Scotland

This past weekend I went to Scotland with school. We went to Edinburgh, the Isle of Skye, and Loch Ness, plus many places in between. It was amazing and so beautiful.

on my birthday

We climbed down to a waterfall. This was the view

My shoes got a little muddy.

This is the place that ruined my shoes. It is also supposedly magical. If you climb to the top, wash your hands, take a drink, then take another drink but don't swallow and climb back down, then touch a special rock and swallow while you make a wish it will come true.

This river is also magical. If you stick your face in for 7 seconds you will be blessed with eternal youth and beauty. Skye really is the magical Isle.

This is a little summer house that Queen Victoria apparently used to visit on occasion.

Hey look! I found Nessie!

This was our tour bus. truth.

Passage grave. There were 3 of these that lined up with Orions belt.

Crazy cantilever rail bridge outside Edinburgh. It's 101 years old and 98 people died while building it.

Loch Ness

They say this loch looks like Scotland. I can't remember the name but it was on the way to Skye.

It's just beautiful up there. My camera cannot do it justice.

Hamish the Highland cow. How does he see?

The view from the William Wallace monument. The guy who Mel Gibson made Braveheart about which was very freely adapted. Seriously, look up the real story.

This castle was in Maid of Honor. I've never seen that movie but it was still incredible.

So our tour guide pretty much drove us everywhere and whenever he would see something pretty or worthwhile he would pull over and we would all pile out of the bus and take pictures. Scotland is an amazing country with a long history. They were an independent country until 1749 when the Jacobites lost the Battle of Culloden and they became a member of the United Kingdom. There is much talk about regaining their independence and apparently there is going to be a vote in 2014. We'll see what happens. It's going to be in the news a lot in the future I expect.
Another great part of this weekend was my 21st birthday. We were in Loch Ness for the night and everybody in the bar sang to me. It was a fantastic way to spend my birthday and quite out of the norm for an American 21st. But I'm honestly not too sad about missing that tradition.

I'm so sad I only have a month left in London. If I could stay here forever I would.

My internet is still incredibly shotty but will hopefully be more reliable soon and I'll be able to update this with more ease.
Until then,
See ya later!