2007 Update (Eventually) Continued-- Visitors

I'm finally getting back to my update from last year... or at least one more installment, for now. There are just other things that come up; I will get everything dealt with eventually, though.


Jen and Machias on the North Sea coast

My Bubbee, in my flat! =)
Just over a year ago, Jen and the bubbee came to visit me for about a week. I hadn't seen them since I had been home for Machias' birth in July 2006, so I was thrilled they could come. Bubbs was six and a half months, and we had such a great time with him! We mostly just stayed around Aberdeen, and I showed off my nephew to anyone and everyone. He's such a cute and happy boy, and everyone loved him. He's nearly impossible not to like, as he's so friendly! Even Dillon (our wild cat) was taken with him, and let Machias 'pet' him every so often, which thrilled the boy. =) We spent time just hanging out at home, as well as out and about town, and we took two days to go down to Edinburgh to meet up with friends of Jen's who live in York (or somewhere down in England...). We ate Papa John's pizza while there, which was a huge treat for me, at least. I'm praying for a franchise up here, but so far no luck. =) We didn't really do too much there, except go on a Ghost Tour (even with the babies!). It was fun, but we didn't see any ghosts. Oh well. There's always next time!


Jen and Machias, in my flat

Too-cool Bubbs, ready to go out

As great as it was having them here (and it was!), it was miserable when they left. I hadn't realised how much harder it is to have visitors here, in my everyday life, and then to have them leave-- compared to going home to visit, and then coming back to my 'real' life. It was horrible! And I always thought leaving the States was hard... but it is nothing compared to this. I would do it again in a heartbeat, even though I was horribly miserable for a while afterwards. It was just so great to have them around. Come back, Bubbee! Auntie Amie loves you and misses you! And your mum, too, of course.... ;)


Mom and Kathryn at Edinburgh Castle

Inverness by night

I had another set of visitors in September for about a week-- my mom and her best friend, Kathryn. They kept me busy while they were here, too! It's great, though, because whenever I have company I get to sightsee and play the tourist instead of the student. =) We spent time here in Aberdeen, of course, seeing things like the university, Footdee (the original fishing village on the sea coast), and the city centre. We also did a few little trips out of the city itself, including down to Stonehaven and Dunnottar Castle one day, and up to Torry Battery and Girdleness Lighthouse another day. The weather was hit or miss-- actually, it was the worst September weather we've had since I've been here. It was unseasonably cold and wet, but the times we did see the sun were even more beautiful by comparison.


Mom and Kathryn at Urquhart Castle

Elgin Cathedral


We had a rented car the whole time (it was fantastic-- a silver five-door Volkswagon Golf), so we took a road trip. We wended our way up through Inverury and Elgin, where we stopped to see the ruins of the cathedral. I hadn't been there before, and it was awesome. We ended up in Inverness (eventually), and walked from our b&b into the city centre for dinner and a drink in a pub. There was supposed to be live music, but they were apparently very, very late in starting... so we went back to bed. The next day we drove out to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle, which is always awesome. Except for the freezing cold weather and precipitation, it was awesome. After that, we wound our way back home-- stopping off for a tour and a dram at the Glenfiddich Distillery. Another day, we took the train down to Edinburgh and back. We saw the castle and the Royal Mile, had coffee at the Elephant House (always on my list of capitol stops, thanks to it being a haunt of Jo Rowling while writing the first Harry Potter book), did a lot of shopping and a bit of eating. It was a loooong day, but a good one.


Rainbow over Stonehaven Harbour



It was nice to have mom finally get to see where I live and study and all, and I'm really glad that Kathryn came along as well. Unless you've been here, you can't really understand what my life is like. So if you really want to know, come on over! ;)