Americans Invented Cliches

According to my flatmate Anna, Americans invented cliches which is probably a very true statement. I have been severely neglecting my blog for the past two weeks mainly because I am too tired or too lazy to update the world about my life. Not much has really changed here in good old Scotland, I have been going to the gym and class as per usual and have been enjoying my weekends here. Last weekend I didn't go anywhere outside of Edinburgh which was kind of nice to just spend time here. Cristina and I did make a trek to Hollyrood Palace which is where the Royal Family stays when they are in Scotland. As you can imagine it was really lovely and had a lot of history to it. We took the audio tour of the palace and took some pictures (although you are unfortunately not allowed to take any pictures inside the palace) and had a nice lazy afternoon. It was grey and kind of rainy last weekend which was really the first time I had experienced a not so nice weekend in Edinburgh. I definitely am aware of the fact that I have been quite lucky with the weather so far.

Yesterday we (Cristina, Liz, Tricia and I) went to Glasgow for the day to see some of the city as well as meet up with Cristina's friend Abbey who is attending the University of Glasgow. It was a nice city but, as Cristina said, I am glad that I am in Edinburgh and not Glasgow. Glasgow is definitely way bigger than Edinburgh and feels less "Scottish" to me. We went on a city tour which was very informative but we also were the brilliant Americans who sat on the open top part for more than a 30 minute drive which ended up being quite cold. Glasgow has a lot of commercialized areas and a lot of shopping in the city. It only took us about 45 minutes to get there so it's nice to know that it is so easily accessible by train.

I'm really excited because my mom booked her trip to come visit me in November! I already have planned on us doing some Edinburghesque things as well as taking a day trip up to the Highlands to visit the Dewar's Distillery. I think she's going to really enjoy visiting me here so I am definitely looking forward to that.

I am feeling far less homesick now which is definitely nice. Time is starting to go by rather quickly here which is not surprising really but is making me realize how little time I really have here. Cristina, Liz and I booked a weekend trip for next weekend and in the spirits of keeping it a secret for the time being, I will leave you all in suspense! But we are quite excited about it! The following week is my 22nd (AHHHH) Birthday, followed by Halloween, another weekend trip hopefully, then my essays are due and then my mom comes to visit! And by the time she leaves, I'll have less than a month left! It's crazy. I am definitely excited and looking forward to spending time with everyone I love at Christmas but before I know it, it will be here! I am certainly missing out on some of the fall activities that I love to be a part of but after spending the day in Glasgow yesterday I feel a little bit like I got a dose of a UK fall. There was a lot of foliage in Glasgow and it was a very autumnal day which was nice.

Well I know this is somewhat of a short post but I've highlighted the major things for whoever is reading this so I will hopefully update you next week on the trip!