A wee visit to Scotland

Last Friday, all 280 or so of the PKPers (Pembroke-King's Programme) drove in six buses up to green, windy, rainy and beautiful Scotland. On the way to Edinburgh, we stopped at Fountains Abbey, which were founded in 1132 and are the largest monastic ruins in the UK. The ruins and the surrounding landscape are beautiful. Check it out:

Saturday, we went on a day trip to hike in the Trossachs, or the "mini-highlands." It was rainy and windy and very muddy, but the views were definitely worth it:

I actually spent very little time in Edinburgh, and what I did see of the city was the Royal Mile. This is the main "high street," and it runs from the Holyrood Palace (where the royal family stays in Scotland) and the Edinburgh Castle. Here are a few things along the way:

The inside of The Elephant House, pictured in the last post. This is where J.K. Rowling sat and wrote her idea for Harry Potter on a napkin while looking out the window at Ediburgh Castle. The food was really good, and I regret not trying the ridiculously good-looking fudge. Next time, I guess...

This is Parliament, the building of notoriously modern and symbolic design. According to the people in my group who took the tour, the black structures around the windows are meant to symbolize curtains drawn open so the world knows how open they are about their policies.
The castle.
St. Giles' Cathedral.
Looking down the Mile.

On the way home, we stopped in Richmond, home of Richmond Castle and a river with a beautiful Eden-like area. Judge for yourself:

And then there's the castle itself with its gorgeous surrounding views!

Check that box!

This made me smile when I read it yesterday -

Excerpt from my journal, dated October 18th, 2008:

"Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is going on a study abroad to Oxford or Cambridge. I can't even describe how much I want to do this. It is one of my dreams to study at one of these schools."

So fulfilling to live a dream.

Here's a sneak peek of Scotland, to be continued later:

A little Cambridge...

BIG.

Beautiful.

Historical (Charles Darwin lived on my street).

Reading...ful. Book...ful.

Life-changing.

Incredible.

Somewhat overwhelming.

Towels and sheets with "Pembroke College" embroidered on them.

20-minute walk to class, but worth it.

Candy store with jars of candy from the groud to the ceiling.

Eating in Harry Potter-esque dining halls.

Sitting in the opening scene of A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf.

Reading in King's College Library under the stare of Napoleon.

Reading in King's College Library!

Reading in Pembroke College Library!

First eating duck experience - the teryaki sauce helped.

Not getting lost while running - not as easy as it might sound.

And now for some visuals:

It's a library, of course. This is the inside of Pembroke College Library:

And this is the inside of King's College Library:

During last night's Formal Hall:

King's College - I'm on the grass. We're not allowed on the grass hardly at all.
Back of King's College Chapel.

A Country Week

• Item: one week
• Item: one bedroom, all to one's self
• Item: one fridge, already stocked
• Item: one bathroom, all to one's self
• Item: a wonderful hostess who doesn't allow you to lift a finger to help her
• Item: all the best of the mid-western English countryside
• Item: one of the best weeks so far!

Imagine you're watching a Jane Austen movie. You get to the part where it shows the rolling green hills and hedgerows sitting in a light mist. (pause the movie) I've been there!

Wednesday, Marion took me to Coughton Court, which has been the home of the Throckmorton family since 1405. It's a manor house owned by The National Trust here in the UK. The house is most famous for the family's involvement in the Gunpowder Plot in 1605.

Today we went to British Camp, also called Herefordshire Beacon. This is where Brigham Young came to pray about printing the Book of Mormon and a new hymnbook in England. It reminded me of Ensign Peak -it's a short little hike to the top and the view is incredible. Just take a look:

Then we went to Gadfield Elm Chapel, the oldest LDS chapel in the world. It was first owned by the United Brethren, who gave it to the Wilford Woodruff to use as an LDS chapel following their mass conversion.

After a stop in Ledbury for lunch (with a quick peek of the Ledbury Parish Church,

we went to Hereford Cathedral. This is where they have the Hereford Mappa Mundi, a map of how the world looked in about 1290 AD. I guess it was pretty different back then...

Here's the outside of the cathedral:

Now, off to Cambridge. Just to give you an idea of what I've been doing the other days this week, I've read 3.5 Shakespeare plays and 2 Virgina Woolf novels. Lest you think this is all I needed to do, note that I should have read 5 more novels and 3 more Shakespeare plays before...Monday. Ah well. I'm only in England once, right? It's ok to see the country instead of stay inside reading all day.

Warwick Castle

I'm staying in Solihull, England for a week before I head off to Cambridge. Solihull is about 20 minutes south of Birmingham and 20 minutes east (I think that's the right direction) of Stratford-upon-Avon. I'm staying with some friends of my grandparents who work in the church offices here. Marion offered to take me to Warwick Castle, which is just a 45-minute drive away. Warwick Castle (said Warrick) is everything a castle should be. It's surrounded by beautiful countryside, and looks like a castle from a storybook:

The Globe

I've been reading a lot of Shakespeare recently, so going to the Globe was such a good experience. It's one thing to just see the place, but to see a play there is one of the coolest things I've ever done. Everything is done the way it would have been done in Shakespeare's time, except for the lighting and other safety regulations. In these pictures, the stage is set for Macbeth, but you can't say Macbeth inside the theatre. Inside the theatre, you call it "The Scottish Play."

Portabello and Borough Markets

Portabello Market, located on Portabello Road, sells antiques, food, and other interesting stuff. We had really good cupcakes there from Hummingbird Bakery. Mmmm...

Borough Market is in Southwark, just right next to Southwark Cathedral and near the Globe Theatre. Here, I tried a delicious little quiche and the best fudge brownie I've ever had. I think all the pictures of me enjoying my food are on other cameras. I must have been enjoying my food too much to take pictures.