December Recap: Final Days

My final days in Scotland after my trip into the Highlands involved studying for my Psychology final and trips to Linlithgow, St. Andrews, Glasgow and Edinburgh- the final two in the same day!

The city of Linlithgow is a few train stops out of Stirling (about 16 miles) and boasts a beautiful palace that housed a few Scottish monarchs in the 16th century. Situated along the pretty Linlithgow Loch, the palace was a clean ruin, fun to explore and get lost along the several open-air floors. In the centre was an intricate stone fountain, and the other rooms held spiral staircases, a dilapidated great hall, and a very tall tower that looked out over the courtyard and the loch. We also had a minute to explore the nearby ruins of Blackness Castle on the rocky shores of the Firth of Forth, from where I could see at a distance the distinct red Forth Bridge that runs from Edinburgh to Fife.

A deer on the fountain

The courtyard at Linlithgow Palace

The view from the top

The next day we took some time in Bridge of Allan, Stirling's little neighbor with a population of 5,000, a town actually closer to the campus than Stirling itself, and stopped into a local brewery. The next day a few friends and I explored St. Andrews; while the others had made a visit at the beginning of the year, I had been in Inverness, but was glad I took the time to visit! The ruins of the castle looked out over some interesting rock formations in the water, and the pointed ruins of St. Andrew's Cathedral were extremely picturesque, and I explored the massive cemetery at its feet for a long time. We grabbed a quick lunch and for dessert I had a taste of Scotland's infamous deep-fried Mars Bar, which was essentially a calorie-laden, gooey and crispy goodness; luckily we had decided to split one and a bite was more than enough. Afterwards a few of us walked out onto a rock projection into the North Sea and played on the beach (in December!) during the sunset before heading home.

The view from the castle towards the cathedral

A deep-fried Mars Bar!

Cathedral ruins at St. Andrew's

Looking back towards the town

Fun on the beach

We had a night out and the next morning headed off to Glasgow for a little ice-skating in the Christmas-decorated George Square. While the skating was a blast, our friend from England who was officially on her first day of break nearly fractured her arm; and to make matters worse we had to say goodbye to her for the last time! After parting we went to Edinburgh and strolled around the Christmas markets and New Town for a bit before heading home.

George Square in Glasgow

Ice skating with friends

Goodbye Edinburgh!

My last day in Scotland I spent packing, shopping for sweets to bring home, and in general spending as much time with my friends as possible. That night we had a meal at the Kilted Kangaroo, a cute Australian-themed restaurant famous for kangaroo burgers (I opted for chicken); before a few of my friends and I walked across Stirling Bridge, found some swings in a park along the River Forth, and climbed a hill called Gowan Hill for a view of the city and the distant Stirling Castle at night (beside us rested the Beheading Stone, thought to have been used in the 15th century for executions-yikes!)

Stirling at night from Gowan Hill

Since my taxi arrived at 3 am for my trip to the airport, I didn't sleep but continued packing and chatting with friends until the morning, during which we were forced to say goodbye. My adventure continued to the airport as I flew to Paris to connect for a flight to Salt Lake City; unfortunately the Paris security workers were on strike, and after a harrowing time in the security line and a mercifully delayed flight and new connection provided by the workers in Salt Lake, I made it home after around 48 hours with little sleep, and around 15 of those hours in a pressurized tube.

Despite being happy to be home, I miss Scotland and am so grateful for my experience!

November Recap

I have a little time on my hands in between frantic essay writing to mention a few trips I have taken recently to Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as a few thoughts on life in Stirling.

Earlier in the month I took a quick trip over to Glasgow with some friends to look around the city. Compared to the capital Edinburgh, this city (the largest in Scotland) was much more spread out and appeared more modern, although I still managed to see some wonderful architecture. We meandered into the city chambers to see what is allegedly the largest marble staircase in the world, then peeked into the awe-inspiring Glasgow Cathedral before riding the bus out towards Hampden Park, Scotland’s national football stadium (with 52,063 capacity, it is larger than Martin Stadium but not anywhere near the massive Husky Stadium). Here we stopped for a tour; while my friends and I are not fans of “football” in the UK sense, we enjoy stadiums and sports in general and had a good time seeing the locker rooms and field.

Glasgow City Chambers

Myself outside of Glasgow Cathedral

The beautiful interior

Hampden stadium

Giant foosball players in the Scottish football museum

The next day some of us revisited Edinburgh (my favorite city of the two) and walked up Calton Hill for an absolutely beautiful view of the city. For lunch along the Royal Mile, I had a memorably huge piece of fish and chips! That day I also saw a lot of the “new town” area of Edinburgh and took a walk down Princes Street.

Probably my favorite work of architecture in Scotland, the "Gothic rocket" or Scott Monument in Edinburgh

Myself on Calton Hill

The Dugald Stewart Monument on Calton Hill

The National Monument was never completed

A street performer along the Royal Mile

St. Giles' Cathedral

Back in Stirling, I have stayed busy between finishing up work before the exam period and enjoying a few festivities, namely a huge Thanksgiving dinner put on by a few residents of my hall that had over 60 people on the guest list from several countries and the most varied, amazing spread of Thanksgiving food I will probably ever eat! I contributed sweet potato biscuits and enjoyed trying everyone’s favorite meals from home. The other nights that week I had fun out with friends, including my first official attendance to a Scottish ceilidh (pronounced like kay-lee) where I learned a few traditional reels and other dances. It was a lot of fun and I got to go to another just two nights after; this time I had at least a faint idea how to do the dances beforehand! This second ceilidh was part of a Christmas part with the hall, and I had a lot of fun getting dressed up with friends (for girls, the suggestion is just to wear a nice, semi-formal dress and shoes you don’t mind dancing in; for guys, it is optional to rent out a kilt with its corresponding formal-wear jacket!).

Part of the Thanksgiving spread

Friends and I at the ceilidh

While the past few days I have been frequenting the library to work on essays, I have also just finished up classes last Tuesday and had my very last show with the student radio, Air3. My friends and I also climbed up the Wallace Monument for the first time – after mounting a skinny spiral staircase up 246 stone steps, we were treated with a wonderful view of the town, campus and the distant scenery, obscured somewhat with Scottish mist and rain.

In the studio for our radio show!

The campus from the Wallace Monument

I officially am in the last stretch of my study abroad experience, and hopefully I will be able to do everything I haven’t had a chance to see yet! Next weekend I will be visiting the Isle of Skye on a three-day tour, and this weekend my goal is to see London again, providing essays are completed. I can’t wait to come home but I can’t believe my trip is almost over!