Down By a Few Lochs

Our last few weeks here in Scotland have been packed with traveling and touring more of Edinburgh! I bought my very own kilt and celebrated being able to legally drink alcohol. In America. We traveled deep into the highlands to visit Loch Ness and traveled high up onto the peaks of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh to see a great view of the city. We learned to never eat at a American Diner in Scotland and that Victoria may or may not end up with a Indian man... Krista got a surprise present of socks and pop rocks, and most importantly RANCH! If I could tell anything to Scottish people it would be that Ranch and mayonnaise are not the same. Brittany started to going to school and became the first one of us to do anything responsible while in Scotland!

Our trip up to the highlands started with a three hour bus ride up the winding roads into the quaint  town of Inverness. We unfortunately decided to eat at the Route 66 diner which proved to be the worst restaurant we have ever dared to eat in. Totally disgusting. We forgave Inverness for having such a terrible restaurant as we ventured into the city and saw this:

  

And all of this.

 

 

We explored Inverness our first evening and woke up crossing our fingers that we could get a tour to the Isle of Skye, which we unfortunately did not get. BUT, we got a bus to see Loch Ness and it was so beautiful!

We took a stroll down the mountain that borders Loch Ness into the small town at the base of the Loch. It was the most beautiful two miles of Scotland I have seen yet. Completely breath-taking.

If I had a nickel for every time I've said "this is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen" while here I would probably be a millionaire. Or have two dollar...

We arrived back in Edinburgh and got ready for Tuesday, my birthday! We all bought kilts and planned a night of pub golfing to celebrate my 21st!

                               

                                
Here we are, birthday sash and all. We had a really great time out and my friends made sure I had the best birthday celebration possible.

We left Friday for Glasgow and Brittany's soccer coach and good friend Craig made sure we had a blast while visiting his home town. We visited William Wallace's monument and the remains of his home:

We went to our first Scottish football game, Morton vs. The Rovers and loved the chants and the crazy fans.

We went to Craig's best friends 50th birthday party and danced the night away to the greatest hits of the 70s and 80s. We spent Sunday touring Glasgow and were amazed by the historic city center.

Next stop, Munich. We leave tomorrow and cannot wait to see what all the hype about Oktoberfest is about.
Oh, and there's usually a rainbow here everyday.

Lots of love from Scotland!!

My Home Away From Home

Here is our front door with the beautiful Krista modeling in front of it!

And the top right window in the picture below is our flat!

 

We love our flat, but it's on the fourth floor, therefore we don't love these...

 

 If you can't tell these are stairs. 

And here is our pride and joy, Dalkeith Road. 

 

 And here we are!

 

Something has become very evident to me while I have been abroad. I am the worst photographer ever. As the above pictures show clearly! And I'll just throw this last one in to prove my point!

 

Ten Things About Scotland

After a week of living in Scotland, I've noticed a few things about this country that I would like to share.
1) Whisky = water to the true Scots. Its everywhere and there in abundance. I wish I could say I enjoyed it, but look below and you will see my true thoughts about it.

2) Don't say soccer. Ever.

3) There is always a bird on this statue. I have never seen it without one. I can only assume that this is the best spot to view the castle and therefore they fight to have a place here and don't leave. Or they have a strong reverence for George IV. One of the two.

4) J.K Rowling wrote Harry Potter at a place called The Elephant House which makes me feel like I'm living at Hogwarts.

5) The sun makes an occasional appearance here but I think he is very very shy and builds up enough courage to come out only as he travels west to California.

6) Aye means yes and emm means umm and let means to rent and queue means line and I will always say pardon me a thousand times while talking to a Scot because this list could go on for pages.

7) Cobble stone makes for a beautiful historic road but also makes for twisted ankles and hurt feet.
8) Haggis is good but black pudding will never touch my lips. 

9) People here seem relaxed and okay with a slow paced life. Many places close in the afternoon and you hardly ever see business men walking home after dinner time. I love the lifestyle.

10) I could wake up to this view for the rest of my life.

Love from Scotland!

Today is my fifth day in the country of lochs, kilts, and all things beautiful. After spending four days in the land of fried chicken, hunting, Muscadine wine, intense humidity and country livin', otherwise known as Georgia, we began our fifteen hour journey east! Here's a few things we did while still on American soil:

 

Shot a few bullets in Krista's backyard. 

Here's all of us and Victoria at the top literally busting up that target. Don't mess with us.

 

Drank some good ole' southern Muscadine wine straight from the heart of Georgia. I made a weird face for some reason and now I deeply regret it.

 

And had a great night out on the town in Krista's hometown of Milledgeville. Saw lots of guys in upside down visors and plaid shorts and saw how people on the other coast have some fun. We had a terrific time together and Krista's family was so gracious and hospitable. And we had the best Thanksgiving dinner cooked by Mrs. Deb herself. I would gain 80 pounds if I lived in the south. In a week. It's possible. Trust me. 

But while in Georgia all we could think about was Friday and going to Scotland. We really had no idea what to expect. At all. And we had nothing planned. Not even how to get from the airport to our house. But what we soon saw was something none of us were ready for. Not even a little bit. 

 

These are all just a few of the beautiful places and buildings that I have seen so far. A blog could not contain all the beauty that Scotland holds by a long shot. 

Another highlight of the trip so far is that my surname is literally famous over here. Wherever I look Morrison's are doing business. 

Somewhat you can see the Morrison Street sign!! Its a great street and I think when I was walking along people knew who I saw. Not joking. I'm big here. 

I love it here and can't believe what I have seen and experienced in only five days. Hope to share more soon!