Friday, July 23, 2004

My trip to Scotland
Hey everybody! ^^

I thought that I should finally tell you how my vacation went! What do you think, hmm?

Well, we left on Tuesday and arrived on Wednesday. We flew into Amsterdam and from there went to Edinburgh. From there we took a train to Aberdeen. We stayed there for 5 days and saw Aboyne Castle, Drum Castle, Castle Fraser, Kennmore Cottage which was once owned by my g-g-g-grandfather along with what was once his general store, and the tombstones of both sets of g-g-g-grandparents on my dad’s side. We then went up to Inverness for 4 days where we saw Loch Ness (sorry no monster sighting from me), Castle Urquhart, Kildrummy Castle, a 5,000 year old civilization-runes and stone circle, the Orkney Islands, Sunken WWI/II Battleships, and other things I can’t think of at the moment. From there we went back down to Edinburgh for the remainder 5 days to see the Castle Edinburgh, underground catacombs, and Greyfriar’s Bobby bar along with the statue and tombstone of Greyfriar’s Bobby.

Well there’s the outline of the trip now onto the details of it. While in Aberdeen we went to the Aboyne Kirkyard where we found the tombstone of one set of my g-g-g-grandparents on my dad’s side. What’s interesting is that it has been renewed which means we definitely still have family over there. Only problem was we couldn’t find out who restored it. We also unknowingly found the Kirk where a set was married. It was a wonderful discovery. We also went to the Glen Taner Kirkyard where we found the tombstone of the other set of g-g-g-grandparents of my dad’s side. The thing I liked the most is when we found Kennmore Cottage and the old general store of g-g-g-grandfather Fraser. It was so interesting because the store is now an antique store and the owner let us look at the attic and gave us pieces of wood from crates that grandfather Fraser took apart and nailed to the wall for instillation in the winter. I think it was the best thing we brought back with us.

Inverness was where we saw Loch Ness. We went to the Loch Ness visitor center. It was rather interesting but then I like that sort of thing! ^^ While visiting Loch Ness we also went to Urquhart which is a ruins of a castle right on the Loch. It was so beautiful. So many interesting things to look at! We also went on a day tour to the Orkney Islands where we saw Skara Brae, the 5,000 year old town. It was so beautiful. It looked like a little Hobbit town except that there were no roofs and you could tell they were covered over at some point then unearthed. After Skara Brae the tour went onto we went to a stone circle 5,000 years old too. It’s like Stonehenge in that no one knows what it was used for. It was so beautiful! We got to walk straight up to it and even touch it. I touched 5,000 year old history! It’s almost unbelievable. We also visited the Italian Chapel. During WWII the Italian POW asked for somewhere to worship so the soldiers gave them Quonset huts put together. They made it into a beautiful site to behold. They also made a statue out of barbed wire and cement that was just lovely to behold. After the day tour we went to Kildrummy Castle. It was in ruins as well. The most gorgeous site in Scotland thus far. Oh, the chapel windows were still intact and so perfect looking to me. In the garden next to it there was this wedding reception. The ring bearer was so adorable in his little kilt! Couldn’t help but make one smile! ^^

Now we move on to Edinburgh. Oh the castle was the biggest one I had seen yet! We didn’t even see everything open to the public. We did make sure to see the royal honors though! If we weren’t allowed to take pictures in that room I would have taken one just to show you. The neatest thing was when we were waiting to go into the castle. There was this group of Korean people singing “How Great Thou Art” in Korean. You see my brother is there right now on a mission and how wonderful it was to hear that for me. It was just really special to me. At the castle we also saw the war memorial. Such wonderful sculptures and works of art in there! Oh and the view from the castle! AMAZING! Seriously! You wouldn’t believe it until you saw it! Another interesting thing there was what they call, “The Key to the Castle.” They present this key to the visiting monarch to represent that they can go anywhere they wish in the castle. Surrounding the key are little plaques saying the names of the visiting monarchs along with the dates of the visits. One of the plaques is for Queen Victoria. ^^ We also went down the Royal Mile. It’s kind of hard not to. It’s rather the only way to get to the Castle. ^^ The shops were quite interesting to look at! I got my two tartan skirts on that street. Oh, and at the castle I got my promise ring. It’s very spacial to me. It’s a band of Celtic knots. I’m to wear it until I am engaged or married. I can’t wait until that day comes. On the Royal Mile there was one of the Royal Churches of Scotland. It had the Thistle Chapel in it. A beautiful site indeed! The wood work was amazing!

All in all I can say that I would have regretted it if I hadn’t taken this trip. It was a dream come true. I hope I will be able to go there again someday! Thank you all for listening to my rambling. I hope you enjoyed it listening to it as much as I enjoyed reliving it by writing it down here. You guys are the best! ^^
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