A Romantic Walk.... Alone

Saturday night I was headed to Target when I saw the beautiful sunset and had a sudden inspiration to go to the Stone Arch Bridge. I knew the view would be lovely at that time of the day. I had not yet been to the bridge in the evening. I was hesitant to go by myself but it was a busy night there because of the Twins' game, so I felt safe walking. The Stone Arch Bridge is one of my favorite places to go in Minneapolis. I would also say that it could be considered one of the top romantic spots in my book. But this night I went alone, perhaps in the future I will have someone to go with, but I was fine tonight. I talked to God as I slowly walked along. It was a beautiful thing.

The dark waters below

It was a beautiful night.

The Guthrie and the Mill City Museum.

Lovely lamps light the way.

I was enthralled by the reflection off the rail.

Walker Wedding

The Walker Vacation is over and what a trip it was!

A Quick Story

I had taken a nice hot bath in the King's House Hotel. My muscles were aching and I thought it would help. I was trying to get the water hot enough, but it was taking too long.

I decided to use our hot water heater that is used for making tea. It looks sort of like a Brita water filter, but you plug it in and it heats up the water you put in it to boiling. Well, I used it twice and on the third time it stopped heating up the water. I was frustrated and a little worried that I broke it. But the water was hot enough so I took a bath.

Later, Meghann and I wanted some tea. The kettle still wouldn't heat up. We decided to go knock on Wade and Bob's door as ask to use their's. Our room was at the end of a corridor. I was sure that their room was next to ours but I wasn't positive. I thought I heard one of their voices through the door. Meghann and I knocked very softly. So softly that I did not think anyone would even hear it.

Suddenly, we heard voices- they were not American accents. We looked at each other and did what anyone would do in this situation... we ran.

We ran back to our room and collapsed on our beds laughing. It was a hilarious moment. We went to the girls' room later to borrow their kettle, and were finally able to drink our tea.

At Last...

My roommate is headed to the Orkney Islands this weekend. I had heard that she, and two others, were going to drive a car up there. Ali, Tyler, Meredith and I were in my room talking, and Novia came in. She was so excited, and was talking about how cute the car she had was. Then she commented on the key chain and how it wasn't really a key. It looked like the automatic car door opener, but it fit into the Mini like a key. She then went on about how much fun they had cruising around tonight.

I was lounging on my bed and then sat up suddenly.
"Hold on a second!" I said interrupting her, "Did you say a Mini?"
She laughed and said yes, it was a Mini.
"You mean a Mini Cooper?" I asked again.
"Yes." she said again.
"That is my favorite car and I always have wanted to ride in one!"

(I apparently needed it to be clear that it indeed was the same car before I got excited.)

We both laughed and I couldn't believe it. She was going to have it for five days. I asked her if I could have a ride in it sometime. She said, "of course!" I had a feeling that she was excited, that I was so excited about it. Then I realized that I was leaving the next day at 1:30pm for my hiking trip through the highlands. I said as much, and then she said, "Well, I can take you right now?"

I was so happy.

"I have to change my pants." I said while looking down at the lounge pants I had on.
"You are fine just as you are."
"I can't ride in a Mini Cooper looking like this!" I told her very firmly. I had burgundy pants on with a turquoise shirt and checkered socks. She laughed and of course agreed with me completely.

After putting some jeans on we headed out. She was borrowing the car from a good friend in Dalkeith. I was amazed. I sort of wished that I knew how to drive a stick better than I do. Perhaps I could have driven it around the park.

We had a good drive, she took me around Dalkeith. I enjoyed the ride fully, and like the car's get up and go attitude. If that makes any sense at all.


It has now happened, I finally was able to ride in my favorite car. The next step is to drive one, but I don't think that will happen here in Scotland. I will have enough trouble with driving a stick, without having to the whole driving on the other side of the road thing thrown in.

Thank you Novia for taking me for a drive, you made my night.
P.S. I know it looks like I am in the driver's seat, but really that is the passenger's seat.

Stirling Castle With the Girls

The day started off rainy, but changed. Imagine that, Scotland weather changing. I have determined now to always dress exactly the opposite of what I think it is going to be like. I checked the weather today and it said it was going to be raining. To prepare for this I dressed in many layers and Ali brought the large house umbrella. We only needed these things for about 2 hours of the day.

But we are used to the change by now and have almost ceased complaining about it. When we think it is sunny- it rains. When we think it is going to rain, it is sunny. We did not complain about the sunshine though. It made our experience all the more enjoyable. My outer two shells were shed as we walked through the town of Stirling from the bus stop.

It was an upward hike to our destination."Why do they always put the castles on top of hills?" Ali asked as we trudged up through the town. "Defense?" I suggested to her, and then asked, "Why do they put the bus station on the opposite end of town from the castle?" I didn't receive any comments, just laughter.



This weekend was an Historic Scotland free weekend, which meant that most of the castles had free admission. I had always wanted to go in Stirling Castle ever since my brother and I went there for a tour, but decided not to pay the admission.

Ali, Mere and I arrived and were excited about exploring. We went directly to the Great Hall. Meredith said that they had filmed some of Harry Potter there. (It seems as though they have films parts of Harry Potter in every historic place in Scotland.)

It was a beautiful room. I loved the windows near the throne area.

I was not fully prepared for my first encounter with the
royal banquet hall. It was a grand place. As I sat down in the royal throne at the long table I felt right at home, as though I belonged there... okay not really. I mostly was just trying to smile quick so the little kids in line could have their turn.

(Sorry, the pictures is a little washed out from the window lighting above.)













We walked all around the castle and enjoyed it thoroughly. The girls got hungry and wanted to go eat in town. I asked if I could stay and look around. There was one place I wanted to find, and it wasn't in the castle.

I had come to Scotland six years ago with my brother Colin. That trip really was the reason I came back to Scotland. We had gone on a day tour while we were here. The tour bus stopped at Stirling, but because of lack of funds we did not go into the castle. That is why I was determined on this trip to visit it.

Instead of touring the castle, Colin and I walked around on the paths near the castle. I was looking while in the castle for a small hill that Colin and I climbed up on and took a picture. It was my favorite picture during our trip in Scotland. There is a church next to the castle, that has a beautiful cemetery. It was there that I found the place Colin and I had gone. I still remember us eating our lunch there, and how Colin set up his camera and timer in order for both of us to be in the picture. In order to commemorate the moment I took another picture of myself in that place.

The Royal Botanical Gardens

Interesting Things About Italy

Their Hot Chocolate in Italy is wonderful. I first had some at a little cafe in San Lorenzo. It was extremely thick and tasted like warm chocolate pudding. The consistency was similar. We went to Perdonone Wednesday afternoon and went to a place that was famous for its chocolate. The window display was beautiful, and there were all sorts of items carved from chocolate.

There was a chocolate fountain near the sitting area. Raia was fascinated, and I thought it was pretty cool too. We ordered hot chocolate. It arrived in a beautiful glass cup and we both dipped our spoons into it. It was basically like eating melted chocolate. It was dark chocolate, which I don't normally like, but it was not as bitter and I loved it.



You can buy your train tickets very easily. There is automatic teller, and then there are human tellers. It is very simple and the automatic ones have a touch screen and you can pick English.
Once you get your ticket it will say where you are going on it but not any other information. So when you buy the ticket you have to make sure you look at the schedule in case you have to switch trains. Long train rides have assigned seating, short ones don't.

I didn't know this until I sat in someone else's seat on the way to Milano from Venezia. I then tried to find my own seat, but sat in the wrong car. But the men who were supposed to sit in my seat motioned to me that it was okay. They just sat next to me. It was very confusing and I couldn't really relax because I thought that someone would come to their seat and then where would they be?

You also have to make sure that you validate your ticket before you leave the station. There are some bright yellow boxes. This is to make sure that you don't reuse your ticket. The time and date and location get printed on the top of the ticket.



Also the Italians drive on the right side of the road. The correct side that is, which just happens to be the right. I was able to ride in the front seat of a car and it felt so good because it was so normal! When I ride in the front seat here in Scotland it makes me feel like I should be driving!

The Italians always eat dinner around 7:00-7:30pm. They thought it was crazy that we ate dinner as early as 5:30pm here. Raia asked me if we got hungry before bed. I thought about it and I guess sometimes we do, but not often. It was an interesting thought to me. I get hungry at 5:00pm usually, so I don't think I could wait that long. Unless of course we have a late dinner. But I don't need to rattle on about dinner times...

Toilets in Italy were unique in that they all had different ways to flush them. Sometimes there were buttons on the floor. I never did see one that looked similar to the ones we have in the U.S.

The Alps

How does one describe viewing the Alps out their bathroom window while they are brushing their teeth? I suppose I just did. I apparently arrived at the right time, the mountains are covered in snow and the sun was brightly shining on them both yesterday and today.



Last night we had a beautiful sunset, the colors reflected off the mountains beautifully. This photo is from the bathroom window.

Raia and I went on a walk to find a spot to take a photo but it turned out the best one was from the upstairs window. This other one has a great view of the sunset and of the grapevines.



This is the Alps from the airplane window.

Another Walk Through the Estate

Reflection of the Montague Bridge on the Esk River.








Open Field.




Ancient Oak

Spring Break!

I realized today that I have not really told anyone at home my plans for next week. March 20-30 is our Spring break here at school. The Palace now is abuzz with people talking of all the places they will be going: Ireland, Switzerland, Mediterranean Cruise, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Germany and Italy. That list is not even a complete one.

My friend Katy is arriving Saturday afternoon. We will spend the night at her sister's in-laws and then on Easter Sunday we will be flying to... pause for dramatic effect... Italy!

After much planning this is the final itinerary of our trip.

Saturday 22^nd

Bus- Edinburgh to Glasgow Airport, Katy arrives at 3:45pm

Car- Katy’s sister’s family will pick us up and take us to their house/castle.

Home- Staying with the fam.

Sunday 23rd
Plane-Glasgow Scotland to Milan Italy
Train-Milan to Venice
Hostel- Stay overnight in Venice

Monday 24th
Bus- Leave early morning to city center and see the sites.
Train- Late afternoon, Venice to Florence
Hostel- Stay overnight in Florence, two nights.

Tuesday 25th
Feet-We are going to be in Florence the entire day. Our feet will be our primary mode of transportation. The hostel was very inexpensive so we decided to stay there two nights.
Hostel- Same

Wednesday 26th
Train- Early morning train to Rome
Bed and Breakfast- A little more expensive but I thought it would feel safer than a hostel in such a big city. It is a beautiful little place with rooms that have themes. We should check in around 9am.
Feet- We do not have a schedule for what we are seeing each day yet. That is yet to be determined. I have heard though that even if you spend weeks there a person will never see all of it.

Thursday 27th
Feet- Seeing the sites around Rome

Friday 28th
Feet- If there is anything else to see we will do it early morning. We will then check out of the guest house.
Train- Rome to Pisa, we will jump off to see the tower and then get back on the train. Everyone has told us that there is nothing else really to see in the city. But we HAVE to see the leaning tower.
Train- Pisa to Milan, depending on the time, and money for the museum, we will stop in Milan to see the Last Supper, the famous mural painted by Leonardo da Vinci.
Plane- Milan to London, very late flight, we will arrive close to midnight.
Hostel- Stay overnight in London

Saturday 29th
Feet/Tube- Katy and I have both been to London before. We will therefore be very selective about what we see. We were going to see Emily's roommate Sarah, but were unable to meet here there. We might see a play, and I want to see the Chinese Terracotta Soldier exhibit at the British Museum.

Bus- Overnight bus to Edinburg, it leaves at 11:30 pm and arrives in Edinburgh at 8:30am. Thankfully there are no changes so we can just sleep.

Sunday 30th

We will be pretty tired after all of that, therefore I am planning a relaxing day at the Dalkeith Palace. I have lots of food in the freezer from my cooking class with Henry so we will have free meals. I am probably most excited about this part of the trip because I can't wait to show someone from home where I live. It is exciting. We may go to church but I am not sure yet.

Bus- Ali, Tyler and I will escort Katy to the Edinburgh bus station. She will be heading back to the Glasgow International Airport. It will be late so I didn't want her to have to get there by herself of course.


Well that is the long extensive itinerary for my trip. I have a very meticulous budget, since I do not have a lot of funds for the trip, so I am afraid there won't be many souvenirs or presents to show off. I will probably just have enough to get into a couple museums after all the traveling is done!

Yikes! I was talking with my friend Brianna today, telling her that I still didn't quite believe that I am going to Italy. I probably wouldn't have considered it at the beginning of my trip. But it seems as though my world has expanded quite a bit and since Scotland is feeling more and more like home- Italy doesn't seem as far away as it used to.

Rainbow Country

I think I have seen more rainbows in one month than I have in my entire life. The weather here in Scotland is very changeable. On Wednesday it went from being sunny to rainy, no joke, at least 8 times. I would look outside and enjoy the view, and then ten minutes later it would be a gloomy overcast. It is very easy to see how this type of weather would be a great opportunity for rainbows to appear. Rainbow over Dalkeith

"The Ridiculously Good Looking Party"

We had our first house party theme last night. There was quite a bit I did not enjoy, but I greatly enjoyed getting ready in our room beforehand. I helped my friend Katie with her outfit. She wore leggings and a tank top and I constructed a new dress out of fabric and safety pins. It was beautiful.

I got great raves for my "lidl" dress. Lidl's is the grocery store that we often frequent in Dalkeith. I thought of it a few hours before hand. It was constructed of two bags from Lidl's and a black bag from a store called Peacocks.

We were going to have a costume contest, but it didn't happen yesterday. Too bad, I was hoping to win.


Katie and I

RIP- The Fish

The people who worked at the hostel in the village of Kyleakin, seemed to be a nice group of people. I had talked to Luke the night before. He came to visit the island from Australia. The hostel has a policy that if you clean for 2 hours than you get the night free. Sometimes because of this they have people that just come and stay for long periods of time. This is how he came to be there. He eventually got a job at the pub, and then upgraded to actually working at the hostel. And there he stays.

As we were checking out of the hostel one of the girls noticed a small tombstone in the corner near the desk. She said to Luke, "so all the fish died at once?" He laughed and said yes it was true. Apparently they had taken the fish out of the water to change it and then put the warming stick back in the cold water. They noticed that it had broken a little but they didn't think anything of it. He said as the days went on the fish were swimming slower and slower. Finally one day they can to find all of the fish floating on top of the fish tank. They were outraged at what they had done to the poor fish, and very sad at the loss.

To add to the story he read us the check list they have for the hostel next to the desk. One of the notes is-

1. Clean Fish Tank. Oh wait, their dead.
2. Get replacement fish.
3. Clean tank

He told us that they were a little too afraid to replace the fish. So right now they just have an empty fish tank.

May the fish rest in peace.

My Journal Assignment for Class-Scottish Folklore

This weekend we had a wonderful time. Nine of us from the house took a three hour… I mean a three day tour with Macbackpackers to the Isle of Sky. Most of the fun was because of our guide, Graem- we called him G. He apparently was just filling in because they were short some people for the weekend. I don’t believe I have ever heard anyone who is able to tell stories as well as he did. His timing was so good that if he was telling about a battle between the Scottish and the English, right when he got to the battle scene he would say, “and it was done right here.” We of course would then look out the window in awe, almost believing that we would see the mighty Scottish men fighting right before us.

I realized the importance that Scottish people have in verbally communicating their history. When I listened to him I knew that he had been told these tales by his parents and his parents from their parents before them. It was as though he himself was part of the history of the land.

One of the stories that I particularly liked was one near the Cuillin mountain range. At the beginning of our day, Saturday, Graem told us that he had an amazing gift for us today. That some would need it more than others, but it was going to be great and we would love it. We stopped in an open area that had a wonderful view of the mountains. We drove over old bridge that was over a beautiful rushing river. He had us all climb out and we walked down by the shores of the river. It was here that he told us the story of Skea and Cuillin.

Skia was a woman who was an extremely skilled fighter with the staff. She was so great that people from all around heard of her, and men from all over came to be trained by her. She had a place in the far off glen where she had her training center. Eventually her fame spread to Ireland where Cuillin, a man of massive strength and height, heard of her and could not believe it was true. He did not believe that a woman could have as much skill as a fighter as they said she did. He decided to travel to the glen on the Isle of Skye and find out for himself. Cuillin arrived in the area and called out her name loudly. The noise of it echoed through the mountains. She heard it and sent one of her apprentices to find out who it was. The man grew angry that the woman of the glen would not come out herself. He cut the throat of the man she sent, enough to draw blood and sent the man back to her. The apprentice came back and fell Skea’s feet. She grabbed her staff and went to find the person who wanted to see her so badly.

Skea arrived and without a word they both started to fight. The battle was intense but neither gained the upper hand. The sound of the sword clashing against the staff echoed throughout the land. The woman’s daughter heard the sounds and came to find her mother. She saw the intense battle and was frightened.

In her haste to run away she fell and cut her cheek. She ended up crying by the stream of water, which was the very river we stood by with Graem. It was there that she was visited by faerries. It was said that water is where they come and go from the spiritual world. The faerries cheered her up and encouraged her on what she could do. The girl saw the laughing beautiful faerries and took heart. They splashed her with the water and her cut was healed, her red eyes from crying were gone, and she was a beautiful young girl once again with no blemishes. They encouraged her about gaining the knowledge she needed to help her mother. It was then that she had an idea.

She then went to her house and cooked a wonderful meal. Finally Cuillin and her mother stopped fighting. They were so evenly matched that they both were exhausted and needed substance. They came back to the woman’s house and found a wonderful meal set before them. They all sat down and had dinner together. It was then that the man admitted that she was his equal in skill of fighting, and praised her for her accomplishments. His mind was changed about woman and realized that they too can have skill in areas that men were usually dominant. The young girl who was splashed by the water of the magical stream never lost the beauty that was gained to her.

Graem then told us that where we were standing was the same place and if we put our faces in the water for seven seconds we would then be blessed by eternal beauty. I now understand what he said about some of us needing it more than others. I did not really believe in such things, but for the weekend I decided that I would go along with everything that we were doing. It was hilarious as we watched everyone, two by two put their faces in the water. It was actually quite refreshing. If nothing else my face felt very clean and it tingled from the icy coldness. All of us girls laughed because our makeup was smeared. One girl declared later that she thought she was breaking out in pimples because of it. We all just laughed, that pure water could do our faces no harm. It was a fun experience. I enjoyed all the stories that were told, and how we learned even more about Scotland and the people through out the years who have lived here.

Eilean Donan Castle-Two Views

Isle of Skye- View from Hostel

I returned from the Isle of Skye safely. I have a zillion tales to tell, but also a lot of homework. It may be a while until I can truly tell them. This is one of my favorite photos, but not the most breathtaking. I will try to write some more tomorrow.

A Walk With the Boys

Me, Adam, Ryan, Tyler, Colton, Ben and Joe.
Meghan knocked on my door one day saying that a group of people were going on a walk. Meghan is the assistant director of the program, but really she is just one of us. She is a year older than myself. She loves to take walks on the estate with as many people as she can find.

I almost wasn't going to be able to go on this particular walk to the Oaks, but I was able to get my gear on quickly enough to catch up with them. Meghan told me later that she was glad I went. For it was the just two of us and six of the guys. We had a great time. It was a beautiful misty afternoon.



The Oaks are several hundred years old. They are under scientific observation and therefore are protected from being cut down or abused.


No great oak trees here, just a very mysterious looking lane.

Henry and Ann

It is great fun to have our cook Henry and his wife Ann as our host parents. My roommate Ali and I went with them today to Rosslyn Chapel. Accompanying us was their adorable granddaughter Cleo. I did not get as many photos as Ali. I will post a close up later on.

After we saw the chapel and went on a short walk we went to their home again. It was funny because Cleo basically did everything my nephew does at my parent's home. She walked around, took everything out, handed toys to us, laughed and giggled. She was a doll. I am looking forward to the niece I will have in the summer because of her.

Henry then served us a beautiful supper. We had a beginning course of spaghetti. I can't even describe the lusciousness of it. Then we were served chicken in a lovely pepper gravy sauce, homemade mashed potatoes and vegetables. Afterwards we were served a layered cake with fruit on top, which he confessed that he bought at the store.

The majority of the students at Dalkeith are afraid of our dear cook. Almost all of them don't think Henry likes them at all. Perhaps it is the occasional swearing, maybe his blank looks at their jokes, or the no nonsense directions of kitchen duties. In telling him the general house opinion, he just laughed and said, "I have to be strict the first three weeks, then I let go a bit and everyone is comfortable." Henry has to be strict in order to keep our kitchen clean. At this time our dishwasher is broken. He said now he will have to strict and scary for four weeks instead of three. Because when the dishwasher gets fixed we will have to relearn all the cleanup work again.

Ah, Henry. If they only saw how mushy you are when you are with your granddaughter. Yes it is nice to be on the inside.