Scotland!!!!

There is so much to tell about this trip and so little to write about in the next few days with finals, I have decided to blog in installments. Since I have some comments about my rather long, meaning you have to scroll, blogs in the past, this should remedy the problem :)

So this post is to serve as an overview of the trip! BRILLIANT! My mom said it was Heaven on Earth, and I agree with her, it was! Scotland has a unique landscape, different I feel from the rest of the United Kingdom, very proud people, a rich history and kilts. Need I say more? So these next few days, I'll break down the individual adventures as my friends Sarah Jay, Mariel and I packed in plenty of them within three days.

Our hostel was the High Street Hostel and was the perfect location! Set just a 20 meter walk off the Royal Mile and it only took us about 10 minutes to get up to the castle. The farthest walk we had to do, besides the walking tour itself, was down to the Edinburgh Playhouse were we saw the musical, "We Will Rock You," which was actually written by Queen and featured 24 Queen songs according to the flier! And that was only about a 20 minute walk max!

The trip consisted of both Edinburgh and Stirling Castle, Holyroodhouse Palace, The Royal Yacht Britannia (I was really excited about this!), Loch Lomend, small sample of the Highlands, tasting of haggis and the musical! Yea, we kept ourselves quite busy and out of trouble for a few days :)

But now, back in Dublin, with a slight cold and plenty to study I have to change gears. Update on grandma is that she came through her surgery on Monday fine, but failed her 'swallow test' the other day and a leak was discovered in her esophagus now going into her lungs. So that's not so good and requires the feeding tube to still be in place. Apparently she is slightly confused by the whole situation as most would be after undergoing the drugs, but then add to the fact that she's 91. Also, since she hasn't been able to swallow well, she hasn't been taking her blood pressure medicine and it has been on the rise with all of the added stress - go figure! My great aunt Mary Ruth, Grandma's youngest sister, has agreed to stay in town until Saturday, so at least Gma has some company and mom and dad have been visiting frequently trying to figure out where to go from here. So all in all, kind of scary, and means at least one more surgery. So continued prayers please.

And the count is down to 13 days until I'm home and 16 days until my bro gets hitched!
Cheers from Dublin and stay tuned for more about Scotland - I'll even throw in a few pics!

Britt