Lon-Done

A few weekends ago I visited my friend Eduardo in London. I'll start by saying that I much prefer Edinburgh to London. I'm quite content with my tiny little city that requires no public transportation. The Underground (which I rode, even though I wasn't really supposed to... sorry Mom) was gross--every time I went down there I came back outside feeling like I needed a shower. It wasn't so much that it was dirty... it was just sticky and humid, and those of you who know me at all know how I feel about humidity.

Other than that, London was actually pretty cool. I took the train down and there were some pretty incredible views. (Sidenote here, every single time I have been on a train here I have never failed to be seated in a window seat next to an elderly man. What gives?). Arrival at Kings Cross Station, Harry Potter legend, was the first sign of a guaranteed good trip. Eduardo and I hit most of the hotspots including Harrod's, which has a really very creepy shrine (yes, shrine) to Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed. I get the whole Princess Diana thing, but the shrine is creepy. Eduardo asked if I wanted a picture next to it. No.

The big highlight of my London trip was Ben's Cookies. I bought a box of seven cookies with the intent of sharing with my flatmates. Oops. The place delivers in the UK so I have bookmarked the site. It's tempting, but it's also a test of my willpower. So far, I'm winning. But the cookies are really good. Really good. We'll see... I'm keeping my options (and my bookmarks) open.

Buckingham Palace--no sign of the queen. Buzzkill.

10 Downing Street--no sign of David Cameron.

Touristy photo, much? Big Ben with a crowd of other photo-taking tourists around?

London Eye, which we definitely would have gone on if we weren't cheap students.

It only seems appropriate to end with this photo given the fact that Harry Potter is coming out tomorrow. Oddly the UK has no midnight showings (excuse me?) so I am seeing it at 10am tomorrow morning.

Wales was fantastic and there is too much to put in one post so I'll do that at the beginning of next week. I'm heading out for the weekend to my Scottish flatmate's farm for a "shoot." As in hunting. Back on Sunday with what I'm sure will be lurid tales of American ignorance when it comes to a.) farming, b.) Scottish culture, c.) hunting, and d.) life in general.

Skye High

I'm done with those silly essays and ready to refocus on what's really important this semester (kidding, parents). Anyway, here's the long-overdue recount of my trip to Skye a few weekends ago.

My friend Cat and I visited Skye, which is an island off of northern Scotland, and on our way back down to Edinburgh we stopped at Loch Ness. We were fortunate enough to have a great group of people on our tour which made it that much more fun.

Skye was probably one of the most beautiful places I have been in my life. At the tops of the hikes, there were spectacular views (pictures below), but not even the pictures do them justice. You kind of had to be there--the silence was incredible. It was absolute nothingness on all sides--you couldn't see any evidence of human presence at all, save for the path I was following. Pretty incredible. I'd love to go back when I have some more time to really explore the hiking in and around Skye (with my FiveFingers). So when I win the lottery and have no responsibilities and never have to work ever again, it'll be my first stop.

Tomorrow I am heading to Wales for 4 days with my Scottish flatmate who has grandparents there. We don't really have plans to do much besides relax and enjoy the company, which I am very much looking forward to doing. My family is from Wales on my dad's side, so I'm looking forward to visiting the homeland and maybe even finding some sort of family connection (long shot, but I have some ancestral info I'll keep with me). I think it was the ancestral info we got at Disney World so I'll take it with a grain of salt.

London was great--post on that coming early next week now that I am done with essays and work until December. I know I keep complaining about the essay thing, and I really shouldn't because I was here for 2 months before I had anything to do. The essays weren't even that long--the kind of stuff I'd be expected to do in a typical week at Duke.

Anyway... enjoy these photos from my weekend in Skye and Loch Ness!

We started the trip off right with a quick sidetrip to the castle featured in Monty Python

One of the first stops on Skye: grave of Flora MacDonald, who saved Bonnie Prince Charlie

Typical dwelling of an early Scottish family (reconstructed, but cool nonetheless)

At the top of one of our hikes!

Yes, these came with me. At this point, nobody should really be surprised by that

This is where scientists think Ireland and Scotland were joined way-back-when. The theory is that this once linked up with the Giant's Causeway in Ireland.

Just a typical view from Skye

On our way hiking up to the vertical rock in the top left corner (can the sky be any bluer?)

Currently the background of my computer--not too bad, huh?

Note my shoes.

Shot of the rock to which we were hiking (there is a myth behind it but it is too long to recount here--google "Old Man of Storr" if you are really interested)

We arrived at Loch Ness in the evening and were treated to a Highland Clan show--we were taught how to properly fold a kilt and even had a weapons demonstration with genuine Scottish weapons.

Finally made it to Loch Ness--everyone kept telling me it is overrated. Evidence that it is not.

Saw Nessie.

We stopped in a small town on the way back and spent a few minutes down by this river

Picking 15 pictures out of 300 was not easy, so I'm not even going to apologize for the picture overload on this post.

Work?

I've been in Scotland for almost two months now (weird), so I guess it was only a matter of time before I actually had work. Last week I had a 20 minute presentation in my Comparing Scottish Devolution class and this week I had a 5 minute presentation in my Contemporary Russian Politics class (I put more effort into one than the other).

Now I'm faced with the prospect of two essays due next Thursday, which ordinarily I wouldn't even be worrying about at this point. The difference is that I'm going to be in London from Friday morning until Sunday evening, and will probably be exhausted by the time I get back Sunday evening. So basically I only have tomorrow, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday left to get these things done.

2500 and 1500-word essays once a semester would be incredible at Duke, where it feels like I write at least one essay a week, and probably longer ones too. I also really don't like how they give us set topics here--I appreciate the general topic suggestions I get at Duke, but often I'm far more interested in writing about something that has personally grabbed my attention. I usually wait until an idea for a topic strikes me (usually in the middle of the night) and then write it a day or two before it's due.

Right now I'm struggling to find about 2498 more words to "justify my answer" to the question "was the USSR a totalitarian state?" So far I've essentially written: "Yes. Stalin." 2500 words seems a little excessive for a question like that, even for me--someone who tends to have a lot to say about, well, everything.

The good news (for me, at least--you probably don't care) is that my 1500-word essay is on the same topic on which I gave the 20-minute presentation, so I'm leaving that essay for next week after I get back from London.

The even better news is that I'm going back to Chocolate Soup tomorrow, and tomorrow night there is a whisky and cheese tasting event. Scotland: here is your chance to redeem yourself on the cheese issue.

I haven't forgotten about the Skye post, but right now I'm focused on these essays. After these are done, I am going to have a post influx--detailing my trips to Skye, Loch Ness, my day trip to Rosslyn Chapel, London.... I promise I'll get those done before I head to Wales next weekend.

For now I suppose I should stop procrastinating and get back to finding every possible way to reword the phrase "Joseph Stalin was a totalitarian dictator."