"What Is It?" "It's a Wall."

The lines in the title were in fact said by two companions as we looked up at the side of Doune Castle in Scotland. In fact, the second guy's response was my exact reaction. It just looked like a wall to me as well. In fact this castle had been standing for hundreds of years. It was a castle for goodness sakes. It was used in the filming of many productions including Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Several members of my group actually went back to see it again. But it just wasn't that exciting. To me.

I thought when I came to Scotland that everyone would want to do and see the same things as I did. What I've found out is there are many different types of travelers. Some want to hike up steep mountains and others want to shop in the city. Some go out to pubs all night and others would rather sit peacefully by the lake on campus. At first I was frustrated, but I realize that there is nothing wrong with any of these experiences. There just isn't a "must see" list that would fit every single person on Earth. We all hold value in different things. I know I will not see or do or experience everything I thought I would. But the things I have seen and experienced have been incredible. Why focus on what you don't do when you can revel and what you have done?

Below are most of the pictures (and a few videos) I took this week. If you click one you should be able to flip through :)

This is the constant noise around campus all day and night. 

The first several pictures come from the Loch on campus. There are lots of swans and ducks everywhere.

This is part of St. Andrews University, one of the most prestigious in the UK.

The sign on the right window of this coffee shop said "Where Kate Met Wils for coffee." Probably true as this is where they went to school and was off the beaten path so they might not have attracted as much attention.

St. Andrews Castle

In front of the English building at St. Andrews

Old Course at St. Andrews. (First golf course ever)

18th green at Old Course.

View of the beach from Old Course.

View of St. Andrews from the beach. The views were even better when kayaking but I couldn't have a camera in the water. 

You can see tiny white dots..those are people climbing the "hill".

Scottish Parliament. It's very new as it only reconvened in 1997.

Cathedral in Edinburgh. 

Monument in Edinburgh. 

Edinburgh Scot Monument closer up.

Edinburgh from the gardens nearby. 

This is a medieval taxi. 

This is how narrow the paths in Edinburgh were. And there are bars in the paths. Talk about back alley places.

Story-teller at Wallace Monument.

I walked up 264 steps that wound around like this to the top of Wallace Monument. You could barely let people pass you going up or down.

Some really cool stained class from the 1880s.

He let me hold the sword!

Wallace Monument entrance.

To give you perspective of what I climbed, it's the middle one. To be fair, it was on top of a huge hill too.

View from the top. 

Proof I made it. 

Such pretty architecture. 

See the white and black spots right above trees? Those are cows.