Holiday Monday

The day started off rocky when Claire got left behind--Daniel and I got on a bus without her :-(.  But we met up in Linlithgow (about an hour bus ride outside of Edinburgh) to tour the Linlithgow palace and see the Blackness Castle.  It was awesome and we filled up the front page of our explorer passports! 

First we went to Linlithgow Palace.  It's huge and Mary Queen of Scots was born there!  It was really cool. 

Ever seen Hamlet with Mel Gibson?  Apparently it was filmed at the Blackness Castle.  I've never seen it, so I wouldn't know... but the castle was awesome.  Because it's on the ocean and shaped like a boat, it's often referred to as the ship that never sailed.   We had to catch a bus so unfortunately we only had about 30 mins (if that) to walk around but I'm glad we did.  It felt like a fortress and it was fun walking along the castle wall.

By the time we got back to Edinburgh, we were all exhausted but it was sunny so we HAD to stay out.  We decided to walk to Grass Market.  Daniel and I had been down there after work once and it looked like the shops were really neat but because it was after 5 everything was closed.  Well today it was only 3! so we got to go in the shops and they were awesome!  We pretty much played dress up in 3 or 4 different vintage shops.  Let me tell you, if you want to shop vintage, the UK is the way to do it.  I found so many 50's dresses that I wanted to get and they even had the Gidget style swimsuits and they were adorable!  Let's not forget to mention all the accessories which were really fun to try on (hats and such).  I'll most likely head back there and get something.  I have to. 

(style of swim suit i'm talking about!)

Daniel tried on a pair of knickers and a velvet smoking suit jacket haha

View of one of the shops.. and this was only one room in the back.  Clothes were EVERYWHERE.  They even had baby girl dresses from the 70's... i may have to buy one for Rinda.  I know she'd love it haha

We had a really good time.  Tomorrow it's back to work.  I'd like to put a frowny face, but I don't want my employers to see! haha Oh well... Daniel's parents will be here this weekend and then its off to have more adventures. 

Sunday

Sunday was stake conference.  It was a broadcast and Elder Perry and Thomas S. Monson spoke!  I'm not going to lie, I may have dozed off a few times (we had a busy weekend!) but what I did hear was awesome.  They are really stressing reenacting inactive members in the UK.  Seems like a good idea and the people in Scotland really want a temple so they are willing to do whatever it takes to get one.

After the broadcast we went to the Campbell's house -- they are a family in our stake that know Daniel's cousin's husband's parents from England... haha.  They invited us over for dinner :-).  They have 3 little boys and one girl-- Alex (5), Jamie (7), Scott (12) and Jessica (14).  We ate, played star wars monopoly, and Daniel wrestled with the little boys. 

 At one point Jamie kept saying "Mummy.. I smell poop.  I smell poop mummy." Mandy (the mum) kept telling him to be quiet so I thought that "somebody" must have tooted and she was embarrassed about it... but then Alex jumped up and I was about to grab him when I heard "MUMMY!! ALEX HAS POOP ALL OVER HIM".. and he did.  Poor little guy. Went to the bathroom and tried to clean it up himself but just made a big old mess. Mandy was just laughing about it, but Richard (the dad) couldn't decide whether to be mortified or just go with it.  I was laughing so hard (everything is 100% funnier with all their little accents) that I couldn't stop for like 5 minutes. There were a lot of other funny things that happened while we were there but I can't think of them now. 

We really enjoyed it though.  It was good to be in a home and have a big homemade meal. 

My buddy Alex. haha

Dessert.  a meringue pie with fresh cream and fruit.  YUM.

I didn't take a picture with the family (sad face)  but at least I got Alex :-) and hopefully we'll see them again before we leave.

Something interesting we learned from Mandy:  If you boil a can of sweet and condensed milk for about three hours... it will turn into Carmel when you open it (who knew!? I want to try it now too!)  Put that on top of a graham-cracker/butter crust, top it with chocolate and you've got millionaire short bread! Put it on the graham-cracker/butter crust with a layer of bananas and chocolate and you've got some other fantastic Scottish dessert.  Sweet!  Of course there are other ways to make really good carmel but this has got to be the easiest.

More Holiday Days

I forgot to mention that we made a wrong turn after Jedburgh Abbey and ended up in England.... haha.  Luckily, Daniel pulled off to the side of the road to view the border and we happened to notice the the "Welcome to England--Please drive on the left" sign. haha so we were able to turn around.  Claire has those pictures on her camera.   I'll have to get them.

Anyway, the next morning we woke up and had a "Scottish Breakfast"--it was included in the hotel room price and was really good.  It included sausage, bacon, black pudding, haggis, mushrooms, fried tomatoes, eggs (cooked anyway you like it), a potato scone, fried bread, cereal, porridge, etc.  We could order as much as we wanted.   

Then we went to Sweetheart Abbey.  It was founded in 1275 by Dervorguilla of Galloway in memory of her husband.  His embalmed heart was buried alongside her when she died.  The monks then renamed the Abbey as a tribute to her.  Hence, Sweetheart Abbey.  Precious.


Me and my sweetheart at sweetheart abbey. :-)

 

Inside of Sweetheart Abbey

  

Me standing on the place where the founders body and her husband's heart were supposedly buried



Daniel playing peek-a-boo in the old cemetery behind the Abbey

After Sweetheart Abbey we went to the New Abbey Corn Mill.  It was interesting enough, but the tour guide (George) took forever and he was "hitting on" me the whole time by constantly suggesting that if Daniel died working at the mill, he would gladly take me to Sweetheart Abbey and marry me haha.  I wish I would have taken a picture of good ol' George.  He was a lovely and long-winded individual.  

Me working hard grinding some oats

Power source of the mill -- under construction

 

Daniel with some sort of contraption that makes the mill work smoothly.  If George was here he could tell you about it in about 30 pages. haha



Then we went to some castles.  Awesome.

First we had to "get in the mood."  So we (as in all of the interns) dressed up as different members of the castles household. Daniel and I were pretty important--Well, I was.  I had a crown.. .or a crown like thing. haha Brenden has the rest of the pictures.  They are pretty hilarious.  We had a really fun time. 

 This is Caelaverock Castle.  It was built in the 13th century.  I really liked it because.....

 it had a moat around it!  How cool is that?!  In the 1600's it was converted into a palace and that's what all the elaborate decoration is from.  It was really cool.  There was a family playing hide and seek here.  I really wanted to join in, but didn't. 

After Caerlaverock Castle we went to Threve Castle.  We had to take a boat to get to it because it is on an island in the middle of a river.

Then we went to Cardoness Castle.  It was here that we discovered that mother nature hates us.  Everytime we got out of the car it would start to rain... as soon as we'd go to get back into it, it would stop. Very annoying. 

If I remember correctly, this castle was used more as a residence for a Scottish family. Interesting thing: when you walked into the main door, there was hole in the floor right about you called the "murder hole." I guess that's where they would kill people they didn't like who tried to come over for a visit (like they would shoot through the floor and the person entering).   I wish I would have gotten a picture of it.   

Daniel being daring and sitting on the ledge above a sign that specifically says not to.



My artsy shot of Cardoness Castle. :-) 

By this time it was 5:00 so everything was closed.  We headed back to Edinburgh but not without stopping at the beach first!  That's right. haha we found this "holiday" area with a bunch of trailer homes and it was on the beach.  So we stopped and went down to the water and played--ie walked around.  It was beautiful and mother nature gave us a break and the sun shined down on us the whole time. 

In Scotland, people drink a lot-- this beach was filled with sea glass.  It reminded me of Cassandra (from my study abroad), so I picked up a few pieces and I'm planning on putting them in my "treasure chest."

 The weekend was an epic success.  Daniel and I had so much fun and we loved visiting all the castles and abbeys. 

Plus the other interns are hilarious and we had a blast with them:
Brenden has great stories from his youth and his mission that he shares with us willingly (and we love that he does.  In fact, I really want to put them all on here because they are so funny... (like the time he kidnapped a lamb with his friends and when we asked him what he did with it he responded, "We took it home and watched a movie with it" ...what?  why would you do that? haha so bizarre)  He has other really funny ones, but I don't think I should put them on here.  Those will go in my person diary so I can laugh about them later.

Danny is probably the nicest, most easy going person I've ever met and he was such a good sport when we teased him.  He may or may not have forgotten his tooth brush and throughout the day constantly heard, "Do you feel dirty Danny? Do you feel dirty because you didn't brush your teeth?" haha

and last but not least Claire.  She laughs at everything Daniel says/does (which I'm sure boosts his self esteem) and she's super easy going and witty. She's a blast, plus I LOVE having another girl around. haha

So that was our Saturday.   

Bank Holidays?? I love this country.

I've been slacking on my blog.  Sorry.

Last week, some of the interns were informed that Friday (May 27) and Monday (May 30) were bank holidays and they got the days off.  I hadn't heard anything, but in a passing conversation with Colin (my MSP - Member of Scottish Parliament) I brought it up and ended up getting a four day weekend too :-).  Immediately Daniel, Claire and I decided we needed to travel.  About 45 minutes later we had rented a car, and planned to get hotel accommodations and travel instructions fast. 

Me, Daniel, Danny, Claire, and Brenden were in for a road trip.  Awesome. We bought an "explorer pass"--a pass that can get us into about 75+ historical sights for about 20 pounds and we set the goal to get to as many as physically possible in three days.  We did pretty good so far and we're still planning a few trips tomorrow!

We all met at the airport at 10:00am (except for Danny, because he got off the bus at a mall thinking it was an airport.... hahaha) and got settled into our British car--meaning steering wheel on the right hand side and us having to drive on the left!  That whole idea in and of itself freaked me out and I wasn't even driving, Daniel got that job.   After a few back seat driver comments, I was silenced and Daniel handled the rest.  He did such a good job. The roads were tiny and windy, we were driving on the "wrong side" of the road, and Daniel had to shift the car with his left hand.  It was fun.

First we went to Floors Castle.  It's the largest inhabited castle in Scotland (Yupp. Someone lives there!).  We just walked about the gardens because it cost quite a bit to get in and we were kind of on a time crunch, but it was still beautiful and the gardens were awesome.

You can see the castle in the distance.

This is only the mid-section of the castle.... there is way more to it

Me in part of the garden.  It's decorated with a bunch of "M's" to celebrate me (Mandi) being there... Oh, and also the millennium.

There was a small obstacle course for children under 12.  Naturally, Daniel had a go at it.  I just got a picture of him looking very happy on the swings.

This is what all the walking trails on the property looked like.  They were beautiful.

Here is a picture that shows more of the castle.  I still can't believe some family currently lives there..

View from the hill.

  
After Floors Castle, we went to Kelso Abbey.  It was in ruins, but still beautiful. 

After Kelso Abbey we went to Jedburgh Abbey.  I really liked this one.  It had a lot of history and we even had free little audio guides to teach us about it.  Unfortunately, we really wanted to get to Melrose Abbey before it closed, so we rushed through.



Jedburgh Abbey





Old graveyard behind the abbey.  We didn't actually go in it so this is the only picture I have.

 The last abbey we went to for the day was Melrose Abbey.  It's famous because Robert the Bruce's heart is apparently buried there.  Story has it that he really wanted to accomplish a pilgrimage to the holy land but died before he had the chance.  So his best friend took his embalmed heart (after he was dead) and planned on carrying it with him to the holy land but he as attacked by the moors and killed before he got there too, so the heart was brought back to Scotland and buried in Melrose Abbey.



Melrose Abbey



One of the gargoyles is a big playing the bagpipes!!

Site where Robert the Bruce's heart is buried.

Very cute intern shot.

After Melrose Abbey, we headed to our hotel in Dumfries. 

We pulled off the road for a little bit to explore nature.  Actually, Daniel and the others did.  I stayed in the car because it was a pay and park, we didn't pay and I didn't want anything to happen to the car.

Anyway, our hotel was lovely.  I got an incredible fish and chips plate for dinner and Daniel got some pasta.  We then spent the evening listening to Brenden's hysterical commentary on British TV and the interns wrote their weekly email.  Then it was off to bed. 

I'll update on Day II tomorrow.  It's late and I need to go to bed.  But prepare yourself for a lot of castles.