Scotland Revisited

No, I am not going back to Scotland. I sure wish though. However, I did spend much of my Christmas vacation working with yarns I got while I was there this summer. Maybe I just don't buy enough wool, but all the wool I bought while I was there is somewhat scratchy, scratchier than normal but sure does seem to work well at doing it's purpose: keeping me warm.

While staying in Edinburgh, I went by a cute little knitting 'boutique' - K1 Knitting - and managed to find a couple different "Spun/dyed in Scotland yarns". While I was hoping to find more handspun type yarns what I did find was still not the norm for here in the United Stated. I managed to walk away that day with 2 balls of dk weight wool and 2 balls of a wool/angora blend.

The wool/angora blend was all set to become a cats paw scarf, a pattern I also bought at this shop, because I needed something to work on while I was over there. I didn't much done on it, mostly because I lost a needle on my plane trip back and now I am not liking the pattern. See for yourself. Should I frog it? Or keep going?? My issue is that it's really wide, and scarves get very boring for me after awhile, especially when they are the wider ones.

With the wool I purchased, I decided to try my first attempt at fingerless gloves. You probably saw these in a former blog post. I playfully call them my "Ness X Gloves" because the color of the yarn was titled "Ness" appropriately. The entire glove is an improvisation of about 4 different patterns.

After finishing them, I realized that they weren't fully ideal for the long walks to class carrying art supplies, but loved how warm my wrists were (thank you 100% wool!) so decided to use the extra to knit flaps onto them and make them convertible. And thus my new set of convertible mittens came about last week. I personally love these and am considering publishing the pattern. Any thoughts?

While visiting the Isle of Skye and the Highlands we saw many, many, many sheep and it made me want wool! There were a few shops here and there advertising home spun yarns, but we couldn't stop anywhere and it made me sad. You can imagine how estatic I was when we went into the gift shop at one of the castles and I found a whole rack of hand spun Skye wool! I quickly grabbed up the most natural yet pretty yarns I could find.

Upon winding and working with these yarns, I have established that the spinner probably did not treat her wool before/after spinning it, as it is sticky and still has some bits of hay here and there. It's also very scratchy and uneven. But I love it none the same. Having come from another country and being hand spun makes it really special to me.

I didn't know the yardage of this yarn, so I didn't want to risk starting something and running out. So I settled on my standby headband. I chose a different pattern this time though: Serendipity Ear Band, and after much struggle with the crochet parts, managed to produce this:

It's scratchy yet warm, and very pretty and large. It looks pretty good on me and I have enough yarn I could probably make a second.

Overall, all my fiber finds in Scotland were successful and it makes me want to travel more just to check out the different local yarns. Anyone reading ever been anywhere outside of the USA and experienced some fun yarns? I would love to hear and learn all about international fibers.

~Lisa

Guess who's back?

Hey world! I'm back in the states!

So the flights went completely smoothly, thank god. I got home today and did some shopping and then went bowling with my friends! It's good to be back.

Back to classes and work tomorrow :(

A lot of you are probably wondering what will become of this blog now. I still plan to update with my knitting and art projects, so if you're interested, keep watching!

~Lisa

Skittles and Shopping

Packing stinks. The end.

Ok so not, but still, this is no fun.

Today I got up and did last minute shopping. Bought more cute clothes and souvenirs.

After I got back we walked to Edinburgh's Oldest Pub, The Sheeps Heid, and rented their super old bowling lane, or as they called it, skittles lane. The balls don't have holes and you have to reset the pins by hand, but it was fun! I really enjoyed myself. I also had my last legal drink, cider again. We then walked back and now I'm here packing! Fun fun fun!

I'll post when I'm back in the states.

~Lisa

Birthday Wishes

Today was Angelica's 21st birthday, what a great place to celebrate in!

We started off by going to the writer's museum, where I saw some stuff on Hume, which made me think of my Aunt, who studies him. I read a little of it....I'll probably learn more in Philo of Art next semester.

We then hit up lunch at a Grassmarket Italian place, where I had very amazing lasagna. And a strawberry tart! Yum!

Since it was Angelica's birthday, she got to make our plans, and chose shopping at the King James Mall. I would have picked somewhere else, but I'm gonna go alone tomorrow so no big deal. I did walk out with another cute top and a pair of shoes...that may be too big actually, but I'll grow into them. Either way we enjoyed ourselves.

There's a take away pizza place near our flats, so we got pizza's for dinner before coming back and just chilling.

Since it was her 21st we ended up going to a pub across the street (We've known about it all this time and this is the first time we went, and it was awesome) to get drinks. I had a pineapple daquari, which was really good. Then we came home and played telephone pictionary. So anyways, that was my Saturday. I so don't want to start packing, I have such a mess here.

~Lisa

Galleries and Graveyards

So good news, the Hostel found my card, I'll have it back tomorrow. Bad news, my camera is still not really working, so looks like I need a new one. Wish I wasn't so damn clumsy.

Anyways, today we planned to go to the Scotland National Gallery (About time!) this morning, but on the way we came across a parade down High Street celebrating the opening of parliment today, so we watched that first then headed to the gallery. I have never seen so many bagpipes in one place.

At the gallery, I explored, and I really enjoyed it. I saw a few pieces we actually studied in Art History, which is always nice. I always see artists from that class, but this was the first time I ever saw the actual works from that class. I really am glad that he decided to take us there.

We hit up lunch, and then the art supply store, and then separated. I was going to go do some sketching at Greyfrier Graveyard, but on the way I passed a knitware shop, so naturally I had to go in. And....I walked out with this: Cute overlay vest. Don't go freaking out, I didn't buy both of those, just to overlay vest, because it was one of the cheaper items and super cute on me. The one I got was purple with orange accents. I seriously think if I can match it right, I'll where it a lot. The guy that was working there was also very nice, we talked a bunch about Scotland and knitting and etc. I really hope that I made a good investment, even though I still want an actual wool sweater too.

After that I did finally hit up the graveyard, where I stayed for about an hour and half just drawing perspective thumbnails of tombstones. I probably could have done more, but I wasn't feeling it like I hoped, and the perspective stuff was harder than I thought it would be. When I get back I think I'll do some oil paintings of graveyards and castles, because I love drawing perspective, but I haven't ever tried painting it and I want to do more from this trip then just my sketchbook.

So we just ordered dinner, I'm getting Lamb Donor Kabobs, something I haven't tried yet, so this could be good. I think the plan for tonight is to stay in, so maybe I'll sketch some more or something.

I really need to hit royal mile tomorrow for last minute gifts and goods for me, so I hope I have time to do so. It's also Angelica's birthday so we're doing something for that, but I hope it isn't all day- I really want to shop, but I'd rather go alone. I guess there is always Sunday though.

Packing is gonna be hell, but I can't believe I'm down to 2 and a half days!

~Lisa

PS: I feel like a blog shouldn't be so straight forward, as in I get to 'ranty' and put in stuff people don't need to know. Sorry, I'm still new to this and I don't know how to make it sound like a cute novel yet.

Edited to remove some of my ranting about the sweater thing.

Highland Holiday

Hey all, sorry I didn't post lately, but I didn't have internet for the past 3 days. The reason being we took a 3 day excursion to Isle of Skye and our Hostel didn't have WiFi. Ok so I have a lot to catch everyone up on.

Tuesday:

The trip we took was through a company so we were on a van with some other people. They all seemed really nice, so it worked out well. Anyways, we left at 9 on Tuesday morning, heading to the highlands and Isle of Skye. Our first stop was in a cute little town with a very amazing bakery. After that we kept going until we came to a woolen mill and whiskey place, where I finally got a cashmere scarf, for only 25pounds, which is cheap. Following that we kept going, making stops as we went to take pictures of amazing scenery. I'd show you guys them, but that's another story I'll save for later. We continued on and stopped in Ft. William for lunch, and then kept going. Our tour guide was amazing, telling us stories about the landscape as we went, as well as myths and such. We finally made it to Isle of Skye in the late afternoon. This is probably the most beautiful place I will ever see. He said that it's only 50 miles wide, but has over 700 miles of coastline, which is shocking. And their population is only about 15,000, smaller that even Manhattan, also amazing. Even the 'capitol city' of Portree, was very tiny. When we finally go there, we went to a local hotel and got sea food, which was really good because it was fresh caught. While there we were staying in a Hostel, which was interesting because it was all 5 of us in one room.... 'nuff said.

Wednesday: We met up with our tour group at 9 and headed first to a local clean spring/river, known for making one younger. The story was that this lady bathed everyday, and when she died she was 78 but people thought she was 30. It was so pretty, once again I wish I could share pictures! Ugh. Our next stop was the old caldera. Unlike most volcanic calderas, this one was formed more from the ice age with ice melting and freezing, helping it keep it's form. After that we went on a quick trip to Talisker distilery, where I tried whiskey (Ick!) and then on to Dunveagon Castle. We went through the castle and gardens, before grabbing lunch and then the gift shop, where to my surprise I found HANDSPUN SKYE YARN!!!!!!! I was so excited, that was the one thing I had wanted this whole trip-- handspun Scottish yarn. So my mission is complete, time to go home!

Ok not, but our next stop was this cliff point by the sea shore, where we had to do a lot of hiking to get to the good view point, but it was so worth it. I took so many pictures, but by now you're probably wondering why I can't share them. Well ok so we were on the cliffs, and before you get any ideas, no I did not drop it in the ocean. However, I did drop it in a puddle, causing water to enter my camera and stop working. I have since dried most of it out, which means it would probably work IF I had my memory card, which I am pretty sure I left in our hostel room because it's no where in my luggage.

So long story short no camera. After that adventure, we headed back to Portree where we went to another local sea food restaurant and I had languastines (like crayfish) and they were not very filling, but definitely a new experience- the heads were still on them! But otherwise they were pretty good.

Today: We got up early and headed our way home. We stopped first at a spot where you could see The 5 Sister peaks, based on a legend of 5 sisters who turned into mountains. Then we went on to Loch Ness, where I found Nessie! Not. But how cool would that be? Either way, it was fun to be there, I've heard so much about it. After that we headed back to Edinburgh, making a quick stop for coffee half way and then going on. We just got back, and I'm still waiting on a reply email about my memory card in Skye. But whatever, it was still an amazing trip and definitely worth the hell I went through.

Tomorrow we're finally going to the Scotish National gallery, but I don't have my camera :( Sad day.

Have a good night everyone!

~Lisa

Uneventful art day

Ok so before I begin, let me just say today would have been so much more enjoyable if I didn't wake up sick. I know that eating a certain food can't fully make you sick, but I still think the Indian take away I had last night, while amazing!, made me sick; shortly after eating it, with the flavor still in my mouth, I felt my throat starting to hurt. And then this morning I woke up completely sick. Too bad too, because i'm starting to love Indian food.

Anyways, we went to the Scotland National Modern Art Museum today. I'm kind of frustrated with my teacher, for the sole fact that the Scotland National Art Gallery is also in Edinburgh, and has tons of famous works, but we AREN'T going there as a group. I guess I should have read the schedule better. I want to go, and he said we could go on our own BUT it's only open M-Thurs and we're going to be on a Highlands trip all week starting tomorrow, so basically I missed my chance to go. Ugh. I don't get how you can go on an ART trip and NOT go to that as part of the class. Really.

At the modern art museum I did see some famous works by Picasso, Derain, Dali, Etc as well as some interesting ones that I had never heard of. I really did like them all, I just would have more if I wasn't feeling like crap.

So basically after that we took the bus back to our general location, the girls went downtown and I went shopping for juice and meds. Now I'm here, drugged up and waiting on my computer to load Tangled so I can potentially sleep. We're going on a ghost tour tonight, but I'm going to stay in and get better for our long trip tomorrow; plus I don't really want to have nightmares anyways.

I'm leaving you with this picture of my latest, and greatest, sketch:

~Lisa

PS- Anyone notice I tinkered with the layout? I liked the color of the old one but I like my banner alot on this one :)

More sketches :)

So I didn't do much so far today, mostly stayed in all morning then explored Prince's Street this afternoon, where I made a few small purchases.

Anyways though, I want to share more of my recent sketches.

Self portrait with Muffin (My cat) based on wooden head carving of Henry VIII
Self portrait based on wood head carving of Julius Caesar. I like this one.
Drawing of a large puddle on the beach at St. Andrews

Perspective drawings based of below, the Narsissus Garden

Ink drawing of the pub we went to. Based off a cartoony ink drawing I saw at the Queen's Gallery.

That's all I've done so far. I need more inspiration, because right now I feel tapped out.

~Lisa

Weekend Warriors

So these last 2 days have been completely insane -- in a fun way.

Yesterday we had the day off from "class" because it was intended to be travel if we wanted to go to London, which we decided against (I wasn't too keen on it anyways). So instead we decided to re-hike up to Arthur's Seat, and we packed a lunch to go with it. The first time I didn't go all the way, so this time was a little more intense. But it didn't take too long because we didn't stop for pictures like we did last time. The view from the top was amazing, almost a full 360 of Edinburgh. And opposed to what the others say, I liked the view from the tower at St. Andrew's better, the beach is just awesome.

So at the top we decided to eat, sandwiches, chips etc, and Yashera started throwing food at the black birds, who hesitantly ate it. The interesting part came when an evil seagull decided he wanted some too, so it ended up being an all out war between the seagull and the blackbirds. Watching "The Birds" in high school has scarred me for life, so I hid under my jacket while the seagull 'attacked'-- the blackbirds kicked it's butt. :)

The afternoon was spent lounging around the flats, doing laundry, sketching, etc. We cooked burgers for dinner and invited our teacher to join, and then went down to Grassmarket. Although we fully intended to hit up a pub there, we ended up getting rides from bike taxis down to George's street, where we went into a pub there instead. That was another interesting experience, for it was a very crowded, noisy pub with no where to sit; my hand was probably frozen by the end from holding my drink all night. We successfully walked back home after a long and interesting day.

Today we hit the ground running, visiting The Real Mary King's Close; an 'underground' (now, but not back in the day) city, where we learned about history and a few ghostly stories. We then walked around the Royal Mile, checking out vendors and those stupid tourist shops. I feel like I've been here 2 weeks and have yet to go into any actually Scottish shops, but maybe I should open my mouth more. Anyways I did come out of that with an awesome printed t-shirt and a super cute bag, so no loss.

We kept walking and ended up at Camera Obscura, an optical allusion place. The top had a giant mirror that you could adjust to look over almost any part of the city, it was really fun. They also had tons of fun illusions and mind tricks, as well as these booths to make yourself look older, younger, male or female. We had fun with those. It's definitely designed for kids, but it was still an enjoying time.

After picking up take away food, we decided to look up the Edinburgh Film Festival, and Lizzie and Yashera decided to go to a horror movie, so we walked them there and then me, Erin, and Angelica explored the area. It was such a nice night, and a lot of people were out and about. We sat in the grass market for awhile, just people watching, then decided to head back to pick them up. And so ended another interesting, yet enjoyable day in Edinburgh. I can't believe we only have 1 week left. I feel like there is so much I still need to do (and buy!!).

~Lisa

Sand and Castles...yet 2 different places.

Ok so I didn't update yesterday, because I was tired, so I'm updating now with info about yesterday and today, which was by far one of the most amazing days of my trip, maybe even life.

Yesterday we went to Stirling to go to Stirling Castle. It was pretty interesting, the atmosphere was completely different than at Edinburgh Castle. The insides were refurbished but to me that ruined the whole old style feeling. However, the tour guide was amazing, he knew everything and had alot of funny stories. The best part, by far though, was the view from the top of the castle and hill. The fog added a nice touch also. Overall, it was another memorable, and art inspiring adventure. They had these wooden discs carved with heads of famous kings/gods, and they inspired me to sketch a few of my own, which I will post eventually.

After the castle, we headed back to Edinburgh, where we just chilled at our apartment all night because we were all tired.

So today....

WE WENT TO THE BEACH!

Ok sort of, but it was still beyond amazing.

This morning we boarded the bus, en route to St. Andrews. I assumed yet another castle, little did I know what the day had in store.

We did go the the remains of the St. Andrew's castle, and it was beautiful to look out from it over to the sea shore on the other side. The ruins themselves were amazing too, with a lot of mystery as to what they were once used for and all that.

But even that couldn't compare to what was next. After eating the best take-away fish and chips ever, we went to the cathedral museum and cemetary. They had this tower, and you could climb to the top. Maybe this is best described with images.

So we climbed the inside of this tower, probably hundreds of evil spiral stairs that I do not want to ever do again. But it was worth it for this:

And this:

And this:

The view was amazing! You could see for miles. I, having never been to the coast, was in pure awe and everything. It was so beautiful, tranquil, and just amazing. I don't think I've ever seen anything this pretty in my entire life.

Or so I thought. We went to the beach after, and it was just as amazing. We climbed on some rocks, which were covered in seaweeds, explored the beach, collected shells, and tried to escape the impending storm we could see in the distance. I wish I could explain it more, but it's really hard so just take my word for it.

Storm's a coming!

Ok so after the beach and our escape from the storm, we wondered back to the bus station and got back on a bus to Edinburgh. This Scotish guy started talking to us about KS and then our bus had to stop for maintience, so we got back a little late. We ordered the best chinese take out I've ever had. And now we're in the kitchen talking about the weekend. I'll update soon :)

~Lisa

Palaces and Pubs

Hey all! Let me start by saying that anyone following my facebook or photobucket (Linky) for photos, sorry I haven't updated those. The internet here is really slow so it's hard to upload a lot at once.

Anyways, I am going to start where I left off. Last night we went to an actual pub. Our teacher took us, but either way at least we went. There were people there doing improv folk music, and it was a really nice atmosphere. For dinner I tried a meat pie with chips and mushy peas. I never thought I'd like the pie or the peas, but I actually loved them both. I also tried a cider (apple and beer) and I really enjoyed that too, even though I didn't finish it all.

Today we visited the Holyrood house and the Queen's Gallery. The house/palace was spectacular. It was so ornate and beautiful, yet also so historic. We couldn't take pictures there, but I still enjoyed the experience, and maybe I'll go back since I can get in for free.

The Queen's Gallery was amazing too. Right now they have an exhibit of Northern Renaissance art, and I still can't believe I'm actually getting to see 'famous' people! They had some Durer's and also some Holbien, and just a bunch of spectacular pieces.

After lunch we hit up a local gallery, which had a show on Narcissus, which was very interesting. They had a famous Dali painting, as well as some rather interesting images and also this large installation of metal balls, to represent the way we are obsessed with ourselves. Overall, I found it rather disturbing and interesting at the same time.

Our teacher then decided we needed to sit down and discuss our sketchbooks one on one. When he got to me he said he liked where I was going, but would love to see some more creativity. As in don't just draw what you see, draw influence from what you see to create new compositions. One of the other girls is really good with that, so I need to figure out how she does it and steal some :) I just know that for me I have never been able to draw things off the top of my head, I always need to have the image/objects/scenery in front of me, and that's what makes this hard. If anyone has any ideas for where to get good inspiration, let me know, because I need it!

Anyways, tomorrow we are off to Stirling castle, where I'll probably draw more architecture. Maybe something will come to me on the hr long bus ride.

Peace out!

~Lisa

Mysteries Revealed

This just in: the mysteries surrounds Rosslyn Chapel have been solved!

Ok so not really. But we did go there today. For anyone who hasn't heard of it, it's the chapel featured in the Da Vinci Code, even though the movie is very way off from what it really is (I've never seen the movie).

Our morning started with the bus ride to Rosslyn Chapel, and then when we got there it was very amazing. The whole thing is be refurbished, which is great, but there was cones and scaffolding everywhere. Either way, the outside could not compare to the inside. The inside is loaded with buttresses and pillars and walls all covered in carvings. We couldn't take any photos, but I have a few sketches I can show. We sat inside and listened to a guide explain the history and mysteries surrounding the castles, including what is locked below that only the St. Clair family has access to. But anyways, the chapel was really inspiring for me and my drawings, I can't wait to do more architecture drawings.

After we explored that, we explored the surrounding areas, which included a grave yard and a path leading to some old brick castle ruins. The views were amazing! And the bricks and remains were really fun to look and and explore.

We went into Roslin to grab lunch at a local coffee shop, and the lemon drizzle cake was to die for! So was my sandwich :). The bus showed up shortly after, and upon reaching Edinburgh, me, Erin, and Angelica explored Princes St. a bit, hitting up Jenners and H&M, where I got a couple more cute clothes. I love the European fashions, I wish we had more of them in America.

Tonight's plans include our Professor, Kevin, taking us to a local pub that plays music and we're going to get food and drinks and just have fun. Maybe I'll get some sketching in too!

~Lisa

(sorry the photos are cruddy!)

It's almost Sunday?

Where did the last 2 days go? I feel like I haven't been fully utilizing my time here. The last two days were very laid back and we didn't do much at all.

Yesterday we headed back to Edinburgh and when we got back we didn't do anything except hang out in our rooms. At 7 we went to a literary pub tour, which I found very interesting. The two actors were hilarious and really knew their stuff! Afterwords, we were going to actually get stuff at a pub, but we ended up at an italian place, which was AMAZING. It kicked Olive Garden's butt. I also tried my first wine, which was a red, but I think I'd like to try a white some time. After that we explored a little and headed back to our flats. We stayed up late playing telephone pictionary and then hit bed at like 3 am.

Today's plans were shopping, but we didn't even leave the house til close to 3 because we were tired and getting ready, all that jazz. We got a little lost, but ended up at the Grassmarket, where we found this cute shop-- Helio's Fountain. Jan McNeil (Awesome Cat Sitting Lady!) had mentioned this shop to me, so I knew I wanted to go in. After that we worked our way back to Prince's street, and the mall we wanted to find intially. I ended up buying some really cute flats, and a cute top. I can't wait to have an excuse to wear them.

Tonight we had planned on hitting up a super cheap club, so we got take away fish and chips but we got to talking alot at dinner and it got late and we were all tired, so we decided to stay in and have since all just been working on our sketch books. I feel like I have yet to find inspiration, because nothing in my book is really all that amazing yet, but everyone else's is amazing. I also feel like even though we've had fun, we haven't fully utilized our time here. There's so much more I'd like to do and we have just been putting around. I guess I'll have to step it up a notch next week!

Well signing off from Edinburgh, this post is dedicated to my best friend and future awesome roomie, Kaela, who is 22 today!

~Lisa

Greetings from Glasgow

So the last two days we've been in Glasgow, mainly because the art school there has their graduation show this week and it gets a lot of people every year, which means it has to be good.

I'll start where I left off. We took the bus to Glasgow yesterday morning, but it took some time because we had to get our passes payed for and processed. We finally got there around 1, and it was pretty nice. I prefer Edinburgh, it has an older feel; Glasgow reminds me of home more. The walk to the bed and breakfast we are staying at was brutal, only because I had 2 bags and it was long and a hill. We checked in and 3 of the girls decided to nap, but me and Angelica decided to explore. We ended up eating at a Tandori Indian place and I really enjoyed it-- I never thought I would actually. After that we did a bit of shopping, I got a super cute dress :) and also peaked in a gallery. They had this video playing that goes 24 hours and has different movie clips depending on the time of day, and the clips relate to the time it is at that time. It was pretty sweet.

We then met back up as a group and took a tour of the Glasgow Art School, mainly the Mackintosh building. Turns out this Mackintosh fellow is a genius architect, I loved his styles. It was very interesting to hear and learn all about the history. We also got to see part of the grad show-- the graphics designs and product design. We also tried to find a good place to eat and get drinks, but we ended up at a little bbq place. It was pretty good, but not amazing. I don't feel like I've yet to experience anything truly Scotish when it comes to food, but whatever.

Today we started with the tradition Irish breakfast at our hotel, and then went to the Kilengrove art museum in Scotland. They had a lot of famous artists, such as Van gogh, Monet, Titian, Cezanne, etc etc. After that me, Erin and Angelica went to another local museum, that was also very interesting. We followed that up by going and looking at the fine arts grad show. It really opened my eyes to where I should/would like to be in 2 years. I'll never be that good, that's for sure. But still, the students were amazing. If I had had more time, I would have loved to have talked to some of them.

We came back and then got together in our group to go to a bar/restaurant for dinner. Here I experience my first 'legal' drink, a "tutti-fruitty" cocktail (Well ok it was a pitcher we all shared so I had almost no say in what the drink was) but it was ok. I had maybe one and a half glasses at the most. After that, I know that I will never be an alcoholic, it was decent but not something I would do all the time.

We walked back, I found a phone to call my parentals, and now I'm here :) It's been an interesting week, and it's only beginning. I can't wait to see whats in store for next week, or even this weekend if we can actually make plans for once.

Signing off.

~Lisa

Rock Climbing and Book Binding.

Ok, so this may be short, only because it's 1 am over here and I need to hit bed so I can get up early to go to Glasgow tomorrow. Normally I wouldn't even be blogging tonight, but I may not have time to blog the next 3 days, so I need to get this in now.

This morning we woke up a little earlier and went to Arthur's Seat, by Holyrood Park. It wasn't in our itinerary, but it seemed like alot of us wanted to do it so we went before our scheduled activities. Although me and Angelica turned back early (we were tired!), the views from where we did get were very amazing!

On our way back we walked by a place with smoothies, so we convinced everyone to go there for lunch. It turned out to be a little pricey, but where else can you get a pineapple and strawberry smoothie? I also had my first Scotish baked potato. However, we are definitely going to have to start doing "take-away" because it's cheaper than eating in.

We then met up with our teacher, who took us to a fabric and an art store to get stuff to make the sketchbooks we will be using for our assignments. He told us we didn't have to finish them tonight-- he wanted us rested for our Glasgow trip tomorrow, but we pulled through and finished about 15 minutes ago (Why I'm still up). I think it turned out cute, right?
PHOTO

So tomorrow we depart for a 3 day trip to Glasgow where we will be staying at a bed and breakfast and visiting the Glasgow school of arts. They have a big open house with all the student works up, so it should be exciting! I'll update when I can, there will be wi-fi in the breakfast room at our place.

~Lisa

Airlines and Castles

And so ends day 2 of my adventure. After these last 2 days, it has become apparent that I will be truly enjoying myself and the time I spend over hear. I already have ideas for this sketchbook we have to keep. Anyways, I'll try to start where I left off last time, at Newark Airport.

(Continental airlines are such good liars)

So we got to the airport, and I would have updated more, but the wifi there costs money, go figure. Anyways, like we weren't going to be waiting long enough, the flight kept getting pushed back. The final departure time was supposed to be 11:20; we took off at 1 AM. Yea, after the plane arrived, they had some stuff to fix. The good news, however, is that me and Yashera got bumped up to first class, because of our ticket price and the fact that the flight was overbooked. I think that's hilarious because we didn't even pay full for the tickets. We totally milked that for all it was worth-- we went exploring the President's club and also made sure to pick the best meals (even though I wasn't hungry). Anyways though, the only really nice part of first class was the face that I was actually able to get a decent sleep. Otherwise, I found it rather awkward.

We arrived in Edinburgh around noon their time, and I wasn't really all that lagged, but I had a pretty awful stomach ache, I ate too much the day before :( But getting off topic. The Taxi guy didn't fully know how to get us to our housing, so that took a little while, but we finally got there. Angelica was really happy to see us, having been there a day alone (She flew in from Germany, where she was visiting her parents who are military, but got in a day before us due to our plane issues). So we unloaded all our stuff and marveled at the wonders that are UK standards (The plugs, weird sinks, etc) before heading out the find a quick bite to eat. We ended up at a cute little cafe, and they had the BEST (So far) Panini's anywhere. And yes, I know the Pound is more than the dollar, but for only about 5pounds we got all this food:

And the guy working there was pretty cool too :)

After that, we went back to our apartments and hung out before deciding to go explore. We ended up walking a bit of the Royal Mile, which is also a tourist trap of 'handmade' woolen scarves, blankets, kilts etc, although I doubt half of them are. I really want something Cashmere though, so I'll have to hunt around a bit for an actual Scotish product.

Sleeping turned out to be a bit of a challenge, jet lag fi

nally hitting it. I guess when it's normally 4PM in KS, it's pretty hard to get to sleep. And it was freezing, our heaters only run 30 minutes at a time and apparently the scots are used to that bec

ause the linens we were given are very minimal. So I was in and out of sleep about 3 times.

Day 2 began rather nicely though. We walked around a little more this morning, got breakfast pastries at this shop and the guy was like "They're American Muffins!", like he thought we wouldn't want them otherwise. My scone was better! And there never was a drop of rain but instead nice blue skies! We walked up to the Edinburgh Castle, and saw ALOT! It was so historic and beautiful. It really puts things into perspective when you go somewhere with history dating back a lot longer than the USA's. We learned so much, and even though it isn't known for it's art, I feel like I got a lot of influential ideas from it. A few things we saw: The stone of destiny, as well as the cr

own and sword (forgot whose....), Old prison

cells, the war memorial, armory, amazing friezes on the several walls, and amazing views.

We also cooked our first meal tonight, something I don't even do with my roomies back home.... Spaghetti and meatballs! It was pretty good, and we didn't spend too much on the supplies, but it's still hard to judge with Pounds to Dollars. Maybe someday I'll get that right. Since then we've just been chilling, relaxing after a long day and a lot of walking. We talked about going to a pub, but it's almost 10 already and I don't know if I'm awake enough for that. Tomorrow's plan looks to be a bit of a hike in the morning, followed by

something and the binding of our home-made sketch books. I'll post more when it happens, but for now: Goodnight (or should I say good afternoon?) America, see you in 3 weeks.

~Lisa

Day 1: New Jersey???

Day one of my 'amazing' trip is not so amazing.

Let me start at the beginning.

We all met up at KCI yesterday at 3:30, for a flight that was supposed to take off at 5:20. Upon check-in, the lady says that that flight is cancelled, due to back up from weather in Newark, but we have been put on a flight at 7:12. My professor, Kevin, asked her a couple times to make sure that we would not miss our flight to Edinburgh from Newark, and she assured him we would not because it was backed up also, to 11:40.

So we decided to wait it out at KCI, and when the time finally came to get on the plane, it was a very interesting experience. For me, never had been on a flight, I found it very different. I had a window seat, but it was also in the very back row by the engine, so I think that messed up my head a little and my ears were really popped.

Upon arrival in Newark, we checked the flights and weren't sure if we actually made it on time. We practically ran to our terminal, well besides the super slow shuttle between terminals, but we weren't in time. Our flight to Scotland had actually left before our flight had landed! And the lady at the terminal was a total bitch, saying she wasn't even sure if customer service was open.

Well turns out customer service was just closing when we got there, and the people there were not happy we showed up. Who the heck closes customer service when there are constantly flights in and out?!?! Well anyways, Kevin did a lot of arguing, if you want to know more I'll fill you in later, but basically they didn't want to give us a motel, but they did, and they didn't want to give us another flight, because it was 'our fault' but they did.

So I'm sitting at the motel lobby, waiting for the air port shuttle, updating my blog. We plan to fly out at 10 tonight, on an overbooked flight none the less, and hopefully this time we'll actually make it!
I'll keep people posted as this adventure continues, hopefully from Scotland next time.

~Lisa

Scotland bound....eventually.

So I am typing this entry from the KCI airport. I was supposed to fly out at 5:20, but our plane gone pushed back to 7:12, so I am here. Just a note that I hope to keep this blog updated as my Scotland adventure occurs, so if you are interested in hearing what is going on, this is the place to be.

For anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about, I am about to spend the next month in Edinburgh, on a Study Abroad trip that counts as a class for school. We have tons of things planned, so it should be pretty exciting.

Keep watching for updates, as I hope to post daily if possible.

~Lisa