the search for nessie.

now that i had been over quite a bit of england i was super excited about getting to see a new country! still part of the uk, but something very new. the minute i told anyone i was going to scotland they always asked about the lochness monster. it was so funny! so thursday morning we headed to our earliest train that we darn near missed because we left a bit too late from st. johns. most of us were not awake on the train ride up, the travel was really startin to get to us.

the view from the train.
when nate yelled at me to wake up lol.

about 2 hours later we arrived in edinburgh to a completely new scenery! it was so gothic and dark and daring, very cool. we split 2 smaller groups again because 13 people are wayyy too many to try and wrangle together. we started off heading up the street to the castle where the queen stays when she comes stay in scotland. i couldnt get over how different it all looked from england and that there werent nearly the amount of people as the last few days. it was actually quite nice and allowed us to slow down a bit.

 once we made it to the top of the hill we decided it was time for lunch! i was hungry already (surprise, surprise) but we couldnt decide where to go. i was all in for the rave reviews we heard about jacket potatoes, i was dying for some carbs in my life, but the place didnt have seating so we would have had to sit outside and it wasnt the warmest day ever. we ended up at an "american" place that had quite the variety on the menu, for sure an american thing, but it still tasted uk-ish haha. i was so hungry though it didnt even matter!

i did see this very stylish hat on the way:)

afterward we headed to the top of the street to see edinburgh castle which was gorgeous and had a fantastic view of the whole city! the castles there were much bigger and taller than the ones in england, so interesting. also at the top of the hill was the scarf factory where they invented plaid!! I was so super excited because I seriously love plaid if you didn't know. it was really cool because all the different patterns and colors stood for different clans that each family hailed from, I never knew that! you could even have your own kilt made there:)

the view from the castle.

seriously huge!

soo cool. i heart plaid!

not far down the road and around the corner was another harry potter place i had to see. the elephant house, as in where jk rowling went to write the original harry potter books!!! she's even rumored to have a flat or home near there. we vintages shopped nearby for awhile to pass some time and so amanda could show us some of the places she went to while studying abroad. i realized while browsing that i am not a good vintage shopper lol. the things just don't look right one me haha.

nerd alert!

ahhh!

we headed back to princes street the big shopping street to browse for souvenirs and head back to the train station. i purchased my nessie stuffed animal and magnet for my parents, turns out we were much too far south to see her. after picking up some authentic shortbread and actually finding the shirt in richards size i had looked all over york for we needed to meet our group to return to durham. i could have seriously spent a few days there but we had to get back for the rehearsal!

he played so beautifully!

everyone was passed out asleep not long after the train left the station and it was a great 2 hourish nap back! we returned to st johns to drop our stuff and headed to the church. alyse and i finally realized why nate was always huffing and puffing while walking anywhere with us on the phone, cause holy crap the hills there are steep! once we reached the church we were glad for a break.

the church was beautiful and was actually celebrating its 900th anniversary this year! it was freezing inside but the pastor had us laughing and the whole wedding party buzzing while we were there. i sat back with alyses super nice husband brad and took loads of pictures of course, which turned out to be a good thing because we couldn't saturday!

once finished tearing up we were free for the evening and amanda and i headed back running into alyse and brad who i joined for a drink at the pub. the next day was pretty free and we could actually sleep in and and the nap had helped so we stayed out a little getting to know each other. it was so nice to sit down with such normal people my age and not have any cares other than we're going to have another drink or not. 1 was all we ended up drinking and then heading back to st johns to turn in. it was a great day :)

the small town of york.

ever the planner and tour guide, nate had lots of things planned for us throughout the week. now in the beginning it sounded like a great idea to see all these places, i just didn't realize how much we were cramming into 1 week lol. but if youre going to be in england, you must make the most of it!

world traverlers!

when i studied aboard in 2005 we spent most of our time in london which is where we lived anyway. so with the offer of new cities i was super excited to do some exploring and see what the rest of england looked like! york was our next stop and sooo much different than the big city we had been in. lots of little streets and sweet shops for us to see and check out!

we met alyse, her husband brad, her mom, and sister megan there, they had flown in after us so we could meet them there. now our group had grown to 13! we were quite the traveling pack haha. we made a spot in the middle of town though to meet a couple times throughout the day as we knew could never stay together. this made it soooo much easier to see anything we wanted on our own. the big group (and growing) was starting to get to me a little, i wont lie, so to be able to do what i wanted for the day was great. andrea, nick, and i gladly split off on our own.

my gingerbread chick!
i told you they were crazy about easter hehe :)

we started at the absolutely beautiful church in the center of town. after gathering a map from the tourist center we set off to do some exploring. the town was packed with people everywhere even on a fairly overcast and chilly day. we walked around enjoying the shops and the sights. it was nice to be in a smaller group and taking our time as we wanted.

the beautiful church in the middle of town.

shambles road.
all the buildings hang over the street!

for lunch we decided to show nick the difference in american food in the uk so we ate at pizza hut. i am telling you people it tastes sooo much better there! its thinner in a good way and the taste is more even, i know that sounds weird haha. afterwards the two of them decided to head to a coffee shop and do some reading so i went on a shopping mission. we hadnt really had time to do real shopping since we got there and i was excited to explore some fashion i could actually afford. (i mean as much as i love harrods, i couldnt afford an inch of something in that place haha!)

one of the store windows,
chick-fil-a anyone??

the group met back up at 3p to have a snack at bettys tea room and it was delicious! i was all set to have some ice cream, weird i know, till she wheeled over the dessert cart and i saw the chocolate cake. it was all over. and nates dad actually had some tea he didnt drink so we shared. i swear they just make it different over there. it is all soooo good!

lemongrass ginger, yum!

we disspersed again for a little while longer and i was definitely wearin. with my run that morning and day 3 of touristy things i was tired. amanda and i browsed some more shops and returned to the next meeting spot about a half hour early to score some free wifi. its a hot commodity haha! once everyone returned we attempted to find somewhere to eat. now for a group with 13 people that is quite a feat in england. they dont have huge restaurants like we do in the states. and everything closes very early. by the time we remet at 6p all the shops were closed and many of the restaurants were already serving a smaller menu, it was very weird to the americans haha!

dinnertime!

we settled on a pub that turned out to have delicious hamburgers and a hilarious waiter. he dealt with all our questions and changes so well. finally it was time to head back to the train and return to durham. we were all very ready to get back to st johns and rest for the evening. we had an early rise the next day for edinburgh!!

the grocery store.

i love the grocery store.  i am surrounded by food with endless possibilities.  most of the time i walk up and down the aisles singing with the incredibly entertaining store music swaying back and forth as i go.  i make a list as to not forget anything however more things always jump in the cart as i wonder, but im ok with that.  it is also one of the few errands i actually enjoy going by myself.  going with other people always makes for a good time, mostly because everyone shops different.  i know that sounds weird, but think about it.  i prefer to go up and down each aisle (skipping the dog, kid, toiletry aisles) to make sure i get everything i need, and some other things i probably dont.  i start in the produce/deli section and work my way to the other end.  some people go straight for the items they need and run out as quickly as they can.  others sit and read the label of every single thing they put in their cart.  

i have been grocery shopping with richard many times before.  i always got very excited about going, while he dreaded every minute of being in the store surrounded by so many people all of which were in his way.  we shop on two complete opposite ends of the spectrum.  for starters he grocery shops at walmart, i grocery shop at albertsons.  he runs through, skipping whole aisles then having to run back to them.  i take my time and go up and down each one.  when we decided to move in, i often wondered how the grocery shopping would work.  would we go to both stores?  would he do his own and mine on my own?  would we find a new one altogether?  or most importantly...which one of us was going to cave/compromise on this one? 

as it stands now...we are two store grocery shoppers:)  however we both go to the other persons.  the first week we embarked on this adventure we started at walmart, which i absolutely despise, i am a target girl all the way.  my plan was to actually buy quite a bit more there then i probably ever would again, i mean we were literally starting from scratch.  we needed everything from sandwich bags to salt and pepper shakers to lunch for the week.  we went during the middle of the day on a monday hoping for less crowds so we could take our time, which worked out pretty well.  however i think it still drove him crazy that i went up and down every aisle:)  my plan was to only buy the things i needed here and still go to albertsons when we were done.  richard was doing his full blown grocery shopping though.

coming from two different households you have two very different perceptions of what you need/and want in your kitchen.  for example, we bought two different kinds of butter, brummel and brown for me and stick butter for him.  two different gallons of milk, 1% for me and whole milk for him.  two different breads, white for me and wheat for him.  two different kinds of macaroni and cheese, the blue box-the only kind that really matters-for me and the disgusting velveeta kind for him.  two different kinds of snacks, cheeze-its/100 calorie packs for me and chips/popcorn/cookies for him.  

as we approached the registers you could see the big question on both our faces...how do we split all of this up?  one spice for you, one box of sandwich bags for me?  so i decided i will pay for the together stuff and he can pay for his stuff.  he had paid extra the nite before when we made the target/walmart run.  however he stepped up and said no, we are splitting the whole thing down the middle:)  once the cashier was finished ringing us up ($140 later),he asked how were paying, when we told him to split it, he looked at us a little funny.  we told him we had just moved in together and this was our first grocery trip, after a small chuckle which turned into a huge laugh, he looked at us and said, see how long this splitting everything lasts with a goofy grin. as  we smiled and told him this was a partnership, we plan to keep it this way, a friend of his came over and asked how long we had lived together.  when we told him 2 days, he gave us the same small chuckle to a huge laugh and also said, good luck.  we both looked at each other with a little surprise and realized there was nothing else we could do but join in the laughing. 

once we got home and put away all of our new groceries, i decided i was really hungry.  we had already decided on making pizza for dinner, but i hadnt eaten lunch yet and was starving.  so i began opening cabinets and the freezer and the refrigerator to find a startling fact.  we had just spent $14o on groceries and had nothing to eat!  it was all "starter food" we decided to call that week.

later that evening i went to albertsons, which is literally across the street, and did my own grocery shopping.  as soon as i walked in a gave a huge sigh of relief.  the lighting was so much nicer, there was not nearly as many people, the music was on, and the best fact, i was not in walmart.  yes, i had just spent quite a bit at the first store, but i had nothing for me.  as i wondered through the aisles, i began to realize how much i really needed at the store.

when i finished shopping that evening i went home to an empty apartment.  this was the first time we had spent apart since we had finished moving two days before.  i know its silly, but i kind of missed him.  i put away the groceries and flopped down on the couch with a grin on my face.  "i live here," i thought to myself, "with my boyfriend."  and i settled in for a night of monday night tv, anxiously waiting for richard to come home from work, having that grin on my face the whole time.