Student Bloggers
Exploring Scotland: Visits to Glasgow and Perth
Date
February 12, 2015
So a lot has happened since my last post. I took a day trip to Glasgow, and found an American candy store there, that was selling a 12 pack of A&W Root Beer for 16 pounds, I’ve actually had to do schoolwork (I knew this day would eventually come), and I visited Perth.
Let’s take things one at a time. First, Glasgow! We took a train to Glasgow, which if I haven’t mentioned this before- I love train travel. Maybe it’s just because it’s new and exciting to me, but I love being able to see the countryside, you can get up and walk around, and the seats aren’t half bad. Glasgow was a very neat city and although I didn’t see much, I still really enjoyed my time there.
I didn’t purchase the expensive root beer, but I having been missing certain foods that are easily accessible at home. Specifically Mexican food. After trying various “tortilla” chips that are really plain Doritos, I found some tortilla chips that closely resemble what I could get at home. The guacamole here is weird, so I ended up making my own. I went to five groceries trying to find cilantro, until I finally found out it’s called coriander in the UK. When I asked, “where’s the cilantro?” the store employees looked at me like I was crazy. After I finished the guacamole I offered it to my Scottish flatmates- they liked it!
The trip to Perth was a lot of fun! We visited Scone Palace, which is actually pronounced “scoon” not like the yummy pastry. It has played a significant role in Scottish history, but I’ll spare you the details. The grounds were beautiful and the visit just happened to be on a clear and sunny day. It was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and just walk around the Palace’s grounds. The town of Perth was also very neat. I mostly walked around and looked at the shops.
Looking ahead: The University of Edinburgh has a week in February called Innovative Learning Week, which means there are no classes for a week. So, I’m headed to Germany and Austria! I’m packing my drindl and a week’s worth of clothes into my backpack and stopping in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna. I’m taking German this semester, so I’m hoping that comes in handy. But, “Mein Name ist Margaret” won’t be that useful when we’re lost. I know the names for lots of fruits and vegetables, though!