Land of the Scots

Who is a fan of peanut butter and banana sandwiches!? I certainly am. In fact, that is exactly what lays in my lap right now as I write to you. Anyone that really knows me knows that I have a special love for peanut butter. Back home, I eat peanut butter with almost everything (apples, wheat thins, or sometimes just a spoonful.) Upon arriving in London, peanut butter was naturally one of the first products I searched Sainsburys (grocery store) to buy. Unfortunately, no Jif was to be found. Only one brand of peanut before my eyes. So...I went with the creamy.

Two days ago I returned from the "Land of the Scots": Scotland. It was, by far, my favorite place we have traveled to as a group. Edinburgh is where we resided. What was the weather like, you ask?

First Day

Second Day

Like London, the weather was very sporadic. Even though the second day was beautiful to start with, we got a torrential downpour late afternoon.                  

First, we went on a tour of Scotland's Parliament building. A common theme we all caught on throughout the tour was that Scotland's Parliament has tried to set themselves a part from England's parliament. The the architecture of Scotland's Parliament building was fresh and modern and unity is highly encouraged among members of both political parties. One example would be that members of Scotland's Parliament can sit wherever they would like whilst in a meeting with the opposite party. On the other hand, England's Parliament requires the members of the House of Lords and House of Commons to sit on opposite sides whilst in a meeting. While walking through Scotland's Parliament building, I felt as though i was in a big and beautiful mansion. Enric Miralles designed this building to be completely open for the public to see the inside at almost every angle. Big windows, no curtains, and modern fixtures make up Scotland's Parliament building.                                     

Our first night wrapped up with a few of us going to a local pub to sing some karaoke! It was a Carrie Underwood night. With my friend Gina, we sang "Cowboy Casanova" and then I sang "Before He Cheats." 

I had never been inside a castle until this trip. On Saturday, we had beautiful weather to walk around the Edinburgh's famous castle. Check it out: 

Final activity: horseback riding. I was given a horse named Arnold and despite him trying to eat grass every time we stopped, he was a really good horse! A ten year old girl, Neve, held on to his bit the whole time. Neve kept Arnold in line as well as the other horses around. It blows my mind that this ten year old, tiny, ginger-haired girl was in complete control of those huge animals. Made me think that no matter how big something is in front of us, we can handle it with complete confidence.