Monday, November 24, 2008


The highlight of our day by far was seeing a wolf snatch a little child right off the street! Okay, so perhaps that was figment of my imagination but i can't really help it if i have started to see wolves where they really aren't because Ben has given me the chills with his wild tales of the huge wolves that supposedly ravage Scottish villages! He claims that wolves grow as big as lions here and are twice as mean. In fact he also claims that they are much hungrier here in the Scottish hills and it is not uncommon for them to snatch people right off the streets (i might should note that Ben just looked over my shoulder and stated strongly that this really does happen and that i wouldn't know if it wasn't true since i am apparently not as up on Scottish wolves as he is!).
In fact i have come to also determine that the sheep must be as big as they are so they can fight off the wolves. I mean "holy sheep" these things are the size of horses and come in lot of odd colors. I wanted Ben to stop the car and get out so i could take his photo among a field of very black sheep but he wouldn't stop. I really thought it was a fitting place to photograph him!! lol, just joking!

-We spent the morning navigating narrow country lanes that really were designed for horse and carts and not speedy vehicles. It was a bit nerve racking going around corners and up hills. There were tons of adorable cottages and farms along the way and of course tons of sheep. Eventually we reached Hadrian's Wall. The wall was built in A.D. 130 by the Romans during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. The actual purpose of the wall is unclear however many historians think it was to protect the Roman British empire from invading Scottish clans. The ruins were really neat and it was cool how you could just walk among it something that would never happen in the states.

On our drive to Edinburgh we almost became bird hunters without planning on it! We were flying (really, quite literally!) down this small two land road when i looked up to see a pheasant the size of huge rooster crossing the road! He looked at us and it seemed like he expected us to stop and allow him to cross, unfortunately he didn't realize we were American's used to road hunting. We narrowly missed him and when i looked back to see if he was living i saw him still standing, stunned in the middle of the road and then he quickly darted back the way he had come.

We have now arrived in Edinburgh where it took a bit to find our hotel, but thankfully the lady at the front desk knew of a place where we could get converters so that was a big blessing!! :-)
We ate dinner at a delightful Italian restaurant and then finished up our evening out with walking around for a while. About halfway down a street i started to notice that all the shops were kind of getto and scary. And then i started looking around and noticed all sorts of interesting people. I had to nudge Ben because he was so enamored with the beautiful buildings that he hadn't noticed that we stuck out like sore thumbs and that we were about to be attacked! :-)

Things I've learned today:

-A lot of roads in the Uk were not designed for cars. . .therefore you take your life in your own hands driving on them. Be aware there maybe farmers crossing without looking for flying traffic!

-Apparently it is quite normal for sheep to run loose over the ruins of a site from A.D. 130! So you always have to watch step for sheep doo and keep a sharp look out for unfriendly sheep.

- That Scottish men in general are not the best looking and i feel like Ben has been very blessed in overcoming some of his Scottish genes. The girls over here are quite adorable so now i know where i get it from! (lol! just joking!)

-My single guy friends who are looking for a girl should come over here and look because the girls seem to be settling for some very scary looking guys due to the lack of general good looks!!

-People around here don't like it when your credit card isn't signed on the back. They keep asking my brother to sign his which has tempted him on many occasions to want to say, "should i sign my name or the name of the person who's card this is?"

That's all for now mates, Cherrio!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

oh what fun!!! I can't wait to hear your stories in person. I miss out on alot when I can't see your face!! ;)
Can't wait o see you!!!
Love you!
~mary-kate