Scotland . . . it feels like home

Scotland has felt more like home than anywhere else in Europe (besides when I was with my parents in London, of course . . . you can't get much closer to home than that).

The people are FRIENDLY (one of my favorite attributes of a good town) . . . there is live music everywhere . . . I have a Scottish scarf that just-so-happens to be green and gold . . . bagpipes and kilts are everywhere . . . I can read museum descriptions and understand train announcements . . . and the countryside is beeeeauuuutiful.

We started out in Glasgow. A nice retired art teacher befriended us and gave us lots of advice about Scotland. He bought us coffee and hot chocolate at the train station, and we talked about art and history. :) Off to a good start.

We trained into Edinburgh and were blown away by its beauty. I think it is decided that we all want to move to Scotland. We ate dinner at "The Elephant House," birthplace of Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling sat at our table as she wrote some of the Harry Potter manuscripts. David and Elizabeth: I took pictures. :)

Later we went to a storytelling meeting. It was a group of middle-aged and elderly Scottish people who were professional and amateur storytellers. Also, a man who made his own instruments played some neat songs on his banjo-like instrument and clarinet-like instrument made of a fishing rod. Good night.

The next morning we made eggs and had biscuits and croissants together, and then we took a free tour of Edinburgh and learned all about the castle and the parliament and Grey Friars Bobby. There is also a Hollywood movie coming out soon about William Burke and his friend. They murdered between 17 and 35 people within a few months, in order to receive great sums of money from the medical school for the bodies. Eventually, the police put two and two together . . . I stood on Victoria Terrace where many of these murders took place. I would love to tell you about any storyline mistakes when the film comes out. :)

We then rolled in the beautiful green grass, soaking in God's beauty . . . and rain. It rains a lot here, off-and-on, but not too badly.

We cooked spaghetti together in our hostel's kitchen, and had a great "family meal." We spent a total of 2.50 pounds for breakfast, lunch, and dinner this day. I say . . . we didn't let the pound defeat us. :)

We walked around at night a little while, but we were all tired, so we got fries and went to bed. I have learned some very healthy eating habits, as you can tell. We also saw a CareVan going around to people on the streets and distributing biscuits. I didn't learn much about them, but they are a Christian group dedicated to talking, listening, and feeding people on the streets and helping to bring them out of poverty. I was really glad to see that God is working in Scotland.

My time is almost up on the computer, but I will quickly tell you about the most amazing city: St. Andrews. AAAAHHHHH! It is so beautiful! We went to the University of St. Andrews, the White Beach, the old Castle and Cathedral, the Old Course (Jack Nicklaus's favorite in the world), and the West Beach. God was really showing off when he made Scotland. Dad, you would have loved it here so much. I took MANY pictures for you, and I went all of the golf course and tried to capture is essence for you. Maybe someday you can play here.

I love you all very much! I will update soon! I am in Stirling right now, and tomorrow I will see where William Wallace fought his famous battle! I can't wait!

Loooove,
Julia