Hi again! It's not Sunday like I promised, but I can tell you that eventually I will update this blog when I say I will. Can't guarantee it will be this Sunday, but I'll try my hardest.
Last week I went to The Elephant House with Bri! It's known as the birthplace of Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling supposedly spent a lot of her time there writing the books. I had a delicious lemon tea with honey, and Bri and I split a slice of raspberry white chocolate cake. We went to daily mass afterwards and then I went back to my flat to do something that had seemed daunting my entire time here...laundry! It's through an app but I figured it out, all while forking over about $6.50 for two loads in the washer and one load for the dryer.
On Friday I went to a baked potato lunch with the Catholic Students' Union (CSU). It was hands down one of the best baked potatoes I have ever had. Apparently the key to success is putting salt on the outside to allow for a crisper skin. 10/10 would recommend. I caught up with my friend Shira from UConn later in the evening (hi if you're reading this!) before cooking dinner with my friend Naomi. I made a pesto mozzarella chicken pasta that I ended up being quite proud of. My friends from across campus came to my common room and we had a movie night! We watched The Other Woman, which I had seen before but was happily willing to see again.
On Saturday, Cathleen and I went to the Girl Up advocacy brunch. Girl Up is a UN initiative and club (aka society) at the university that aims to give girls the resources and platform that they need to start a movement for social change (facebook.com). Advocating for girls' education, and the reunification of refugee families are among some things that the society raises money and awareness for. I had an excellent lunch all while learning about some political happenings in the UK. Very informative!
I also hiked up Arthurs Seat again with my friends! It was not easier the second time but the weather was nice though: cloudy but not windy at all. The last time I hiked up there, I was struggling to keep my eyes open against the wind. We warmed up with hot chocolate at Caffe Nero afterwards. To end the day after going to church, I joined my dorm for a Bob Ross Wine and Paint night in the common room. I ended up scrapping my crappy painting but I had some Pinot Grigio and watched Bob Ross paint "happy little trees" so all in all it was a good time.
Sunday was quite the eventful day. I took a trip with the International Student Tours in Scotland to Oban and Inveraray. We made stops at Loch Lomand and Glencroe along the way before stopping at Inverary, and finally in Oban. The Scottish Highlands (where all of the above are located) was absolutely beautiful. I can't even count the amount of times I said "wow" or was stunned into silence. In Inverary, we saw the castle where Downton Abbey was filmed! We also stopped at St. Conan's Kirk (church), which was this old church essentially in the middle of nowhere but was in great condition and magnificent inside.
In Oban (our end destination), we went to a restaurant called Cuan Mor, where I tried fish and chips for the first time! I was told that Oban was the best place in all of Scotland to try fish and chips. They were good, and I was pleasantly surprised. After lunch we walked up to McCaig's Tower which is a Colosseum lookalike with a gorgeous view. We stopped for ice cream afterwards (yum!) and made our way back to the bus for the three hour ride back.
After we arrived back in Edinburgh, my friends and I got dinner at Pizza Express so that we could plan our February break trip. We're going to..*drum roll please*...Barcelona and London! We'll be in Barcelona for three days and London for two and a half days. I am so excited to have this opportunity to see more of Europe, especially since Spain and England are two countries on my list of places to visit.
Yesterday I went grocery shopping and did a lot of reading for my classes. After doing all my reading I went to trivia night! We didn't get last place (15th out of 21 teams, woo!), and were the fastest team to answer correctly for two questions! We're moving up in the ranks. As for today, it was a long day but I powered through and took a nap mid afternoon before going to the CSU.
I'm winding down for bed now, am finally getting over the cold that has plagued me since like the 13th, and I've come to a conclusion. Everything gets better/easier over time, even if you can't see that now, and I am really starting to love this city and people that are home to me for the next four months :).
