Family Time and Arthur's Seat

Hello,

Well my family has been gone since Monday but I've been so busy that blogging took a back seat for a couple of days. My family, Jacob and I climbed up Arthur's seat which I swore I would climb before I left here so I'm happy to have that checked off of my list. Everyday that my family was here is was bright and sunny which is not typical Scotland. Scotland has rainy weather constantly and that's the extent of their weather. Jacob and I showed my family where the Scottish Parliament was and where the Queen of Scotland lives. We ate a lot of good food including fish and chips and calzones. My Dad has a new found love for haggis as well as Jacob and to be honest it's not that bad. On Sunday Jacob and Summer decided that they wanted to get their feet "pedicured" by Garra Rufa fish. Basically they stuck their feet in a tank and fish sucked on their feet and ate the skin. (Interesting to say the least.) My parents left on Monday morning and I really don't know where the time went. It felt like just yesterday that Jacob and I went and picked them up at the airport and then they were gone. Pictures will be able to do more explaining than I ever could about our hike up Arthur's Seat so......

Arthur's Seat. Yes, we climbed up that.



Jacob and I at Dirleton Castle



Summer rinsing her feet

Where the Queen of Scotland lives

Where the Queen lives

Hiking up Arthur's Seat

Still climbing

Snuck a picture of my parents. How cute :)

My Dad and Summer at the top

The view of Edinburgh from the top of Arthur's Seat

My Parents :)

My Dad, Summer, Mom, and I at the top of Arthur's Seat

Again

Jacob and I

My Mom and Summer

Love this picture. It's Jacob of course

Climbing back down

Summer's feet with the fish

Jacob's feet with the fish

Great sign in Dalkeith. Just had to add this!

So on a different note, the Dalkeith house has been very frustrating lately. There are a lot of immature people here and most of them are over 20 years old so it really confuses me. We have had theft, puking, stealing food and many other things happening in this house which makes some people feel unsafe in the house. Someone replaced Jacob's 5 pound bill with a 5 dollar bill which doesn't do us any good over here. His wallet was hidden under clothes in his dresser drawer which means that someone had to have dug for his wallet to do this. Not knowing who did it, he ended up getting a single room and hopefully he will remain there the rest of the semester so we don't encounter anymore of these problems. The other night someone threw up in the library on the chair and left it there over the weekend. And last night was what really just pushed me over the edge; Last night Jacob and I arrived home around 11:45 because we went to the Battle of the Bands at the Hard Rock Cafe in Edinburgh. We got back and were chatting with my roommate Kim when the fire alarm went off. I grabbed my wallet, coat and threw some shoes on while Jacob grabbed his computer, and the three of us rushed down the stairs. About 25 of us flew out the front doors and then the sirens from the firetruck started. Someone purposely punched the glass on the fire alarm and set it off. Half the people in the house were sleeping since it was midnight and some even had flights early in the morning. They kept us outside because they wanted someone to confess but surely no one will. I was not a happy camper when I had to be somewhere at 9:15 in the morning and I was just crawling into bed at 3 a.m. Still today no one has confessed and in my opinion people should be sent home soon. There's a handful of people who are constantly causing problems here and I'm sick of it. Now our house is also a "dry house" meaning that alcohol is not allowed in the Palace any longer.  It is definitely going to be a breath of fresh air when Jacob and I leave for Italy on Wednesday.

Today Jacob and I and some other people from the house went on a house field trip to Direlton Castle, North Berwick, St. Abbs Head and the Glenkinchie Whiskey Distillery. The Distillery was boring in my opinion but that's because I'm not really into alcohol or the making of it, or the smell of it for that fact. And when we were offered samples at the end I kindly turned them down. The pictures below will do most of the talking from our trip today:

Anyways. 

At the Castle

Jacob and I on the beach in North Berwich

J + H

On the beach again

Walking back to town from the beach. Loved the rocks.

St. Abbs Head

St. Abbs Head

Me

Jacob and I

Jacob. This picture shows how high up we were

Jacob and I

I ran around in here because it reminded me of Alice in Wonderland

At Dirleton Castle

Jacob

Jacob and I at St. Abbs Head


Goodnight all. Tomorrow Jacob and I are going to a town called Peebles which is only about half an hour away from Dalkeith. Peebles is Jacob's last name for those of you who aren't aware. Hopefully it's a good day. By the way, the temperature in Wisconsin was warmer than in Scotland today. Thought that might make you smile :)

Love and miss you,

Hayley and Jacob