I am at this moment sitting in the gorgeous and palatial home of my Uncle Jonny, Aunty Ann, and their three boys, Connor, Muir, and Rory. I managed to find my way here through several forms of transportation and the good will of another Scottish family. At this point, it feels as if I've stayed with every family in Edinburgh...I've only stayed with two! This could get interesting when I'm changing countries every 3 days.
I woke up at 4 am on Wednesday morning after a night at the bar with Steve (my boyfriend) and a couple of our cycling friends. Steve, bless his soul, woke up with me and we started the hour long metro ride to the airport. Through the transfers and bus rides, we could barely keep our eyes open but we had this aura of impending grief. Trying to savor every last second. He checked in with me and, after a very tearful goodbye, I headed off the find myself a seat and hopefully a place to rest. Luckily the international terminal at Logan had recliners. I put on my ipod and drowned away my thoughts. The sadness overwhelmed any excitement, I really did not want to leave this kid!!
I let out a few tears as we left the ground in Boston and promptly fell asleep. I only managed to get two hours in and then I immersed myself in the movies, thank god for personal headrest tv's. We finally set down in London and the excitement hit me. This was it! The trip I had been planning for over a year now. It was a little bit surreal. From the airport, I took the cheaper way to Victoria Coach Station. After an hour on the metro and 30 minutes of walking around like a chicken with my head cut off. I found the bus, boarded, and realized there was no way in hell I could sleep. Please realize: I was on the 9 hour, overnight bus from London to Edinburgh, I had 4 hours of sleep the night before, and only two on the plane, and I had been traveling for a total of 12 hours so far. I WAS NOT in a good mood. I finally laid my head on the window of the bus (a very bumpy and uncomfortable position) and salvaged a few hours of sleep. I woke up to the sunrise over the rolling Scottish hills. My favorite color, that sunrise orange, mixed with the vibrant green grass and the blue of the dawning sky hit me all at once. I thought, in my dreamlike state, life maybe wasn't so bad. Haha. This trip is going to be awesome.
I arrived in St. Andrews at 8am. I tried to find a taxi to take me to the Melville's abode, once again like a chicken with its head cut off, only to find that they had removed the taxi rank from outside the coach station. Who does that!? Linzi, being the doll she is, picked me up. It was great to see her for the first time in three years and really surreal. I got back to their place and Linzi presented me with coffee and a bacon butte (pronounced butt-ee). For those of you who don't know, bacon buttes are god's gift to man. Its a very simple creation that will rock your world forever. Bacon on a roll drenched in butter. Heaven. After that gorgeous concoction, I took a shower and proceeded to sleep away the afternoon. Tough life eh?
We picked up Minnie, my not-so-little-anymore cousin, from school. I cannot believe the rate at which kids grow. You oldies must be even more flabbergasted.
The next day was spent at the Highland Show, a festival for Scottish Farmers and anyone else who wants to see. I experienced my other new favorite dish, roasted pork roll. You line up next to a pig that has been roasted and then taken apart, slowly, and piece by piece. As Minnie so aptly observed, it still had the nose hair and teeth. Apart from that, the roll was ridiculously delicious. We then shared some fresh donuts and, since we weren't full yet, went for a round of fudge. I saw very few animals but I officially love the Highland Show.
Erica, Tom, and Pheobe (my other family of cousins) came over for dinner and the night was spent expending Pheobe's energy with activities like being sprayed with a hose while jumping on the trampoline. I didn't participate, it was only Minnie and Pheobe, but it was hilarious. Photos are on the way.
My Uncle Jonny picked me up the next day and now I'm in house number two. Last night we had dinner followed by copious wine and this morning I managed to go on my second run of the trip. My Aunty Ann, Connor, and Uncle's friend, Mike, all came on the run and it was a nice reason to get outside. It also justified the egg, bread, and bacon breakfast we indulged in.
We are about to start the days activities, I have no idea what we decided to do, I'm just along for the ride. Love you all. Although I haven't had much time to come up for air, I miss you when I am about to fall asleep and when I wake up in the morning. Hope you're all happy and healthy.
Ash
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