SCOTLAND TRIP

Get ready for a lot of pictures... here comes our program's week long trip to the North. 40 students, 4 professors and their families, and Tony (our coach driver) got on the coach at 6 am on Monday and spent the week living out of our duffel bags as we got on and off the coach in many different places!

MONDAY
After about 4 hours on the coach we arrived in the town of York. We first went to a Viking Center. York was a Viking Town in 975 AD and archeologists have discovered the town of Jorvik underground (because over time cities build on top of themselves). We went down a flight of stairs where we got on a little car like Indiana Jones at Disneyland (minus anything exciting) and took us around a street of this town. Every house we saw was in its original position. This particular place was known for its correct odors of a Viking town... it wasn't that bad :) There was a narration in the car as we went through. It was a very different type of museum and it was nice to do something different.
Next we walked down the street called The Shambles. This street has been here since Anglo-Saxon time. It's unique in that it still has the overhanging buildings that filled much of London before the Great Fire. As people started building up, each floor extended out until at the top floor you could shake hands with the people across the street. This street is famous for its historical look I guess.

Me on the Shambles
Next we headed to the York Minster. Technically a cathedral because it is the seat of the Archbishop of the Anglican church for Northern England (Canturbury Cathedral is the seat for the South), it goes by "minster" because it was the mission home for Christian missionaries in the days of the Vikings. We walked around this beautiful church and then climbed the tower (I really need to count how many towers I've climbed here...).

Diana and I posing on top of the York Minster. We are starting to get tired of just standing and smiling.

Cool architecture on top of the York Minster

I forgot to mention earlier that a woman named Chileta (sp?) arrived in the Centre Sunday night and accompanied us on our trip to Scotland. She is one of the head people of the Kennedy Center (International Studies) at BYU and just came from Russia andis heading to Rome after this visiting BYU's various programs in Europe. We started talking while walking around York and I mentioned that I'm in the Nursing program. She excitedly starting telling me about some of the amazing nursing study abroads she has visited. In case you don't know, one of the required classes in the Nursing program is some sort of cultural experience for about 6 weeks. Every year there are different opportunities (Australia, Taiwan, Africa, Ecquador) but there are also opportunities on an Indian Reservation or AIDS clinic in Utah. Anways she told me I HAVE to go international if I can. She said its a really unique program to be able to use our skills in situations where we can really help. She had visited a program in Ghana and shared some awesome experiences. She said the nursing professors do a really good job of keeping the cost reasonable. Many of them apply for grants for themselves and then use the money to fund the program. Anyways, I think she enjoyed talking to someone about her experiences.

Next stop, Fountains Abbey. These are the ruins of a church which was destroyed during the Reformation of England. It's huge and gorgeous. Today we appreciate it for its beauty. However, in the 1500s it signified the wealth of the church (Roman Catholics). One of the reasons the people of England were supportive of Henry VIII's disassociaton of the church with Rome and beginning the Church of England was becuase monks who were supposed to be living humble lives had acquired so much wealth and used it to have places like Fountains Abbey. So that gave us a little something extra to think about as we climbed up old ruins and took reflective pictures!

After a long day on the bus we arrived in Durham to sleep in a castle. Yup a castle. First we had to lug our stuff up a 15 minute hill. I was starting to regret bringing a duffel bag about half way up, as a I watched other girls pull there little carry-on suitcases) but that was the last time I thought that the rest of the week. We stayed in the dorms of a school that is on holiday right now. So its only open as a hostel during the summer. I opened the door not sure what to expect and the room was huge! I had expected what my experience has been with hotel rooms in Europe which are very small. But these are dorms so people live here. Anways the community toilets and showers were probably the best we saw for the rest of the week. We were desperate for food. 4 of us found an Italian restaurant and 3 of us made the mistake of ordering the same thing. It wasnt very good. But we had gotten cheese bread and there was a salad bar so we made it. But we decided we would never get the same thing again so we can always share if something is gross. We walked along a riverside path (swapping gnats out of our faces) and then I headed back to go to bed! Oh and another luxury of the castle: Only one roommate. And she didn't come back until I was asleep so for the first time in a long time I went to bed in complete silence. Glorious.

Riverside stroll.
Durham castle (where we stayed) is just to the left of my head and the Durham Cathedral is on the right.
TUESDAY
Sarah and I woke up early to go running. We randomly turned down roads and found ourselves on a running path next to the river (convenient eh?). We ran along passing a few other runners. The river was glassy smooth and the sun was rising over the clouds. Such a peaceful start to the day. After showering I went to breakfast in the Dining Hall. Think Harry Potter Dining Hall. I learned the English like to have vegetables with their breakfasts. Steamed tomatoes, mushrooms, and/or pinto beans were not uncommon througout the week. Next we headed to the Durham Cathedral. They were about to start morning prayer when we walked in so about 6 of us joined. It was a neat experience and great way to enjoy the cathedral. Back to the coach!

So we took an unplanned stop to Hadrian's Wall. The Romans built it when they decided they wouldn't be able to conquer Scotland, construction began in 122 AD. Anyways we drove past a couple portions but then stopped at this place to see the wall and this fort on the wall. Long story short: no wall. We saw lots of ruins from the fort, but no wall. For the rest of the trip the joke was if you ever went anywhere and it wasn't what you expected it to be we'd say, you mean like "Hadrian's Wall?" -with hand motions-

Searching for Hadrian's Wall

Welcome to Scotland.
Our next stop was to the country home of Sir Walter Scott, in Abbotsford. He was a famous poet in the beginning of the 1800's. We had an awesome tour guide who gave us our first taste of Scottish Pride! He made the tour of the house very enjoyable. In history we were conveniently studying the Scottish Enlightenment during our trip which made everything more meaningful.

Me at Abbotsford

Welcome to Edinburgh.
We were supposed to hike to Arthur's seat that evening as a group but it was pouring rain. We checked into our youth hostel. It was a fun place. They had pool tables, couches and a bar in the basement. I was in a room of 8, but it was split into 2 halves so there were just four people on my side. For the next 2 days everything I ate was fried. Just accept it, its the Scottish way I guess.
A big group of us did the Underground Tours that night. (the first half of which was in the pouring rain..sensing a theme yet?) This is supposed to be a scary/jumpy tour of the vaults built underneath the bridges of Edinburgh. We had an amazing tour guide. Her eye sockets were just right for holding a flashlight under her face and looking quite creepy. The first half was just walking around the main streets and we learned a bit about the history of Edinburgh, and how the vaults came to be, and how they were re-discovered about 100 years ago (yes they did forget about them). It was definitely a bit creepy, and at the end they had a guy staged to jump out at us, I was impressed, it was well-done.

I took this picture during the tour (before we went underground) of the sunset in Edinburgh

WEDNESDAY

Since we didn't hike Arthur's Seat the night before, and we had a lot of assigned things to do during the day, 4 of us decided to hike it at 5:30 am. An early morning outing has never scared me so of course I agreed. To give you an idea of what it is - here's a picture my friend took the next morning (when it was a bit clearer):

This was a place King Arthur would come overlook the city supposedly, but what we appreciated it for was that Orson Hyde would often come here to reflect, and this is where he dedicated the land of the preaching of the gospel. He was one of the first LDS missionaries in England, in the first mission to Europe.
We had sun at the beginning, then a light shower, then a windy hard rain, and then back to sun - all within about 2 hours.

Me and the sea in the very back
Beautiful sunrise
My professor held history class at 9 am in one of the conference rooms in the hostel. Next we headed to Edinburgh Castle. We watched a guy play the bag pipes. We spent a lot of time in various exhibits.

Me and a very big cannon at the castle

By the time we were done at the castle it was pouring. Absolute downpour. And it didn't let up! Smart Melissa didn't even wear a rain jacket and luckily I had a poncho in my bag that Mom and I had gotten in Paris. I wasn't even ashamed to wear it, that's how bad the rain was! It probably didn't help that we decided to watch a funeral procession just standing there in the pouring rain. Anyways Sarah and I finally escaped to get some lunch at a restaurant. We got some stares as we took off all our layers and our jeans were still soaked up to our thighs. We eventually left to face the rain once and again and made our way to a museum about Sir Walter Scott and some other writers for English. We ran into the Shuler's there (resident managers here at the London Center) and he suggested we go to the National Gallery of Scotland. On our way there we saw the memorial to Sir Walter Scott:

Showing off the poncho!
We enjoyed the art museum and then managed to walk across town to the Museum of Scotland for History (the rain finally stopped). On the way we found...

... The Elephant House

Yes this is where J.K. wrote the beginnings of her first Harry Potter book on napkins. Ah how touching. By the time we made it to the museum we were so dead. Tired, wet and hungry doesn't make a good combination, especially when you have to be patient enough in a museum to do an assignment on it. Somehow we made it through (I'm really not sure how) and then had to face the flights of stairs back down to the bottom. As we turned a corner on this spiral staircase I saw this sign in an alcove and started cracking up. We were a bit delirious I will admit...
Next we wet to Chocolate Soup - which was highly recommended by Sister Schuler. They were known for their desserts and hot chocolate. Sarah and I split a brownie/ice cream sandwich covered in "chocolate soup," also known as chocolate sauce. After this re-energizing experience we shopped for cool Scottish stuff and definitely found some fun things. We met the program that evening for an organ recital in the Edinburgh Cathedral. That was really cool. He played pieces by Mendelssohn, Bach, and Wagner. We explored some more that night and then played some card games in the hostel after buying black current lemonades at the bar.

THURSDAY (my favorite! you'll see why soon...)
Everyone liked our idea of hiking Arthur's Seat early in the morning so most my girlfriends did it this morning before the bus left at 9 am. I went running on my own and it was fun. We headed to the Lake District, England (goodbye Scotland). Our first stop was a William Wordsworth's house in Grassmere. The drive today really was a highlight. All throughout Northern England and the Lake District is GORGEOUS. I swear the green is little brighter here. And the old school stone fences and sheep really add a nice effect. I hard time getting my English reading done on the bus because I just wanted to stare out the window! When I exhibited a bit of self control and did my reading, I was reading William Wordsworth's, The Prelude, which was his poem about his life and it was cool to think about this is where he was talking about! He talked about ice skating in his poem and I saw his ice skates at the museum. Anyways here's me and his house below me and the lake is right where the smoke is... whoops

Me above William Wordsworth's house in Grasmere
We arrived in Ambleside where our hostel was for the night. The hostel is right on the lake. I had wanted to rent bikes and ride around the pretty hillsides and the lake, but the stores closed too early. One of the professor's was heading up a hike. Part of me felt like I'd been hiking all week, but I decided to go. I'm so glad I did! First stop.. a waterfall!

Think Eagle Creek Canyon transported to England

Next we headed up to a peak that overlooked Ambleside. Maybe they haven't heard of switchbacks here but this picture is a good view of what we did all 1400 feet to the top.
Taking a break, oh and posing

Made it to the top! That's Ambleside below me

We had some "Sound of Music" moments (The hills are alive!)
We made it back from our hike in time for dinner served at the hostel. Afterwards a few brave souls dared to jump into the lake in front of our hostel. There was a sign that we saw afterwards that said "YHA does not recommend jumping off this jetty." People kept telling me I was crazy but I kept trying to explain that jumping into excruciating cold water is not abnormal for me. Plus this water was NOT cold, I didn't even go numb.

The girls before the jump

Here's a video of the initial jump. We jumped in quite a few more times after that. At the end you'll see the guys jump over the boat at the end of the dock. It took a long time for me to get up the courage to do the same. Everyone behind me was saying not to, but I would have regretted it all night if I hadn't. Oh I forgot to mention we had like a 30 person audience as the rest of the group watched us. This was definitely unexpected ... you'd think we were putting on a show or something!

We're all still alive afterwards

When I finally headed in for my hot shower, I passed by two of my professors with their wives. One said, "Melissa, I didn't know you had it in you" and the other kind of scolded me for jumping over the boat saying "if you would have gotten hurt..." but I could tell deep down he was pleased. Usually my university professors don't see this side of me! The hostel had this cool thing called a drying room. It was a hot room with a bunch of racks with hangers. By the time I finished hanging up my clothes in there I was plenty warm, no ill effects from the jump. I could see how this room could be very handy in a cold, wet place.

FRIDAY
We left Ambleside and went to Preston, England. We learned a lot about the church history in the area. We had a professional tour guide who was LDS and we walked around the town and learned cool things that happened in different places. The oldest unit of the church is located in Preston since the early LDS members had to shut down the wards in Kirtland, Missouri and Nauvoo before Salt Lake. We went to the River Ribble where the first baptisms were performed. The missionaries here were called "dippers" because they performed bapism by immersion, I thought that was kind of funny. He rode on our coach for about 30 minutes to the temple and told more cool stories from church history in Preston, England. We then

Me where Heber C. Kimball preached as the first missionary in England, and where President Hinckely preached on his mission when he was younger.

We arrived at the temple site which consists of much more than just the temple. Visitors center, Family History Center, MTC, accommodations for those doing service at the temple, a football (soccer) field and track for the missionaries or local stake events, the stake center and the temple. I think I got them all. It was a very pretty sight. Part of the deal of buying the plot of land was that they couldn't cut down any trees. So there are many very old established trees here. For the dedication they had to find grown trees for their landscaping, because new trees wouldn't fit with the big old ones.

Me trying to be artistic

Much to everyone's displeasure our last stop was the Quarry Bank Mill. Supposedly we had originally planned to go to Pemberly (the home of Mr.Darcy from Pride and Prejudice) but one of the professors decided to go somewhere more educational. We were all pretty worn out when it comes to museums. When we arrived I decided that since it didn't matter how many people were upset with the situation, we were not going to Pemberly and we were going to the museum, just to make the best of it. I starting reading about the museum and by the end I learned a lot about how cotton was originally processed, how weaving works, and how a water wheel is used to produce power. I agree I would have rathered of done the museum at a different point in time, but it was a pretty well-done museum. This was one of the first cotton mills beginning the Industrial Revolution in England.

Dad I took this picture for you... a dentists chair from the 1850s.


The week I spent in Paris with Mom, and the traveling I did with the group this week were very different experiences. With Mom we got to do whatever we wanted at our own pace, and skip the things we didn't want to do. However a lot of our time was devoted to how to get somewhere, what order to do things etc. With a group you sit back and relax on the coach and basically get ushered around the country. But you might not be able to do things you want to do, or get stuck doing things you would rather not. There are advantages to both. I was glad I understood this concept. I definitely enjoyed just sitting back and relaxing, no map in hand :), knowing the price I paid was possibly missing things I would have liked to see or seeing things I would have definitely crossed off my list :). Afte another 4+ hours in the coach we made it back to the center. I never thought I'd be so excited to see my little white bunk bed!