Inverness and Loch Ness

Just got back from our overnight to Inverness, and now that I'm at a computer I can post the pictures from the trip. It was a really great trip, especially considering the fact that it was pretty freaking cold and some of the major sites were closed. Both culloden field and the "imag-inverness" museum were closed, which made me very sad. However, we got to Urquhart Castle and Loch Ness to go Nessie-hunting yesterday, and the boat ride (while a tiny bit chilly) was really beautiful. Today we walked around a lot, saw Inverness Castle (though not the inside, apparently on the inside its a functioning courthouse- we discovered this the hard way) St. Andrews Cathedral, and did the "island walk" on the river beside Inverness.

The "island walk" is comprised of a series of islands in the middle of the river, connected by bridges. Even though I was so cold that I was struggling to speak at a normal speed by the end of it (did you know that could happen?? Factoid: it can) it was really picturesque and totally worth it. We spent about 3 hours in various cafes throughout the day. I may have had two large mugs of coffee today. One was decaf, though! So ha. Doesn't qualify as caffeine addiction. Just coffee addiction.

Pictures!

Looking down to the river in Inverness.

The river. And sun!

There are three or four of these footbridges that cross the river. Disconcertingly shaky when you walk on them, though.

Just in case?

The bridge with a church in the background.

On the bus to Loch Ness.

We found Nessie! (That's Emma, Me, Valerie, and Bekcy). Friendly gal, as it turns out. Came right up onto land to say hi.

Aw, what a cutie.

Just kidding, THAT'S the real Nessie.

Our boat. You could get coffee, tea, or whisky on board.

Perfect home for a sea monster, no?

I took off my hat for about 30 seconds, and my ears froze.

Sunset!

Urquhart Castle. Once was a rival to Edinburgh Castle, but destroyed in the 1600s to prevent the Jacobites from using it.

That's me holding up the roof. Yeah, that's right. Disregard the giant stone pillars on either side of me.

Kip got a bird's eye view from the ramparts.

Me and Becky.

Becky and Emma and Valerie, doing the royal wave.

The fantastically wonderful place we ate dinner. Gluten free pizza! And it was goooood.

Morning walk. Look at that sun!

Inverness Castle. Aka home of the Inverness legal system. No, you can't go inside to look around.

St. Andrew's Cathedral.

The island walk.

Check the dog out! Are the ducks REALLY worth it? That water was FRIGID.

Pooh quote: "Nearly eleven o'clock is time for a little smackerel of something."

Much love,
Erin

A hello from scuttle!

So, this is more or an experiment than anything else. I'm at the hostel in Inverness, and there's free wifi! So I'm on my phone (scuttle) and seeing if an upload from here works.

We went Nessie hunting today! She was having a shy day, though. It's too bad the water is too peaty to clearly see through (factoid!)

Lots of good pictures, will put those up tomorrow when we get home. No pooh quote tonight, just because I don't have my little book.

Much love,
Erin

11.4 miles

So according to Google Maps, I walked somewhere in the vicinity of 11.4 miles today. Yeah. Walked to the uni, then into the city centre, then to the People's Palace, then back to the uni. It was an all-day-meander, but still! I'm impressed with myself.

The People's Palace was very cool- it's an interactive museum based on the people who have lived in Glasgow since 1750. They built period-based kitchens and bakeries and things. Perfect for little kids. And me.

Oh funny coffee anecdote: I passed by the "Court of Justice" building, and I thought it said "Coffee of Justice," so I turned and started walking towards it, thinking that it was awesome that there was a cafe in such an imposing marble building. Good moment for me. Anyway had to stop and get coffee after that. Plus my art assignment project is to do a daily drawing, so mine is that I draw something everytime I get a cup of coffee. I'm now that sketch in a coffee shop surrepticiously drawing people around me.

Oh and another sidebar: We went to a pub last night, and everyone got "classy" drinks. I've decided that I want to get something new every time I go to a pub, so I ordered the "Mango Collins." Not going to lie, I ordered it solely because I liked the name.

Took a good number of pictures during my marathon. Here goes!

In the Kelvingrove Park, on my way from uni to the city centre.

The pond in the park.

Ducks!

Close up of ducks!

Sauchiehall Street.

Mm...Argyle Street maybe?

St. Andrews Square.

The People's Palace.

In front of the Royal Concert Hall. Why don't pranksters in New York do this??? It's amazing!!

Factoid: "Trousers" are called "Breeks" in Scottish. Also a baby is a "wean."

Pooh quote: "When you have nothing else to do, do something."

Much love,
Erin

Coffee hunting

Hi guys!

So no new developments, really. Just classes and such. However, I have been very committed to my search through Glasgow for the perfect cup of coffee. Today, I think I found it. Or rather, the perfect place. It's called "artisan roast" and its a little hippie cafe with overstuffed and mismatched chairs, two levels, and awesome organic coffees. I ordered a mocha, and I was asked "what kind of chocolate"? They had different kinds of chocolate to add to the coffee- like 6 kinds. I decided to be creative and order the "Aztec" chocolate mocha, and as it turns out that has chili powder in it! Who knew? It was a little odd...actually spicy. But interesting. I want to go back asap and experiment.

Beyond that, my days have been pretty routine. Ooh! Cool neuroscience factoid of the day: there is a new technology that basically allows blind people to see via synesthesia (the conversion of one type of sensory input to another...aka hearing color or tasting sound). It's a camera that converts pixels into tones of sound, and then plays them to the person continuously. Over the course of a pretty long time span (about a year) the person is able to start actually seeing in shades of gray, because the brain begins to understand the sound as light. After about 2 years, you get depth perception. After 4 or so, color! How cool is that? Yeah.

I've only got a couple of pictures- one of my delicious Aztec coffee, and two of birds in Glasgow that I have been trying and failing to identify for three weeks. One looks like a pigeon, but don't be fooled! It's freaking huge. 50 points to anyone who can identify them. I've been calling them partridges and turtledoves because I figure no one actually knows what those are. Also no, I don't know what scale the points are on.

Pooh quote: "It isn't much good having anything exciting, if you can't share it with somebody."

Much love,
Erin