Adventures in Edinburgh

After several hours on the train, my friends and I finally reached Edinburgh, Scotland! 

The scenery on the train was beautiful because our train took us right along the coast.

On Saturday morning, we hiked up a mountain called Arthur's seat just after sunrise. The climb took quite a while, but the view was worth it!

The view from the top of Arthur's Seat. We could see the entire city!

We enjoyed touring Edinburgh castle. It sat on top of a large hill, and we could see it from our hostel window. 

Inside the castle. It was really cool to see how all of the buildings were literally built into the mountain.

We stopped for a snack at the coffee shop where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book. The entire cafe was elephant theme, so there were elephant decorations everywhere.

On Saturday night, we took a ghost tour of Edinburgh (which is known to be a very haunted city). The next morning, we went back to this graveyard because some of the names on the tombstones served as inspiration for J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter characters such as McGonagall and Thomas Riddle. 

And yes, I did see a real life bagpiper wearing a kilt!
I had a wonderful time in Scotland. There were lots of beautiful old buildings in Edinburgh, and we were blessed with beautiful weather. My one regret is that I didn't get to go and search for Nessie the Loch Ness monster. Oh well, guess that means I'll have to go back someday! :) 

York: my new favorite city in England!

After spending last weekend at home at the manor, I decided that this weekend would be the perfect opportunity for a day trip to spice things up. I had talked to several friends who had been to York before and they all had wonderful things to say about it. So, my decision was made!
My friend Danyelle and I grabbed some breakfast at Harlaxton and made our way to the Grantham train station. After spending the last 2 months in England, I've gradually gotten used to using the trains. After some minor issues (our tickets didn't tell us where we needed to get off and switch trains!) we made it to York. One of the nice things about this trip was the fact that we didn't have an itinerary. We wandered around the city and enjoyed the beautiful spring weather.

We stumbled upon Clifford's Tower by accident. It is all that remains of the Norman castle build by William the Conqueror in 1068. The daffodils surrounding it were in full bloom, so it looked beautiful.

This is the York Minster (cathedral). We didn't see much of the inside, but we did get to see some of the medieval stained glass. You can pretty much see this building wherever you are in the city.

There were beautiful flowers everywhere.  The city of York is surrounded by stone walls that you can walk on. The original walls were build by the Romans to protect the city. We walked on the walls for quite a while and enjoyed seeing  the sights from above. 

These are the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey. They are located in the Museum Gardens. Since it was such a beautiful day, the park was filled with people having picnics and enjoying the spring weather. It was so cool to see the backbone of this gothic building resting in the midst of so much life. 

York was a beautiful city, and I'm so glad that I got to see it. Now, it's time to cram for my upcoming British Studies exam! Luckily, there's a light at the end of the tunnel... next weekend I'll be in Scotland!