Friends From Afar!

Not too long after I arrived in St. Andrews, two of my best friends from high school, William and Colby, came to visit.  Having only been in St. Andrews for a couple of weeks and thus still learning the town, it was great to have some old mates to go out with.

Colby, being a golfer, was adamant about playing the old course, which is of course the home of golf (Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews).  As a reservation to play on the course has a waiting list of up to a year, Colby had a letter from his home golf pro vouching for his handicap and woke up at 4:30am to see if he would be able to play.  Luckily for him, he was able to join a group of three gentlemen for an 11:00am tee time.  He got lucky too, as the weather was perfect for golf.  We were not as fortunate the other days.

Lord Voldemort?

We went to Edinburgh for the weekend.  Even though the weather was miserable (i.e. cold and wet), we still managed to have a good time.  We went to some centuries-old pubs to get out of the elements.  BUT, it was while looking for a pub that we discovered something amazing. . . . . . . a free Harry Potter walking tour!!!! We were pretty excited.  Basically, this guy in wizard garb took us on a walking tour of all the famous Harry Potter sites in Edinburgh, such as the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote most of the first book, the inspirations for Diagon Alley and Hogwarts, as well as a graveyard which aided her in creating names (such as McGonagall and Tom Riddle).  Everyone on the tour was near our age and thus had grown up with Harry Potter.  This resulted in many nerdy Harry Potter jokes and spells being cast (as we had our own wands for the tour!). 

The next day we toured Edinburgh Castle.  It is a huge fortress on top of a huge hill (cliff?).  I can't imagine how anyone could overtake it prior to modern weaponry.  We were also able to see the crown jewels used in Scottish coronation ceremonies.  However, the most memorable story of the day came in the castle's whiskey shop.  Somehow a bird had gotten into the shop and while we were looking at a £3,000 bottle of Scottish whiskey, it decided to relieve itself on William's face. Hahaha pretty hilarious, but William wasn't too happy.  But what a great story! Who can say they got pooped on by a bird in Edinburgh Castle's whiskey shop?!

Inside the Castle walls.

Alas, our wet weekend came to an end.  I had to head back to St. Andrews, and William and Colby set off for adventures in Belgium and France.

Loch Ness & the Scottish Highlands

Recently, I traveled to Loch Ness, of monster fame, with my roommates Laure and Corentin and our other friend Romain.  "Loch" is the Scottish Gaelic word for "lake." It's the longest lake in Scotland, spanning a great length of the country (kingdom?).  We set off at what felt like dawn on Saturday morning to meet our tour guide, Paul, who drove us around all day.

While we were crossing the bridge over to Dundee, Paul pointed out the railway bridge constructed in the late 19th century.  Apparently, the bridge collapsed a year after it was made, leading to a large inquiry.  He claims it holds the origins of the phrase "botched job," as the architect of the bridge was Sir Thomas Bouch.  Not sure if I buy it, but a good story nonetheless.

Our first main stop was at the Hermitage in Dunkeld, a beautiful wood with a splendid waterfall.  We had a nice hike enjoying the greenery.  All the trees and rocks were covered in moss.  As for the trees, there were the tallest Douglas Firs in Scotland.  Douglas Firs are of course native to North America, but  these trees were planted by David Douglas himself, the Scottish botanist from which the trees take their name.

We finally reached Loch Ness in the afternoon.  It was really pretty!  It was at the site of a castle, so we had plenty of ruins to meander through.  However, it started to rain, so it was a wet visit.  Unfortunately, there were no sightings of Nessy, the Loch Ness monster.

On our drive home, we went through Glencoe, which had the most beautiful scenery!  I really want to go back and hike there.  I could only think of Bilbo Baggins, trekking through the hills (can't wait for that movie to come out!).  It was also the location where the famous bridge scene of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" was filmed.

Hogwarts Express!

And lastly, one of the biggest highlights of the day was seeing the bridge filmed in Harry Potter where the Hogwarts Express crosses when Harry and Ron fly by in the Ford Angela!! And then, we actually saw the train used in the movie as the Hogwarts Express!! It's an old steam engine! It was a really nerdy, exciting moment!

The whole trip was well worth it! It was a great day from beginning to end and gave me a wonderful overview of the Scottish Highlands and familiarity with the Scottish landscape.

An awesome bridge!

The Highlands in Glencoe! "What is your quest?!"