Holy Cow...I am in Scotland!!!!!!!

 

Can I just say I am so glad bars have free wifi! It makes it so much easier to keep track of everyone and just let them know how much fun I am having! I am still so blessed to have been given the opportunity to be here and I am loving every moment.

So, today we have left York and we are heading ever closer to Scotland. Our first stop was Fountain Abbey. This ruin of an abbey is HUGE and still very beautiful! I always stand in awe of the fallen grandeur. It is about three times the size of Tintern Abbey which I visited on the west trip. However, both of these abbeys housed the same group of Monks! That is pretty cool. There was a little museum that talked about the abbey and had a reconstruction of what it would look like if the roof was still on. It also had COSTUMES! So, I got to be a monk for about 5 minutes and it was awesome! I love when places allow me to dress in the fashion of the times. 

Maddy and I as Monks!

Fountain Abbey

We then headed out to Hadrians Wall…where we all acted like 5 year olds! So Hadrians wall is a really long wall. We started at a ruined Roman fort and climbed all over the thing. At first we climbed because we had to, a few of us were trying to get to the fort to realize that there wasn’t a gap in the wall any where close by. So we climbed over the wall to get in.Then we were climbing all over it because we could. People were showing off their gymnastic skills, Paul showed off his amazing capability to balance and leap from rock to rock. I just climbed to view the layout of the fort. I honestly did not learn a single thing but I loved every moment we were on that fort! Then we took one of our first group photos!!!! Almost everyone from the study abroad is in the photo. Frank and his wife Stacey (wonderful people who I love dearly!) have been taking kissing photos all over the UK. So we decided to give them some love as we stood on the wall of the granary. Michael bought an American flag shortly after the Olympics started so in case we forgot what country its from we added it to the picture!

Almost all of us as we cheer on the Christiansons! They are some of my favorite people!

After this lovely photo we started a hike along the wall! It was super fun. I think I am getting better at this hiking thing. We were about 30 miles away from Scotland and we hiked about 3 miles I think. Parts of the hike were actually on top of Hadrians wall. I am still in awe of the beauty of the countryside. At one point we stopped to let people catch up because we weren't sure which direction we should go. Wade said to follow the wall...so we did. It took us about 200 feet to realize we were on the wrong side of the wall and in some poor sheep herders field. Instead of going back we managed to climb under the barbed wire and over the stone fence. It was a little tricky but we got it! A little later I was falling behind the front runners. We made it to a rather flat part so I decided to run and catch up. Then they started running. I did eventually catch up and Kim told me my run was dainty. We finished the hike and then headed toward Scotland!

The last of the Celtic nations that I needed to visit!!!

We made it! We are staying in a super nice hostel (I didn't know there was such a thing). We have our own bathroom and shower! HURRAY!!! Then we went on a tour of the city given by Brian who is a PHD student here and has worked with Frank. So we saw the castle and the royal mile. Then he took us to the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter! THEN, he showed us the real grave of Tom Riddle AND the school that inspired Hogwarts! It was a great tour! I am excited to be in Scotland!