Fun Scotland Fact of the Semester....

The national animal of Scotland is the Unicorn. Yes, the Unicorn.

I learned this fun fact Tuesday around noon while Minna, Christina and I were celebrating the fact that I finished my physics exam with some lunchtime cocktails. I found this very interesting and I guess it explains the Unicorn statue we saw in Inverness and the small Unicorn statue in the city center of Dundee.

I also learned that the national animal of Wales is the Dragon and that of England is the Lion. I think Scotland is the winner of the most awesome national animal contest.

Anyway, as I mentioned, I am now finished with my physics here in Scotland! This means that I am 2/3 of the way done with my exams...only history left this coming Friday! I cannot believe where the time has gone. Already, it has been two weeks since I was in Barcelona! (Don't worry, I will devote an entire post to the adventures of España....)

Time is winding down. I just began to realize that in a week from Tuesday I will be accompanying Esther on the train to Liverpool where I will spend a few days and say goodbye to my dear friend. I will also be reunited with my brother, as he is coming to visit me and see Scotland for almost two weeks before we head back to the States together.

Even though my time is running out, Lauren, Esther and I are packing this last week full of typical HEL adventures. Friday, we watched THE wedding with Minna and Greg. It was beautiful (at least from what we saw on TV) and it will be cool to look back and say that I was in Scotland when I watched it on television. After the wedding was over, well, after they kissed and we stopped watching, Lauren and I satisfied our craving for pizza and then we went on an afternoon hike up the Law Hill. It was fun remembering the route that Esther showed me so that I could show Lauren. That evening, I made pancakes for Esther and Lauren. Pancakes are one thing I do not mind cooking here.

Speaking of cooking, I am tired of it. I cannot wait for the two weeks I am at home and I will not have to think of what I want for dinner. My dad will whip up some delicious meal and I will simply enjoy it! I will take full advantage of being back in my own kitchen and make some of my famous cupcakes, and probably some other baked goods. I just really don't like cooking...or maybe just cooking in Scotland with odd utensils and ingredients...

Anyway...

Yesterday (Saturday) Esther, Lauren, and I met up and went on an adventure to Broughty Ferry Castle. This is the castle that is just outside of Dundee in the small town of Broughty Ferry. Esther told us she knew how to get there by foot, so since it was a gorgeous day, we were up for the walk. After an hour and half of walking, we finally made it! We were met by a herd of swans. (Yes, it is called a herd, I looked it up).

Fun Scotland Fact #2: All of the swans in the UK are "owned" by the Queen, so they cannot be harmed.

Herd of Swans...they were everywhere.

We then made our way to the castle and toured its grounds and went inside where there is a cool museum. I think Tucker will really like going here...although we will take the bus because it turns out that it is a 5 mile walk to get there! No wonder it took us an hour and a half! Needless to say we took the bus back into Dundee.

View across the Tay of the lovely Scottish countryside. I will miss these lovely hills.

Broughty Ferry Castle!!!
Soaking up some solar rays.
To give you a sense of how far we walked...of the right side of this photo, those tall buildings are Dundee.
We LOVE castles!
Yesterday evening we had our weekly "Heart-Warming Family Potluck." It was fun being back in the routine of doing so. Since it was such a lovely day, we had a picnic in the park. I made plum crumb bars (they were plum because the grocery store didn't have peaches...boo!) They were very yummy and I can't wait to try them again with different types of fruit!

This morning the three of us went to church at a nearby church. It was rather nice and there was even a baptism. It is always a little odd being to a service you aren't used to, but some of the nice church ladies chatted with us and made us feel welcome.

I just got back from going to the McManus Museum with Lauren. It was really fun to see all kinds of history of Dundee. The upstairs is all kinds of art by Scottish artists. It was well worth the cost of admission...(haha it was free!).

Tomorrow we head off on a day trip to Loch Lomond. We are taking the bus to Glasgow and then a short train ride to the loch. It is supposed to be very beautiful so I am sure I will have lots of great pictures to share!


This lovely picture was taken at the grocery store. It is an advert for Irn Bru which is a Scottish pop that is orange and tastes like bubblegum.

Stay tuned for the next post when I finally talk about Barcelona...

Cheers!