So I'll just begin. We left around 3pm on Thursday and took public transportation to the airport. I know I mentioned this in the Paris blog, but taking public transportation to the airport is really exciting to me for some reason. I always feel so freaking accomplished. We got to the airport and hopped onto the plane. The passengers on the plane right before us were very Scottish and very proud of their soccer team (who just so happened to be playing the Czech team in Prague this weekend). Before we knew it, we were in Scotland. That's code for "I slept the whole way." I didn't realize that Scotland was an hour behind Prague. I was really freaking confused as to why the airplane man kept saying we were arriving at 7:20 when my watch said it was past 8. Good thing, though because the bus we were catching to Dundee was scheduled for 8:10.
ERR, WRONG. It wasn't a good thing because let me tell you all about this bus ordeal. We got into Scotland a little later than anticipated and Jenny, Laura, and I booked it through customs, etc. I didn't know the way to the bus station but when I googled it a week ago, it didn't look too far. So, let me put this into perspective. It is now 7:40pm. We are starving, tired, and we all really have to pee. However, the bus leaves at 8:10pm and we don't know where to go to get it. I meander over to a precious old Scottish man who was holding his wife's bag and asked him where St. Andrew's Square Bus Station was. He said, "Oh dear, that's in the center of Edinburgh. You'll have to take the shuttle bus in." My eyes got big and scary. I asked how long it would take. He thought for a dramatic minute and said, "Well, I reckon it would take about 30 minutes, maybe a little more."
Panic sets in.
I start rallying the troops and getting into go-mode, but when I asked the bus lady how we get there, she told us that the bus left every 20 minutes and one had just left. Crap. We were definitely going to miss the Megabus we booked. Here is the big problem: I didn't have Robert's phone number or address and he was the one picking us up when we got to Dundee (I'll revisit this later). Therefore, if we either a. didn't arrive or b. arrived late, he would have no idea and/or we would die. Death is a little drastic, but that's how I felt.
We found an internet kiosk and ended up finding another bus that left specifically from the "Edinburgh Airport" at 8:45pm. Conveniently enough, it arrived in Dundee only 5 minutes after we were originally supposed to get there. It was the last bus of the evening, so we booked it and then went to go find the stop. I asked bus lady again and she informed us that we would have to take yet another shuttle to Ferry Toll Park and Ride and then switch onto the Megabus. Ferry Toll was 30 minutes away and alas, the shuttle came every 30 minutes. We ran down to the stop with the schedule.
AND OF COURSE WE MISSED IT ALREADY BY 5 FREAKING MINUTES. We had to make this bus, though. Missing it was not an option. We gushed to a really cute Scottish couple about it for approximately 1.3 minutes and they told us that worst-case scenario, we could take the train. Good to know. But instead, we hailed a taxi and told her to step on it.
And stepping on it, she did. We got the Ferry Toll at 8:44pm, 1 minute before the bus was supposed to pick us up. Laura flings herself out of the car and shouts to the men that work there, "DID THE MEGABUS COME YET?!" They shake their heads slowly to say "no." The older man said, "The Megabus doesn't come until 9:15 sweetheart." ARE YOU F#@$%#^$ KIDDING ME?!
I still don't really know where we messed up, but I believe that the bus lady told us the wrong thing because we didn't have to go to Ferry Toll. Ferry Toll was the stop after Edinburgh Airport. Well, we blew about 20 quid (isn't that cultured of me to say?) on a taxi, but at least we were where we needed to be. I was so relieved that at one point, when I was standing next to the old man that helped us at the bus station, I had the overwhelming urge to hug him. I refrained, though.
The bus ride was uneventful and Robert rolled up just as we did. It was so nice to see a familiar face after that stressful evening. I hugged Robert for as long as he would let me. I guess I should mention that I know Robert from camp. He worked with me for two years. His roommate drove us all back to their house and when we got there, I realized how hungry I was. I had one proper meal that day around 11:30am, so Robert got us some menus for "Let's Wak" and I ate Chinese food for the first time abroad. While we ate, I recapped the bus adventure to Robert and sarcastically said at one point, "thank goodness we had your number and address cause that was real handy." Robert took that opportunity to show me the facebook message he sent me, where he did, indeed, give me his number and address. Haha oops. My bad. We kept talking about how we should go out, but I was still feeling sick and couldn't muster the energy to do much.
So, we crashed on Robert's couches. I got an awful night's sleep because I couldn't breathe. I was basically wheezing and coughing all night. The next morning, Robert gave us a little tour of the University of Dundee. It was drizzling and freezing outside, but that didn't stop us. Well, maybe it did. We went to the union and got a tea. After drying there for a little bit, we walked down to the pharmacy and I got some "Chesty Cough" medicine. Then, we went to a pub close by and we got a beer. Afterwards, we went to get lunch. Jenny and Robert had traditional Scottish Haggis (which I believe is some animal's bladder, etc), while I had a hummus wrap... finally :-) I've been looking everywhere for hummus. Laura had Jenny's leftovers. I kept thinking that we were going to be late for our bus back to Edinburgh, but then I realized that I forgot to change my watch back. Silly Iris.
We stopped at a store so that Laura could buy a more significant jacket that would keep her warm and so Robert could buy a sweatband to go with his jew fro. He was dressing up as a Jewish Camper for a BUNAC conference. We concluded that the final outcome of the costume looked like Cheeseball. We stopped back at Robert's house, met a few more roommates (because he lives with like 13 people or something ridiculous), watched a really cheesy car show, then Euan drove us back to the bus station. I was thinking about how I felt bad I didn't get a chance to see Julie, one of my counselors who actually lives in Dundee, and as I was thinking this, BAM! There's Julie! She's standing at the bus station, waiting to catch one to Glasgow. What are the freaking odds? We chatted for a hot second, but then we had to catch our bus.
I slept most of the way to Edinburgh, but at one point, I woke up to the police kicking a guy off the bus. We have no idea why, but I am assuming it's because he may have been drunk. When we got to Dundee, we walked to the Scott Monument to wait for Robert. The conference he was going to was on Saturday in London, therefore, he was taking a train from Edinburgh. So, he booked a train from Dundee to Edinburgh the same time we were on the bus and we arrived within 30 minutes of each other. Robert showed us where the hostel we were staying at was (he recommended it to us) and then went off to his own. This hostel was 1000x better than the hostel in Paris. Paris was literally just a metal bunkbed in a room. No decorations or nothin'. Castle Rock Hostel, however, was friendly and organized and cute and comfy. I was gushing over it because I was secretly dreading staying at another hostel. We stayed in a Latin-themed room. My bed was named "bottomus bunkus." Each person got their own locker and safe in the room. The beds were comfy, there were curtains, and there was even a carpet! I was over-the-moon.
We freshened up, then met up with Robert for dinner. The "football" game of Czech vs. Scotland was going on tonight so we hit up a bar that was showing it. We ordered our food and beer, then enjoyed the atmosphere. It was nice to be in an english-speaking country for a little bit. After we ate, Robert and Laura ordered another beer, we switched tables to spread out a little, and then played a mean game of Counting Shoulders. This has to have been the most successful rounds I've ever played. Counting Shoulders is basically where you count all the way up to 21, each time hitting your shoulder in the direction you want the counting to go. Every time you make it to 21, you make a new rule for any number. We were screaming really inappropriate British slang (courtesy of Robert) at each other before the night was over. However, we didn't stay out too late because Robert had to get up early the next morning and I was feeling like crap again.
The next day, we woke up and went back to the Scott Monument to meet up with RaJa (one of the counselors in my unit this past summer) and her friend, Will. It was so great seeing her. We went around her campus at Edinburgh a little bit. We stopped to get tea at one point in a really cute shop. There weren't any tables large enough for us left, but there were only 4 people at an 8-person table, so they made room for us. People in Scotland are so much friendlier to strangers than in Prague. After tea, we went to the National Museum of Scotland. I saw Dolly, the cloned sheep! She was dead and stuffed, but it was cool anyways. There was a wing that was entirely interactive. We were having so much fun in there. You could see how quick your mind reacted by pushing all these buttons that lit up, and we set off a rocket by winding it up really quickly. When I say "we," I actually mean Will because he was the strongest one. We walked around the duller parts for a strained 10 minutes and then headed up to the Terrace overlooking the city. B.E.A. UTIFUL! We could see Arthur's seat from where we were standing, which is a huge mountain you can hike up beside the city, and I wish I could have been healthier because it looked like something straight out of Pride and Prejudice. Bummer.
After the museum, we went to lunch at a library bar on Edinburgh's campus. This was the cheapest meal all weekend. RaJa shared with us that it sounds funny when we say "spunky" because "spunk" is "cum" in Scottish terms. Oops. After this meal, we parted ways. BOOOO. It was really fun playing with her though.
We went back to the hostel and ended up falling asleep for an hour. Around 6pm, Ailsa and Marlies (two counselors, again, from camp) were picking us up from our hostel and taking us back to Ailsa's flat. When we got to Ailsa's, she made us dinner! We had veggie lasagna, salad, and bread. Dangg it was so good. After dinner, we sat around with her four other flat-mates and they immediately began making elaborate cocktails for themselves. I have never seen anything like this in my life. I guess us Americans don't drink very classy because they asked what we wanted and all I could think of was vodka and soda or beer. Don't worry, though. Marlies made me a "Marlies Surprise." Laura was downing their whisky because no one drinks it in the flat.
I forgot to mention that the whole time we are drinking cocktails, we are also watching The X-Factor. It was so silly- mostly because I have never seen Ailsa sing on the top of her lungs before. Once everyone was good and drunk, we went to one of Marlies' friend's flat party. It was so British of me to do. We were a little awkward at first, you know- those 3 Americans- but after awhile, a group of guys started socializing with us. We had a great time. Laura kept getting hit on by a creepy mustached man. Jenny kept being trapped in a corner. Meanwhile, Ailsa was still singing, Marlies was bebopping everywhere, and I was watching this all go down. It was fun.
Ailsa and Marlies wanted to go to a bar, so we left around 12:30 and went to this place that we would consider classy, but when I mentioned that I thought it was, Ailsa and Marlies looked disgusted. They said it was a sloppy establishment haha. We didn't stay for long because I was feeling sick again (once again, the sickness prevails). It was another rough night of sleep. I thought at one point that I accidently coughed my lung out of place.
The next day was departure day. Traveling ended up taking the entire day and everything went smoothly. It was so nice to see friends while I'm abroad. I feel so content now. I haven't looked at my photos yet from this past weekend, but I have roughly 200 photos to post online. I'll post them on facebook sometime this week, I pinky promise.
And Mom and Dad, I'm going to the doctor's today after my Philosophy class so do not fret.
Also, as I was typing this, Anna- the cleaning lady- brought me tea. But not just tea. She also brought me a croissant with jelly and honey on it. I didn't even ask for it! It was so sweet! The best part, though, was that I was sitting right next to Jacob and she didn't even acknowledge him hahaha.
