Scotland

Saw:
"the royal mile" stretching from St. Giles Cathedral past John Knox´s house and culminating at edinburgh castle, perched on a cliff in the center of the city.

Did:
Walked 3 miles in the rain to see Sir Walter Scott´s mansion, drank tea in his sitting room, and caught a glimpse of the man who was and still is Scotland´s most beloved hero.

Learned:
in our ongoing attempt to save money, my friend and i stayed in a true budget hostel. Though it was far far away from being truly uncomfortable, it did make me remember the missionaries we support and gave me pause as to what it must be like to be far away in a new country, without friends, and to not have a warm, safe place to return
to at night.

Saw:
William Wallace´s actual 66", 700 yr old sword.

Did:
ate a genuine scottish breakfast complete with blood sauage and eggs fresh from the chickens wandering out front of our bed and breakfast.

Learned:
the encouragment of seeing other believers on the other side of the ocean worshipping the same God i worship. we finally got a chance to attend a Sunday morning service we could understand and it proved to be an encouragment throughout the entire day

(Nate's technical note: sorry about no pictures. my camera can't connect to computer via cable without the right software (which i don't have), so i have to wait until i can find a computer with a flash card slot.)

Saw:
My friend and i finally forked over the big money for a bus tour of the highlands (wasnt originally on the itinerary). We saw Loch Lomond (i think the most beautiful part of Scotland), Glencoe and the 3 sisters mountains (look this up if you haven't seen it<editor's note: click here to read about it> Inverness/Lock Ness (no monster sighted) and Ben Nevis (the highest point in all of Great Britain) all in one day.

Did:
Toured our first historic sight (st. andrews cathedral) in english and realized how much more there is to experience when you can read as opposed to just look.

Learned:
The power of human scale. I was comparing France and Scotland and trying to figure out why I found Scotland so much more appealing. I think one of the reasons is the scale of the built environment. France is notable for far stretching avenues, large open squares, the eiffel tower and chartes cathedral. Scotland has so much less monumental structures. if a castle is tall, its only because its built on a cliff. Buildings are made of small stones, with small doors and small spaces. I think this makes it feel more like it was designed for regular people and less like it was designed for giants.