{The Land of the Scots}

I have returned from the land of the Scots! I guess I’ll just jump right into it and tell you about the last couple of days. So we left early Monday morning for the train station. Which train station you might ask? Well I will tell you! Kings cross! A little bell just rang in everyone’s head, right? Kings cross, home of Platform 9 and ¾! I’m still convinced that Hogwarts lost my letter of acceptance to the school, which is probably why the platform wouldn’t open for me when I tried running through it on Monday morning.—but don’t worry, I will find a way to get in eventually. Anyways, where was I? So we hopped on a train for a little bit…well more like 4 hours, but I really didn’t mind because I found I quite enjoy traveling by train! Anyways, 4 hours of beautiful scenery later, I was in SCOTLAND! Scotland was incredible. It had a completely different feel from London. I don’t really know how to explain it, but the whole atmosphere was just different. The people weren’t as friendly; not that people are particularly warm and fuzzy in London, but in Scotland the people were definitely cold. It seemed pretty dreary too…lots of clouds and a cool breeze…but boy was it beautiful.

We arrived at our hostel that afternoon, dropped our stuff off and made our way up the royal mile towards the Edinburgh Castle. Supposedly this Castle has been in use since the 9^th century, and though it use to be home to kings and queens its primary function today is to present history to its visitors. I really enjoyed seeing this Castle because it was home to Mary Queen of Scots. Have any of you read “The Captive Queen of Scots”? Well if you haven’t, you should…it’s one of my favorite books! When we left the Castle we had dinner and did a little more exploring but called it a night pretty early. Tuesday was the Bomb! The Professors gave us a whole day to do whatever we wanted so me and 4 other people made the journey to St. Andrews! For those of you who don’t know the significance of St. Andrews…can you say Golf? St. Andrews is the oldest Golf course in the world and it is located in Fife Scotland—home to the British open! Fife is a little ways a way from Edinburgh, so we had to take an hour train ride…but but what a cool train ride it was. We had to cross the ocean and the train went on the most beautiful bridge. It was this massive stone bridge with arches stretching about 100 feet. I loved looking out the window and seeing Scotland from a distance with a glittering ocean in between. It was so surreal. After the train ride we hopped on a bus for about 30 minutes and then we finally arrived. The course was beautiful. The greens were so long, and I’m pretty sure the par 5’s would have taken me years to get across, ha ha. There was a tournament going on while we were there so that was fun to watch a little golf, and guess who I saw? The Scottish professional golfer, Colin Montgomerie! Boo yeah. So basically I want to go golfing soooo bad right now…that is one reason to look forward to going home—I can hear my clubs calling my name all the way from over here!

After St. Andrews I spent the rest of the day in Edinburgh exploring the streets. So you know how people will stand on a street corner with a guitar or violin, playing, trying to make a little extra cash? Well in Scotland a similar thing happens, but instead people play the bagpipes! No joke. There wasn’t a second in Scotland where I didn’t hear bagpipes playing in the distances somewhere. Cool. Want to hear something even cooler?! I got to go to the Elephant house, aka the birthplace of Harry Potter! The Elephant House is this little café situated in between hundreds of other little shops. But I can definitely see why JK Rowling was inspired here…you look out the window and are completely overwhelmed with a beautiful view of the Castle. In fact, I picked up my own napkin and began writing a novel of my own…then they brought out my food and I got side tracked, typical…ha ha so much for writing a novel!

On Wednesday we went on neat hike to King Arthur’s Seat. Arthur’s seat is a rocky crag that towers over Edinburgh giving the viewer a sweeping view of the land and it is absolutely beautiful. I especially liked the hike because beforehand we learned all about Orson Pratt and his mission in Scotland. He had a really rough time and on occasion he would climb to the top of Arthur’s seat and contemplate, pray, etc. By the time he left Scotland he had converted over 200 people. It was just cool to be at the top of that hill and picture Orson Pratt at the top of the same hill. After the hike we got to take a tour through the Scottish Parliament building. The Architecture was insane, completely impractical, but incredible none the less.

Scotland was so much fun, but I have to say that my very favorite part was discovering heaven…a little store also known as Thorntons! Oh my CHOCOLATE. I have never tasted anything so divine in my life. The chocolate in the United States just doesn’t compare to the stuff you can get out here. I will definitely go through withdrawals when I leave this place. Thornton’s has everything imaginable. From chocolate ice cream, to clotted cream fudge, to truffles—and every bite is pure bliss. I wish I could share with all of you! Okay I need to stop talking about this…getting drool on my keyboard probably isn’t the best thing right? Welp, homework calls…xoxo

Homework #5

For walk #5 we hopped on a boat for about an hour, enjoyed the water and sunshine, and then got off at Greenwich--the place where all time zones in the Western Hemisphere are determined...cool! There were a ton of things to see and do in Greenwich, but here is just a small recap of the walk we did...

So this was supposed to be the Cutty Sark (a restored British racing ship used for tea export/import) but the ship was under construction so we couldn't see it...oh well, the pictures were cool!

This picture was taken inside the Old Royal Naval College. This building was designed by the ever famous Christopher Wren. Henry VIII was born here and it was also home to his 2 daughters Mary I and Elizabeth I. Currently the halls are used for the naval officers dining and other public functions.

A view from the outside of the Old Royal Naval College

This is outside the Queen's House. This is the first Palladian-style home in England and it was designed by Inigo Jones. It was only used to house royalty for a few years and then it became a school for seaman's children.

These are the Tulip Stairs inside the Queen's House. They were so beautiful; and cool fact: they were the first geometric, self-supporting stairs in Europe.

This is outside the Maritime Museum. I decided to pull a "A Walk to Remember" and be in two places at once. Well guess what Mandy Moore, I'm not standing in two different states, I am standing in 2 different Hemispheres...beat that! boom roasted.

After we finished the walk we went out to eat. It was pretty funny because we are in England and we went to a Mexican Restaurant and all ordered American Hamburgers--it doesn't get better than that!

{London from EVERY angle}

London is the best...but between all the site seeing, classes, shows, shopping, etc. I just didn’t feel quite complete. I want to see London from every angle, so why not spend a few nights in the ER (or the A&E as they call it here)? Sounds like a good idea right? No! But I did it anyways, and believe me, it was not by choice. Just a question mom…when I was little, did I break a few hundred mirrors, see any black cats, or walk under any ladders? It kind of seems like it because I just seem to have the BEST luck. Haha. Anyways, I am writing this entry partly for my own memory’s sake and partly to answer any of your questions. So here goes nothing, a brief synopsis of what I like to call “Hell in a Hospital” (pardon the language!)

After a fun game of soccer in Hyde Park on Saturday night, I was sitting at dinner feeling slightly itchy. Grass has always irritated me a little so I thought perhaps I spent a little bit too much time outside. But what was itchy before dinner had transformed into massive hives by the end of dinner. So I took some Benadryl and went to bed hoping they would be gone in the morning. Well on Sunday they definitely weren’t gone…in fact each hive had grown to be about the size of my hand, and I was covered. Fun stuff. So out came the Benadryl that night. Benadryl completely knocks me out, so I slept like a baby until about 3 in the AM when amid my sleep confusion I realized my upper lip was about the size of my head. Not normal people! Luckily the program director’s wife is a nurse so I went and knocked on her door in sheer panic. She reassured me that everything would be okay, to take more Benadryl, and try and get some sleep. Well come 7:00 I knew I was in trouble. Have any of you seen the movie “Hitch”? When I saw the movie I remember thinking “Okay there is no way anyone’s face could swell up that much”...well I guess I should have knocked on wood because the way I looked that morning made Hitch look like he could have won a beauty contest. Anyway, my throat started closing up so an ambulance was called and I was rushed to the hospital. They immediately put an IV in my arm and pumped me with adrenaline, and who knows what else, and gave me an oxygen mask (I think…perhaps I should know what they were having me breathe in haha) and then wheeled me in to the ER. Here I got to have lots of fun with needles, steroids, unidentified machines measuring random body functions, and about 10 doctors—none of which felt like informing me what was going on. After a few hours when I started settling down they moved me to a new room. Aside from being completely loopy and out of it I was starting to feel a lot better. They even told me I would possibly be going home that night. Fat chance! Apparently I wanted to see more of the hospital because my throat started swelling and it was back to the ER before I knew it. The doctors were still trying to figure out what I was reacting too…they did a great job narrowing it down to: Amoxicillin, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Sudafed, and the Ostrich burger I had eaten earlier that day, haha.

My night was…interesting to say the least. Forgive me for bringing politics into this—but socialized medicine, really? Maybe Obama should spend the night in a Hospital here and then decide what he wants to do about health care…because it stinks! The hospital was seriously so sketchy: No pillow; no food and no IV pumping fluid into me; nurses taking my blood and disappearing for the night leaving my blood samples on my bed; no towels so I had to use a pillow case to dry myself off; doctors treating me who didn’t speak a word of English; basically it was nothing like our health care—which I personally think is the bomb. Okay I kind of feel like I am ranting now…maybe because I am. But I really am so grateful for my doctors and for the hospital. It was such a blessing that the hospital was so close and they helped me get better so I should not be complaining. After 2 nightmarish days, I left the hospital, still covered in hives, but with loads of medication and a smile on my face. I made it! I still don’t know exactly what it was that I reacted to, the doctors were leaning towards penicillin or ibuprofen when I left. But it has almost been a week since all this happened and I am almost all better. One of the medications I take is like heavy duty Benadryl meets laughing gass, so basically I feel exhausted and like I am floating 24/7…only a few more days of it and it will be over though so I am pretty excited about that.

So that’s my story. Like I said, I just wanted to experience London from every angle. And get this…the hospital I stayed at is the hospital where they invented Penicillin…coincidence? I think not! Wow I still have so much more to tell you about but I think I shall save it for another post. Before I go though, I just want to give a shout out to all the girls in the London center who got me flowers, and welcomed me home with excited arms; The worthy priesthood holders who gave me multiple blessing between my sinus infection and my hospital visit; The Professors who are helping me catch back up in the school that I missed; And my family who was praying for me at home. I love you all! Xoxo

P.S. There are NO pictures on this post for good reason!