Three Students. Four Mary's. And Some Rain


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October 5th 2008
Published: October 5th 2008
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To Linlithgow We Went


Marina and Nessa on the trainMarina and Nessa on the trainMarina and Nessa on the train

More comfortable trains meant merely for commuting are to be found nowhere else in the world. Especially not in Russia, as Marina has assured us.
Hello everyone,
So this Saturday brought Vanessa and I, along with our friend Marina, to the ancient sight of Linlithgow Palace which is about a 20 minute train ride from Edinburgh Waverley. The day may have been rainy and about as windy as Kansas City right before a tornado, but what's a real Scottish experience without the sting of freezing rain. So we left for the small town of Linlithgow at about ten in the morning and upon arrival made our way up to the ancient palace which was originally built as a half way stop between the palace at Stirling and the royal courts at Edinburgh Castle. It also happens to have been the birth place of Mary Queen of Scots. However with the Union of the Crowns in 1603 James I & VI moved everybody who was anybody down to London and the palace was left to ruin - catching fire about a century later. It now has no roof and one of the wings has collapsed entirely, but it's still a gorgeous structure. Don't you all love how we hook you up with great pictures and make sure you get your daily dose of historical trivia?
St. Michael'sSt. Michael'sSt. Michael's

Linlithgow Phrase: "The St. Michael is kind to strengers."
We then proceeded to take the hour long walk around the loch out behind the palace (one of only two natural lochs in the Lowland Lothian area) and saw every type of Scottish waterfowl imaginable and watched the newbie sailors on the loch get battered by the ridiculously high winds. All in all it was a rather humorous trek through the mud. Then thoroughly drenched we made our way to The Four Mary's pub and had the first real meal (as in one that represents all of the food groups) since we left our homestay with Maggie and John in Glasgow. Steak and ale pie for me and Ness, Liver and tatties (potatoes) for Marina - two chilled pints of Strongbow and one perfectly foaming Guinness later we were not only finally dry, but had just realized that we had all eaten a meal that did not contain one speck of cheese (quite a feat for Uni students out here).
Next stop was the plethora of charity shops on the Linlithgow high street, for those of you who don't know a charity shop is like a cross between a Salvation Army and a thrift store where everything purchased from
Triskele TowerTriskele TowerTriskele Tower

May not be able to see it all that well but my tattoo is carved into the side of that tower.
the store (almost all of it is donated things) goes to a cause - there's the Cancer Research Foundation, the British Heart Association, Red Cross, Shelter, PDSA for the fluffy animals and many many more. They have great cheap sweaters and coats and such. Marina landed herself an awesome pair of long turquoise gloves and Nessa found a skirt that makes her look like an angry headmistress who's about to beat you with a ruler.
Then we all got back had possibly the dozenth cup of tea for the day, made awesome beef stew and went on a stroll down the Royal Mile before returning for more tea and the Cowgate that never sleeps. Which means that we don't sleep either -ever.
Here's some pictures from our little excursion and more will be forthcoming almost immediately as we inform of our newest malady "Edinburgh Fever."

From the land of wind, rain and wee birdies
-Kaitlyn


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Fishermen on the LochFishermen on the Loch
Fishermen on the Loch

All of them quite inebritated I might add, but then again it was fairly frigid so who can really blame them?
Linlithgow RosesLinlithgow Roses
Linlithgow Roses

Some of you may not believe it, but Scotland is absolutely full of roses of every color at this time of year.


6th October 2008

Pictures
Love The Pictures. I Can See It's A Whole Other World Over There. Glad To See You're Okay Over There.

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