Sojourn to Scotland!

Greetings all!
This past weekend was really fun! Maggie, Rachel, and I went on a trip with the international students to Edinburgh and Stirling, Scotland from Saturday 10th to Sunday 11th. We had to arrive on campus by 7:00 AM Saturday morning, which was quite difficult for those of us who enjoy sleeping in whenever possible... The bus ride to Edinburgh was about five hours, but that includes a 50 minute stop in Alnwick, England. To some this may not sound very exciting, but to fans of the Harry Potter films it was simply wonderful! Alnwick Castle was used in the second Harry Potter film, and the fields surrounding the castle are where they shoot scenes set in the Quidditch pitch (Quidditch is a wizard's sport, played on broomsticks for those not familiar with the series).
Once we arrived in Edinburgh we were able to drop our things off at the Youth Hostel in Edinburgh, which was quite nice. Maggie, Rachel, and I shared a room with a few other international students, and we were happy that we at least knew some of the people we stayed with. That afternoon we walked to a park where bus tours leave from, and from there we took a tour of the city from on top of a double decker bus! I really enjoyed that, and it made it easy to see places like King Arthur's Seat, the Scottish Parliament, and the birth place of Sean Connery, which we were not able to visit a second time given our short amount of time in the city. The bus dropped us off outside Edinburgh Castle, and we had about an hour to explore the grounds. Here we saw the birth place of Mary Queen of Scots and her son James who became King James I of England. The crowned jewels of Scotland are also kept here, and we enjoyed examining those.
We asked an employee at the castle to suggest a traditional scottish pub for dinner, and she gave us the name of pub near the castle called "The Advocate." The food there was quite good, but we decided to head back to the hostel before it got too much darker. We left at 10:00 the next morning for Stirling, Scotland where the William Wallace Monument, Stirling Castle, and the battlefield where the Battle of Stirling Bridge was faught. The three of us decided to take a taxi to the monument, which is a ways outside town. After climbing up the wooded hill where the monument stands we were able to listen to a man dressed up like William Wallace talk about Wallace's life and the Battle of Stirling Bridge. I really enjoyed listening to him and asking him questions about Scotland's struggle for independence.
Rachel and I climbed the 264 steps to the top of the Wallace Monument, and it was well worth the effort! The view was breathtaking from the top of the tower. Stirling is set near a winding river, in the shadow of some beautiful mountains. It was a beautiful day, and we could see for miles and miles. I made a video from the top of the tower, but it may be a bit hard to hear me because the wind was pretty intense at the top. After we visited the Wallace monument, we trecked down the hill and ate lunch at The William Wallace pub :) We were quite excited about that! Finally, we visited Stirling Castle. We weren't able to go inside because we had very little time, but there was a very pretty view from the outside. After that we made our way back to the bus for a 6 hour ride back home. It's a good thing that Scotland's landscape is very beautiful because I might not have made it back otherwise...
All in all, it was a really nice trip! We saw a lot and did a lot in just a couple of days. This weekend should be very exciting as well! Rachel, Maggie, and I are going to see the opera version of Macbeth tomorrow night at the York Theater Royal. I have never seen an opera, or a play written by Shakespeare, so I get to do both in one night! Also, we managed to acquire tickets to see the football club Manchester United play Bolton at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!! We were lucky that one of the people we asked about how to get tickets is a season ticket holder... That should be a really cool experience! I'll update you next week about that, and about a class on Christian Ethics that begins on Monday. Keep us in your prayers as we go to Manchester, and as we continue to plan trips for the fallowing weeks!
Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoy it!
Cheers!