The End to Another Chapter.

Grad school - Check! My dissertation is written, printed, bound, and submitted and I officially have my life back. It feels great not to have that amount of work hanging over my head! It is hard to believe that in a few days I will be leaving Edinburgh behind me. I thought I would be anxious for this day but really the last few months have shown me how habitable and even exciting this city can be. I am in my own way sad that my masters program is finished (tbd whether I finished with a degree or not) - not the work part but the learning and academic atmosphere. I could use at least another year for the brainiacs here to rub off on me!

I won't cry for too long however as my next two weeks will be spent celebrating in Greece and Turkey! Living the dream before I am officially 'unemployed'! From there I will swing back by Edinburgh to pick up my things and before I take a one-way flight home to St. Louis on August 30th!

WHERE TO NEXT? I think I confuse myself really. Whenever I am having a bad day I push it off on living abroad and whenever I am having a good day I couldn't dream of being anywhere else. I think it must be called 'the grass is greener' syndrome. Although I am not sure if that holds here because the grass really IS greener in Scotland. I am torn between the comfort of people at home and the world of unexplored territory. I think I am a hopeless wanderer at heart but that can be a difficult thing to be. Seeing as I am now in debt, beggars can't be choosers so I think my next adventure will be wherever there is a job for me!

9 Days and 1,200 Miles: UK Coast to Coast Road Trip.

I just wrapped up a UK trip with my parents. They arrived in Edinburgh, just 9 hours late and minus their checked baggage. They must have been a bit delirious because I managed to get them to try haggis their first night! I took them to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, Calton Hill and the Sir Walter Scott Monument - we hiked up all 287 steps to the top and I have to say it was one of the more treacherous experiences of my life. They certainly made stairs twisty and narrow back then!

Day One of our road trip we toured the Scottish Highlands starting with what we had hoped would be a traditional breakfast in the small town of Pitlochry. Unfortunately it was so small that the city didn't awake until after we had come and gone. As a mid-morning snack we stopped for a scotch whisky tour and sampling at Dalwhinnie Distillery. My dad, the recent scotch connoisseur, said it was good - I will have to take his word for it. After some scenic picture stops of the green hills and millions of sheep we made it to Eilean Donan Castle, the quintessential Scottish castle and the one appearing on all the tourism materials. I have certainly had my fill of castles over here but this one didn't let me down. 

Day Two was St. Andrew's and onto the scenic town of Keswick, England in the Lake District. In St. Andrew's we were able to go on a fantastic tour of the famous course where golf was born, as well as see the town's castle and cathedral, not to mention the cafe where Kate and Wills apparently met up! We didn't do more than eat, shop, and wander in Keswick but I did manage to get some pure sheep wool slippers from the Saturday morning market - wish I would have had them this past winter!

From Keswick we traveled on to Wales. Our first stop was Conwy, which was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was a cute sea-side town with a fantastic medieval castle. The city walls were still in tack so you could walk around the entire town for great views. The UK is full of so many 'old things' that you get used to it but this town managed to amaze me - one, that they could build something like this a thousand years ago, and two, that it is still standing! From Conwy we went to Llandudno, what seemed to be a Jersey Shore for the elderly. We arrived to find we were homeless as the place we booked had apparently 'canceled' our reservation. This led to staying in one of those hotels that you hope you never have to return to.

Our time in Wales was quick. The next stop was Bath. It was another cute English town, perfect for eating and shopping. I absolutely loved the cobbled street we stayed on and it got me thinking that living in the UK for a bit longer wouldn't be so bad.

From Wales we were London-bound after two very important stops; Stonehenge and Highclere Caste (aka Downton Abbey!). Though I appreciated the ancient-ness of Stonehenge, a bunch of rocks can never be that exciting. Downton Abbey however was the highlight of the trip! It was surreal to see the place where Mary and Matthew walk! I got to tour the inside but they didn't allow photos, shame!

Final destination: London. Here we met up with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. We attempted and failed a few pub crawls - my family isn't known for having crazy nights. By day it was another story - we were scheduled to and succeeded hitting up every major tourist attraction and 'old thing' in the city; St. Paul's, Tower Bridge, Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey.

I was sad to say goodbye to my family and see the long awaited trip come to an end but unfortunately my dissertation isn't going to finish itself so it is back to work for me!