Spring Break in Two Parts
Ok, so this post is a little late, but let’s think of it as my one post for April. Mmm K?
// Spring Break Part I //
My Spring Break this year was super hectic. It started with four days in Jordan accompanying my cheerleading squad to a basketball tournament in Amman, Jordan. Nine cheerleaders made the trip with me early on Friday morning. We cheered at about 6 games over the course of the weekend which was great practice for the squad which usually has trouble showing up to games due to various other academic and extra curricular activities. We cheered for the girls’ and boys’ teams and our school came out third place for girls and first place for boys. Monday we took advantage of the fantastic weather and went to the Dead Sea for a day of relaxation and reward for all of the hard work over the weekend.
// Spring Break Part II //
I arrived back in Beirut on Monday night and then promptly repacked for my week in Scotland. Back in the fall my friend Erin’s dad Mick who is a big runner told me about a half marathon in Edinburgh in April. When I realized that the race was going to be during Spring Break I decided that would be a perfect trip for me since I’d never been to Scotland and the Rock ‘n’ Roll marathons are supposed to be really fun.
I was planning on traveling around by myself but an old roommate from NYC put me in touch with a friend of hers who was also planning on doing the race so it worked out perfectly for us to travel together for the week leading up to the race. We rented a car and hit the road traveling all around Scotland.
My view from the back seat for most of the trip. That’s Dan on the left and Cyndi on the right.
Lucky for me (since I didn’t do any research whatsoever for this trip) Cyndi is a super planner and figured out all of the trip details including care rental, towns to visit, and hotels! I met up with Dan and Cyndi in Inverness and then we visited Skye, Oban, Edinburgh, and countless other places along the way.
There were lots of sheep along the way. This was in Skye.
The first castle of many.
Waterfall at Kilt Rock in Skye.
Pit stop for coffee and scones.
View of Oban.
The weather was touch and go, but the scenery was always gorgeous.
Cold and windy but the blue skies were welcome!
We arrived in Edinburgh on Friday night and had the weekend to spend in the city. Everyone told me that I would really like Edinburgh but I wasn’t prepared for how much I would truly love it. I even had thoughts like, Why did I study abroad in Florence twice when I could have studied here? (What?? <—-you. I KNOW!<—- me. )
I mean, seriously, how amazing is this?
There were so many cute shops and restaurants and streets to walk that I think you can’t even truly appreciate the city unless you’ve lived there for at least a bit.
Saturday morning I met up with Mick and Shirley and their friends Lotus and Keiji at the packet pick-up for the race. We spent the rest of the weekend exploring Edinburgh together (and of course there was the actual race on Sunday).
Packet pick-up in a perfect Scotland setting.
Ruins of the Holyrood Abbey.
A yummy and well-deserved post-race lunch.
A church on the Royal Mile looking mighty spooky at night.
Castle visit.
Such a great break! I wonder what next year has in store for me.
what an amazing vacation! 🙂
Pingback: Long Bus Journey . . . And Some Travel Budget Talk | The Present Perfect