I met the 23rd ranked pool player in Scotland, and his name was Douglas.

Okay, so these are some pictures from Edinburgh! The tall building is a monument of some kind; I'm embarrassed to say I don't know of what. But it was so pretty I wanted a lot of pictures of it! The picture with Miranda standing between two guards is a picture for Dad- it reminds me of Fellowship, on the River. If you don't know what scene I'm talking about, you're obviously not a LOTR fan. This was right outside Edinburgh Castle. The scene from the cannon is from inside Edinburgh Castle, this huge place. Scotland's Honours (the Royal Crown, Sceptre, etc) were hidden here, and it's been occupied for a verrryyy long time, like cavemen & druids, etc. Except no Druids, but Vikings. This last picture was outside the Writer's Museum- dedicated to Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott. There were about 25 squares in the sidewalks with famous quotations by Scottish people. This one was my favorite.

The claim about the Douglas, I cannot verify 100%. We met him outside a fish & chips place at night, and began talking. He was about 65 years old and spends 850 quid on on pool cue. But if someone were to lie about their ranking, I doubt they would choose that number, and for that reason, I believe Douglas.

We went to Whitby & Scarborough last Thursday and I sat on the bench that inspired Dracula! Pictures to come soon, hopefully. Okay, it wasn't the actual bench, but it was the view that Bram Stoker saw as he imagined his book. Very exciting, and I thank the girls for letting me drag them all around Whitby on my search. This weekend, a couple of other Americans and I went to Edinburgh for a few days. We saw a bunch of castles, haggis, and other things very Scottish. I felt almost cliche walking around seeing as many kilts as I did, it was very cool though! Tomorrow classes start (finally) so I hope to get on a more regular schedule. Cheers!

A really cute church in Manchester, my room at school, and York Minster (the picture does it no justice at all) More pictures to come, believe you me- there are many more

So, I'm here! It's much more of a hassle accessing the blog than I thought it'd be, as there's no internet in my room (bummer). However, I can't complain about much. The trip over was fine, and Cassie and I got to get over jet lag while walking around Eccles & Manchester for a few days before getting to school. York is my new favorite city, and I finally got a chance to explore by myself today. I went into the Minster- the 2nd largest Gothic cathedral in England. First of all- I love cathedrals, and this one really took my breath away. Tomorrow we'll be taking a day trip to Whitby & Scarborough, two seaside towns; it should be fun. I'm off to take a nap... my hectic lifestyle is taking its toll!