Weekend Trip to Scotland!

This past weekend was fantastic! A few of us decided to fly over to Scotland for a long weekend--first break we'd planned on our own! Thursday was the day for taking every kind of public transportation possible to get there--bus to the airport, plane, train, Underground (mind the gap!)...but we eventually made it to our hostel (which was in an old Victorian house--so cool!) in Glasgow. And I was actually pleasantly surprised by Ryanair. For being such a budget airline I was expecting a really sketchy experience...but we got everywhere on time, it was clean, and they try to charge you for absolutely everything. Fantastic.

Friday was our day for wandering around Glasgow, the largest city in the country. It's the more urban and industrial city, but not in the same dirty was as Belfast was. When we were walking around, I realised how long I had been in Ireland--all the buildings were so TALL. I felt like Glasgow was the closest thing to an American city I've been in since leaving the States. In the morning we went to the awesome Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. It was really interactive and had the most random displays--giraffes, planes, Picasso's and Rembrandt's, and suits of armor. And a wedding party taking pictures with all the men in kilts, pretty much making my weekend worth it right then and there. The whole thing was housed in what the guidebook said was a "stately Victorian home"--it was something in between a mansion and a manor...sign me up for that home! We then trooped through the pouring rain to visit The Lighthouse in the city centre, this design and architecture museum. The best part was just the view of the city from the top. The whole place kind of reminded of the MCA in Chicago. And at the hostel that night, we met people from Argentina, Chile, and Australia, which was fun. Thanks to the awesome Schrute Farm Beets shirt that my sister just sent me, the Australian and I had a great conversation about The Office. Good to know that good taste in TV shows spans the globe.

On Saturday, we took a day trip to Edinburgh. FREAKING GORGEOUS. The Chilean had said that he thinks it's more pretty than Paris even (hopefully I will get there to make that decision for myself!). But seriously, gorgeous old architecture. We went to Edinburgh Castle, which was enormous. It had absolutely everything you could think of--the Scottish Honours (crown jewels), the National War Memorial, dungeons, a chapel...everything! And it's up on the top of a hill, so there's a fantastic view of the city and the lake (loch?) behind it. The rest of the day we spent wandering around the city and just enjoying being in Scotland! Edinburgh was completely different than Glasgow, so I'm so glad that I got to see them both.

Other than being disappointed because I didn't get another stamp in my passport, it was a completely great weekend! I had so much fun, and I love that I can go to another country for the weekend when it takes about the same amount of time to get to Ohio from NU at home. Got to love Europe!