In search of the Loch Ness Monster...

Last week was "Reading Week"--a week that the University has technically set aside so students can catch up on their course readings. But 99% of the student body takes the opportunity to go on mini-holidays. That leaves the post-grads and the towns people. Let me tell you, undergrad-free St. Andrews is a glorious place! I took advantage of the practically empty town to settle in with a latte at a cozy coffee shop, and get lots of reading done over the week. But three of my friends (Katherine, Mary, and Mat) and I decided to take a little holiday of our own at the end of the week. So we rented a car (which I drove!) and headed off to a cabin in the woods in the Highlands at Loch Ness.

It was a wonderful weekend! The weather was crisp and gorgeous. The leaves were golden and orange on the trees. And the Loch reminded me so much of Deep Creek Lake that I really felt like I was on vacation!

While we didn't see the Loch Ness Monster... she must have gone South for the winter... we did a lot of sight seeing! We saw Dunkeld Abbey, Urquhart Castle on the shores of the Loch, Inverness, Beauly, Fort George, Culloden Battlefield (of "Speed bonnie boat/ like a bird on the wing/ over the sea to Skye" fame), and lots of beautiful scenery in between. Since we rented a car, we had much more freedom of movement than we would have had depending on trains and buses. Whenever we saw something interesting, we just pulled over... mountain vistas, small highland towns, whisky distilleries, pheasants, handmade pottery at the end of a three mile lane. We would have done more, but the sun was rising around 8:30 am and setting around 4 pm, so daylight was at a premium. Once it got dark, we'd head back to the cabin, make dinner, and then settle in around the fireplace to read and play games.

Because it was the off-season, we managed to arrange a long weekend away that cost us each 75 pounds! That's including car rental, petrol, cabin rental, and groceries! And we drove roughly 568 miles. Most of that distance was getting there and back (roughly 4 hours in each direction), but we also did a lot of driving about around the Loch.

All in all it was the perfect weekend! Mooch enjoyed himself thoroughly, and I managed to get us from place to place safely in-spite of having to drive on the "other" side of the road while sitting on the "other" side of the car!

Foggy Londontown!

Things have been rather non-stop for me since returning to Scotland in September. I got to spend most of last week in London! It was the first time since moving to Scotland that I have ventured "South". Lisa, Andy, and I went down for a training session at the British Library. We stayed with some friends who live in town and had the opportunity to do some sightseeing! (Our training was on Tuesday, but we went down on Saturday!) We trekked all over the city and became experts at using the Underground! Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Trafalgar Square, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, the River Thames, the National Gallery... the British Library! We didn't get to spend too much time at any of the sites, but we figure we have three years over here... we'll have other opportunities to see London. Not many people get to say that!

Mooch (my brother's toy monkey) joined us on our trip. This was Mooch's first opportunity for adventure since he came over in my Dad's suitcase this summer!

Enjoy the slideshow! And keep an eye out for Mooch!