For our last weekend in Edinburgh, Char, William, Barbie and I went up to Inverness in the Scottish highlands to hunt for Nessie (the Loch Ness monster). We stayed in a cute B&B- Barbie and I had the princess room. Inverness itself was soooo cute! Lots of cute B&Bs, shops and restaurants that run along the River Ness. And, of course, it has it's own castle that looks over the city.
The Loch is very deep, dark, choppy, and surprisingly large all together. We took a boat cruise around it which led us to the ancient Urquhart castle.
Like I told you before, the shopping carts are TINY! They are the size of shopping baskets- but tall and on wheels.
Char, Barbie and I climbed the "Ridge" next to Arthur's Seat in the thick fog. What a view.
One night we went to the Snooker Hall for a round of Snooker!! It's similar to pool, but it's on a HUGE table and the balls are different colors and have to be shot in different orders. The crowd was mainly old Scottish men who'd been snookering for years. William beat us all by a lot.
While Char was off at work, Barbie and I toured the Edinburgh Castle, climbed the Sir Walter Scott Monument, and then met Char to see the breast cancer tissues she's been working on for 3 years. Splendid!
New Years in Edinburgh was AMAZING. The pictures are the best proof of that...
Barbie spent 12 pounds on the claw machine- THAT'S 24 bucks!!!!!!! She didn't even get one stuffed animal. She really has a claw machinge gambling problem. Fireworks shooting from the castle... If you're wondering why Francie's tongue is so yellow and sickly, it's because we discoverd the deliciousness of french fries (or CHIPS as they call them here) with dijon mustard. We kept goin back for more! By the end of the night, the new heels (which are amazing by the way) were KILLING my feet. I had never been in so much pain before (except for the glowstick in the eye incident). Francie and Barbie's feet were aching also, but we couldn't get a cab in that crowd for the life of us!! Thankfully, Bobby spotted a man with a bike-buggy and he biked us home. There wasn't enough room for Bobby, so he ran along side. It all seems like a cute story... but it's much more than that. The next day I realized I still couldn't feel my toes! Another day passed- still numb. A week later- STILL NUMB! Well, I googled my symptoms (which almost always works except for one time it convinced me I had West Nile), and I have "Morton's neuroma". It's nerve damage!! My toes could stay numb for up to 2 months!!!! Just think though- if it hadn't been for that bike carriage, I may have had to amputate.
Hello, or should I say "Hello" with a scottish accent)!!! Barbie and I flew into Copenhagen Friday afternoon. Our goal was to make it into town during our layover and find the Little Mermaid statue (which I read about before we left). Well, we DID make it into town (amazingly considering we aren't Danish) and we sort of made it to the Little Mermaid- We took a picture with a replica of her, in the airport. BUT the part of Copenhagen that we did see was wonderful! We hopped off the subway right into the posh shopping district. With our sweats, fleeces, and giant backpacks we were such sore thumbs!! Everyone else was wearing skinny jeans, cute jackets and tall boots. We finally made it to Edinburgh- Francie, Char and Bobby met us at the bus station. The next morning, we climbed Arthur's seat. Next we went to The World's End pub for a pint and some delicious lunch. We shopped a little downtown, and a bird pooped on Barbie's head. Thankfully, she was wearing a hat. Last night we went out for more fun and some dancing. Wow, that blog took it out of me! I don't think I will be doing this play-by-play writing of my life anymore. It takes too long AND it's boring!! I just read back this blog and it was a snoozefest. the shopping carts are very small here, madge
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!! Or "Happy" Christmas, as Harry Potter would say.
It was a FANTASTIC holiday. A fine affair! On the 23rd I went to Scotty's and we exchanged presents. He got me a REALLY nice backpack- perfect for my travels, AND a cool clock-necklace. I got him a snapfish photo album- heartfelt.
We did the traditional xmas eve bagel-eating/ferry ride with the Dalbottens- it was a gorgeous day, the sun was out.
This morning Max, Anne, and Oggy came over around 9 to eat cinnamon rolls and open presents. The day clearly belonged to Oggy, who had more presents than all of us. Later we went to Max and Anne's for a wonderful dinner prepared by Anne. It was splendid!
Less than two days till I'm off to Scotland! Better start packing!!!
Well, I learned a new word the other day: Candelabra... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candelabra It's basically a candle holder. We were putting up xmas decorations and my mom and dad kept asking "Where's the Candelabra? Where is that dern Candelabra?!?" Ever since, I've had the word running through my head. I couldn't get to sleep last night because I kept repeating it in my head. It's like two summers ago when I got the word "formaldehyde" stuck in my head. Ask Martha Foley- We'd be making food in the camp kitchen and I would just say it over and over.
Being home has been WONDERFUL. The house looks great, we've been baking cinnamon rolls, wrapping presents...here's the tree: It's a lot better than last year's- It might be hard to see in this picture but it's that pile of STICKS behind me. It was awful, there wasn't a needle left on it. My hair looks great in that picture though. I REALLY need a haircut. When I go to Ireland, Bobby's cousin is going to cut it and I'm gettin bangs! Hot diggity!
Scotty's SURPRISE b-day party was quite successful. The giant pictures of Scooter up on the walls really added to the ambiance.
I drive my mom to work at 7:30 every morning and then come home, read dlisted, and eat almonds. HEAVEN.
Devastating news coming out of the Jeopardy world today- Alex Trebek had a heart attack!! He is recovering from it and seems to be ok. Thoughts and prayers....
Last weekend Clare, Barbie, Isabel and I went to Coeur D'Alene for dessert and ice skating. It was really fun- put me in the Christmas spirit. I wore a helmet ice skating because Barbie was going so fast and out of control I was worried she would run into me. I didn't want her to have to live with the guilt killing me.
Three finals down- one to go!!
Did you watch the hills season finale last night, Madge
Barbie and I flew into Copenhagen Friday afternoon. Our goal was to make it into town during our layover and find the Little Mermaid statue (which I read about before we left). Well, we DID make it into town (amazingly considering we aren't Danish) and we sort of made it to the Little Mermaid- We took a picture with a replica of her, in the airport. 
BUT the part of Copenhagen that we did see was wonderful! We hopped off the subway right into the posh shopping district. With our sweats, fleeces, and giant backpacks we were such sore thumbs!! Everyone else was wearing skinny jeans, cute jackets and tall boots. 
We finally made it to Edinburgh- Francie, Char and Bobby met us at the bus station. The next morning, we climbed Arthur's seat. 
Next we went to The World's End pub for a pint and some delicious lunch. We shopped a little downtown, and a bird pooped on Barbie's head. Thankfully, she was wearing a hat. Last night we went out for more fun and some dancing. 
Wow, that blog took it out of me! I don't think I will be doing this play-by-play writing of my life anymore. It takes too long AND it's boring!! I just read back this blog and it was a snoozefest. 
