Scots-in-the-land

Well, here I am in Scotland! I think I might enjoy it more if I wasn't so tired and burned out. We went on a bus tour the other day of some cities and up to Loch Lomond. It was beautiful, but not really exciting. I think the most striking thing is how green everything is. Our bus driver/tour guide was hilarious though. He was telling us about the kilts at one point and explained that the normal kilt is just a very large piece of fabric and then you pleat it, lay it down on the ground and sort of roll over in it so it makes a skirt on one end. The other end goes over one shoulder and can be used as a hood/cape. Then, when you go to sleep it is your blanket, you just put it flat and roll up tight in it. Then supposedly the best place to sleep is on the heather where you just lay on top of it (he says it is a strong as oak) and then shoogle (his definition was to shake or shimmy) your way down into the heather a bit so that it is both beneath and above you. That way you stay dry and warm, and goodness knows how you're supposed to get out of this cocoon. If only he could have given us a demonstration.
Edinbrough is only slightly larger than Salt Lake it seems, only more crowded and a lot dirtier. I gather that it used to be quite an industrial town and since all the buildings were made out of the local sandstone, the soot and grime just stayed on the walls. So most of the buildings look very dirty and black, especially the old churches and things. Today and tomorrow are the only days we have to be out in the city, but most of us are pretty burned out and broke, so I only spent about 2 hours out in the city. There are castles and churches and things to see, but, however much I never thought I would say this, I'm quite sick of looking at castles. Cathedrals not so much, but generally in a castle there isn't that much to see. Especially since the last few places we've gone have had lots of places in restoration and/or they were ruins. Don't get me wrong, they are amazing places. I think you just need to take them one at a time. Also, they usually involve a lot of climbing.
Overall, I'm just excited for Mom to get here. I'm tired of these beds and wierd bathrooms. Tonight is our 'farewell' banquet. I'm excited for it, but sad to see all the people that I've spent the last months with go. We've all grown quite close. I miss home some, but the prospect of going back to Provo just doesn't appeal to me. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that I'll be starting school right when I get back. So much for recuperation days.

Dancing with the Stars

Sorry I've been remiss in my blogging lately. It's almost time for us to leave London and I've been trying to get everything in before we leave. That and the fact that we're having finals for our classes tomorrow and I'm rushing to get everything done. A couple of notes before I get on to the main subject: I saw Rebecca Harbuck yesterday and hung out with her. It was great to finally see her! We've been friends since kindergarten and it's always nice to meet up. Kristie - I'm glad I get to be considered one of your good friends so you blog about me! I miss you tons too and always wonder what you're up to. It is hard to keep in contact, but we shall!

Okay, so here goes. This week we went to go see Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens which is where the author met the family that gave him the inspiration to write Peter Pan. If you've seen Finding Neverland you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, it was great. Meg Ryan was there. I took this stalkerish photo of her. She was trying to keep a low profile so she was turning people away who asked for photos or autographs. I don't blame her. She was there with a little girl she adopted.

I also went to see Hamlet, the play. Guess who was in the lead? Jude Law! So we waited after the show was over and I got his autograph.

Later in the week we went to Madame Tussaud's and got photos with just about everyone else. Here I am with George Clooney:

And Hitler:

If you didn't know, Madame Tussaud's is a wax museum. Another boy on the trip and I got these passes to go to most of the attractions in London, and by that I mean like the big tourist trap places. We went to the wax museum, rode the London Eye, went to the London Dungeons and the SeaLife Aquarium. The Aquarium was my favorite I think, though they were all worth it. We also stopped into the this place called the Movieum - like movie museum - which was cool because they had original props from movies like Harry Potter and Star Wars as well as original sketches and animations from Disney movies and cartoons and the Simpsons. I could go on and on, but I was just so pround of myself getting Jude Law's autograph that I had to share and then I thought I'd go with a themed post. Missing you all!