37

Okay, this one's a real update. Starting with the week before last (Thanksgiving).

I've never really been a fan of the Thanksgiving thing. Product of growing up in a family of immigrants, I'm sure. Luckily, Edinburgh planned for this (such a smart city) by having its main tree-lighting ceremony! Hooray!

I made some mulled wine for all of us that ... afternoon? When the sun sets at 3.30pm, it's a bit hard to tell what the evening is. And function. Having it be pitch black from 4.30pm until 8.00am tends to throw off my internal clock. And my productivity. And my mood actually. I NEED light in my life.

Not the point though. The lighting was at 5.30, so technically we were drinking my delicious mulled wine when it was dark outside. That's enough for me.

There was some long speech that I couldn't hear about the tree and something about it coming from Norway (why? I don't know/care). Anyway, really big Christmas tree on the Mound.

You get the picture. They lit it and lit a ton of fireworks (what is the national obsession with fireworks?) - in blue and white (so patriotic). Pretty.

So we watched that, and watched people swarming the Christmas/German markets/fair.

We actually went to all of that earlier that day. All around the Scott Monument and area there are carnival rides, ice rink, etc. There are stalls selling "food" (I'm not actually sure how much candy/hunks of meat count) and warm alcoholic beverages. In front of the art museum (see below) is the German Market, which is full of actual food (pretzels, meat sandwiches, crepes [German? no. Delicious? yes.]) and more warm alcoholic beverages (they probably have coffee or hot chocolate too, I guess). Plus there are a bunch of stalls selling "German" things. Weird wooden spin-ny things, shiny ornaments, ugly jewelry, etc. I'll be back regardless.

The aforementioned art museum (National Gallery I believe). I promise to visit when I finish up my exams and stop wanting to kill myself.

The ferris wheel next to the Scott Monument (..it's dark, okay?). The ice rink is the lit-up thing in front of it.

So we had that interesting excursion before deciding that is was actually really cold outside, and dinnertime. I cooked coq au vin for three of us (and was pretty impressed with my first attempt). We had mac and cheese and mashed potatoes and green beans too. No sweet potato casserole though (heartbreaking, but I think I'll pull through). All on festive thanksgiving plates that mom gave me. I suppose something had to be typically tacky.

The day after (Friday) I went to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Anstruther (Davidson hometown). I took the bus, which took ages because it hit every single one of the coastal villages - windy route and double the normal amount of time in a car (ugh). It was a really nice day though, which was fantastic as it's easier to enjoy the "seaside" (I don't think it really qualifies for that label) when it doesn't feel like you're part of some horrific hurricane.

Anyway. My cousin ended up coming through too (she visits Grandma every Friday). The four of us had lunch at the Golf Club restaurant (maybe 50 yards from their house). That makes Anstruther sound pretty grand, which is a bit of a misnomer. To allieviate that I present:

10 Things Anstruther Has Going for It:
1. a pretty pier and lighthouse, good for walking when the weather is nice (can be an issue)
2. a really rocky coast that's beyond fun to play on when the tide is out
3. Johnny Doo's Pulpit: giant rock to sit on, on hill, by sea
4. the best fish and chips in Britain. I'm serious. It was voted on, and not just by the village.
5. a Fisheries museum. if you're into that kind of thing (note: I am decidedly not)
6. a lifeboat museum with a picture of my great-grandfather on the wall (former captain) (note: this is another that falls into the "if you're into that kind of thing" category)
7. a cool-looking war memorial on the golf course (a bit in disrepair really)
8. the Smugglers Inn (at least in the past, when it was a family thing)
9. ducks in the canal-thing behind the Smugglers (who doesn't like ducks?)
10. stepping stones that go from the bit of beach to the churchyard

and as a bonus:

11. Shell House - a house that's covered in shells in decorative patterns (when it still looked nice in the past)

It's obviously a cool place. After a nice lunch we were walking back to the house when a beautiful bunny rabbit ran into the road (no worries, it's not a busy road). It was kind of calico colored, but in smaller spots than you would see on a cat. Anyway we didn't want the poor bunny to get runover/eaten by someone's dog. After a bit I managed to catch it, which was exciting. So cute. So soft and fluffy. And really really calm once I had it.

Turns out it belonged to a woman in one of the nearby houses. We returned it. Apparently it had been on the run for three days, after the hutch broke in really bad weather. Basically I was the hero of the day and bunny master. Awesome.

Saturday was another new experience - rugby! Scotland was playing Argentina in the Autumn Tests, so I went with a friend to see that. That's Murrayfield (the stadium) below.


A closer look: a pipe and drum band (eee!), a regular band (boo) and Argentina coming on to the field (super boo).

The regular band played the Argentine national anthem (boo). The pipe and drum band Scotland's. For the record, I never learned this one. Which makes me very disappointed in mom and dad -- I wanted to sing along with everyone else!

The first half of the game was awesome, with Scotland taking the lead 6-0. Rugby is such a beautiful game. Also, fast-paced and exciting! My favorite bit being scrums. Because they're amazing. And, as an added bonus, the guys look really good in their short shorts (no nasty baggy ones). Cheers!

Behind us for the entire guy was the most typically Scottish person you could possibly imagine. He made the game that much more enjoyable by shouting his feelings at the top of the lungs. For instance: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?" and "BOOOO" and my personal favorite, which he elaborated about at length: "THAT CALL WAS SHITE - THE REFEREE MUST BE IRISH - AN IRISH WANKER"

Funnily enough, the ref was Irish. Just goes to show.

At halftime we left for sustinance, which was conveniently placed right outside our section. The drinks were the most ingenious thing I think I've ever seen -- wine already in plastic wine glasses (think those airplane water tub things, with a stem) and plastic beer bottles. So smart. Beautiful thing. The food wasn't bad either.

We arrived back to our seats to see one of the Scottish players being taken off strapped to the emergency stuff. A heartbreaking start to the second half (also known as the bit where Scotland crashed and burned, and embaressed my nationality as a whole). Argentina came from 0 to 9 points. 9! Scotland went nowhere. It was a disaster. So disappointing as a result, especially after a fanstastic win against Australia the week before.

We did some shopping at the shopping tent before leaving. Neither of us knew which was to walk back into the city. Naturally, I chose and we walked in the wrong direction for over a mile. Well past the zoo. I really shouldn't do the direction thing. Luckily we found a cab at that point and it took us back to our flat, where I was able to up my body temperature to a normal one (so. cold.).

I haven't done much exciting since that weekend. One of my roommates left last Friday, so we had a final dinner as all of us the night before, which was a lot of fun (fajitas, mmm). I've just been studying like a maniac for my exams. I've read two full textbooks and a regular book (still academic, sadly) and summarized them. My first exam is tomorrow. Here's hoping it goes well!

36

I found some photos of the windsurfing weekend (sadly none of me looking beyond amazing in my neoprene bubble or on a board)

Here's Loch Tay - that's the kayak learning area enclosed, and the lake beyond it. It's worth noting this was when the weather was actually really calm.

The boards and (advanced -- not me) sails!

And, ahem, this is how we spent our evenings.What? It's not like there's anything else to do in the middle of the woods.

35

To finish my update:

Last Thursday windsurfing had a ceilidh (KAY-lee) with the wakeboarding/waterskiing club (or something like that -- a watersports type club that started with a "w" anyway). It was surprisingly fun. Ceilidhs are formal traditional Scottish dances. With the traditional Scottish folk dances, naturally. Basically everyone dressed up more nicely than usual. There was a band (fiddle, pipe, things like that) playing the music. And they attempted to teach us the dances a couple minutes before each.

Some of the Scots had learned these dances pratically in the womb. Most others, had not. And most people in general had imbibed a certain amount of alcohol. It all adds up to a hilarious and entertaining time. especially given the spinning and picking up nature of the dances. I don't remember which ones we did specifically except Strip the Willow (only because someone saw my serious confusion --- WHICH WAY DO I SPIN?? --- and mentioned it to me), but there was lots of group spinning, pseudo-running, do-si-do-ing (um, not really a word), and twirling. So. Much. Fun.

I ended up going by myself but a lot people I knew were there, which was really nice. Including a guy who went to the Muse concert I wanted to see last Monday --- and had a spare ticket (so pissed off). Some of us went to a club for a bit afterwards. One thing that's really nice about Edinburgh bars and clubs is the amount of live music around - it's everywhere! I'll take that any day to some terrible rap music and people dry humping each other. Cheers!

Friday evening I left for Glasgow on the bus to see Iain and Lisa. Not a bad ride either. We took the train back to Stewarton, where they live, enjoyed some spaghetti, and watched Casino Royale (great movie, really).

Saturday we drove into Glasgow and had lunch at a really cute restaurant -- The Butterfly and the Pig, I think. But not before a bus splashed water over all of us --- totally on purpose. The menu was worded interestingly (8 timorous beasties as a price for one of the options) and the food was delicious. After that we spent some time at Kelvingrove, one of the big museums in a beautiful area near the University. It's a really bizarre museum housing everything you can think of: art (traditional, modern, random - including a creepy Jesus Dali), Scottish history (with Viking swords and old canoe), dinosaur fossils, stuffed animals (and not the cute ones - the weird taxidermy ones of all species), Glasgow history, things about cars and women's dresses, --- you get the picture.

It was really busy (and free! hooray UK!) with some Brownie/Rainbow/others in tartan event. The highlight being when the singing and dancing started. Some was okay, most was not. The country dancing was impressive mostly because of my Thursday experience. Seeing 9 year olds dance much better than you is a bit of a blow to the self-esteem. Weirdly I recognized one of the songs sung from my Girl Scout days WAY back when (together we change the world - or something like that). Damn. Now it's stuck in my head again. There was also a couple taking wedding pictures for a while. Adorable flower girls, not so adorable bridesmaid dresses (like bad prom dresses). Actually, the wedding dress wasn't so hot either. But hey, who am I to judge on someone's day of happiness?

On second thought, someone really should have judged. They are so many ways for purple to be more flattering than that.

Moving on.

We did a bit of shopping in the shopping area (not that I really know where that is). Glasgow has good shopping. Much more than Edinburgh. That's definitely a bonus. It's also much more nicely designed (grid system). I'll chalk that up to it now having a giant castle on a volcanic seat in the middle of it. All the Christmas stuff had just come out though (decorations), which was so nice. I love Christmas. It's the only thing that makes winter even remotely acceptable.

We had a really nice curry that night. I tried vegetable pakora for the first time (delicious). So much food though. Curry over here is just infinitely better than anything I can get at home. I am totally going to miss it, even if it does make me smell. Went back to the house afterwards (REALLY cold outisde). I saw X Factor for the first time (butchering Queen --- seriously, using "Ice Ice Baby" in an "Under Pressure" mix is unacceptable --- someone just rolled over in his grave), as well as How I Met Your Mother (funny -- don't know why I had never heard of it).

Sunday we drove...south and a bit east? Stopped at the most amazing farm shop - so many good foods and condiments and so forth. We went to Ayr, where Robert (Rabbie?) Burns lived for not-that-long-really. Passed his house. Had nice lunch in a beautiful little hotel next to a river. Very popular for weddings. Impeccably manicured gardens.


Hotel, River, Gardens

Also, right next to the Burns Monument. A bit strange and derelict. Especially in the ominous looking photo (There is a hint of blue in there, I swear!)

Below: sundials would be more useful if there was any SUN. Note - you cannot tell the time in the photo.



Looking out into the surround countryside was really pretty though. Very green. Often full of sheep, cows, and horses.

We drove to the see afterwards, but I forgot where. You could see Arran from the beach anyway. Tacky little tourist summer spot. Full of dog-walkers at this time of year, which was nice.

After that we went back to Glasgow so I could catch my bus back to Edinburgh.

Not much has happened here. I bought some new boots (and wore them today without proper socks --- ow blisters). I got to evaluate my TA (and state that I find him scary and unproductive to the learning experience). I also found out he's a particularly harsh grader, which is just cruel and does not bode well for my future. Seriously, why could I not have gotten the other TA? He's nice and friendly and makes me feel like I'm not a stupid little worm or something like that.

I also won a prize today in a different one of my tutorials! We did group presentations on important bits of the EU. I did the Common Foreign and Security Policy with another girl. Our presentation was voted best at the end, so we won chocolate oranges! I didn't even realize there was a prize, but somehow my work seems validated now, haha.

34

I really am terrible about updating this.

Anyway, Mom and Dad came to visit me for my birthday. They arrived on Halloween and we had lunch, before they went to sleep off the jet lag. That evening I went out with some of my roommates and friends. There was a parade down a bit of the Royal Mile, so we went to that. It was a pagan parade celebrating Samhain, which was interesting.

There was a stage set up at the end of the route (see photo) where the organization put on a show about the battle between light and dark. There was a lot of drumming and a lot of fire, as well as some really interesting costumes. Definitely unusual.

After that we went to a pub in Grassmarket for a drink or two. I was dressed as Wednesday Addams - this is the only photo I have:

That is a doll's head. Creepy I know, but creepy is more fun that slutty. It wasn't the most exciting of evenings, but it wasn't bad. I did the more traditional Halloween on the Thursday before instead. I took one of my roommates to a big club that night. That was really fun. It was mobbed with people, but we found the dancefloor with good music.

Anyway, moving on. The Sunday after Halloween I got to spend at the spa! Mom and Dad bought me a treatment as a birthday present. It was fantastic - salt scrub, massage, and wrap. So nice. We also had a nice dinner that night down in Leith at this pub/restaurant. Delicious food (mussels, fish, venison, treacle tart!) in a really cozy room, with live music. I like that kind of place.

Monday we went to the Botanical Gardens. They were still beautiful, despite it being quite a bit colder than it had been for my first visit. The new building was also open. It's incredible inside! Totally worth another visit later. We had dinner that night together as well, at one of Dad's favorite restaurants in the city, which was also delicious. They left the next morning.

I was left with a huge amount of schoolwork: three papers! On Thursday one about the Doha Round of trade negotiations at the WTO was due. Friday was about the importance of the UN and collective security to liberal theorists. Monday was about the role of the Security Council in authorizing military humanitarian interventions. So. Much. Writing.

Luckily I finished them the first two Thursday morning/afternoon so I could enjoy my birthday properly! I came back to my flat to find this delivered:


Mom's beautiful cake this year! I had some with my roommates before a few of us headed out to Arthur's Seat.

Edinburgh is a bit weird as a city. It's got giant crags fairly in the city, formed by a volcanic hotspot or something. If you're interested, I'm sure Wikipedia has something to say. It's a bit of a tradition for students to climb them on Bonfire Night, to watch the fireworks and generally mess about.

Just to give you the right idea: Those mountain things are the crags. The really tall one is Arthur's Seat. We climbed that (Not the really tall one) -- in the dark, after some rain. It felt like a deathwish, stumbling up and down various muddy paths (some very steep) with no light except that of a cellphone.

Eventually though we made it to a suitable place to sit, as witnessed by the above photo (my eyes look really creepy and I'm not sure why). As you can see, we are literally on the edge of one of the crags. Maybe four feet from a HUGE drop. The city is all lit up behind us.

We had some snacks and shared some birthday champagne while watching the fireworks. There was a big display at Murryfield, but apart from that there were random explosions all over the city. You could even see across the water into Fife and also South of the city. The two sounds of the night were booms from the explosions and sirens of firetrucks, going to put out whatever fires. People just set off the fireworks everywhere, regardless of buildings and/or people in the way. They were all over the crags too. For a while there was a guy maybe a hundred feet in front of us setting them off -- yelling "Alright Lads!" before running from the firework that exploded above our heads.

Dangerous? Yes. Reckless? Yes. A really fun night? Also yes. It was also freezing up on the crags though. We managed to stay for several hours, but the cold became too much after a time. I wish I had better photos to capture how interesting the night was, but darkness doesn't really work like that.

This is looking towards the city. The black band in the middle of the lights is the Firth of Forth.

The picture below is people playing with sparklers on the end of one of the crags. There was a huge amount of people around - really surprising giving the hike (not exactly easy in the darkness) and the cold. But everyone seemed to be having a good time (some more inebriated than others). Some guys near us started singing "Stand By Your Man" at some point, which is really hilarious in a posh accent.
That weekend I ended up having the flat to myself -- all the roommates were away at various places. It was relaxing to splay out in the kitchen watching silly movies, but at the same time exhausting writing my last paper, which I turned in Monday morning.

Tuesday I took a well-earned shopping day for my various efforts with schoolwork. I bought some beautiful earrings with birthday money from Granny, as well as some clothes from Topshop (too hard to get to at home!). I just got back from Glasgow tonight, but I'll do a separate post about that a bit later.

33

It's been ages since I updated this. Oops. I'll try to put everything I remember.

A couple weekends ago I was supposed to go berry-picking with my roommates. At the last minute, they all bailed and I was left at the train station with a ticket for a train leaving in five minutes. So I went to Cupar by myself. It's just a little village in Fife. The train ride was beautiful up there (gorgeous day). We crossed the Forth Rail Bridge which was the world's first steel bridge, or something like that.

I couldn't find a taxi in town to take me to the berry farm, so I wandered around instead. Found some books at a bookshop. I spent some time reading in the little park there. There's a little stream you could walk along too.

While walking, all the children around were picking up these brown things. Turns out they're chestnuts, but everyone calls them conkers here. They seem to exist for the sole purpose of hitting each other. Or some sort of game like that. My English roommate tried to explain when I brought one back, but didn't do a very good job.

The village also had a bunch of antique stores. One of them had a huge collection of beautiful jewelry. There were some amazing rings, all beyond my price range of course. On the flip side of the spectrum, there was a huge pound shop in town, which I had too much fun in. I caught the train back to Edinburgh a couple hours later.

I did a bit of antiques shopping in Edinburgh that weekend too. I'm on the hunt for ceramic doorknobs. I'm hoping I'll find some before leaving. One of the shops I was in had a bunch of beautiful brass and copper ones.

Last Monday I visited my grandmother in Perth. It's never been just me to visit her before. She was showing me pictures of Jamie and I when we were little and telling stories about silly things we did (namely Jamie jumping in the bathtub fully clothed - shoes and all). She also told me all about my grandfather, who died before I was born. Stories about the first time she ever saw him ("I'm going to marry that man"), their travels together, and so forth. It was interesting to hear, but somewhat sad because you could tell she still misses him. We had a nice lunch downtown before I had to get back for my afternoon class.

I've had tons of work for all my classes lately. I've got three papers due in the beginning of November and have been doing an excessive amount of reading for them. I know more than I ever thought I would about trade rounds at the WTO and the way the UN (specifically the Security Council) work.

This weekend I took a big trip with the windsurfing club to the University's property at Loch Tay, near-ish Perth. The place has a bit of a summer camp feel - it's a log cabin with rooms with bunkbeds, communal meals where you clear the table, and big open showers. There were two sessions of activity a day. You could sail, windsurf, mountain bike, kayak, and canoe (all with instructors), or hike, road bike, row, and go orienteering (without instructors).

We were driven up in a minibus on Friday night (it's about two hours from Edinburgh). We had dinner that night and then spent time downstairs at the bar (it's volunteer-run). Saturday morning the weather was horrific, but we went windsurfing anyway. It was pouring with rain, incredibly windy, and the loch had huge waves. Not exactly great conditions for beginners. We bundled up in our wetsuits, wind jacket things, buoyancy aids, hats, socks, and shoes anyway. And it was a disaster.

The water was shockingly cold at first. It was only maybe 45 outside, so you get the idea. I think the majority of us spent our time just trying to stand up on the board and pull the sail up, before crashing into the water thanks to the waves. It was exhausing to pull ourselves and the sails up over and over again. The rescue boats kept having to tow us upwind (we couldn't even see the center anymore!). Needless to say, I did not go windsurfing that afternoon. Three of us went sailing instead. It was still cold and wet, but at least we didn't have to work at it.

Of course, the waves did die down quite a bit and the wind also, so the windsurfers got on better than they had earlier. The only problem was with the wind constantly changing direction. It's a bit hard to move when that happens.

That evening we starting drinking fairly early. According to one of the guys from the club who's actually a windsurfing instructor, "drinking is what windsurfers do when they're not on the water." I can now say that I know drinking games from the US, UK, Czech Republic, and Russia. I feel so worldly. We were up really late (even with Daylight Savings Time) an managed to get several of the other people there drunk as well, despite them all claiming to be too old for that kind of behavior (most of them were getting their doctorates). Thanks to all of this, our start at 8.30am on Sunday was not so great. The good news is that I've yet to meet a better hangover cure than Scottish loch water.

The morning session was windy again, but less wavy, which was helpful. I was doing fairly badly still until I was towed upwind where there were virtually no waves. There I actually started moving properly (for maybe the third time that weekend). I forgot how to turn around for a while, which was an issue, but the instructor re-taught me. He was getting on my board to show me from the rescue boat and the sail somehow smacked him. He fell in the loch. I felt so horrible since he wasn't wearing a wetsuit. I did learn how to turn around properly though.

I went back out that afternoon. Putting on a wet wetsuit is one of the most horrible feelings in the world. The wind had really died down (and the waves). I actually did pretty well. I spent a considerably less amount of time in the water and a considerably greater amount of time moving. Even in a proper sort of position. It's a start.

Hopefully I'll get to go windsurfing a couple more times this year. It was a really great weekend, despite the fact that I hurt all over right now. My muscles are killing me and I'm covered in bruises. At least my body temperature is back to a normal level. I really need to go grocery shopping, but I'm not sure that I can carry food back to my flat. I get the feeling that it's going to be take-away tonight.

I'll try to keep this more updated! I also apologize for the lack of pictures, but cameras and watersports don't mix very well.

32

I'm becoming rather bad at updating this. My bad. I guess it's just because I haven't been doing all that much. I'd say my two main activities at the moment are reading for my classes and trying to improve my cooking skills.

I seem to have made two of my roommates sick as well. Oops. There's a lot of coughing going on the flat right now.

Classes are fine for the most part. I actually felt somewhat on-target in tutorials last week. For a while anyway. It probably helped that my scary TA was absent. The replacement one was much easier to feel comfortable around. We've been learning about the UN in two of my classes. I find it fairly interesting. The other one class is focusing on every economic theory you could think of, which is terrifyingly overwhelming. Maybe I'll make it through.

Thursday night was a big windsurfing social which was a lot of fun. The bar they use is really expensive though, which is a shame. Still, I met a lot of new and friendly people. I'm actually supposed to be going surfing (not wind) tomorrow. I'm not sure if people ended up getting a trip together or not. Hopefully yes, as I'll have something to write about. At the end of the month I'm going to Loch Tay for a long weekend to windsurf though! I'm really excited about that.

31

Fridays are one of my favorite days. I have no classes! Last Friday I had lunch with my cousin in a little French restaurant just around the corner from me. The day was rainy and gray, so it was nice to have some really warm, filling food. It was also really nice to get to know her more. We haven't ever really spent much time together - strictly family gatherings - but we actually have quite a bit in common at the moment. It's nice.

Saturday I got up and took a trip to the Botanical Gardens. I walked from my apartment, which was exhausting. I followed Google Maps directions and ended up lost in a residential area. At some point I ended up crossing a stream and found myself on a wooded path area. There was a sign for Dean Village, which I would like to visit at some point. I followed that and ended up running into the Botanical Gardens. At the wrong gate (it was closed). Fifteen minutes later I finally reached the garden.

It's free to visit, which is really nice. The weather was also beautiful yesterday - blue skies and sunshine! The only issue was some serious wind that made is really cold out. I stayed mostly warm in my new trenchcoat (thanks to a fantastic godmother!).

The first bit of the garden you find is the rock garden.

It's got plants mixed in with rocks and grassy patches. There are rock paths everywhere. The gardens in general did a really fantastic job with little paths. There were several places where you wouldn't see anyone around you, thanks to them. The grass and plants were so green! My favorite was this waterfall that ran through the rock garden and into a pond in another part of the gardens.

There were peat gardens, woodland areas, and arboretum, ponds, and a Chinese garden. I made a bit of a detour for a warm drink though in the cafe. When I came out, there were children running about everywhere. I've never seen quite so many children in one place, having the time of their lives playing on grassy areas.

The only part of the gardens that isn't free is the glasshouses. I think they have tropical sort of plants in them, but didn't go in. There's really enough to do without them. Tucked away in one corner is a memorial garden to the Queen Mother. Each corner of it has plants from a different area of the Empire, apparently. Not that I know enough about plants to tell. There were some beautiful fragrant roses though!

I love British roses. They're always enormous and so fragrant. Our roses always seem lacking in comparison. Also, it's quite hard to make flowers stand still for close-ups.

The pond was one of my favorite areas, probably because I act like a two-year-old around ducks. A minute after I got there, one ran up screaming "DUCKS!" much to the disappointment of the parents, who were trying to leave.

Here's where you can see a distant trail of the waterfall leading into a pond.

I left the gardens after a bit and made the hike back to my flat, which was considerably harder than it was on the way there. Probably because I was exhausted, going the opposite way of the wind, and carrying a bag of flour and bag of sugar as well (for cooking later). I actually had to sit and take a breather before tackling an enormous flight of stairs.

I got back and cooked myself a fantastic dinner. Mom sent me her recipe for chicken pie. It actually turned out quite well, despite taking twice as long as it should have (I really hate my oven). After that I made apple crumble as well, to get rid of a bag of apples I had lying around (which I of course shared with the various people in my flat at the time).

30

A Recap: In Pictures (my upload cord arrived today!)

This is me, on the roof of the New Museum of Scotland. Behind the tree you can see the Castle.

However, here is a better picture of the castle.

Here is my doorknob. Usually these sorts of things come attached to doors (Dear Maintenance - It's been two weeks since I alerted you to this fact)

This is the most disgusting party I've ever been to. Look at them. Seriously, just look at them. If that is what Scotland is coming to, I don't want to be a part of it. Ugh.

And finally, here we have proof that I can actually feed myself and stay up-to-date with current events. It's almost like I'm an adult!

In other news, there's not much going on here right now. I had my first tutorials this week, and they're a bit scary. Actually, only one of them is. My Human Rights one was really good. We have a small class, so the professor teaches all of them. It's nice to have her there. She also was awesome the other day in class. A girl raised her hand and asked how much reading we should be doing from the required reading list because, oh hey, she's sooo busy with her dissertation. Seriously, stupid question. The professor just looked at her and said, "You're a university student, you've been a university student for the past three years, you should know be able to judge that yourself." Stupid.

The scary tutorial was for my International Political Economy class. I walked in and the TA looked a me before saying "Oh, you must be Katie. You didn't come to tutorial last week." Um, oops. I didn't even realize we had tutorial the week before. Turns out I had also done the wrong readings. Basically I could not have messed up any more than I did. Then everybody knew what they were talking about. Economics is not my strong point to begin with. I feel like that class is going to be a disaster. We'll see anyway.

What else? I made soup for the first time ever. Cabbage soup actually. I even managed to make it taste good with curry powder and cumin. One of my roommates who hates cabbage even said she liked it. On top of that culinary success, I made sausage rolls and they were also delicious. I think I'm actually getting the hang of this kind of stuff.

29

With my sporadic updates, I seem to have missed some of the finer points of previous evenings out. Certainly so far, most of the "culture" I've witnessed has been drunken messes.

Point One: the Chav
This adorable image does not do the sheer monstrosity of chav culture justice. One night during Freshers' Week we decided to explore Grassmarket and ended up lost somewhere in the city. We stumbled upon a club having a foam party that we had seen advertised around campus. Against my best wishes, we entered. We might as well have been entire the final circle of hell, otherwise known as chav heaven.

There was not a single guy in the entire club whose hair was not gelled. There were a few almost-restrained hairdos, but for the most part the spikes were out of control. Not to mention the wife beaters, fake tans, pierced ears, and "I know I'm sexy" looks. And that's just the boys.

The female species of chav is a separate story. Often in the littlest amount of clothing still deemed to be on the safe side of public nudity, the women (few in number to the men) frolicked in the foam in the most provocative manner possible. Seriously, it is never acceptable to wear stripper shoes, hotpants, and a bikini top in public without being mistaken for a cheap whore -- especially in Scottish weather! How did your mothers ever let you out the house?

Were that not bad enough, we can't forget that this was a foam party. There is nothing quite as filthy as a foam party, especially for stupid drunks. With foam shooting all over the place, the floor becomes a mess of slippery dirt. People take these sorts of things to mean that it's time to take off more clothing. Please, leave it on in the future. There are things I don't need to see out there.

We tried to make the best of this nightmare (after all, we did pay to get in). Dancing was a no-go after various creepy men (did I mention they were mostly over the age of 30?) tried to squeeze their way in. I will never be that desperate. Never. I secretly hope that a certain few of the people there are genetic dead-ends. The intelligence of the human race would actually increase.

But enough about that disaster.

Point Two: the Alcoholic

If you are beyond trashed and puking at 8pm, you might just be an alcoholic. If you wake up and a have a pint because you "don't like being sober," you might just be an alcoholic. If you consistently introduce yourself to others, only to hear "We've met four times already," you might just be an alcoholic.

This country has a serious, serious drinking problem. I've been here for two weeks and have seen all of the above, in addition to the more standard stupid drunk activities. We watched a man attempt to punch a bouncer after being thrown out of a club. And subsequently watched him be arrested. I have seen people throwing dozens of glass bottles out of windows, for the sheer pleasure of watching the glass break and scatter (never mind what it looks like the next day).

More irritating is the noise. Every night. All night. I'm a heavy sleeper and I'm used to city noises, but this takes the cake. As a write it sounds like several dozen men are singing drinking songs outside my window. There is always shouting, screaming, and glass breaking. I can only how irritating that would be for anyone who either doesn't go out, or is a light sleeper. I know most of my roommates have taken to sleeping with earplugs. It's crazy!

Seriously though. Why would anyone ever stop reading the Mr. Men books? This is the best re-discovery of my time in Edinburgh so far! The camera cord is still a no-go. I'm officially using Mr. Men to illustrate my points in the future. Why did I not think of this before?

28

I've just finished my first week of classes. I'm not entirely sure if that's good or bad though, based on the amount of work I'm going to have to do in the near future.

At some point last weekend I managed to lose my voice. That of course morphed into full-on fresher's flu. This blog really needs photos, so I have thoughtfully found one to represent my state over the past few days.

Pathetic looking and sounding pretty much sums it up. I've made my way through an entire box of tissues and bottle of cough medicine. The tissues were Mr. Men ones too - I'm sad to see them gone. If I'm going to need tissues I might as well have happy ones! The new box has boring white ones.

Anyway, I'm just about recovered, which is excellent news. I had all three of my classes this week and am slightly daunted. The system here is really independent. All my professors have essentially given me giant lists of books and told me to read some of them for each week. It's absolutely not what I'm familiar with, and that makes me nervous. On top of that people in my classes seem fairly on the ball. In one of them we were shown pictures and asked to identify the people. I had no clue who any of them were (though I did recognize a few of the names, to my credit). It probably didn't help that I was the only person hacking up a lung and constantly blowing my nose. Chances are I just passed on my cold to a significant number of people. Sorry!

I'm settling in rather well otherwise. I've actually managed to sleep well in my bed for more that two hours (except the night where I spill cough medicine everywhere). I've even cooked meals that weren't disasters (though I'll admit most of my fridge space is taken with condiments and beverages). I learned how to properly defrost frozen items. I've been picking up a paper most days and sitting down to read it with lunch (it makes me feel smart). I'm even trying the crosswords and sudoku.

I've been mostly staying in during the evenings (sickness + alcohol = disaster). Tonight the windsurfing club was having a pub crawl, so I went to that. It was Hawaiian-themed, and they tied us together (to turn it into a three-legged pub crawl). I ended up in a group of three, which was a bit of a disaster. But fun. I really liked the people, so hopefully I'll see them again.

27

Well I made it to Edinburgh in one piece. Unfortunetly I left the cord that lets me upload pictures to my computer back in Atlanta, so this will be a picture-free post (as will all my entires until the cord arrives in my mailbox courtesy mom and dad).

Anyway. The three of us arrived a bit over a week ago (not last Wednesday, but the one before) and spent some quality time arguing over what I would be needing for my apartment and so forth. We did fine with that, but generally failed in the department of finding good food. We had a great meal at the Tower, a restaurant above the New Museum of Scotland. Fantastic fish pie.

I moved in last Saturday. I'm living in University housing, in a flat with 4 roommates. My room is generically boring and pathetic looking (minus about 15 photos on the wall) with a pale blue sheet set provided (seriously, I hate baby blue). So far, I have yet to actually have a single good night of sleep on the bizarre lump of a pillow I have, even after stuffing sweatshirts, scarves, and towels underneath it. I'll keep hoping though.

My roommates are an interesting mix (all nice at least!). There is one English girl (from York) who's fairly funky and loves to party. The other three are Americans: one is from Connecticut (I like her a lot, she's probably the most like me - the only difference being that she's not signing up for any clubs and stuff at all. I just find that strange. Whatever.); one is from near Chicago (she's a really nice girl, though not into going out really at all. International Relations major too. I haven't seen her all that much really); one is from the Midwest, which should say a lot in itself (she never stops talking and shares things that don't need sharing. terrible fashion sense. my greatest desire so far is to give her a total makeover. her goal is to find a boy while here, which should be interesting to watch. never really went out before coming here from some godforsaken school in iowa or something. ew.)

But what do I really think? Haha. We do all get along though, and everyone is actually really nice. We had a roommate dinner on our first night together (and actually managed to make pasta disgusting --- apparently there are switches to turn on ranges over here). I've been hanging out with the Connecticut one mostly. Fresher's Week really only seems to encompass excessive amounts of drinking at obscene hours for most people. I've been to bars and clubs, but (disappointingly) haven't spent time at a pub (not for lack of hinting that's how I'd like to spend my night either). I'll make it happen later. Other than that, there are tons of events going on. I was nearly crushed to death attempting to get on a tour of the castle. It was interesting to see and a good way to meet more people. Every other interesting thing I've tried to take part in has not happened. Everything fills up at least an hour early. I am just not dedicated enough to get up at 8am to go to the zoo at 10.30 or stand in line for 3 hours for a ghost tour. What kind of lives do you people lead that this is a worthwhile enterprise?

Instead I spend my time getting up early, arguing with my bank, running into the walls in my apartment because the lights are still off, and staring at my toast when all I really want is some delicious bacon before heading back to bed about 4 hours later. Mornings have never been my forte to say the least.

Evenings have been interesting. People start going out at about 8.30pm, which is beyond early. It's just bizarre. What's the fun in going somewhere when it's empty? We've been to places that were fun, places that were pathetic, places with horrible DJs, places with fantastic DJs (it's all mostly techno though, not that it bothers me), places with drunken Scots trying to talk to me (seriously, I cannot understand at all), places far far away from where we were trying to get, places full of everything bad in the human race (I pray for genetic dead-ends), expensive places, and even the occasional cheap place. The unions have more bars that should be respectable for university-owned property. It's all interesting.

Most of the people I've met so far have actually been Americans (many of whom I'm embaressed to be seen with). Failing that, they're usually English. I've even met a fair amount of Scandinavians. Still hunting for the elusive Scot though. Seriously, do they all hide together in some secret society? The only ones I've met en-masse are family, at a giant lunch my aunt had. I actually have three cousins studying in Edinburgh at the moment too, and one of them drove all of us there. It's strange to see so many people that I'm actually related to. Really nice though. Hopefully I'll see some of them again before leaving in December.

I've got my classes all sorted out and am sort of waiting for them to start. There's only so many times I can actually go out in one week before I have to start sleeping again. It's a night off tonight for me. Maybe a bad choice, with it being Friday and everything, but it feels wonderful to lounge for a while. I've signed up for a couple of organizations (we'll see what I actually end up doing). I'm hoping to windsurf while I'm here (provide I don't freeze immediately upon contact with Scottish waters). I may try to get a bartending job depending on what my schedule looks like. Right now I only have three days of classes.

I should probably spend the free time working on my cooking time-management. I've had several unfortunate issues so far owing to the fact that I don't start cooking until I'm actually hungry. How was I supposed to know how long it takes a baked potato to cook? I've eaten baked and sweet potatos semi-raw and failed at defrosting chicken breasts. Actually, there's not much in my fridge besides condiments at the moment. I've already eaten my way through a bag of frozen peas. There's some lentil pie in the freezer, but it tastes a bit funny and I'm not sure why. Cooking is hard when skills are limited. I can roast things, saute things, and cook pasta. That's about it. I'm going to chalk it up to a failure for mom here. Thanks a lot mom for being such a great teacher (seriously, I need help - I'm dreading the inevitable future of pasta and handfuls of frozen peas).

It's been an interesting start.

26

Um, oops. It's been a month since I wrote about anything. Not particularly much has happened, I have to admit.

I finished work on Friday. It's nice to be done. I did just about an entire program myself, which was kind of cool. For a Mongolian woman, here for culture and heritage preservation. I booked all her appointments and everything like that. I should get to meet her on Monday. There were a couple of other interesting things I got to do. We had a delegation of human rights advocates (mostly lawyers) from Iraq that went to visit Metro State Women's Prison. I got to go with them. It was really an experience. We met the warden - this nice older Southern lady in red lipstick, totally not what was expected. And we got a tour. The prisoners weren't really locked away. When we came by they had to stand in formation, but we were free to talk to them and such. The mental health prisoners were in cells, as were the prisoners who asked to be so (fearing for their lives from whatever), and the one death row inmate.

Her cell door was opened and the Iraqis were allowed to talk with her, ask her about the conditions in the prison. She was very polite. We looked it up later, and apparently she convinced her lover to kill her boyfriend. Now she's on death row, and the lover has life in prison. There's something wrong about that. He was given a deal for testifying against her. I just don't understand how the person who actually killed the boyfriend would be less punished than the one who plotted. And now she's going to be killed. It just seems wrong. I don't know.

The prisoners were kind of ... sad. I know they're in prison, but they all looked so worn. Lines etched across faces, straggly hair, and eyes that just look sad. I don't know how old prisoners were, but they all looked prematurely old.

We saw new prisoners marching. A old woman collapsed. I don't know if she lived or if she died. It's just strange to think about. I know she committed god knows what crime, but I hope she's sitll okay.

The guards were all fantastic. They were so friendly and helpful. It seemed like they all knew each other really well and had a great time joking around. I felt like they were kind of people I would want to be friends with. Weird, I know, I guess.

In August we had several delegations of journalists come through Atlanta. I sat in on a meeting with Afghani ones (mostly journalism professors from Kabul and Harat) and several journalists from CNN and the Atlanta Press Club. They had a rather heated debate about the role of journalists. The interesting part was when the war came up. Apparently the general feeling in Afghanistan is that the Americans could win the war if they really wanted to, but they don't want to, as evidenced by all the negative press. It's an interesting arguement, that I certainly haven't thought about before.

I also got to tour CNN with a couple of Indonesian journalists (TV anchors). It was cool to see what goes on behind the scenes of all the news and such. All the editors and producers and people who write the stories. It's beyond a huge organization.

25

I got back to Atlanta on Monday, and started work on Tuesday. I guess I have to be a responsible human being for the next six weeks. I’m working the same place I did last summer, doing research for a big fall event and working on programming. I like the people in the office (there are only four of us) and I think the work is interesting, but there’s something soul-sucking about sitting in an office for most of the day, sending emails, making phone calls, and getting extremely frustrated with the lack of help google gives for research. I’m just not cut out for office life. I want to be out doing something all the time. It’s only six weeks though, and I do get a stipend. And at the end I’ll be off to Edinburgh. I think that makes it worthwhile.

I don't really have much else to say. I'm not really doing anything besides working, as I really don't have any friends in town at the moment. Sorry for the length of time it took me to update.

24

I bummed around the house for a while, before heading to Philly on Thursday for a super-long weekend to celebrate a friend’s 21st birthday. I got there Thursday afternoon. We had lunch before making party preparations – aka blowing up a giant kiddie pool, filling a piñata, and buying alcohol. We had the earliest dinner I think I’ve ever eaten (4.30pm – Mexican food), which we ate sitting in the (unfilled) kiddie pool in the middle of the living room of the house. And then we napped. In the kiddie pool. In the middle of the living room.

We celebrated that night and headed out to a bar at midnight, so my friend could buy her first drinks legally at a bar.

The next day my friend had to keep up her drinking. Her goal was to have twenty-one drinks in the day of her birthday (from midnight to midnight). That morning consisted of Irish Coffee from a café. We managed to drag the pool outside and fill it with water, which meant we could take our time lounging in it and enjoying cool beverages.

At some point people showed up for the party. It was really strange though. I’m used to parties where I know a significant number of people. Here, in a house that was supposed to be full of my friends, I hardly knew anyone. It was like I was standing around awkwardly, which I’m just not really used to doing. I guess it’s because most of my friends weren’t actually there for the weekend, and therefore other people had invited people. It ended up fun at the end of the night though. Everyone was out on the porch and in the backyard. At some point there were about ten people standing mid-calf deep in the kiddie pool. I ended up talking to some guys from other schools in the Philly area, one of whom had made a 7-11 run for us a little earlier, despite not really knowing why.

For whatever reason I was one of the last people around at about 3.30am, which was sad. I had to call it a night. The next day involved more bumming around and such. At some point we met the neighbors when they asked if they could use the kiddie pool since it was so hot outside. We of course obliged and found out they were from one of the frats on campus. Later that night we hung out with them. They were grilling (and eating straight from the tongs for the most part) and asking for henna which we had been playing with all day.

Afterwards we went to another friend’s party, which was all grad students (and therefore slightly intimidating). One of my friends was beyond drunk, and we had to take her home and take care of her for a couple of hours, which was a shame way to end the night. That’s not actually English there, but it’ll have to do.

Sunday was in the same vein as the others – just hanging out during the day. We ate Indian food for lunch though, and that was delicious. At some point we were in the kiddie pool with beer, and one of the neighbors joined us. We even had birthday cake for dinner, haha. It was a chill evening and I met some friends of the people who live in the house before I called it a night and caught my flight back to Atlanta early on Monday morning.

I guess I would call it a fairly boring weekend, though it was really nice to see some of my friends again, since it’s going to be January next time. I guess my biggest surprise for the weekend was the amount of drugs presents. I have never seen people smoke more pot. I don’t want to do that, but if you do, whatever. I just don’t get how: 1) you can spend entire days doing nothing but smoking; 2) you can afford to spend every day doing nothing but smoking. Isn’t there more to life than sitting around, high all day? How can you just not be productive, ever? I know I’m lazy and I bum around, but all the time? I guess if that works for you, go for it.

23

I know I’m beyond behind with updating this, and I apologize. What can I say besides the fact that I’m lazy?

Anyway, that Thursday after my last post was our last day of classes. We had a group dinner for everyone in the program that night. A bus took us up into the hills and dropped us at a big house with a large yard. There were tables set up. Naturally, five of us made our way stealthily to the best table, under an archway and somewhat isolated. We played the “Oh sorry, we have no more room at our table” game until it was just the five of us. Perfect. We had wine, pasta, salad, brucshetta, and panzanella (beyond amazing). I think a bowl of gazpacho and some panzanella would make the perfect summer meal on a hot day. Here's a picture of some of us.

And a picture of my Italian class.

Anyway, it was a fun meal. People were nostalgic. We had a final toast with prosecco before going back into the city. Pretty much everyone went out after that to a bar around the corner – including the two main guys from the hotel and two of the program professors, including my Italian one. Needless to say, the first thing we did at the bar was make her take a shot with several of us. She could not stop laughing when we told her the name of it.
Most people ended up getting beyond drunk, which was really rather stupid. Some people missed flights the next day because of it. Good call.

Friday was fairly calm. We did a little shopping at the Leather School. It’s inside the monastery of Santa Croce, which was really cool. They will engrave anything you want too. After that we went into the hills – to Fiesole – for dinner. It was originally an Etruscan settlement, which makes it older than Florence. Much smarter building a city in the hills than in a mosquito-ridden valley. Kudos to you, Etruscans. We had the most fantastic dinner in a little restaurant there, which became packed. I had pici (like a fat spaghetti) with zucchini flowers and sundried tomatoes and capers and such. Delicious. The picture below is Fiesole at sunset. Looking down and gorgeous.

We didn’t do much Friday night, besides hanging around the hotel with some limoncello. Saturday too was fairly chill. We did some more shopping and had one final grocery store dinner. A round of tequila shots went around at some point that night for the people still there, which wasn’t really that many. Sunday I left bright and early, an made it back to Atlanta that evening. Because of weather, we had to circle a few times over West Virginia before they would let us come into Atlanta. Sadly when we did land, we had to sit on the tarmac for ages because it was the worst weather imaginable and it wasn’t safe to either open up the ramp or let the groundcrews out. Eventually I did make it home though, which was wonderful, as much as I miss Italy.

22

It's almost time to pack up and leave here, which is saddening. Virtually everyone seems so ready to get home, but honestly I could stay here forever. With a few changes maybe. It's not that I don't love my family and want to see them, but it's wonderful here. I think I'm just more suited to this continent. Atlanta and Philadelphia are just going to be so boring. If I did stay here though, I would want a kitchen. I'm beyond vegetable deprived. Looking at them makes me drool with joy and desire. I'm not going to be able to eat pasta/pizza/bread/cheese for a month at least after getting home. The idea is fairly repulsive. Ew.

The hotel had a going-away reception for us last night, which was wonderful. They cooked a delicious dinner buffet and served wine and dessert. Mmm. It was fun because they did superlatives for people and generally had a good time, especially as it was one of the maid's birthday! It's so sad to think that we're gone so soon though. I just don't know where the time has gone.

I had a final presentation yesterday for history (the professor said it was "exemplary" which is good, if he knows what that word means) and one today for Italian. The history one was on Savonarola, who was an interesting guy. The fanatics always are. For Italian we had to create a guidebook of places and then a commercial for it. We had a Wizard of Oz theme, which my professor loved, so that's good news.

I wish I could stay in Europe forever. In fact, I plan to after college. I'm buying a one-way ticket (but no worries mom, I'll be back for Christmas).

21

This weekend was definitely the best so far, minus a small issue on the way there. We got back at about 11pm from Siena, and left Florence on a 12.30am train to Pisa. Thanks the the train explosion not far from there a few days ago, our train to Rome was delayed. For three hours. Meaning we spent the time from 2am - 5am in the dirty, disgusting, potentially dangerous train station in Pisa.

We couldn't sleep thanks to the fact that someone would steal our stuff/kill us. At one point I was walking up and down when I noticed a hobo peeing on a column. He looked me in the eye as he continued. Then there was the puking hobo who seriously seemed to be dying. There was the one-armed hobo who was lecturing a group of gypsies and also the creepy Asian man who followed us. There was the hobo sleeping on a bench but not moving. And there was a group of guys who snuck into a dark train car and invited us to smoke with them...in the dark. I'm somewhat surprised that we all made it out of that place alive. Eventually we made it on a train to Rome.

We made a huge mess enjoying our bread and cheese (which is pretty much what I eat every day). I'm not going to be able to eat bread/pasta/pizza for quite some time after this trip.

Eventually we did arrive in Naples though. At noon aka tweleve hours after we set out.

Naples was even more disgusting than I remembered. We went to have lunch in the city thanks to one of the girls I was traveling with having family from Naples. The pizza was absolutely fantasic, but the city and restaurant were beyond gross. Garbage everywhere. Beggars constantly approaching us for money. And the smell. Ugh.

We then took the train to Sorrento and found our hotel, which was fantastic. It was five minutes from the station and no more than ten minutes from anything we wanted to visit. It was clean, had a swimming pool, had the biggest towels I had ever seen, and even had air conditioning. I'm pretty proud of myself for booking it. Actually I'm pretty proud of myself for arranging the entire trip. Hooray.

The first thing we did was of course visit the beach. There was only an itty-bitty part that was public, but luckily it was late and people were leaving, so we could use it. The hike down was interesting as it was literally a cliff face, but the water was beyond perfect. We had dinner at a little cafe and picked up groceries for Saturday, before going to sleep nice and early.

Saturday turned out to be one of the best days of my life. We left on a 7.45 ferry from Sorrento to Capri, where we sat in the harbour just watching everything start moving for the day. I had a lovely capuccino. We then got on our boat at 10am for our day trip. The six of us had a traditional type of boat called a lancia to ourselves, with a captain (Cristiano). There were pillows and a cooler with water/wine/coke. Cristiano drove us first to the blue grotto, which was amazing.

It actually looks like this. You get in a rowboat and squeeze through a tiny opening (everyone has to lie down) into a completly dark cavern. The sunshine from the opening reflects off the bottom with sand though and turns the most beautiful stunning blue color. It's breathtaking. And the rowboat captains sing, which is hilarious since the cavern echoes.

After that we did some driving around the island, passing the green grotto (below), seeing where the two parts of Capri meet, stopping to swim frequently, eating lunch, seeing the old Hollywood beach area. Eventually we came back to the green grotto and swam through that.

The company that did the tour is run by an American woman, so we had an American flag on the boat, which was perfect for the 4th of July.

It was such a relaxing day. The sun was bright and the sea was a perfect temperature. So clear too. We just hung out on the boat, eating whenever and swimming whenever. We taught one of my friends how to dive. I even got a wonderful tan, which I'm so proud of. I can't honestly have imagined a more perfect day.

This is some of us on the back of the boat, and our captain. You can't see the front of the boat, but it was all cushioned and so comfortable to lie on. Eventually we went back to the harbour and caught the last ferry back to Sorrento.

In Sorrento we had a fantastic dinner (delicious pasta) and did some shopping. They're famous for lemons and inlaid wood, so naturally I bought some of both (gifts mostly for others). We had an earlyish night again and left the next morning for Pompeii.

I visited Pompeii a few years ago and was therefore designated tour guide. We only had about fourty-five minutes to run through, with our luggage, so it was interesting. I think we hit a few of the big sites. Everyone at least got a taste for the place. I don't feel too bad though because it was boiling hot.

After that we went back to Naples and caught the train back to Florence, which was a straight shot this time, thank God.