My alarm went off at 5:45am, I growled, turned it off, and forced myself to get up. I packed my things up in the dark and snuck out into a completely deserted Belfast. I walked to Victoria Station in Belfast only to find uot I needed to be at Central Station, 15 minutes walk. It was 6:30am and my train was 6:50am. I nearly ran and made it by 6:40am. This is when I'm thankful I'm only lugging around a 22lb backpack. Which is probably about 30 lbs now. I got to Dublin on a train that was so packed with [View Full Entry]

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Today I was spontaneous. I decided that Belfast wasn't my favorite city and I wanted to go see Giant's CAuseway. There was a flyer for a Paddy wagon tour to Giant's Causeway, the Carrick-a-ride Rope Bridge and Derry. It was only £18, which is awesome because the bus to Derry would have been £15. I paid at the reception desk a the hostel. I got the very last empty seat on the tour. I went to the kitchen for free breakfast. I got a coffee, some toast and jelly along with a oats and grains biscuit. Wasn't the best breakfast, but [View Full Entry]

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Luckily, I could sleep a bit this morning because my first train wasn't until 9:33 am. I got up at 8:30, took a quick shower and was on my way. Walking to the train station I ran into someone I knew! What are the odds?!? Especially since at 9 am this city is still asleep. It was Basel, who we'd last left in Perth. I stopped for a second to say hi and meet his friend Wendy and was on my way. The train ride to Glasgow was a strange one. There were a lot of older, louder people on it [View Full Entry]

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Today I slept in until 10, took a shower and met up with Dave to find an internet cafe. We did, I wrote out a blog, printed a voucher and sat writing in my journal. Dave and I then walked around the city, in the parks. We stopped and watched a pick up soccer game. It was a beautiful day and I was enjoying the laid back sort of day. Eventually Dave and I went our separate ways because he was meeting a friend he made on the airplane. I was enjoying my laid back sort of day and decided to [View Full Entry]

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:( Our final day of the Wild in Scotland tour. We piled into the bus and began on our way. We fist stopped at a random shore line. We saw mussel nets and a still gorgeous view of the highlands of Scotland. From there we went to Culloden battlefield. The very last battle on the Scottish soil. It was between the Jacobite Army and Bonnie Prince Charlie verses the British Government. Like most Scottish stories, this was very gory. Obviously, since Scotland's still pledged loyalty to England, the Jacobite Army lost. It was a slaughter fest. The British army of 10,000 [View Full Entry]

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We slept in until 10 this morning. We were to leave at 10, but Kyle and I both slept in, oops. We headed out nevertheless after playing a bit of soccer to wake ourselves up. We headed to Ferry Glen. It is the most adorable place. Magical. Everything is miniature. The hills, the trees,, the waterfall, caves, etc. There is a lot of legends revolving around this area. Neil told us about the little trolls that live in the area before we got off the van. To make sure we didn't offend these creatures we were to make sure we didn't [View Full Entry]

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Today we need to catch a ferry from the mainland to isle of Skye so we got up around 8, quickly ate breakfast and were on our way. We went through the Cullin mountains and stopped at the Cullin river. Rocks and mini waterfalls with huge green mountains in the distance. Seriously, I love Scotland. They really know what's important in life - the natural beauty of outdoors and having a good time. It's a very laid back, rough and ready kind of culture. If that makes sense. At Cullin River Neil told us about Scottish legends involving giants. It was [View Full Entry]

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This morning I woke up at 7:30am. Pretty good considering I had everything packed and ready. I checked out and walked down the Royal Mile to the Wild in Scotland office. There was a bunch of people sitting outside with luggage. I joined them and grabbed a cup of fruit, crossant and coffee from the cafe next door. By the time I returned, everyone was paying their kitty and slitting up into our 2 tour groups. 12 of us boarded a bus for the 4 day tour. Wild in Scotland wrote that I owed 21 pounds when my confirmation said 81 [View Full Entry]

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I woke up around 9 am, without my alarm. I showered, changed and wandered down High Street. Bagpipers, kilt shops, ladies spinning thread on the streets, I love Scotland. I stopped in a cafe for a cup of coffee, but was short 20 pence, the man sold me the coffee anyways as a kind gester. (I came back to give him the 20 pence once I used the ATM maching at the Royal Museum of Scotland.) Which is where I headed to next. The Museum is free, yes! Half of it is under construction, but it's still massive. I wandered gazing [View Full Entry]

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This morning I woe up around 9:30 a, took a shower and had a bowl of Pecan and Maple nut cereal. It was delicious and I couldn't help but think how much my mom would love it. I sat with Lucy talking about country music and American Idol. She had never heard of Kenny Chesney and I was talking about the concert I'm going to as soon as I return to the states. I had her listen on my iPod and I think she's hooked. She loves Britians Got Talent and I watched an episode with her and Uncle Michael the [View Full Entry]

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