SO.... my dear blog readers (all 2-3 of you?) I admit (as you have most likely noticed) that I have been slacking on my blog lately. For 5 straight weeks I attempted a blog every day and made up for when I didn't. Well, now 2 months later I have decided to catch up on my blogging so I can begin to recount the most recent adventures of my life.
Want to know what inspired me? A t-shirt. Yes that's right. I went on a spending spree to calm my nerves (but that is another blog) last Thursday and I spotted the most lovely t-shirt. Now normally, I would never buy a shirt like this one but it called to me. Plus, it was a lovely color.
Yes this is the shirt that inspired me. Now just imagine me sitting here in Institute listening to the hum of a drinking fountain and a teacher "blah blah blah"ing while I am wearing this darling shirt and updating my blog so that I do not advertise falsehoods.
But onto the actual point of this blog- my last trip in SCOTLAND. (And I must say the best part)
Well, I decided that the last weekend I was abroad I wanted to pay for a separate tour group and visit the Isle of Skye. If you are ever in Scotland, don't leave without seeing Skye. It is absolutely beautiful and the experience of a lifetime.
I started out the day by hopping on this bus right next door to St. Giles' Cathedral. I think there were about 18 or so of us on the tour and I must say that we got along magnificently.
Our first stop was Stirling Castle which I had visited the previous morning but luckily we only stopped for about 10 minutes and were then on our way again.
Our next stop was I believe Glen Coe. Many Scots have a deep love for Glen Coe and I have discovered that I too am very fond of it. If you don't know the story of Glen Coe, look it up. It creates the haunting feeling of Glen Coe and can be most quickly relayed to you in the song Glen Coe.
Glen Coe is just..... hauntingly beautiful
Another one of our stops along the road was to get a picture with Ben Nevis- the highest mountain in Scotland.
I have no idea where this is but I loved it.
Scotland was my favorite place to visit. Not much that I have seen before can beat the Highlands in beauty.
Another somewhere.
Our last stop of the first day of the trip was the Eilean Donan castle. (pronounced alien doh nan) This castle is very popular for films and was in the movie Made of Honor (no I did not spell "Made" wrong) along with several other movies. If you have seen that movie- repent. If you haven't- don't see it.
Usually there is water under the bridge but the tide was out when we were there.
We reached Skye the first night of our trip and I stayed at a B&B called Saucy Mary's which is right on the edge of Skye. History of the name-- ships used to said through the gap between Skye and Scotland (Skye is an island in case you have not realized that) and that was basically the only income that the people on Skye got from the outside world so for an added fee the wife of the man collecting ship fees would lift up her shirt and flash the crew. Hence Saucy Mary. How quaint.
This is the area that we stayed in for the night. You can see the bridge into Skye outlined by the sky.
We were visiting the harbor right across the street from Saucy Mary's and we found jellyfish in the water
After visiting the harbor we decided to hike over to the castle ruins behind me in the distance. We never figured out what the place was because the sign was all scratched up and ruined.
A view of the edge of Skye from the castle ruins
I just love the silhouette of the cross against the sunset.
Do you think they have enough lawn decor?
Bridge into Skye.
The next day Paul (our awesome bus driver) asked us if we wanted to get some pictures of a waterfall. Everyone said yes so we pulled over. Well it turns out that we were supposed to just take a picture and get back in. Well we went exploring for at least half and hour. Paul told us we were like little kids. He was really laid back though so the trip was enjoyable and we got to stop and lots of awesome places along the road.
See the huts? Yeah that is a museum that was closed for the day. I was so happy. I got so tired of museums
The second night we stayed right next to Loch Ness. We had dinner at the main building where we were staying. It was delicious. I had this chicken noodle stuff that had some weird name that I have never heard of but apparently it is a common thing in Europe.
The next morning we went Nessie hunting out on Loch Ness and this picture has Urquart Castle in the background
This is a place similar to Stonehenge that is not recognized for it's importance. It is about as old as Stonehenge and they are still trying to figure out the meaning of all of it. This place was not a location that we were planning on going to. We were going to go to Culloden battlefield but it was closed for a couple hours for "security" problems. We found out later that the Queen was visiting. Sheesh she was everywhere just following me around.
Here ya go-
This is Paul my amazing bus driver. 
I appreciated these flowers. After taking tons of landscape pictures it was nice to add a little flair.
Glen Coe is just..... hauntingly beautiful
Another one of our stops along the road was to get a picture with Ben Nevis- the highest mountain in Scotland.
I have no idea where this is but I loved it. 
Scotland was my favorite place to visit. Not much that I have seen before can beat the Highlands in beauty.
Another somewhere.
Our last stop of the first day of the trip was the Eilean Donan castle. (pronounced alien doh nan) This castle is very popular for films and was in the movie Made of Honor (no I did not spell "Made" wrong) along with several other movies. If you have seen that movie- repent. If you haven't- don't see it. 
Usually there is water under the bridge but the tide was out when we were there.
We reached Skye the first night of our trip and I stayed at a B&B called Saucy Mary's which is right on the edge of Skye. History of the name-- ships used to said through the gap between Skye and Scotland (Skye is an island in case you have not realized that) and that was basically the only income that the people on Skye got from the outside world so for an added fee the wife of the man collecting ship fees would lift up her shirt and flash the crew. Hence Saucy Mary. How quaint. 
This is the area that we stayed in for the night. You can see the bridge into Skye outlined by the sky.
This is our attempt at a group picture. We sat the camera on a car and obviously the car was not level with the ground. I do like the arrow on the rode though with the tilted picture. It gives it some personality. Anyways these are the people I hung out with on the 3-day trip. In the back row is Brandon, Shekhar, me, and Goutham. In the front are Danielle and Ines. (left to right.) Shekhar and Goutham were in London to go to school and are from India. Brandon and Danielle are from New Mexico. Ines was going to school in Leeds and went on this trip before she went home to Germany.
We were visiting the harbor right across the street from Saucy Mary's and we found jellyfish in the water
After visiting the harbor we decided to hike over to the castle ruins behind me in the distance. We never figured out what the place was because the sign was all scratched up and ruined.
A view of the edge of Skye from the castle ruins
I just love the silhouette of the cross against the sunset.
Do you think they have enough lawn decor? 
Bridge into Skye.
This picture was taken at exactly midnight. It doesn't get dark in Skye in the summer. It is awesome.
The next day Paul (our awesome bus driver) asked us if we wanted to get some pictures of a waterfall. Everyone said yes so we pulled over. Well it turns out that we were supposed to just take a picture and get back in. Well we went exploring for at least half and hour. Paul told us we were like little kids. He was really laid back though so the trip was enjoyable and we got to stop and lots of awesome places along the road.
See this cute picture? I look happy...................... well that was only a temporary smile on my face. When I left my lovely seat among all of those nettles I began to hurt. A lot. You see, I did not realize that when I got up I pressed my hand against a lovely nettle plant. I don't think I will miss that again.
See the hives on my hand??????!! That was only after they started going away. Imagine that times 3
This was one of the most beautiful places I went to. It is known as Kilt Rock. Between the waterfall and steep cliffs, tropical blue water, and lush green land, I was completely won over.
The cliffs next to Kilt Rock
We drove to the top of this hill/mountain which tours don't usually do but since it was abnormally clear outside we decided to go for it. BTW, Isle of Skye means Island of Mist so it is supposed to always be raining and foggy. But not for my trip. Blue skies all the way. But since when is that different from the ENTIRE study abroad trip? Not that I'm really complaining... :)
Shekhar, me, Ines, and Goutham.
See the hives on my hand??????!! That was only after they started going away. Imagine that times 3
This was one of the most beautiful places I went to. It is known as Kilt Rock. Between the waterfall and steep cliffs, tropical blue water, and lush green land, I was completely won over. 
The cliffs next to Kilt Rock
We drove to the top of this hill/mountain which tours don't usually do but since it was abnormally clear outside we decided to go for it. BTW, Isle of Skye means Island of Mist so it is supposed to always be raining and foggy. But not for my trip. Blue skies all the way. But since when is that different from the ENTIRE study abroad trip? Not that I'm really complaining... :)
Shekhar, me, Ines, and Goutham. 
See the huts? Yeah that is a museum that was closed for the day. I was so happy. I got so tired of museums
The second night we stayed right next to Loch Ness. We had dinner at the main building where we were staying. It was delicious. I had this chicken noodle stuff that had some weird name that I have never heard of but apparently it is a common thing in Europe.
The next morning we went Nessie hunting out on Loch Ness and this picture has Urquart Castle in the background
Me, Ines, and Goutham on the boat out on Loch Ness
My group. SO.... I just counted and there are 19 tourists and 1 bus driver. I guess I was pretty close with the 18.
This is a place similar to Stonehenge that is not recognized for it's importance. It is about as old as Stonehenge and they are still trying to figure out the meaning of all of it. This place was not a location that we were planning on going to. We were going to go to Culloden battlefield but it was closed for a couple hours for "security" problems. We found out later that the Queen was visiting. Sheesh she was everywhere just following me around.
The last stop before we got home was on a bridge overlooking River Garry. Beautiful view.
Here ya go-
See..... people actually recycle some places in the world. The U.S. makes me want to cry for their poor recycling habits. Every time I get a plastic bag with my one item purchase at Walmart I want to slap the cashier's hand for wasting bags.
This is Paul my amazing bus driver. 
Then I went back to my dorm. The End.
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