Stupid Poltergeist

So, yesterday on our City of the Dead tour, our guide warned us that an evil energy--a poltergeist, if you will--may attach itself to us for a couple of days, causing all sorts of havoc and misery. We nodded and smiled and chuckled a little at the idea. No. Stupid poltergeist. This morning we had to wake up early to make it on time to the tour agency with which we scheduled a highlands, Loch Ness, Glencoe coach tour. So, we set the alarm (side note--neither of us have watches. Both of mine died about a week before we left, and neither of our phones work, so the only time telling devices we have are our ipods and our computers, neither of which are convenient to carry around) for six o'clock, planning to leave by seven to be to the tour agency by seven fifty. Well, I woke up at 6:55. We hurried and got up, but weren't able to leave until about 7:35. The place we had to be was about a mile and a half or two miles away, so we'd planned on walking but being so late, we decided we needed to take a taxi. Well, that is if there WERE any taxis! The entire way, we only saw a handful, most of which were already in use. So, we walked (and ran) the entire way, both of us thinking the entire time, we are going to miss our tour, our day and our thirty pounds are going to be wasted, stupid stupid stupid poltergeist that made us wake up late and made all the taxis avoid the streets we were on. Fortunately, Someone higher up was on our side and we made it in an astounding twenty minutes, and even had time to spare. Take that, poltergeist. While Edinburgh is an incredible city and we both love it, it's sort of dirty and noisy and smelly and crowded and, well, city-ish. It was really great to get out of it for a bit, where the air was clear and everything was green. The drive was beautiful--astounding countryside. Our guide, Greg, was great. He gave us a lot of history about each area we drove through, as well as history of Scotland as a whole. He was a cheery chap and had a very thick accent (he was from the West coast). I found it a lot more interesting to listen to history coming from a native rather than a teacher. Being there, seeing the actual places, and hearing about them was great fun. We were on the coach most of the time, but we did get a few wonderful stops. The first of which was to visit Hemish. Hemish is a true Scot. A highland Scot. A big, burly, hairy, horny Scot. Hemish...is a "herry coo." Translation: A hairy cow. With HUGE horns. And lots of hair. A fairly friendly chap, but I found him to be somewhat indifferent to our attention. After Hemish, the next stop was in Glencoe. What a beautiful place! We'd been passing gorgeous lochs and glens all along, but Glencoe was phenomenal. Green and spectacular, and as Greg told it, featured a cameo in nearly every Scottish film. The next real stop was at Loch Ness. It was freeeeezing! When the wind calmed it was pleasant, but that wind cuts straight through all clothing and bites at your skin and bones. We had lunch there, and opted out of a boat tour to save the extra money for a weekend trip when we are in Kiev. It was fun to stand on the banks (we touched Loch Ness. With our bare hands. Don't be jealous.) and eat our lunch and look out on the famous loch (it is not a lake. There is only one lake in Scotland. It's a loch. There's a good story behind that, but it is escaping me at the moment.). It was very beautiful and had a lovely little village on its shore that we got to spend a little time in. After that, we headed back to Edinburgh, a good four hours away, stopping briefly here and there (one stop was Ben Nevis, the highest point in the UK. I believe the elevation is 4,406. Not much by our standards). The scenery was beatiful; we passed all sorts of glens and lochs and bens and estates and whatnot. However, that stupid poltergeist wasn't finished. Both of us were soooo tired! We figured it was jet lag finally catching up to us, since we've been up and walking and going all day the past two days, it just didn't have a chance to hit us. Sitting down a lot today gave it the opportunity it was waiting for. I prefer to blame the poltergeist, however. They say the vaults under Edinburgh, where our City of the Dead tour went, are one of the most haunted places on the face of the planet. I wouldn't doubt it. The history of that place--the criminals, the poverty, the disgusting conditions--is gruesome and cruel. Anyway, once we got back to Edinburgh, we met up with Alyson and her roommate, Rachel. We went to dinner and got Haggis, neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes are the last two). Haggis, considering it is the heart, liver, and lungs of a sheep generally cooked inside animal intestines, was surprisingly tasty. Probably wouldn't order it on a regular basis, but it certainly wasn't traumatizing to try it. We also had chips and vinegar (chips, bare in mind, are fries), which Rachel said they won't let you out of the country if you haven't eaten yes. Very tasty also. In the morning, we are headed out to Kiev. When I say morning, I mean the lovely hour of 4am. I'm not sure what the internet situation will be at the school, so we may not be posting as often. Love you all!