary school, Scottish students learn these dances, so that by the time they're my age, they know many of them. Ceilidh dancing is sort of a mix between step dancing, swing dancing, and square dancing-- there's usually live Celtic music and a caller who shouts out instructions throughout the dance. There were so many students at this ceilidh!

On Sunday, I joined the Hillwalking Club in a hike up Arthur's Seat and around some of the crags there. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, but a little chilly-- about 55 degrees and very windy.

Arthur's Seat is in an area called Holyrood Park, which is about a ten-minute walk away from my flat.

We could see the entire city of Edinburgh from up there.

I've also been going to the theatre a lot with my flatmates. It's cheaper than going to a movie and so much more entertaining!
Today was the first day of classes, and it was interesting to see the differences between the two I attended today. One was in a lecture hall and there were about 200 students present, and the other was in a small room high up in a building downtown and there were only 14 of us. I'm looking forward to the tutorials, which will break up the large classes into smaller groups so that we can discuss the readings in a setting that's much more easy to handle.
I've joined a few clubs here so far, including the Hillwalking Club, the Archery Club, Swahili Club, and the chorus. I figure that while I'm here, I might as well stay busy!

First few days in Edinburgh

After being in Scotland for over a week now, I'm starting to feel a little more settled in. My adventures began with quite a few difficulties, but now that I have my luggage and a working phone, I think I will like it here.
My first full day, I went with a few French students to Edinburgh Castle. Although it was a dreary day, the view from the castle walls was amazing.

This week has been spent exploring the city, getting to know my three flatmates, finding the cheapest places to buy groceries, and learning to look the opposite way before crossing the street.


During the next few months, I hope to keep you up-to-date through this picture blog. Thank you for all your prayers and encouraging messages!