The Isle of Skye- Day 1

The night before we left for Skye, our flat lost hot water. Really needing showers, my flatmates and I walked in our towels down to Mel’s flat and used up all the water there before returning to ours at 11pm to start packing. We were up bright and early to meet the tour group at the main gates at 8am. After a a sleepy hour or two, we made it to Luss, a small village that sits at the south side of Loch Lomond. Here we stopped into a nice shop selling local tweed and plaid, then walked down to the Loch. It was still early, and we saw the sun rising over the hills.

Loch Lomond

Beautiful houses lining the street down the the Loch

In the town of Luss

We stopped again as we were winding up into the highlands for some photos, the views here were so moody and silently beautiful.

Highland views

Cheese! (feeling real Scottish with my plaid)

Our next stop was in Glencoe at the 3 Sisters. The 3 Sisters are 3 rolling hills (I mean, they are technically mountains but its hard to see them as mountains when I’m picturing the Rockies) that have been featured in movies like The Prisoner of Azkaban and Skyfall. The landscape is so beautiful I could have stayed there for a few hours exploring the trails at the base at the mountain.

3 Sisters in Glencoe

Heather at the foot of the 3 sisters

I spy Mel!!!

Hikers look like ants on a hill

Loch Garry is a Loch in the shape of Scotland and so we climbed a little hill to get a good view.

Loch Garry

Loch Garry

Loving the Loch and being embarrassing for my friends

After this, we stopped at Eilean Donan castle, one of Scotland’s most photographed castles, and used in movies like Made of Honour (which I made everyone watch when we got home). It is amazing to think that a family still owns this, and I find it so cool because in England, this would be property of the royal family, and touring it would be so busy and expensive. In Scotland, they are passed down to family through the clan system and is in the middle of the highlands. Although it is owned by the Conchra Trust (to take take of the restorations), there is still a family who lives there for part of the year when it isn’t open to the public. You can see that these types of castles were made primarily for defence; in the main keep the walls are 14 feet thick! We met this nice man who worked there and was telling us all about that the room would be used for (dining room for the soldiers, he told us it was for “chilling out” while using air quotes haha). We couldn’t take pictures inside the rooms but the main keep was dark and cozy, with low wooden ceilings, stone walls and a fireplace at one end for cooking. A set of stairs led to the main dining room, a very red, grand room, with soaring ceilings and huge portraits. We found a very narrow staircase to the upper apartments where the bedrooms were- and hanging on the walls and on nightstands were pictures of the family that stay there. The rooms were quite simple and so pretty. I opened one little door and there was a hanging skeleton and I jumped so badly then had the giggles for the rest of the time in there. On our way down, we went into the kitchen- set up with fake people and food and sounds to appear as it would have been when this was a working castle.

Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle

The walk up to Eilean Donan Castle

On the bridge leading to Eilean Donan Castle

Walls of the original castle

Eilean Donan Castle

Fort William was our last stop before Skye and we had lunch in a cafe and then got back on the bus very excited to get into Skye. In total, it took us 9 hours to get to the Isle, which is considered ridiculously long in European standards but quite okay for all the North Americas. People are always amazed to hear that I go to school 3 and a half hours from home, because in their world those 3 hours would see them passing through 3 countries. We arrived just before sunset, passing over the Skye bridge onto the Isle and drove to the hostel where we were staying the night. After dropping our stuff on the bunks, we walked through the town to the old bay with a path leading up to the ruins of Caisteal Moil. My phone and camera had died at this point, I only have mental pictures of being at the top. Those, and ones that I stole from my friends. After this, we walked up to the top of the Skye bridge just as it was getting dark. We then went back down and had an amazing dinner at the pub by our hostel, Saucy Mary’s and then some drinks before heading back to rooms and chatting before setting our alarms for way too early the next morning.

Arriving in Skye

On the Skye bridge

Our hostel and Saucy Mary’s

Hiking to Caisteal Moil castle

On our way

Caisteal Moil castle ruins

Day 2 post will come tomorrow!

Popped over to London!

And when I say popped, I mean after a subway, bus, plane, train, the tube, then another bus, I ARRIVED IN LONDON! I was quite proud of figuring it out all by myself without internet or anyone to talk to. Also, one of my biggest fears is that my boarding pass won’t scan and they will kick me off the plane, and as this did not happen, we were already off to a good start. My aunt had a conference in Wales and came early to join me in London (love you Ness!) for the weekend. We stayed with her sister-in-laws sister in Wandsworth, and it was really nice to meet new family- they were so, so welcoming.

Our lovely hosts’ place! (thanks again Becca and Howard!)

Hi Auntie!

After arriving we went for a walk along the Thames in their neighbourhood and came home for a night of wine, great food and relaxing before our big day of touring. Early in the morning we planned our day and set out after a very British breakfast of some tea and a bacon sandwich (this is exactly what it sounds like). I was told I had to try some HP sauce, but it tastes too much like ketchup. We first went to the British Museum, which is absolutely amazing and we could have easily spend all day in there. I was very excited to see the huge Parthenon exhibit, they have remains of the pediment sculptures. It was amazing to see the figures I have studied in person, and have an understanding of the significance of them. We also explored the British antiquity, and it reminded me of the archeology shows my dad loves. We left the museum, went to Pret’s and got some sandwiches and pressed juices and started to walk down to Trafalgar Square.

The Parthenon Pediments in the British Museum

Inside the British Museum

Where to?

Walking along  London streets

Canadian Embassy by Trafalgar Square

We made it to Trafalgar Square!

London streets

Watching a guard changing ceremony

British government buildings

Westminster Abbey, where Will and Kate got married 🙂

Big Ben!

After seeing the Parliament buildings and Big Ben, Ness and I went to the London Eye, one of the super toursity things I had been set on doing when I was creating my dream city itineraries. The line was so long, as we had lucked out and it was a beautiful day, so we fast tracked (thanks a million, Ness <3) to the front and hopped on! The views were AMAZING! I have always loved doing things like this, and seeing buildings that seemed so huge a few minutes ago now so small was crazy.

View from the London Eye

London Eye!

On the London Eye looking down

We then walked to Buckingham Palace and it was amazing to see (especially the balcony where the royals are always seen). After this, motivated by hunger, we headed towards Covent Garden, and because it was so crazy busy, we bought a scone at Marks &Spencers to tide us over and made our way back to Wansworth for dinner. We ate in a lovely, cozy restaurant. After my big salad, we shared a sticky toffee pudding which was delish. I enjoyed one more night of family, a nice shower and real bed before an early start the next morning. Becca and Ness brought me to the tube station and I started my journey back to Glasgow! An amazing week, in an amazing town, with amazing people. I’m super lucky.

Navigating the London underground

London underground

Boarding the flight

Flying back to Glasgow

This happened last weekend, but I’m now writing this on Friday before I go to bed to wake up early for our weekend trip to Skye!!!! Getting ready was a bit harder than usual, because our flat has no hot water and we had to go to our friends a few floors down to shower. Oh, well, in bed at last. …. I just remembered I still need to pack, no bed yet!! Bye for now xx

Edinburgh for the Weekend!

Hello again!!! The day after St. Andrew’s, Emma, Syd and I left for Edinburgh. With tickets from 1-6 pounds during the week, it is a super easy trip to do. We left around 11 and got in a noon. I can see why everyone raves about the beauty of Edinburgh; every single street looks like the set of an incredibly charming movie, and the main streets offer views of the castle which sits overlooking the whole city. My great grandmother lived nearby this castle.

View of the Edinburgh Castle from the city below

We went (in search of food, in all honesty) up the road winding up to the castle, and decided to take our tour then. We had gotten a pass that allowed us to go at any time of the day- a great idea as it let us enjoy our walk up and stop into shops or enjoy the view. We all remarked on how much we like travelling with other who liked to take the time to see everything in a museum because then you never feel like you’re holding anyone up. Entering the castle gates was the first time this whole trip that I realized what I tourist I was.. the place was filled with tour groups and people from all over the world (and half a million selfie sticks). The nice thing about Glasgow is it is filled with so much beauty and history and yet is not swarmed by tourists, but friendly locals and students. But back to Edinburgh, the view from the castle was beautiful and if you look to the very left of the picture below, you can see the hill that is Arthur’s Seat- which we climbed the next day (it looks DECEPTIVELY small)

The view of Edinburgh from outside the castle walls

Inside the castle we took a short tour which pointed out the main buildings and the history of each for us to go then explore. Edinburgh’s oldest building, St. Margaret’s Chapel still stands, as well as the rooms in which Mary of Scots lived and rooms that house the Scottish Crown Jewels- seeing this was so, so cool. With the jewels, there is also the Stone of Destiny- which is just as important and is a stone that has sat under the English throne for hundreds of years when Kings and Queens are coronated and has only been recently returned to Scotland. There were the barracks of prisoners of war and excellent exhibits including a reconstruction of their living quarters and doors with carved graffiti.

Syd and I

Edinburgh Castle

Friends!

Edinburgh Castle

Inside the royal chambers

Prisoners of War barracks

Graffiti by the POWs

Resting place for soldiers’ dogs 🙂

The Royal Mile!

Leading down from the castle into the city is the Royal Mile. Beautiful shops, grand buildings, and masses of history all in one street make the Royal Mile a very popular tourist destination. We had toasties in a little alley restaurant and then braved the crowds to explore the places selling plaid everything and we also saw the place where the first ever Encyclopedia Brittanica was printed. We have been SO lucky with the weather, it’s never rained (knock on wood) while we have been out travelling yet, it just goes from sunny to cloudy as you can see in most pictures 🙂

Royal Mile

Beautiful storefront on the Royal Mile

🙂

Royal Mile

Tour bus on the Royal Mile

Pretty hanging baskets

Royal Mile

Royal Mile

After the Royal Mile, we headed to our friend’s (from Queen’s) place, stopping at Nandos for dinner (which was amazing) and Tesco for wine and food for breakfast in morning. We got ready to go out quickly and took a double decker bus to downtown and spent the night with other students in res talking about where we want to travel and our general love & excitement of Europe. We later got fries (thank goodness Europe gets my love for french fries and mayo) and I met some lady on the side of the road from Guelph! It was so strange, but very cool. The next morning, after some eggs, crumpets and fruit, we set out to climb Arthur’s Seat armed with nakd bars and our cameras. The hike took about 1.5, we took the long way which went over multiple peaks.

Mountain goat-ing

View over the first peak

Scottish thistle ❤

When we made it to the top, the wind was so strong and the 360 degree views were breathtaking. We sat on the edges of the rock and looked out to the sea. There were also runners who had made it to the top and it made us feel quite silly for being tired. Syd had a GoPro and we got some really good footage, some from right over the edge that I had to hold her for.

Almost at the top!

Looking down

We made it!

very tired and happy after a good climb

Panoramic views of the city

On our way down from Arthur’s Seat

The way down hurt my ankle more than the way up, but luckily Emma and Syd waited for the slowpoke (<3) After stopping at the ruins of a stone chapel on the way down, we walked back past the Royal Mile and Castle to see the Elephant House. This is where JK Rowling started writing the Harry Potter books, and luckily, it has very much remained non-touristy, except when you enter the bathrooms.. Inside the bathrooms, the walls are totally covered with messages to Rowling and other Harry Potter fans, I took some pictures for my brother.

The Elephant House- where JK Rowling began writing the Harry Potter series

Inside of the bathrooms at the Elephant House

We then went back to our friend’s flat, grabbed our things and headed to the bus station. It was an amazing weekend, and after all that walking, I had the best sleep of my life. Bye for now! xx

Walking along pretty streets back to the flat to catch our bus home

I Love St. Andrews (this happened a week ago but who’s counting)

Hello!!! Here I am getting around to a little post about the most picturesque city ever, St Andrews. Friday the 18th, Emma, Julia and I left for St. Andrews with the the company Student Tours Scotland. After a 2 hour bus ride we arrived on the most breathtaking beach, and then walked up to the town. The coastline is amazing and it is easily forgotten that I am in the same Scotland that has rolling farmland hills, metropolitan cities, and grey skies. Standing on the wall of the pier allows views of seaweed-covered rocks stretching into the rolling sea on the left and a sandy beach to the right. The town itself is a beautiful combination of a charming seaside town and history-filled European village. The cathedral ruins are spectacular and I could have spend a whole day exploring them. It was lovely to have lots of time to ourselves to explore the city, sit on the pier looking out and breathe the sea air. Confession: as soon as I got home, I was looking for bed&breakfasts for when I go back one day- hehe! I couldn’t decide on just a few pictures so I put a bunch in 🙂

Down by the waters edge

the remaining town wall

On the wall of the pier!

.. and I thought Scotland was always rainy

St. Andrews Cathedral ruins. This was originally the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland

towering ruins

my dream house

me being a dork

very very happy on the campus of St. Andrews

one of the many beautiful cafes/shops lining the main streets

on the coast

rocky coastline

Prince William and Kate met here when they were both going to the University of St. Andrews, and below is the cafe where they would go for coffee. 

After we left St. Andrews, we went to Dundee City- one of the oldest cities in Scotland, and went to a museum with an amazing Victorian art collection and for a walk before heading back to Glasgow- treated to amazing views on the way.

Checkers and chai lattes in Dundee City 🙂

Inside the museum

Scottish countryside on our way back home

Just got back to Glasgow from London today and I will share those adventures very soon on here! Goodnight!!

Running in Heels When You Can’t: Aka I’ve Sprained My Ankle

Last night we went to Kokomo downtown, where the line was so long it was only survived by several orders of fries from across the road while others held our spots (thank you!!!). Once we got in it was a super good night but before all this, while running to catch our taxis, I tripped on the cobblestones and twisted my ankle. These paths are really only charming when you walk on them in practical shoes. I still went out but woke up with a swollen ankle I couldn’t move. A quick trip to the Royal Infirmary (not royal, just a hospital) today and an x-ray showed nothing was broken, I just had a bad sprain. I’m counting on a day of rest to be some kind of miracle cure because tomorrow I’m off to St. Andrews and the Fife Coast! Can’t wait to see the Scottish coast (heart eyes emoji)

Two happy Emmas from Queen’s (pre twisted ankle)

Museums on Museums on Museums

As one of my friends accurately captioned an Instagram caption, when it rains, we go to museums.. so thank goodness there are lots of them. All public museums in the UK are free and this is super exciting to me. We have been to the Hunterarian a few times, as it’s right on campus. The amount of preserved body parts is a little sickening but the collection has many cool things like the Antonine Wall (which I may have mentioned 100 times before but I still find amazing), and “Lucy,” one of the first found homosapiens.

Inside the Hunterarian

The other museum we went to on Sunday is the Kelvingrove. This is a beautiful museum in the West End and is one of the most visited in the UK. There were huge exhibits of animals and the history of the land that is now Scotland. Besides what seems to be a growing trend of preserved bodies over here, they also have an exhibit of floating heads showing the range of human emotions. I laughed and thought it looked like the more sophisticated version of emojis.

The Kelvingrove

The Kelvingrove

View from one of the balconies

Rollercoaster of emotions lol

Today, I am headed into campus to go to the vintage fair and then a volunteering info session. My Visa only allows me to do certain kinds of work, so hopefully I can figure out what that is and not get deported. (Mom and Dad, I’m just trying to be funny, I know what kind of work I can do hahaha) Tonight we are all going out to the bar district downtown, should be fun! Bye for now!

Also, how can you not be excited for classes to start when the view in the library is this?!

Wayyyy up.. view from the 11th floor of the library

What to do When Your Campus is Prettier Than You (take lots of pictures)

The University of Glasgow is 564 years old, and predates the founding of Canada by 416 years, making it the 4th oldest university in the English-speaking world. Before coming, I had seen pictures of the campus, and as beautiful as they are, none do the gorgeous campus justice. We walked to campus a few days ago, through the West End, known for Victorian houses and lots of shops.

Offices/apartments lining the walk up to campus

Main Gate of the University

The Arches connect two main quads contained within the main building, The Hunterian, which holds many great halls as well as a museum donated by Dr. William Hunter and other UofGlasgow alumni. The sun shining through the arches was one of the prettiest things I have ever seen.

The Arches

The Arches

The front of The Hunterarian overlooks Kelvingrove Park and Museum, which I plan to visit within the next week.

View from the Hunterarian: overlooking Kelvingrove Park and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Ashton Lane is a small cobblestone street lined with pubs and restaurants just outside of campus. We went for drinks with other students from Australia, New Zealand, Spain, the US, and Brazil at a really good pub. We sat at first in a huge garden in the back, then moved inside to where the bartenders were more than happy to get you to try 10 different beers before choosing your next one.

Ashton Lane in the day

Ashton Lane at night

I met with another student from Queen’s today and now a group of us are planning trips into the highlands during the next few weeks! Feeling super happy and lucky. Bye for now!!

Downtown for the day

Today, my flatmate and I went downtown for some brunch and to walk around the city. It was so beautiful and sunny, and very busy as sun is a rare thing here. We had brunch at the Trans-European Cafe. When my parents went on their honeymoon, my Grandpa gave them some money and joked that now they could get Eggs Benedict. I’ve always thought that was so sweet, so I got Eggs Benedict and a hot chocolate. The owner/waiter was so friendly and always singing to himself.

Breakfast at the Trans European Cafe 🙂

Yum!

After food, we walked north to St. George’s Square, in the heart of Glasgow. This is where the City Chambers are, as well as a monument to those who died in WWII and statues of people significant to Glaswegian history.

Museum with modern art and a statue of Duke of Wellington, which people always put a pylon on

Me being a tourist

WWII memorial

St. George Square

We then headed to Buchanan Street, the main pedestrian street in town with amazing shops, lots of street performers and is the second busiest shopping area after Oxford St. in London. I bought some coconut chips and soap from Lush which I lost when I forgot my bag on the subway ride home. Still mad at myself, still not over it. I hope the thief has a great shower with my soap. ANYWAYS, everyone in the shops was so nice and helpful and I think the sun has put us all in a very good mood. Going to check out campus tomorrow I think before Orientation on Monday. An amazing day exploring Glasgow!! 🙂 🙂

(mom and dad I know I have to be more careful with my bags, I’m sorry!!!1)

I’m in Glasgow!

I arrived in Glasgow around 10:30 and met with other students before getting on the shuttle to our residences. A bunch of us that were connecting from Heathrow had to run to the gate because our first flight was late disembarking. Glasgow is full of new things like escalators in grocery stores, beautiful city streets and places called Harvey’s that don’t actually sell hamburgers. I’m living with 4 other girls in a flat north of the university, across the river. We went shopping for house things and groceries, now its time to unpack and make dinner- aka crackers and cheese and grapes. Orientation starts on Monday so I have time to catch up on sleep and do some exploring.

So I’m here! And I am so excited for the semester to start.

Sunrise heading into London

Rolling hills surrounding Glasgow seen during the landing

Visa Adventure

Today was my Visa appointment in Toronto, and it was a very eventful process. They were quite behind when I got there and then it was announced that everyone needed a health number that no one had received because of a glitch in the application website. Then the power went out, followed by a fire alarm and the evacuation of the building. I headed to the nearest Second Cup to try and redo the application to get the number, as they suggested. They then started letting people back in, and, as it was, I didn’t need the heath care number as I am in the UK for less than 6 months. After submitting my documents, and getting fingerprints and pictures taken, Mom (who was very patient during all this!) and I headed home, driving through her old neighbourhood. My passport is set to return with my new Visa in the next 2 weeks and that day couldn’t come sooner!