Blogging by lauren

well, that's all folks, blogging is tiring -- can understand why shannon only put up like one post, lol -- anyways, these are some pictures that were on facebook -- if there were explanations on facebook i tried to put them on there and i tried to group them, but no guarantees. oh, and shannon, i don't think i changed your password but let me know if i did so i can tell you it :) ha ha ha

more england . . . i think

Shannon outside of Kenilworth castle to the right

Aran Islands

the islands dad almost made it to, but never has . . yet




Biking, very green and a lovely way to traverse the countryside
















Shannon sneaking into some ruins












Old celtic fortification














Shannon sneaking through a door


















A ruined church on the aran islands

Ireland

Ireland pictures















































Shannon making a wish i think






















Shannon on a walk through the trees














Shannon in galway

London

These are some of the pictures of shannon at london, or somewhere near there



































They are coming out of the Barbican Theater after watching the first part of Lipsynch, whatever that is :)









Shannon at a coffee house in london, though she probably had tea

The Lake District

This is their trip to the lake district





















Shannon and her friend sitting by a tree

















Shannon walking by some houses

















Shannon at either hadrian's wall or Dryburgh Abbey

well, since shannon never posts on her blog i decided to do it for her, since there are lots of pictures on her facebook that she hasn't showed us
here's some photos of Edinburgh :)


This is shannon at the Royal botanical gardens being a tree hugger.













This is shannon in edinburgh with the Sir walter scott memorial in the background on the left

on the right its shannon at a kate nash concert, though i have no idea who that is

Oh dear. I am not very good at this blogging thing.

Arthur's Seat etc., Edinburgh, August 30

Waking up at 4:30 in the morning to trek across the city and climb up Arthur's seat, the highest nearby crag? Yes, a little crazy, but it was worth it. We started out in grey light, passing pasty-faced, slightly intoxicated folks on their way back home from a long night at the pub. We weren't quite awake ourselves. A good forty-five minute walk down sidewalks and under a few sketchy bridges, we were at HolyRood Palace where the Queen stays when she makes a rare appearance. Right beside the palace is a ruined abbey, but we couldn't get too close; nobody was their to open the gate at quarter to six. At the foot of green slopes that roll up to the seat is a dark loch with swans. Even this early a man feeds them pinches of bread.

With me on this adventure was Bethany, Rachel, Michelle, Jesse and Tyler. We didn't know Tyler was coming until we stumbled out of our rooms to find him still up on the computer. He was a little out of it. Anyway, we started up the climb, seeing noone on our path, but a few people far away on the top of some hill and evidence of some recent visitors to the ruins of St. Andrews chapel in the way of beer cans. It took us a while to get to the top (a little out of shape despite the miles of walking). The last 100 yards or so is up a path of inlaid stone that walks the spine of a crag.




We had hoped to see the sunrise, but the mists obscured most of the light. Just as we got to the top, though, the sun slit the clouds and slanted in. The wind swept across the top from which we could see all of Edinburgh, the surrounding hills and fields, the bay, the islands and the fog resting on the surface of the ocean. To a graffitied post someone had tethered Tibetan peace flags that pulled into the wind.

At the top we gloated, stared in amazement at the view and took an obscene amount of pictures. After awhile fooling around, we gathered together and Michelle began to read the Bible aloud, praising the Lord for his creation. It all was so near. Finally, the wind reached a howl and we retreated back down the path, passing a few early morning hikers and pausing to lay down in the grass which is even softer and thicker than it looks.




Needless to say, we were all feeling a little tired - nobody talked very much - until we stopped at an "authentic Italian coffee" place to imbibe some caffeine. (We had since dispatched Tyler, who had not slept at all, back to the hotel). Then it was off to farmer's market! There is a row of orderly tents with matching signs and a whole variety of foods and crafts. Cheeses, breads, vegetables, berries, meat (venison?), sweets, jams plus other cool stuff like homemade soap and knitwear and pies. It was pretty fun. After meandering back to the hotel to change, the others napped while I went off with my farmer's market lunch to the graveyard at the base of the castle and read and ate and took a lot of pictures of mossy trees and tombstones (it was a camera happy day).

At night, we had a performance by Turkish sufi dancers and singers called the Whirling Dervishes. Wearing white, wide-skirted robes and stiff brown turbans they spun around for 5-10 minutes at a time, never losing their balance. It was so interesting; these men began to look like flowers or dandelion threads spinning down out of the air.

It was our last night in Edinburgh and Carrie's birthday so we got ice cream at the only place still serving it at 10:30 - McDonalds - and ate it and played around in a park until we all were tired. Going home was a little bittersweet; we were saying goodbye to a city we'd barely known and some of us were never returning to.


And, yes, Mom, I know that there are no people in some of these pictures (I really did try) but everything is so beautiful! I really like taking pictures of flowers right now, so here you go. I think this is the heather that makes the hills so purple!

Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh is this mix of grey city and green gardens, pubs and Pizza Hut, old stone walls holding up their half of a new glass-walled building. There are cobblestone streets, centuries old cathedrals, double-decker buses, monuments and forgotten parks. There's even a castle! So far we've been busy - plays, classes, reading, exploring, art galleries, tours, restaurants, pubs, concerts! The Fringe - a huge play extravaganza with venues tucked in to every corner of the city - has just ended, so Edinburgh is taking the smallest breath. There are a lot of people here right now, August is the most popular tourist time, and apparently the population nearly triples. Honestly, I could wander for days and still not see everything! We've walked a lot of miles (think of the steps, Dad!) and there are always more places to see! We are starting to fall into our routines, finding our stomping ground. Haymarket, Princes, Lothian, Pret... I've even figured out the buses (though guessing which bus will take the best route is always a little bit of an adventure). So, the pictures. The first is from the top of a hill where we saw Midsummers' Night Dream in a tent and overlooks the city. The second is me with Hanna, my roomate from freshman year! She is on Europe semester, but we were lucky enough to get to hang out a little bit! We actually climbed Scott memorial (a huge landmark-type tower in the center of the city). It's 287 steps to the top up a narrow cork-screw staircase! Talk about vertigo! It was really fun to hang out with Hanna, though. Then there is a picture of me and some other girls on our trip - Jen, Bethany and Becky - in front of a bus stop (yes, we were touristy). The fourth picture is the view from Scott tower looking across the city to Arthur's seat (that's the slab of green hill) which I have yet to climb, but am hoping to before we leave. The last picture is Scott tower (with one of the buses in front). More later! Cheers, as they say!

Leaving in (gasp) THREE DAYS!

So the countdown and the to-do lists and the stress are flying around, but I'm starting to get excited too. Today I had coffee with Jean Moore, who is this amazing, quiet, generous spirit and - oh yeah- she loves England and theater and reading! Talking with her was reassuring, calming and also made me so excited. It still seems a little unreal - sitting around at home, procrastinating on everything I have to do, watching the Olympics - it doesn't really feel like I'll be heading for LAX on Tuesday and leaving for four months! AHHHHHH! Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing, not going back to Westmont and missing out on everything there. And then I pinch myself because, hello, I'm going to England! I suppose the bottom line is that I am a little crazy right now. You should see me charging through Target as the spastic shopper! It's a little embarrassing. Anyway, enough now, I haven't even left yet!