Remembrance Day

Today is Remembrance Sunday, which is celebrated along with Remembrance Day (November 11th) also known as Poppy Day, in the UK. For those of you who know your 20th century history, it's for the end of WWI and is known as Veterans Day, formerly Armistice Day, in the US. Unfortunately I have not seen much of the actual observations today, but you could hear a large bagpipe and drumming procession that left King's College Chapel a block over. On the hike to Dunnottar Castle, we passed the war memorial for the servicemen of Stonehaven that were lost in the two world wars. Even from such a tiny town it was such a long list. The inscription around the top of the memorial read, "One by one death challenged them and one by one they smiled into his grim visage and would not be dismayed." Remember what others have done for you, thank a veteran!

Dunnottar Castle

Took the train to Stonehaven to visit Dunnottar Castle with my friend Jen and it was AMAZING!
This place is the stuff that coffee table books (and dreams, people, and dreams!) are made of. Stonehaven is just a 15 minute train ride south of Aberdeen, so we decided to make a day trip out of it. Lovely little train ride and then we walked through Stonehaven proper, which is a very cute little harbor town. We planned on walking to the castle (a little over two miles) and thought that would be a pleasant experience. Oh naivete! None of the tourist websites mentioned the fact that the walking path winds along the edge of the clifftops- with no handrail to boot! Add to this stinging rain and high winds (23 mph- but they FELT much stronger) and you have one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. Now granted, Jen and I are both very afraid of heights, so I'm sure most of you would have had no problem, but to us it was all we could do to put one foot in front of the other. The picture with me in it shows the typical stance I had on the path. Pure terror! By the time we got to the castle we were totally exhilarated and more than just a little punch-drunk on adrenaline. My legs were seriously shaking. But it was all totally worth it. The castle was stunning, the pictures truly don't do it justice. I LOVE Scotland!

Guy Fawkes' Night

Tonight was Guy Fawkes' Night, also known as Bonfire Night. It's a holiday here in the UK to celebrate the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605- which was basically an old-timey attempt at terrorism. I had been told that it involved bonfires and fireworks, with many places still burning Guy Fawkes' effigy in the bonfires (because he was one of the conspirators who was caught). My flatmate Erin and I went to the beach downtown to see the big civic celebration. There were no effigies being burnt (which Erin was very disappointed about since she had just learned the word) but there was an awesome fireworks display. I'm so used to fireworks being part of the 4th of July that it was strange to not feel intensely patriotic while watching the show. No 'rocket's red glare' on this side of the pond :)

Hallowe'en

As many of you know, Halloween is my favorite holiday. So I was kind of nervous spending it here since I had heard that it was not a very big holiday compared to the US. Now I don't know if there was any trick or treating (since I don't exactly hang out with grade schoolers) but it is definitely the same for university students. Me and my flatmates Erin and Alida got in our "fancy dress" (aka costumes) and went clubbing downtown. And just like back home girls used it as an excuse to dress like ...ahem... girls who have pride in their figures. :)

So, hightlights of the night:
-Alida proved that she must now hold my hand when jaywalking as she can't be trusted to look the right way
-The girl who we saw flirting with The Hulk earlier in the night, later had green paint smeared all over here face :) Priceless!
- I experienced the most terrifying pickup line ever in which a guy grabbed my head and started shouting over the music "give me your face, give me your face!". I'm still not sure if that was a "It puts the lotion on its skin" type thing or what...
-I was told by a very drunk gentleman that I was "the Queen of HIS Heart". I declined his offer to buy me a drink. I don't think the King of Hearts would have approved. ;)
- If enough people dress up as The Joker it actually starts to become really scary.
-Alida's friend Liam, who had dressed up as a priest, kept having people apologize to him for being rowdy and swearing. Apparently his costume was a little too good and people really thought he was a priest!