For dinner last night we went to this adorable quaint pub called the Half Moon.
I had duck hearts as an appetizer...surprisingly delicious.
R.I.P. ducks.

'Quiet desperation is the English way...'

In gorgeous, sunny (surprisingly) England I've managed to do three very English things this week.
1) Go to their new, shiney and gigantic shopping mall in London called Westfields. It's massive, think three times the size of the Eaton's Center. It is also very Euro, which makes it fun to visit. With outdoor cafe's along the perimeter, and a genius architectural design to the building- it has everything you could ever want/need/imagine. Go there if you're looking to shop whilst in London.
2) I had the opportunity to drive on the other side of the road. Now I know that I did this many times during the summer I Au Paired here, however I was not planning on doing it this time, so it came as a bit of a shock. Managed to navigate around roundabouts and hairpin tight turns just fine, stay tuned though...more driving today.
3) Last night we all went to London to see English comedian Bill Bailey's live stand-up show. It was amazing. If you don't know who he is, Youtube him. He's hilarious, and I fell in love with his comedy last time I was over here. My cheeks were literally aching from laughing so hard. Although some of the jokes were revolving around British politics, of which I only know a bit about from listening in to both the criticisms and praises that carry on around me, I nevertheless found his deliverance of each joke enjoyable. He's a funny looking guy to begin with, having big googly eyes, (you'll understand this if you youtube him) so you cannot help but laugh.

Before the show began last night, we had the chance to walk around Leicester Square, which is just off of Charing Cross, right around the corner from Trafalgar Square. Although I have been to London a  handful of times, this was my first visit to these popular, and beautiful tourist destinations. Jampacked with people on every street corner, the storefronts and sidewalk cafes were all lit up, with theaters and their twinkling lights shining on every street as well. It was a really nice area, one that I will visit again soon.

What I love about staying with locals when you're in a beautiful country such as England, is how accustomed they become to their incredible historical monuments that fill the city. We were driving home from the show, and passing by Buckingham Palace was like driving past their corner store, no big deal.
I think I have to live in London for a bit...

The sky was also lit up last night, all around the city and surrounding area with fireworks, it was Bonfire Night. It was raining, apparently the British have managed to create waterproof fireworks.

xo

More from Scotland

 The beautiful city center of Glasgow! Siobhan took me on a bus tour of the city. Closer to Christmas, this square becomes all lit up!

 The beautiful campus of Glasgow University...it looks as if it's located in Central Park.

 The 2L bottles of Strongbow that only cost two pounds, genius.

 Out with Siobhan's flatmates! This was a really neat hotel/bar that we started out at...no music though, so we continued on haha.

 St. Andrews!!! On our hike, this is the view from part of the Fife trail, which runs along the sea for about 7 hours. We only did an hour of it...

 One of the many golf courses surrounding us...

 Rich and I!!!

 Taylor and Rich...he was our hiking guide, also our token American friend.

 Walking down someones driveway, on our way back...

 This is the terrifying creature that almost had the misfortune of running into...thank god we didn't.
 Running on haybails...

 St. Andrews in the background

 My 'Halloween costume'....so sad, all I really had was the wig. So I told people I was a Pink Lady from Grease....had the leather jacket on...haha.

 Bobby Dylan, Rich as some sort of dead vampire, and his bat, and Ahmad who didn't dress up, not cool..

 Anstruther, the small fishing village that Rich and I travelled to on Monday.

 Swinging near the seaaa, singing the 'Drunkin' Sailor' song

My future cottage...

Iron Bru is this really sweet pop that the Scotish looove. It tastes like a mix of Cream Soda, Orange Crush, and Ginger Ale...yum.

 The famous fish and chip place! Did not take long for us to finish this...

 HAGGIS!!! Surprisingly good...althought the true taste was masked by gravy and mashed potatoes...haha

Me digging in...

Quick Travel Tips

These mainly apply to those travelling on their own...take note:

1. Choose your seat wisely on a train/plane/bus. Scope out the people, the location, and compare it to the amount of baggage you yourself have. AVOID BATHROOM AREAS. My train ride to Edinburgh was less than pleasant because of that mistake...never again.

2. When possible, watch local television shows that are popular with your age group. It's a great way to start up a conversation/debate when you're meeting people for the first time. (My shows now are the Inbetweeners and X Factor)

3. Travel as LIGHT as possible. Ryanair may seem all amazing and magical because it's so damn cheap. But obviously the airline needs to make money, so they find little tiny ways to charge you...a.k.a overweight luggage.

xo

Haunted Castles

Beautiful, beautiful Scotland. We spent our Halloween evening exploring a haunted castle!!!! ...spooky
St. Andrews is definitely a town to visit if you're nearby, it's small, but worth it. You can walk down the cobble stone streets, pop into a cafe for a smoothie or hot chocolate with oreos, (yum!) or grab some of the worlds best fish and chips. -- Rich and I did a day trip to a small seaside village called Anstruther, which has a restaurant there that claims to have the best fish and chips in Europe. (A hotspot for Prince William, when he studied at St. Andrews, and apparently Tom Hanks has made appearances.)
The food was EXCELLENT!
We managed to find an 'American' restaurant one night, and watched American football on the big screen, while eating hamburgers and chips...a nice change.
Going to an international school like St. Andrews, you meet a lot of interesting people...Rich is lucky.

More pictures to come...
xx

Rich, proud of his new University

The Old Course, 18th Hole. Home of many British Opens, won here by T Woods himself.

This photo is for you Dad. The Swilcan bridge Arnie Palmer famously stood on waving his hat after winning. I didn't have a hat, so had to compromise.

Rich, contemplating what his next move should be...

On my way to Rich's class....these are his school buildings......beauty.