day 6.

'ello from London, England.

i think it is official...mom and i are completely worn out! :/

we took the train from Edinburgh today, which lasted about 5 hours...then trains and buses till we finally got to our wonderful hotel (with really comfy beds!). i saw about 2 or 3 castles on the way from Edinburgh, and we got to drive down the English Channel, so we saw beautiful cliffs and the ocean. it made me happy :)

we are headed on the "original London tour" tomorrow, which can basically last all day (if you want it to) and you hop on and off of double-decker buses and view popular places in London.

i will also most likely get rid of some British currency :) i have a little more shopping to do...

my brain is literally fried, so i don't have a list of things i learned today or any pictures... :/

maybe tomorrow!

day 5.

"heilo" from Edinburgh, Scotland!

we went on a 12 hour tour of the Scottish Highlands today! oh. my. gosh.

it had snowed, so half of the highlands were covered in white...probably the most amazing thing i've ever seen...

we also visited Loch Ness (yes, like the Loch Ness monster), but there was no sign of Nessie :(

i took a lot of panoramics so you'd get a better feel of everything..

we also met our first American! he was a man from NC, and was on the tour with us. how lovely :)

i learned LOADS today, so if you're not interested in Scotland - stop reading! these are in no particular order...

1. i saw about 7 castles today.. (from a distance)

2. highland cows is pronounced “heiland coos” (and they look a bit different than normal cows)

3. televisions, telephones, and steam engines were invented in Scotland

4. we passed over a river today that at one time was so filled with dead bodies that you could walk across it without getting your feet wet (basically, there are LOADS of battle sites..)

5. William Wallace is a big deal. (duh)

6. Robert the Bruce is ALSO a big deal.

7. a man’s sword was the length from the ground to under his chin. William Wallace’s sword was 5’7”. (he was 6’5”)

8. according to our amazing tour guide, Angela, the passion for country that was shown by the men in Braveheart was “spot on”

9. the movie was wrong...Wallace and King Edward never met, and Edward died a year or 2 after Wallace (not at the same time, as shown in the movie)

10. Scotland is know for having 4 seasons in one day..ha. (sound familiar, Savannah?)

11. the road signs are written in English and Gaelic

12. in the Highlands, you can’t see where the mountains stop and the sky starts..

13. there’s more water in Loch Ness that all the waters in Scotland combined

14. there are 50 unidentified creatures in the world, and about 20 are in Scotland

15. there’s a lot of green moss in the trees...it made me happy.

16. the Highlands were used for tons of movies...battle scenes, in particular.

17. random important fact: the woman who worked at the desk of our tour company was a body double for Jessica Lange in the movie Rob Roy, and got to lay in bed with Liam Neeson (haha...the women overhere LOVE him..)

we are headed back to London after lunch tomorrow...i finally get to sleep a bit later than usual!

tomorrow i have to say farewell to Scotland :/

here's some photos from the Highlands..

day 4.

<- click to see my panoramic view from the castle

good day from Edinburgh, Scotland!

today was awesome! we went to the Edinburgh Castle...and it started snowing! craziness. there were plenty of opportunities for photos from the view (the castle is very high and on top of a rocky cliff)...it kinda sneaks up on you!

we got a lot of shopping done today! :) we also signed up for a 12 hour tour of the Highlands for tomorrow!! YAY! this was my main reasoning for coming to Scotland. 

things i learned today...

1. i love scotland.

2. everyone seems a bit nicer here...they smile more.

3. also, everyone seems to think that we are from Canada...?

4. wet snow + TOMS shoes = me walking as carefully as possible on cobblestones.

5. Sigur Ros is the soundtrack to my trip ("Hoppipolla" in particular)

6. we are not on vacation, we are on "holiday" 

7. i'm very pumped to give away my gifts when i get home!

8. it doesn't matter where you look...every bit of Scotland and the town of Edinburgh is beautiful

9. i saw a plaid prom dress today...oh man, i SOOOO would have worn it. amazing.

10. other foreigners (Spain, Italy) are just as confused as we are...and that makes me feel more normal.

i took a lot of photos today, but i will only post a few...

day 3.

hell-uh from Edinburgh, Scotland! (i tried to make it accentish...)

today was pretty wonderful! mom and i took the train from Chester to Liverpool and spent the day with an older couple (Stan & Irene Sharington) that are friends with our family. they cooked us roast lamb and we drank tea! he gave us a little tour of Liverpool when he picked us up from the train station. i was able to see (from the car) the Beatles museum! he also pointed out a clock tower in which one of his friends lived in because he maintained the clock...crazy! Liverpool was really cool (rhyming intended).

and now for the things i learned today...

1. a "cark park" is a parking garage

2. i have seen 2 Bentleys while being here. in fact, everyone has pretty expensive cars (for the U.S.) over here...and they're usually tiny

3. there are a lot of dark haired people over here! it's like little 'arry Potters everywhere!

4. it cost about £1000 to get caught talking on a cell phone while driving (that is about $1,500)

5. the zig-zag lines on the streets mean the same thing that yellow sidewalk corners mean in Savannah (don't park here)

6. Scottish people are VERY hard to understand...you might as well just smile and nod.

7. England makes me happy in the morning

8. Scottish hair dressers are wonderful (we met one named Brad today and he was lovely...helped us with our bags)

9. speaking of which, i overpacked :/ so i will send a bag home with mom..

10. i am ready to finally shop!

i'm pumped to explore Scotland tomorrow!! i'm sure it will be wonderful. we'll also try to go shopping early (since it appears that most places close down around supper time..)

here are a few photos from our day in Liverpool...it felt a little documentary, so that made me happy.

day 2.

hello from Chester, England!

we took the train from London today and headed over to Chester...we met a lovely lady on the train and talked about The States, Edinburgh, Italy...

ok, so...top things i've learned today:

1. there are a lot of sheep in England...(little lambies!)

2. every building looks old. EVERY one. (picture Pride & Prejudice)

3. England is quite dreary on a rainy day...and it might make you miserable :/

4. British people use the words "fantastic" and "rubbish" a lot

5. accents are pretty easy to pick up...but it's almost embarrassing when you slip on saying a word in an accent and the rest of your conversation is without. (examples: mum, saw-ry..)

6. people have really cool haircuts. i'm almost tempted to get mine done over here..

7. stores close around 5:30pm (which is pretty unfortunate)

8. the Carriage House in Chester has the best fish and chips. literally - amazing.

9. taxis are fun to take...but pretty expensive.

10. the commercials over here are either hilarious or terrifyingly awkward

we are headed to Liverpool to visit a friend tomorrow, then on to Edinburgh, Scotland tomorrow night. hooray!!

here are a few photos from Chester..

day 1.

greeting from London, England!

it is almost 3:00AM here, but almost 10:00PM in Savannah...so, now you know why i'm awake!

i won't bore you with a load of details, so i'll make a list of random things that i noticed:

1. everything you've seen in British films is real...(messy brick homes w/ clotheslines, huge old buildings, little black taxis)

2. it seems there are 3 shoes of choice: converse, pointed leather shoes, and awesome shoes that noone in America has ever heard of

3. there's a lot of tall people! it makes me happy :)

4. all of the accents are very distinct...like, if i lived here long enough, i would be able to tell what part of England they are from

5. double decker buses are fun...especially sitting in the front on the top floor.

6. speaking of buses, we almost ran over 4 people. these cars/buses stop for noone!

7. i was relieved to see Pizza Hut and Starbucks...though i'd much rather try local places

8. top 3 things Brits love to do: walk, run, and smoke (ha)

9. oh! the signs here are so polite. instead of "watch your step" it's "mind the step" or if you're at a train, it's "mind the gap" (which is a big deal, actually...i'm getting a t-shirt..)

10. bathrooms are "toilets", your name is "love", and almost every sentence is ended with "eh?"

we are headed out of London tomorrow, but will be returning on Sunday to photograph and tour all the really cool places! (Big Ben, the London Bridge, etc)

i didn't get many chances for pictures today, but here are a few photos that i caught tonight...

goodbye united states of america!