What I Did This Week

Snow falling on Drummond Street on Feb 13, the day before my family arrived. Snow's not uncommon here, but it rarely ever sticks because it's not quite cold enough. 

This week was probably one of the best I've had since I came to Edinburgh, due to a few different things. Firstly, and probably most importantly, my family came to visit this week! My brother's high school (read: my old high school) had the week off for February break, which just happened to coincide with the University of Edinburgh's Innovative Learning Week (for some students, it's a week to present projects, for me it was a week off). So, my parents and brother flew out and arrived on Valentine's Day to hang out and explore Edinburgh with me. 

It seems as though my family brought that blinding winter sunshine that is so typical to New York with them, because we had incredible weather all week. This hasn't happened to me at all in Edinburgh yet - although there have been a decent number of sunny, rain free days, I hadn't yet experienced this many in a row. My family visiting, the great weather, and the lack of school definitely contributed to my improved mood this week. 

This week, my family and I did most of the touristy things in town: we checked out the castle (the second time for my dad and me), visited Holyrood, popped into the National Museum of Scotland and the Museum of Edinburgh, drove up to Loch Ness, did a fair bit of shopping, went to a concert, saw Deadpool, and walked the Royal Mile more times than I can count.

A view from the castle

I definitely felt aquatinted with Edinburgh this week in that I was able to show my family around, barely needed google maps (when I did, it was just to ensure that what I was thinking was correct), and could tell them little anecdotes that I've heard about the city or that I've experienced myself. It was definitely a testament to the fact that I have been living and adapting here, despite how badly I wished that wouldn't be the case at the beginning. 

It was nice to be able to walk around the city without hiding my head from the rain, and it was nice to have my brother (who is one of my favorite people on the planet) to laugh and joke with all day. My one friend here, Aaron, makes me laugh so hard most of the time, but it was nice to be laughing with someone who knows me as well as my little brother. 

Loch Ness from Urqhart Castle ft. that guy who would not move out of my shot

Too much happened this week to recount everything, and I'm sure I already can't remember everything that we did, so I'll list my highlights instead. 

My number one highlight (beside just like seeing my family which is obviously the biggest highlight) was the All Time Low concert I dragged my brother to in Glasgow. I've been an All Time Low fan since I was a freshman in high school, and when I was a sophomore and junior, they were a massive part of my life. My best friend was a huge fan (she once sculpted a bust of Alex Gaskarth) so we saw them every time they came to New York, and met them quite a few times as well. I've even spent an evening watching Home Alone with Jack Barakat. 

I obviously have a ton of memories relating to and with All Time Low, so when I realized they were touring the UK I thought it would be fun to get a ticket. I hadn't seen them since probably early 2012, and I was very used to seeing them in fairly small, standing room only venues. So, I went from being barricades (front row) at All Time Low shows, usually after an afternoon meet & greet, to being in the second to last row in a pretty large arena venue. It was a totally new perspective, and they played a bunch of totally new songs that I didn't know very well, but I'm so, so happy I went. 

View from the top

After the concert, my highlights from the week included going a little crazy at Boots (think CVS, but they also have really highend makeup) and Lush, because I am terribly materialistic, Holyrood Palace, which I liked a lot more than I thought I would, and generally just walking around in the nice weather with my family. I didn't even hate looking like a tourist - which usually makes me cringe more than anything.

Holyrood

It was, of course, a bummer when my family had to leave. I had been looking forward to this visit for ages - it was my sort of benchmark, when it felt like I would be sitting in this bedroom forever without talking to anyone (other than the person working at the counter at Tesco) I would think about just making it until my family came to visit. Now that's passed, and I'm left feeling a little floaty and unsure.

I have plenty of things to look forward to, though: I'm going to Ireland soon, my cousin is coming to visit even sooner, I'm going to book trips for my spring break, I'm seeing 5 Seconds of Summer after that, and there's a likelihood that my family will come to visit again, a few more of them next time. Also, not to mention, I have plenty of school work that I should be doing. I'm pretty sure I have more than enough of that stuff to pass my time.

Hopefully this week will help me get a little bit more on track, and hopefully I'll get into the swing of school things more this week (read: I have to). I'm really glad to have had this week, and I'm hoping it resets me a little to help me get ready for the second half of the semester.

Until next time! xx g