Football :)

A very exciting event happened today. I played football! Yay! This has been four months in the works and it finally happened!!! We just made goals with sweaters and water-bottles in the middle of Seaton Park. In the end it was six on six. I was one of two girls (Yer was the other). I played my usual position (defense), and I think the game ended up going for just over an hour a half. We switched teams for the second "half". I'm not sure who ended up winning the first, but our team won the second. I had my own personal cheer squad too with my lovely ladies. Anyways, it was just a very fun event on another glorious Aberdeen day.

Isle of Skye

The trip to Skye was the last trip with INTERSOC. We had to go because, well, it is Skye’s island. It was two day trip so we left Saturday morning and got back Sunday night around 10pm. On the first day we went to Eilean Donan castle and a coral beach on Skye. Eilean Donan was beautiful and I couldn’t believe that it is still used by the family as a getaway. I’d forgotten how beautiful the drive through the highlands was. It was so green this time, I couldn’t believe it, and the castle is just stuck right there in the middle of it. The coral beach was lovely as well and so white. We climbed to the top of a little cliff and even saw a seal bobbing about in the water. After we were done there we drove to Portree and got settled. Then we went out for dinner and finished the evening off in a lovely little pub.

Sunday’s schedule included stops at the old man of Storr, the kilt rock, and Flora McDonald’s grave. The drive to Storr was amazing. The whole island was amazing, really. Anyways, it was quite a hike to get there and I probably shouldn’t have done it, but I did. I quickly came to the conclusion as a result that my back is most certainly not better, unfortunately. It got very angry and has yet to calm down which I don’t much like but I’ll just go with it and get it sorted once I get back to Canada. It was absolutely stunning though. The kilt rock and waterfall and Flora McDonald’s grave were also beautiful. Once all was done there we drove back to Aberdeen, getting back just as the sky was going dark.

From Scotland with love,

Haley

Waterfall at kilt rock.

Kilt rock.

Me at Eilean Donan.

The coral beach.

Cliff at the coral beach.

Holly and I on top of the old man of Storr.

Part III: Irish Adventures

We went to stay with our flatmate Cenza. She lives just south of Belfast in an old mill…literally. She lives in what would have been the main house, there are two cottages on their property, plus the actual mill building and, just to make it more awesome, a WWII ammunition building. Yes, I am not kidding. In addition to all of that, her family was amazing to us and she has a whole hoard of animals, including a dog named Jack who loved cuddles.

It is also worth mentioning that Holly and I got to stay in one of the cottages. It was right next to their house and it was amazing. It had basically two rooms, the main room and the bedroom, except we just slept in the main room because there was a fireplace so we got to fall asleep next to the fire every night. It was wonderful.

On our first morning there we went to aqua-aerobics in Newcastle. It was a bunch of fun and the village was gorgeous. When we got back we had lunch and then went for a walk in Cenza’s back yard because she basically lives in faerie land. It was stunning and so much fun just to go explore. We also got to do a bit of a mountain walk and a visit to Rostrevor. Holly and I also introduced Cenza’s family to Butter-tarts. I used golden syrup though which gave it a sort of toffee-like taste. Holly also had a bit of a birthday celebration which was lovely.

We went to Belfast an evening early because it was Cenza’s friend’s birthday. The next morning we caught the ferry back and made our way home to Aberdeen.

Overall, this break was maybe the most amazing of my life. Sometimes it was hectic and frightening but I wouldn’t change it for anything. I navigated ferries, fed sheep, climbed the highest hill on Iona, went to the Spanish mountains and Africa, ate a king prawn, swam in the Mediterranean, found a faerie glen, climbed a bit of a mountain, and so much more. It also made me appreciate Aberdeen even more. Every time we came back Holly and I said that it was good to be home. That’s a simultaneously amazing and scary thing. I’m glad that’s how I see it now but boy, is it ever going to be hard to say good-bye properly. Ah well, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

This was the fireplace we slept by every night.

The walk to the faerie glen.

Jack!

The old mill behind her house.

Ammunition's factory.

A place we found on one of our climbs.

A dolmen.

A traffic jam in rural Ireland.

Part II: Hola Espana!

My first time ever (and no, that time when I was nine months or whatever does not count) on the continent!!! I was so excited. We took the bus down to Edinburgh airport and caught it from there. As we were coming in to land I looked down and saw fields of olives and it was just amazing and beautiful and wonderful. After we landed and collected our belongings and such we went out to get our taxi and it was so wonderfully warm! Unfortunately it was dark as we were driving so I didn’t see much then. Our driver got a bit lost on the way to the resort but eventually we found it. It was beautiful. We had a temporary room for the night because our proper one wasn’t going to be ready until Saturday. It was just the three of us at that point (Skye, Holly and me) because Rhianna was coming on Saturday and Marissa on Monday). On Saturday we checked out of our little room and stored our bags until we could check in to our other room. I think it was ready around 2:00 and I was so excited. As we were walking I was thinking, “hmmm, I hope it’s right in the end building there!” It was. Then I thought, “Wow, wouldn’t it be great if it was on the top floor!” It was. Finally, “sure would be epic if it was facing the sea.” And three times lucky because it ticked all three boxes! It was amazing. I couldn’t have asked for anything better and Holly’s parents deserve so many thanks.

I’ll just give some of the highlights of the week. There were three trips that we did. The first was to a white village called Gaucin, the second was to Morocco, and the third was to a market. Other highlights were the paella making demonstration and family dinners.

The visit to the white village was on the Tuesday. It was absolutely amazing to get away from the coast and see the mountains. They were remarkably green because they’ve had so much rain recently. Gaucin was on top of one of the mountains and had a castle which had been turned into a church. That was where we walked first and it was breathtaking. It was right at the top of the mountain so we could look down and see the whole village and the valleys and other mountains around. When we climbed down we went to get lunch. I had a salad with delicious tomatoes and a special type of fruit (I can’t recall the name). I also had the most delicious olives I think I’ve ever eaten. I didn’t even realise they could taste that good; it was amazing. After lunch we got to sit in the sun for a bit before we headed back to Malaga.

Morocco was amazing and also a bit of an adventure. Originally we were supposed to go on Monday. They gave us the wrong time, however, and they didn’t end up going because the ferry wasn’t leaving that day. On Thursday everything proceeded properly. It was still rough water going over but the ferry was a bigger one so it was able to push through it pretty well. The bus took us to a special lunch. It was set up in big tents and it was a sort of traditional meal. It was delicious anyways. There was fresh bread and a lentil soup. Then we had lamb meatballs and a couscous/tomato dish. There were also some performances which were fun. Then we were driven to the centre of town to go to the market. It was amazing. The whole thing smelled like spices and fruits and perfumes, it was lovely. We went to a rug shop and a burbur apothecary and I got an amazing four spice. It was a hectic atmosphere but it was really nice. When it was all over and we were thoroughly tuckered out we went back to the ferry, where the adventure really began. First, we took the fast ferry this time. Second, the wind hadn’t died down; it was actually worse. You know the movie the Perfect Storm? That was our lives for fourty-five minutes. Initially, it seemed like a fun ride. Then people started getting sick. In the end it completely devolved. The only sounds by about half-way through were retching, groaning, and people calling for more bags. I’ve never been happier in my life to step on dry land. It’s hilarious now but it certainly wasn’t at the time.

Our final trip was to a market just a bit down from the resort. I was most amazed by the vegetables. I wanted to buy every single one of them. I don’t know how I’d use them but I’d figure something out. Then we went for lunch before heading back to the resort. There were just so many colours and smells and vegetables. Whenever I see a zucchini now I can’t help but think, “Scrawny little thing; I’ve seen you in your homeland.”

The paella demonstration was on our first day. The chef just had this massive pan and he started throwing in rice and spices and vegetables and then I’m pretty sure he threw in every creature in the sea. Including king prawns. I even had my own Mr. Bean moment although I didn’t toss anything into a handbag. I just tore it to bits until a lovely lady instructed me on the proper method. It was just absolutely amazing and I could have eaten plate after plate.

We also had family dinners. It was loads of fun because we had such lovely china and glassware and napkins. They were massive meals but they were so much fun and nice and relaxing.

The final thing about Spain was our epic adventure in the Edinburgh. First, I gave myself quite possibly the worst burn I’ve ever had on my legs. I guess I wasn’t in the shade like I thought so I turned tomato red. It got the point where I couldn’t wear trousers because my legs were about to burn clear off. Luckily Costa Coffee was open so we got paninis and drinks and hunkered down. I ended up sleeping across chairs which was more comfortable than I thought it would be but not nearly comfortable enough. We caught the earliest bus we could and ended up getting back around noon. Holly and I were knackered of course but we pressed through because we were heading to Ireland the next day.

This was a gorgeous balcony in Gaucin.

The castle at Gaucin.

The five of us (from left to right, top to bottom: me, Skye, Rhianna, Marissa, Holly)

This is in the souk in Tangiers.

This photo kinda captures what the trip was like.

View from our balcony.

It was freezing but I did it!

Part I: Iona (and Glasgow)

This was our first few days (Sunday to Wednesday, essentially). We took the bus down to Glasgow on Sunday which was, as always, a treat. We met up with Amanda and did a tour of the city, sort of, and then dinner. Skye was in London for the week before so she met us later in the day for dinner. But it was really fun. The next morning we went to Iona, stayed for Tuesday, and came back on Wednesday.

When we got to Glasgow, we first went to see Strathclyde, the cathedral and the necropolis. Unfortunately we couldn’t go down to see the lower rooms but the upper floor was more than enough. We took a break at the necropolis and just kind of appreciated the city because it was a stunning day. Then we went downtown and took in some of those sights, including a beautiful park with some blossoming trees. We had dinner at a place called Nandos and then went back to our hotel to crash.

The hotel was really nice. It was on a main street but connected off a side one because its street was blocked off at the bottom. So we, of course, followed the winding driving directions only to find out we could have gone up a simple set of stairs right at the main road. On our way out, though, we took the easy way. It was kind of hard to find generally because even the taxi driver who took us back after dinner ended up getting lost. We had a three person room with amazing beds. It was also only 16 pounds for the night and that included a full breakfast. After we got a good meal, our journey began.

It basically went train to ferry to bus to ferry. The train from Glasgow to Oban took about four hours but was absolutely breathtaking. When we got to Oban we had to catch the ferry right away otherwise we’d miss our bus and be stuck on Mull for the night. It went from Oban to Craignure and took about 45 minutes including docking and that kind of thing. We caught a bus in Craignure that took us to Fionnphort. When we got there we could see Iona. And when I say see Iona I mean we could see literally the entire island since it’s only about three miles long and one and a half wide. It was only about twenty minutes between when we got off the bus and when we caught the ferry to Baile Mur, on Iona. When we got to the island we popped into this little restaurant for a late lunch and I got a delicious soup called a Cullen Skink and a divine scone. There was real whipped cream and also apricot jam…from France. I say that because that’s how the waiter introduced it to me and it was kind of funny. We had to stop and get groceries except we got to the Spar about ten minutes after it closed. The lady was kind enough though to let us pop in and grab something. The end result was a dinner of dry toast and macaroni made without any milk or butter. Moral of the story: don’t make macaroni and cheese from the box without milk and butter because it’s gross. On Tuesday morning we got up pretty early because we were able to go out and feed the sheep. The hostel where we stayed was on a working croft so they had a whole flock. They were really nice and a few even came to eat out of my hand. The rest of our day was filled with two long walks and visit to the abbey. First we tackled dun-I (pronounced dun-ee) which is the highest hill on the island. It was sublime. We got to the top and just sat there staring out across the water for a while. We could see some of the other islands but also open water; it was amazing. After that we went to the abbey. The main part had been rebuilt but they also had some older sections and some artefacts like old crosses and that sort of thing. We went to the Spar after the abbey because we wanted to eat something other than dry toast for dinner. We dropped our groceries off and then went for a beach walk. There was a section that was really rocky so we started playing a little game called don’t touch the water. It was epic fun and really just made me feel seven years old again, which I never really mind. We didn’t get too far around the island but we found this beach that was flanked with cliffs and almost looked like a small bay. We camped out there for a bit before heading back to make dinner (which was mushroom chicken, vegetables and mashed potatoes.)

Wednesday was a travel day. We left the hostel around 7:30 to catch the bus. The weather had been lovely on Tuesday but that was clearly because it was saving itself to be horrid on Wednesday. Since we had to walk there we all ended up looking like wet dogs when we got on the ferry. We stayed that way until we got on the big one in Craignure and then we could change footwear and that kind of thing. We had the afternoon to spend in Oban which was nice. It started with a delicious seafood lunch which was followed by a visit to the distillery. It was great because it cost seven pounds but that included a free glass (which was 6 pounds in the shop) and some samples. We caught the train back to Glasgow around six and had to transfer once we got there to catch it back to Aberdeen. In the end, we got in around midnight which made me super happy to actually see bed. Thursday, then, was preparation day for Spain.

Holly and I on the ferry from Oban to Craignure (Mull)

This is the view from the top of Dun-i (in the picture is Skye)

The cloister in the abbey.

The remains of what I think was the nunnery.

This is me taking a picture of myself so it's not the best but I'm on the top of a cliff on the beach we found.

Break-Down of Easter Break Posts

This is just a disclaimer for the Easter Break posts. Since I went to three places I’ll do three separate posts. It will be easier that way I hope.

Easter Break is Upon Us...

So today is officially day numero uno of Easter break! Yesterday after my class we kicked it off with a little trip. We were going to go to Cruden Bay to see Slain's Castle but the buses were being silly so instead we went to Banchory which was STUNNING! It's just a little town by the sea, though really it's more of a suburb. It has amazing dunes, though. We found one that was massive. Cenza also showed Marissa, Holly and me how to dune jump which was loads of fun. Then we just went for a wee walk on the beach. You can actually get to Banchory from Aberdeen by walking along the sea. It takes a while and you have to know exactly where you're going because there are no signs or anything like that. I could see the apartment buildings that are right by Hillhead though when we were on the dunes. On the way back we found a little playground that actually had exercise equipment which was loads of fun.

The night really started, though, with the feast. It was epic. It was really just a massive clean out the fridge thing but it gave us all food toddlers and put us in right food comas. We had a massive thing of vegetable curry, chicken curry, rice, potatoes, brownies, and, to finish off the night, real pancakes. It was just a night of pure gluttony. I have also been corrupted to ice wine, courtesy of Holly. It is so delicious, I believe the term "nectar of the Gods" was used last night. Just amazing. It was a massive treat though and won't be happening again until we leave these shores, as Obi would say. We popped over to say happy birthday to our fellow canuck, Erica, then played darts at the Watering Hole. Pancakes actually happened after we came back from the Watering Hole which was a darn good thing because none of us could actually move after we ate them. We just kind of sat there and grinned and then waddled off to bed.

Today is going to be an essay day and then for earth hour we'll go out for a lovely walk, maybe on the beach, we'll see. If it's nasty weather we'll just sit in our flat and play cards or something like that. And tomorrow we embark to Glasgow and then Iona so I'll update as we go.

From Scotland with love,


Haley