Random Events In Scotland

---

Before getting to Scotland I stayed a couple nights in Amsterdam, and I must say that is party central. Awesome city! I joined a couple pub crawls and did a little window shopping in the red light district, just browsing though.

Upon arriving in Scotland my buddy Adam was waiting for me at the airport, he picked me up and we headed back to his place where I was to stay. He didn't really have any plans laid out for my visit, but some how we managed to fill each day with many random events. The first night we went out wakeboarding, this was sweet, as I have never tried to wakeboard before but did manage to get up on my first try. Afterwards we had a BBQ.

The next day we drove some beautiful classical cars for a wedding, visited the Dunnottar Castle which William Wallace had burnt down, went fishing for a few hours and then headed into Aberdeen with Adam's buddies for a huge night out. The buildings in Aberdeen are all made of granite and it makes the entire city look grey, absolutely ace*!

Not getting home from the night out until 5am we slept for the most part of the day and watched a movie. Once we recuperated, we ate some stir fry Adam prepared and headed back into the city for a second night of partying.

Not as hungover the next day, we jumped in the car for a 2 hour cruise down to Edinbourgh (the capital) to check out the fringe circus there and for a night out in a different city. Endinbourgh is just as cool as Aberdeen, all the buildings are made from slate stone, I believe, which makes the whole city have a brownish look. The best part is the huge mental* Edinbourgh castle in the middle, up on a hill, which looks down at the surrounding city. In the evening we met up with Erin at a jazz club, a friend I met on my Safari in Africa (from Toronto but studying in Edinbourgh). Afterwards we hit the clubs, which didn't close until just after 5am, at which point I was somehow lured into a pub that opened at 6am where I sat and drank more until about 9am when we finally headed home. Having to checkout at 10am from our hostel and not actually having any sleep at it , we climbed a small mountain that overlooked Edinbourgh and took a nap. We then headed to the train station, I said farewell to Adam and caught a train in to London.

London is pretty cool, very big but not as clean as many of the other cities I have visited. The cleanest being Sydney by far. I arrived just before midnight and being totally nakered* from not having much sleep the last few days, checked into a hostel and went straight to bed. In the morning I just walked around eating at random cafes and checking out the sites. Buckingham Palace is very boring, after seeing some amazing castles throughout Scotland, this palace appears extremely flat and dull. The gaurds are cool though and always maintain that straight face look. I also took a ride up some huge space age ferris wheel ride that went high into the sky over london where I took a few shots of Big Ben, the clock tower.

In the evening I met up with Scott, my mate I met in Perth, Australia who is class* and we went out to a couple of pubs and had a few pints of beers. The next morning I headed to Gatwick airport for my flight in the morning home to Vancouver, Canada via a transfer in Houston, Texas.

*Many of you may not know some of the "english" slang words I used in this story (and picture captions), so here is a summary of the words marked with an asterisk(*):
ace - awesome
class - very cool
mental - f'ing awesome!
nakered - very tired
tea - snack/lunch/dinner
boot - trunk

---

Photos

The Saints
Myself and Adam, with an aura of light from the heavens behind us.

Canal Central
One of the hundreds of canals along the streets through Amsterdam.

Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar castle, perched atop a rocky outcrop in Stonehaven, hid the Scottish Crown Jewels during the Scottish Wars of Independence (late 13th and early 14th centuries). In 1296 King Edward I of England took the castle only for William Wallace to reclaim it in 1297, burning down the church in the process with the entire English garrison still in it. Later, in 1650, Oliver Cromwell sacked the castle to find the Crown Jewels following an eight month siege. However, just before the castle fell, the Crown Jewels were smuggled out by some ladies who took them by boat to a small church just down the coast in the village of Kinneff, where they remained undetected for eleven years.

London Gaurd
A gaurd protecting Buckingham Palace.

Up and Away!
Adam takes a hit off a wave while wakeboarding.

Classic Cars
A couple of the 40 or so classic cars Adam's grandpa owns.

Tea Time
Adam and myself eat his grandpa's tea* he had left in the boot*. The chair and table fold down for eating in the backseat, very cool.

Kitty
Adam's cat, not very cute and very anti-social.

Scotland Hills
A scenic countryside shot of Scotland near Aberdeen.

Dunnottar Castle Courtyard
The courtyard inside Dunnottar Castle.

Aberdeen
One of the many beautiful granite structures throughout downtown Aberdeen.

Here Boy!
Adam's new puppy, Jack.

King of the Castle
The Edinbourgh castle on top of the hill overlooking the city.

Beers with Scott
On my last night in London before heading to Vancouver, me and Scott hook up for a few pints in a few London pubs.

Buckingham Palace
The very boring Buckingham Palace.

Big Ben
The famous Big Ben clock tower.

Classic Phone Booth
I don't think you can watch a London based movie that doesn't contain one of these in it at some point.