Valentine's Day

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Valentines Day:

North Berwick:

This weekend was Valentine's Day. Braden and I decided to go to a small fishing town further on the coast. We took a bus an hour up the coast to North Berwick. We immediately ate lunch at a cute Italian place. Then we walked towards the ocean. It was low tide so Braden didn’t like the smell. I however liked touching the ocean.





Then we walked towards the bird sanctuary. Apparently, you can see puffins that migrate here on a beach. I think when Allison is visiting we are going to see some puffins because she loves them. Then we walked up towards a mountain. It is a dormant volcano with some neolithic settlements on it. As we started the hike there were signs that there were wild horses on the mountain. I told Braden we were going to have find the horses no matter what. As soon as we came up on a ridge, we saw the horses and they were so beautiful and I almost cried.



After we found the horses and watched them for 30 minutes, Braden eventually dragged me further up the mountain. We saw the settlements and the peak marking which was a replica whale bone. Then we tried to walk down to some WWII armermants. Braden turned to help me down and as I jumped down he fell. I laughed so hard even though he was covered in mud.



Karma almost immediately got me back and I fell maybe 10 minutes later. I was wearing two layers of pants so it was fine, just a little uncomfy. We laughed a lot about it and luckily we were going straight home. Here are some funny pictures.



We saw more horses on the way down and it was overall a great day. We came back just in time for dinner and to pack for our next trip.

Isle of Skye:

Saturday and Sunday Braden and I went on an University organized trip to the Isle of Skye. I had heard that this was the number one place to go in Scotland. After visiting I have to agree! We woke up early on Saturday and just before we got on the bus I took some motion sickness medicine. Sadly, it was super drowsy so I started taking a nap and woke up just for our breaks off the bus. I was super grumpy and I was trying to stay up because it was so beautiful. We drove through Glen Coe and once again we were in the middle of another winter storm.











The mountains were snow capped and beautiful. Because of all of the rain there are a bunch of new waterfalls every time it rains. We were so lucky with our timing. Almost every time we jumped out it stopped raining, and when it was raining we were driving through the boring parts. Last weekend we had skipped most of the stops on the way to Loch Ness, and this trip we visited them.



The closer we got to Skye, the snowier it got. It had flurried a couple times in Edinburgh but this was the first time we really touched snow on the ground. Just before we reached the island we passed Eilean Donan Castle. It is the sight of a couple movies and is on an island all on its own. It is one of the most striking castles in Scotland. However, it is privately owned so you cannot go inside. I would recommend looking up a picture because my photography skills are not perfect and we were far away.



It took us the whole day to drive to the Isle of Skye and we arrived just as the sun was setting. Our big group of 50 people split up into two hostels. It was the off season so the hostel was closed and it was just us and 8 other boys in the entire building. We grabbed dinner, made a friend who was sitting alone, and then got some treats from the local grocery store. I was so tired that I fell asleep immediately after violating the ‘no food in rooms’ rule.

The next morning we woke up early and ate some of the breakfast left for us. We got on the bus and started our day. The first thing we did was stop on the side of the road to see some Highland Coos. They are beautiful, fluffy cows who represent the highlands.



It was absolutely beautiful, even at our first, accidental stop. That would not change and I would absolutely recommend a visit to this island. I had heard that this was a place you absolutely had to visit if you had the time. That is 100%!c(MISSING)orrect.






Next we pulled off at a scenic spot with a famed river. There was a legend that the princess of a Scottish tribe was horribly disfigured and rejected by her fiance. She was told to dip her face in the river and became the most beautiful woman in the world. Our guide invited us to put our faces in the freezing cold water. A few people did, but it would have ruined my makeup and Braden had no excuse but didn’t do it anyway.



Next we stopped by the Storr, which is a famous rock formation. This was a bit of an experience because it was about a 15 minute hike up, and it was kinda strenuous. The kicker was that our great weather ended quickly. It rained slightly and then it began to hail. Really hard. They were maybe quarter sized hail coming completely horizontal. We turned away from the hail, into the mountain, and had to stop walking. A group of us huddled together and any exposed skin, mostly my hands, stung from the hail. We slowly made our way up and the hail stopped and started. I slipped a couple of times, especially on the way down, but I never fell. We laughed hysterically the whole time. The wind was strong but it made for funny pictures. My favorite part was sun on the grass around the mountain. It would turn red and purple in the light.








We walked by some cliffs and a waterfall. Braden let me wear a terrible hat and the pictures were ruined, but I hope you get laughs.



For lunch we stopped in one of the two towns, ate some delicious fish and chips, and headed back home.





The pictures from this weekend cannot due Skye justice. It was one of my favorite places to visit and was full of natural beauty. This long weekend was also a nice reset. I learned my lesson about drowsy motion sickness medicine and caught up on my sleep. We were also living in a city and visiting almost exclusively huge cities. It was refreshing to be outside a city and actually not walk everywhere. Braden and I also spent the weekend by ourselves, which was nice, as we left for ski week with our friends the next day.

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