19 Going on Marriage

Don't worry Mom and Dad.... I didn't actually get married! An explanation will come later in this post.

Last week was just like the others. Class, worked on more papers, group projects.... Since our finals are coming up we have to crack down on our school work. I also had my last seminar for British Life and Culture! Our final for that class is on Wednesday and I haven't even studied for it yet. Oops! But I still have tomorrow, Tuesday and most of Wednesday to prepare! But in all honesty, it shouldn't be that difficult. 20 multiple choice questions and a short essay (we have already been given the topic). See why I'm not too worried?

Orlando Bloom

On Friday I went into London with Kaley, Maddy and Ellyn to go to Madame Tussauds! We got there and went to find the line for where to buy tickets, since Ellyn was the only one who didn't buy hers online because it wouldn't accept her card. When we found out how long the line was, she wouldn't make it in time for when our time slot was. But she was a trooper and told us to have fun and she had a day in London on her own. She even got front row tickets to see Chorus Line! Go Ellyn!

Madame Tussauds was insanely crowded, but so much fun! Maddy is afraid of wax figures, but she still wanted to go. There were a lot of figures there that we got excited for.... Leonardo DeCaprio, the Royal Family, Emma Watson, Cheryl Cole and of course One Direction! We got our pictures taken with almost all of them! The One Direction ones were the most exciting for us. Since they are new it was a little crazy in that room, but not as bad as we thought! We went through and got our pictures, but then realized we didn't get a group picture so of course we got back in line. I asked a random girl to take our group picture and she is literally the best photographer ever! She noticed the first one she took had someone in the way so she moved over and then got a pretty good group photo. Then we were about to move but told us to freeze and zoomed in on just me and Niall and possibly the best picture ever was taken. Shout out to the girl who did this for us! As we were leaving I touched Harry's hair and then Niall's then got told I'm not allowed to touch their hair. Who knew??

The amazing picture the girl took. 

ET Phone Home

Near the end of the museum we decided we were kind of done. It was really crowded and people kept getting in our way and we kept getting in other people's way.... it was just a lot of people. At one point, though, a worker did call me the Queen of Michigan. What a gentleman! We left and then went to find the hostel we book for the night because we were going to Funky Buddha!

I swear, this stuff would only happen to Kaley. She booked the hostel, and when we got there we realized she booked it for May, not April. The guy working must have felt bad because he was calling other places and found a hotel that had an extra room and wouldn't charge us extra. A hotel instead of a hostel for no extra cost? We'll take it! Once we got there Kaley realized she lost her passport because the worker at the hotel asked to see ours. Apparently she left it at the hostel and they called the hotel to tell them they would bring it over for us. We felt like we were getting star treatment!

We decided to go to Funky Buddha because it was my birthday weekend and it was also Caspar Lee's, a YouTuber, birthday weekend! We had a feeling he might be going as well. None of the YouTubers had tweeted about going all day. Once we were all completely ready and relaxing a bit before we left Maddy checked her twitter and just about screamed. Ashton, from 5 Seconds of Summer (who opened for One Direction on tour), tweeted that he would be going to Funky Buddha to celebrate Caspar Lee's birthday that night! We really weren't sure how our night could get any better!

We got to the club and got in for free because we were one of the first 80 girls there.... really, we were probably one of the first 8 girls there. We were standing by ourselves and dancing a little bit. Honestly, we were having a great time! We saw Ashton walk in a little later and he was by himself. Randomly, a group of 3 girls came up to us and said "You guys look like you're having as much fun as we are right now." They looked completely bored, so they were wrong because we were having a blast. We were laughing and dancing not caring who was watching. Those girls need to learn to have fun! Anyway, more and more people started dancing and soon the place was packed. The YouTubers and Ashton were dancing right next to us! I didn't get into watching YouTubers until Kaley had me watch these twins, Jack and Finn. Well, those are her favorite and they were there. Her favorite of the twin is Finn and he was right next to her.... they looked like a couple! Jack was on the other side of the circle and we kept making eye contact. Their circle moved to a different side of us and they opened it, letting us join them. In this circle was Alfie, Louis, Caspar and their friends. They had people dancing in the middle randomly and they pushed Caspar in. He ran right into the 3 of us looked up  kind of startled, then went back to dancing.

Getting ready for the night! 

We broke up into our little group of 3 again, when Kaley told me to move to the side and when I did I saw that Finn was next to me trying to join our group. We're convinced he liked Kaley because he kept looking at her. Also, Ashton was dancing behind Maddy and they somehow got talking (she started the conversation, but I'm not sure how). She's Australian, and so is he, so she mentioned that and he didn't believe her. When she assured him she was he kind of looked at all of us and remembered our faces because throughout the night if we ever ended up near each other he would join our group dancing. Even when we left we all kind of gave him a nod goodbye, and he acknowledged it. Thanks for being Australian, Maddy!

The night over all was just incredible. There were so many times when the YouTubers were dancing right by us. Louis even had his camera out to vlog about the night and we ended up in his video in the background! We got back to our hotel and just could not believe what happened.

Here is where the marriage thing comes into play: We had seen the wax figures of One Direction and the YouTubers we all love in one night. I know the whole marriage idea is far fetched for them, but us girls can dream, right?

The next morning we got up, packed up our things and set out to find breakfast. We all sent tweets to the people we saw last night, just hoping for a reply, but sadly got nothing. We went to the National Gallery for a bit then decided to head back to Kingston since our feet hurt so much from the night before. We saw The Place Beyond the Pines, got some dinner, then went home.

Sunday was my 20th birthday! I realized it was my first birthday without my family. Of course, in high school I would see them because I lived at home and last year my birthday was the day one of my brothers graduated from U of M so I saw them then. My first birthday away from my family is in  London.... not too bad!

We all needed some sleep, so we had just planned on dinner at Nando's that night. Rachel came over a little earlier and curled my hair for me and we ended up looking like twins because we both had on black leggings, white sweaters and curly hair. We walked to Nando's and met Maddy, Kaley and Ellyn there. Ellyn had a Bueno Bar and card at my seat for me... and the card had a message recorded by One Direction! It was just a generic message, but I can always pretend it was recorded just for me. After Nando's we went to the pub for dessert. You can't celebrate a birthday without ice cream! Maddy and Kaley gave me a gift there, which was a princess card, a Lucozade, and an Oreo Cadbury bar. My friends really know how to make me happy.... just give me chocolate!

It's really hard to think that I have Uni this week. After how amazing this weekend was, I feel like there is no way for me to focus in classes. Thankfully I already have most of my homework done so I don't have that much to do.

We also all started to realize how quickly this experience is coming to an end, and we are not ready for it. We don't want to leave London. We just love it way too much! Kaley said something today that really just puts study abroad in perspective for me and my group of friends: "I feel like Cinderella. I've found the perfect shoe that fits, why would I go back to wearing the ones that hurt my feet?" Sorry America, but London is my glass slipper.

Prince Harry

The Royal Family

David Cameron

Stonehenge and Bath

Just like back at home, the week after spring break is rough. If you think it's hard to focus after just one week of no classes, try three weeks..... it was horrible! But I did realize that my semester at Kingston Uni is almost done, and therefore I really do need to get my papers done. And I had a lot of them to work on.

For my magazine journalism class I had to fix all of my articles and find pictures to go along with them. We are hoping to get our magazine to the printer this week so I made sure my work for that class was done right away. We also have to make a portfolio as part of our final, so I have to write a reflection piece on what it was like to make the magazine (stressful....) and write one more feature article.

Thankfully, I only have to write one paper for my fashion history class! It had to be 2,000 words all about taste and style. I felt like there was only so much I could write about on that, but I managed to write it all.

British Life and Culture is completely done, except for the final exam. All of my papers and presentation are graded! I've been getting B+'s mostly, which isn't horrible, but an A would be nice every once in a while! Our final for that class is our last class (which is next week!!!) and, if I remember correctly, it is only a 20 question exam with a short essay question. It won't be bad at all! Maybe I'll have a small study session with some friends....

And my last class is Media Industries. I had three essays for this class, and thankfully I wrote one of the papers a while ago. The portfolio for that class is two essays that are 750 and one that is 1,500 words. I finished my last essay for that class last night! 

I just have to go through all the papers I wrote this week and revise them, which won't be bad at all. I also have to write my last feature article for journalism, but I'm planning on doing that this week. I don't know why my work ethic has been good this week, but it's nice to get all of my work done. Kaley even said she is proud of me for doing all of my work. 

This whole week consisted of me going to Uni, with the occasional hanging out with friends.... ok, that is my whole motivation to go to Uni so I can see my friends! On Monday I hung out with Kaley and Maddy again, on Tuesday I went to Uni for a group meeting and then went back home to work on my homework, on Wednesday I had class and then went to the Slug and Lettuce for dinner with Kaley and Maddy after class. The weather was so nice that we had to do something that day! The restaurant is close to Thames River, as well, so we got to sit outside and enjoy the sun. The exhaustion of traveling caught up to me that day and I went straight to bed when got home. I got a solid 12 hours of sleep that night and it felt amazing. On Thursday I went to my only seminar of the day, and my professor didn't show up. Really?? Kaley has class the same time I do, so I waited for her. We also met up with Maddy and just hung around at Uni for a few hours because none of us wanted to go home. Friday was basically the same as every other day... went to Uni and came home to do some homework. Kaley's host family is moving, though, so some people came by to look at the house and she wanted to be out of it when they came. We got some cheeky Nando's for dinner because we each had enough stamps on our cards for free chicken! After dinner we went for a walk by the river for about an hour and literally talked about life. It sounds really deep, but in reality it was probably just plain weird. 

I have been walking to and from Uni to save money on transportation. The weather has been nice, too, so it is good to get some fresh air. Plus, I haven't been able to go for runs here as much as I had hoped and it is about a 2 mile walk to Kingston so it makes me feel better walking there. Also, when I got home on Friday there was a note from my host family saying they would be gone for a few days. Not that they are an inconvenience or anything, but it is kind of nice to be able to take my time in the kitchen and not rush, worrying that they might be wanting to make lunch or dinner soon.

The next day was Stonehenge and Bath! We had to be a Uni by 8:15... so early! But when I got there I found Kaley, Ellyn and Rachel (remember her?? I haven't seen her in FOREVER!). We made our way to the bus and met up with Maddy! Kaley and I sat together on the bus and were singing to all of the song the bus driver was playing.

Stonehenge was our first stop! We had an hour to be there. We though an hour was a long time to look at rocks, but the time went by surprisingly fast! We couldn't get really close to the rocks, but we still got a really good view of them. The weather was amazing, as well. There were also sheep there and they were adorable. I wanted to pet them, but didn't. Kaley and I got ice cream before we left because the cone was made for two flavors..... it was so cool!

And next up was Bath! This city reminded me of a mini Rome (or at least what I picture Rome to be like!). Our tour guide did say that it was built to be like a mini Rome, as well. When we first got there we were free to find lunch, so we went to Wagamamas, which is a tai restaurant. Maddy and Rachel had to help me with what to order because I never eat at places like that. It was good, I just can't use chopsticks so I was struggling. From there we went to meet up with our professor and she put us in small groups for a tour of the city. Bath is a really cute town. It has so many street performers, and they were really good! Our tour guide also loved Maddy because she was the only non-American in our group.

After the tour of the city was done we had a tour of the Roman Baths. It was an audio guide, which would have been interesting to listen to it all but I was too tired to really comprehend what it was telling me! Maddy was the same way, so we just walked around instead and would listen to certain parts. The baths were almost a green color and were warm. Most of us touched the water and then we saw a sign saying that the water is unsafe to drink and touch. Oops! Once the tour was over we got on the bus and headed home. We were all hungry so we stopped at McDonalds for dinner and then went our separate ways. Rachel and I walked home together since she lives so close to me. We mostly caught up on each others lives since we haven't seen each other in such a long time!

Rachel had said that she wanted to get out of her house on Sunday and Kaley and I had already planned on going into town that day, so she tagged along. Rachel and I walked to Kingston and met up with Kaley there. We went to Primark, Sainsburys (my milk always expires so fast here so I have to buy it so much... it's irritating!), and Topshop. We were only in the stores for a short time because certain people were looking for certain things at the stores. We were all limited on what we bought. We went to Pizza Hut for dinner.... it's pretty cheap to split a pizza here! From there we all walked home.... even Kaley!

As if we didn't walk enough the past few days, Rachel and I decided to go for a walk through the area around our neighborhood. Taking walks around my neighborhood at night always makes me excited for summer... it always smells like a bonfire!

I feel like once this week is over I will not be that stressed about school. I should not have any more papers to write, no more group projects to worry about and will only have one exam to study for, but it will be easy. I can finally enjoy London in the spring…. It is absolutely beautiful this time of year.

Really Random Things from Spring Break

This post has no point really except for three things:

1) A video I made about Scotland!! I apologize for all the wind :/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt9pBdlmAnI

2) Ellyn and I looked like locals in Scotland! We got asked directions on our first bus ride there!

3) Ellyn uploaded her pictures from Disneyland!! So here are some of those :)

Rapunzel waving at me!

Bye Spring Break....

So the tour guide wasn't the handsome one we were promised... but he did have the accent!

Ellyn and I had to get up at 5:45 on Friday morning to make sure we were at the tour on time. It was so early! But to go to Blarney it was worth it!

We met up with our tour at 6:40 and went to our bus. Our tour was pretty empty, which ended up being really nice. Our first stop was at Rock of Cashal. It is a castle with a lot of open land around it. It was beautiful! Since Dublin is a major city, we haven't been able to see the "country" part of Ireland until then.

We were free to tour the castle for a bit and had to meet at our bus by a certain time. Ellyn and I went through the whole thing pretty quick... it was small! One of the cool things we saw there was Queen Elizabeth's signature because she was there last year!

Rock of Cashal

We got on the bus and headed towards Blarney! The ride there was beautiful. We saw so many green fields and amazing mountains. We could not stop taking pictures!

We were in for quit the surprise when we got to Blarney. Thinking Ireland couldn't get any more beautiful, I wasn't expecting much at the castle. Walking up to it, I could see that it looked really cute. We decided to go kiss the Blarney Stone first!

Once we got to the castle, we started to make our way up the small and scary steps to the top. It was up here that we got the amazing view of Blarney. I don't even know how to describe the view, except it looks like it could be in a fairytale. Everything was so green and just perfect.

We had views like this the whole bus ride

I got really nervous to kiss the Blarney Stone because you have to do it upside down. Thankfully, there are workers up there who hold you to make sure you don't fall. You lay on you back, hold onto two bars and then pull yourself toward the stone and kiss it. That's it! Pretty simple, but pretty cool to do!

Kissing the Blarney Stone! Mwah!

Once we did that we went back down the scary steps, while stopping in different rooms in the Blarney Castle along the way. We still had a lot of free time so we explored more of the area of the Blarney Castle grounds. They had a bunch of different gardens, even a poison garden! We found some waterfalls and really pretty bridges, so we spent a lot of time taking pictures by them!

On our way out we stopped to grab a bag of chips. THEY WERE AMAZING!! They were sour cream and onion, but they were from and Irish company who grew their potatoes in Ireland and they used real shamrocks! Ellyn and I could not believe how good they were! On the bag it says it is made with Irish love... we decided that is why they tasted so good.






From Blarney, our bus stopped in Cork to get some food. Ellyn really wanted tomato soup so we searched everywhere for it. We couldn't find it anywhere, so we ended up eating at McDonalds. We did also stumble upon a Pandora store so I could get a charm for my bracelet!

We went back to our bus after that and decided to sit in different seats so we could sleep. I was exhausted, but decided not to sleep so I could see more of Ireland. I absolutely love the country part of Ireland.... it's so beautiful! If I could have a flat in London and a house in Ireland I would! I can't decide which place I like more.

When we got back to Dublin we went to a convenient store to find something quick for dinner then went back to our hostel because Ellyn had another interview.... this is her 4th one I think since our spring break started? That girl is dedicated to finding a job next year. Congrats to her on her internship :D

Anyway, Saturday was our last day in Ireland. We felt like we had to go to a pub before we left, so we were trying to find one for breakfast. We quickly realized most pubs aren't open for breakfast! We're so use to the Kings Tunn in Kingston being open for breakfast that we forgot most places don't open that early! We eventually stopped right in front of a pub when a worker was putting signs outside. We must have looked confused because he looked at us and said "Come on inside and have a drink!" What a nice offer, but we just wanted food! We went inside anyway and had some coffee. Apparently, they weren't selling food for another 40 minutes, so we paid for our coffee and went to find any food we could. We ended up at an Irish Gourmet Burger place.

Since we had most of the day free before we had to go to the airport we decided to go to St. Patrick's Cathedral. Getting there was quit the challenge, though. There was some protest going on, so the main streets were blocked off. We had to take some side streets to get there, but we made it! St. Patricks' Cathedral was small. We went through it in probably about 20 minutes. We decided to sit in there for a little bit before heading back into town to catch a bus to the airport.

Our flight was so crowded. The lady doing the safety procedures was sick and could barely get through her little speech, and when she did the whole plane clapped for her. It was pretty funny, actually. When we landed we had the longest walk ever to get out of the airport. When we got to the bus station we saw a bus that said "Kingston" on it. We quickly looked at the schedule to see where in Kingston it was stopping, and when we saw that we could get on it, it drove away. Just our luck! We eventually got on a bus and got home. I took and shower and went to bed. It felt so good to finally sleep in my own bed again.... no more hotels or hostels!

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Today was saved for homework. Unfortunately, it was such a nice day. I did not want to do any homework! I went into town and went to a cafe. Since I've been gone for three weeks I had no food! I had breakfast at the cafe and started to work on my homework. Once I got a good amount done I went grocery shopping and then headed back to my house to do more homework.

Maddy texted me asking if I wanted to meet up for dinner later. I haven't seen her and Kaley since before break, so of course I did! Since we all went away for break and spent money we all agreed that we needed a cheap place for dinner. It was good to hear about their trip and to catch up with them again. We all agreed on one thing, though.... Uni for the next three weeks is going to be rough.

I can't believe how lucky I am to be able to travel so much since I've been here. Germany, France, Scotland and Ireland in just a few weeks.... and I live in London? It seems to good to be true!

Ireland

I don't know why, but I've been excited to go to Ireland for a really long time. I'm not even Irish (unfortunately...), but I've heard that Ireland is beautiful so I couldn't wait! Plus, the accents are nice.

We got to the airport in Scotland around 3:30, thinking our plane was leaving at 5:30. Well, the 24 hour clock is still confusing to us and our plane wasn't leaving until 7:30 so we were really early. Better to be early than late!

To get on the plane we had to go outside and use the steps to get into the plane. Not going to lie, when I walked out I pictured the celebrities and presidents getting pictured leaving planes like that. Unfortunately, our plane had no famous people on it.... it was to sketchy of a flight for that!

Once we got to Dublin we went to customs. The guy that checked us in was sooooo friendly! He asked why we were there and asked if we had been to Ireland before. When we said no he looked at us and said "Why not?" really seriously. Then he told us we had to be gone in 72 hours. We looked at him really confused and asked "Really??" Then he smiled and said "No.... those damn Irish!" I could already tell this place would be fun!

We got on a bus and headed towards the town center. From there we walked to our hostel, which took a while to finally find it, but we eventually did! It's not as nice as it was online, but what ever is. At least we have a bed to sleep in! Since we got there so late we took showers and then went to bed.

This morning was our first full day, so we went on a free tour of Dublin, just like the one we did in Edinburgh! It was good to see the city and learn about it, since I don't really know anything about Ireland. One really cool thing we saw was the first place U2 played a show, and then a hotel they bought!

Where U2 had their first show

After the tour we found a bubble tea place, and Ellyn LOVES bubble tea, so we stopped to have some! I've never had it so I tried it and wasn't that impressed. Ellyn wasn't either, though, so apparently it wasn't that good of a place. Guess I'll just try it again and a more reliable place!

Anyway, from there we went to a tourism place and booked a tour for Blarney Castle tomorrow! It's funny because on the pamphlet for it one of the selling points is "Handsome, funny guides with charming, sexy accents." They better not disappoint!

Since we have to get up so early tomorrow (we have to meet for our tour at 6:40 am... ugh) we decided to have an early night. Tomorrow I get to kiss the Blarney Stone!

Last day in Scotland

Our last full day in Edinburgh was pretty eventful. First, we went on a free walking tour of the city. We saw many of the same sights we had seen before, but this time we got to hear the history of the city. It was really interesting and entertaining, which was different from the other walking tours we have been on. We had to leave the tour early, though, because I had to register for fall classes and Ellyn had a skype interview.

We got back to the flat in plenty of time to check if any of my classes were full (none were!) and then wait for my time to register. Once I registered I realized one of my classes wouldn't let me into the class so I had to pick a different one. I eventually got my schedule worked out, thankfully, and am officially registered for fall classes! It's so weird to think I'll be starting my junior year of college soon...

Once Ellyn finished her skype interview we decided to go to the Royal Observatory. We thought it would be similar to the Greenwich Observatory, but we couldn't get to the actual building, there was a gate all around it. We still got to see another amazing view of the city. It was windy, again, up on top of the hill, but we still spent some time up there and enjoyed the view.

On our walk back to the flat we stopped for dinner. We were supposed to go ceili dancing that night with Megan and Lewis, but when we got there it was completely full. We were so bummed! We decided to go to some pubs instead, which ended up being fine because we went to one that played folk music and went to one with a live jazz band. We went back to the flat that night and went to bed.

Today we leave for Dublin! I have been looking forward to going to Ireland for a while. When I first thought about studying in London, I knew I would want to go to Ireland at some point and today is finally the day! Perfect way to end my spring break!

Edinburgh

Ellyn and I had to get up at 4:30 am on Sunday to make sure we got to the airport on time. 4:30 AM!!! It was really early, but we got there in plenty of time. All of my things had to get searched at security, though. That has never happened to me, so I was kind of worried I did something wrong and would get questioned on a lot of things. Thankfully, it was just that I forget to put some liquids in a plastic bag. We had a really long walk to our terminal, which was separate from every other terminal because we were flying within the UK, and then went to the only coffee place available for breakfast and waited for our plane!

Our flight was actually really good. It was empty and very smooth. The flight back from Paris wasn't good, so I was not looking forward to this flight. But it was over before we knew it and we were in Edinburgh!

We got a taxi and went to the flat we were staying in. Ellyn's friend, Megan, studied abroad in Edinburgh a few years ago and now lives here so she is letting us stay with her! Her flat is adorable. It's small, but it's perfect. Her boyfriend, Lewis, lives here too and they are being very nice to us! That's another thing, people in Scotland seem to be much nicer than the people in London. Not everyone in London is mean or anything, but they are just extra friendly here!

Anyway, we decided we couldn't waste a day in Scotland even though we were tired, so we went to town. First, we went to The Elephant House, which is where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book! It was really cute inside because there were elephants everywhere. We were told to check out the bathrooms, so before we left we had to at least walk in. We're so glad we did! The walls were filled with notes to JK Rowling, thanking her for writing Harry Potter. Each bathroom was a separate stall, so Ellyn and I went into separate stalls and started reading all of the notes. We wrote one each, as well! The funniest one I saw was "The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Open" because it was written in a bathroom, just like the movie!

From there, we found "Diagon Alley," or the road that inspired it! Apparently JK Rowling use to live near where Megan lives, so Ellyn and I will have to find her old house before we leave.

Then we went to the Edinburgh Castle! It was freezing the day we went but it was worth it to go! We learned a lot about the city and even got to see the crown jewels of Scotland! Since we had been up since early that morning, we decided to call it a night.

We woke up on Monday ready to climb a mountain. We had been saying for a while that we wanted to climb a mountain, and when we saw them from the plane we knew we had to! When we got up we started to get ready, Ellyn getting ready much quicker than me! When I walked out of the bathroom Megan had tea ready for Ellyn and I and even had little danish-type food for us to eat. They are so nice to us!

We got on a bus and headed towards the city, and from there we walked to the mountain. There isn't much to say about the mountain besides the fact that it is beautiful. The walk up it was kind of hard at times, and at the top it was really windy, but seeing the view was amazing. Ellyn and I spent a little less than an hour at the top. Most people only spend about 15 minutes there, but we just loved the view so much. When we eventually did make our way down, we decided to climb the mountain next to it, which is much smaller. We had found out that Dan was in Edinburgh, as well, so naturally we told him to meet us at the top of the mountain. Ellyn and I were the only ones at the top of the mountain, so when we heard someone yell something at us we knew it was Dan. We turned around and there he was walking towards us on a mountain! We talked for a bit and then had to go our separate ways because he was going to climb the big mountain, and Ellyn and I were going to get some Nando's.

While we were eating Dan called us to see if he wanted him to show us the graves that inspired JK Rowling for names in the Harry Potter series. Of course we did! So he met up with us again and showed us the grave that inspired Professor McGonagall and Tom Riddell. We found out later that there is also a grave in there with the name "Moody," thought to be the inspiration for Mad-Eye Moody.

We didn't have much else to do, so we went to a pub to have dessert. We were still tired from all the walking we did and sat in there for a while. Eventually, we decided to go to Calton Hill.

Calton Hill is a giant hill, of course, that has a bunch of different things on it, such as a building that looks like the Parthenon but is actually the National Monument of Scotland. It never got finished because they didn't have enough money to finish it. There were some other amazing views from there, and with the sun setting it looked really beautiful. We decided to walk around some more, tried to find Queen Elizabeth's palace (apparently she's in Edinburgh all the time) but eventually ended up at a Starbucks.. We were exhausted again and decided to head back to Megan's flat.

There is such a difference between London and Edinburgh that I can't decide which city I like more. London definitely has the big city feel to it, while Edinburgh has more nature to see. They are both amazing cities and cannot believe I am lucky enough to visit them.


Here are some pictures from the mountain.... I had too many to choose from so I decided to post a few here.

Ellyn and I in our school shirts!