Ghost Hunters

So I went on the ghost tour today. I decided on the one called Ghost hunters because it did not allow children do to the goriness of the stories and higher scare chances. Alas, I did not see a ghost though. Our guide told us though that "The Watcher" was actually following us; though he commonly follows most groups. With the sole intention of making sure they leave sooner than later. He has a history of turning off all the lights, blowing out candles, throwing rocks, scratching people, and even on three occasions, possessing someone to make people leave faster. I even hung out in the room they call his HQ, which is where he most commonly truly "attacks" people. The funny thing about him though, is even though he's called the watcher, the people who have actually seen his face (which is rare, usually you hear his footsteps, see his boots, or feel him breathing on your neck) say he has no eyes, just holes in his head. And that his mouth is just a black elongated hole in his chin. Sounds to me like how the victims looked in The Ring.
The closest thing I had to an actual encounter is that I did notice while in one room that a single candle down the hall and in the next room was flickering. Because I remember thinking, how funny if my biggest encounter here is a draft. This was ironic because when we hit the next room, she mentioned that if you feel a draft at all, it isn't. Because we are four stories underground and there are no drafts. As in the builders who were making sure it was safe when they opened up the vaults in '96 said it was impossible for there to be any when someone mentioned one. So who knows what I saw. Could have been anything or nothing. I like to think it was something though.
Thus ends my Edinburgh ghost tour through the vaults. Though I did hear some amazing stories from throughout Edinburgh's past. Definitely a fun adventure. And for my friends who have complained about some of the tour guides lacking authenticity. My gal and a thick Scottish accent, and got awesomely into the stories, including jumping out at us and screaming when appropriate in the stories. Or just simply refusing to go into the Watcher's room, because as she put it "I just don't like that room and I don't go in it if I can help it." So I was highly satisfied with her.

Ultimate Adventure Part 1

So today began a series of hopefully many more Ultimate Adventures. Madge and I took the day to hang out. So yes, the term has officially been dubbed as such. It was a lot of fun to see her and catch up a bit. We wandered around and she showed me the places she has lived in Edinburgh. Then we climbed up the Scott Monument. That is one TINY spiral staircase. Especially when people are passing each other going up and down. I could barely squeeze through the last flight just on my own! Once there we decided to leave our mark amongst all the graffiti and left an I <3 Ultimate Bagel message. It seemed appropriate as we'd spent most of the morning talking about the shop and bagels in general.
After this we swung by the Fruitmarket Gallery where we had fun playing in the elevator and on the stairs. I still think they are the greatest things ever! Then we went to lunch at Rotato, one of the local baked potato shops where the infamous Andy joined us (I had actually met him earlier in the day, but he had things to do while we wandered around a bit). We began the planning of a book on hostels! I think they should go for it, it would be a lot of fun to make. And I still happily volunteer myself as a guinea pig!
After that we just hung out for a little while before I called it a day. While it may be clear skies still, it is rather chilly none the less, and I for one didn't fancy being out in the cold when it stated to get dark. Which it is doing noticeably earlier these days.
Made a new friend in the dorms today too. Stu and I hung out after noticing we were both reading Sho-gun to discuss our like of James Clavell.
All in all it was a good day full of good people with good conversations. Go Ultimate Adventure, Go!

Whoa Nellie!

So I made it to Inverness the other day. But there are minimal places for internet around here so this is my first real post. It's a pretty town, though it is rather small. I did the river walk the first day which takes you down to the Ness Islands and across. It's appearing to be the end of fall through this area, and it's definitely starting to cool off quickly. I don't know that I'd call it cold yet, especially after a day like today.
Yesterday it was pouring rain, so I decided to put off my Loch Ness adventure in hope of better weather today-a gambit which paid off nicely. Instead I wandered around the town, starting in the library, getting Indian food for lunch, and then finding a used bookstore. I'm very disappointed in the libraries here. They undoubtedly leave much to be desired by way of size and selection, even in the bigger cities. I also can't tell if Indian food is just not that hot, or if my spicy tolerance is just that high these days. I ordered something supposedly hot, even told my waiter I was okay with hot, and I didn't even notice a tingle when I ate it. Very good, just not what I was expecting.
The bookstore though...Amazing! Biggest used bookstore in Scotland. I spent quite a bit of time there, perusing and finally came out with two books. Quite an accomplishment for me. I will now finally be reading shogun though. I'm saving it for the train right now though. I've just gone through too many books electronically, and can't afford to keep buying books that way. I will try to sell the ones I bought when I finish reading them and then proceed to locate another set. See if I can get a good cycle enabled. Plus this way I will hopefully find some more awesome bookshops.
This morning I headed to Urquhart Castle on the loch. And there I made some friends. A group of 5 kids from Duke studying in Glasgow were there at the same time, also agreed they weren't paying 7 pounds to get closer to the ruins, and we all walked the mile and a half back to Drumnadrochit together. Once there we lost half the boys to a group of cows (during which we learned the t9 for boys and cows is the same), wandered the side streets and a little wooded area for awhile, before settling in at a cafe to wait for our bus back to Inverness. It was a lot of fun to have people to hang out with for the afternoon. And they said I could stay with them in Glasgow if I head back that direction at all, which I may well with how awesome it was. All in all it was a productive day. Especially since I saw both Nellie and Nessie (pictures to come). In the end, we decided having to walk through the Scottish highlands is really no difficulty, and that had been the right way to go about the trip.

Glasgow

So I made it to Glasgow last night around 8:30. Just coming in on the train was beautiful. The city lights up, including all the bridges over the River Clyde. After getting mildly lost wandering around the train station, I finally got pointed the right direction and managed to find my hostel. And let me just say, if this is how Scotland is, I love it. The people are nice. The city is gorgeous. It's by far my favorite city so far.
It is true what they say though, to see the real beauty of the city, you must be constantly looking upward. Almost every building is old with beautiful statues and carvings all over. It's really quite incredible.
I started out the day walking through the main shopping district. This is after all, the self proclaimed fashion capital of Great Britain. And there were some fabulous shops. Not all Armani and Gucci, though there were those too, but just fabulous small everyday shops. I spent quite some time wandering around there, and I went to the GOMA which was right in the same district. Yes Jen, they call the MOMA the GOMA here, which makes since as they set it up more as a gallery than a museum. I found an information center not long after that and the gal there was super helpful. Not only did she point me to some fabulous free activities, but she also gave me a booklet on Inverness since I head there early tomorrow morning.
I went to the Glasgow Cathedral, which is currently being redone. Much of it is black, from the years still, but its ceilings were a gorgeous wood. As I was leaving I realized the point behind the Cathedral was actually a Necropolis. So I climbed to the top of the hill from where you could turn around and see most of the city. It was beautiful. I went to the post office for stamps too and one of the workers went out of his way to make sure I got cheaper stamps than what I thought I needed from the machine. Everyone is just so friendly here!
I think part of the reason I like the city so much though is it reminds me vaguely of Seattle. Different stores and set up, but similar attitude. Probably helps that its a rather grey day, which some how does the city credit.
My hostel is amazing. I signed up for a 14 bed dorm, ended up in a four and it didn't cost me anything extra. I sort of thought the last hostel was okay, th0ugh not fantastic. But this one puts it to shame. Everything is clean, no funny smells, and the girls I'm bunking with are very nice. Both from New Zealand. The only down side to it is there is no free internet there. But that is a small price to pay, especially since I'm only here for one day. Though I almost wish I was staying here longer now.
I leave for Inverness tomorrow morning at 7. Hopefully that leg will be just as wonderful. And who knows maybe I'll even see Nellie, Nessie's long lost cousin...