North Berwick, Tantallon Castle

Traveling on my Universitys so called "reading week" that most if not all students considered a spring break to the so talked about small coastal town of North Berwick at the end of the rail east of Edinburgh I was plesently surprised by just that a small quant coastal town. The town known for the large volcanic vent hills that speck its land scape which can be seen from miles away. Also reveared for its natural researves of free birds and large ruins of once extremely powerful and important fortests, castles and monestaries.
I arrived on the at the small town 33 minutes east of Edinburgh on a cloudy, windy and increasingly chilly day. But as a person expecting the weather to only become increasingly more pressent I only brought my old light sail team jacket whihc was perhaps as insulative as a thin sweatshirt and a paper thin rain jacket. But I was greatful I had remembered my rain jacket, due to the speratic rain showers that accompanied to bone chilling wind.
Taking in the beauty of the town while walking through I soon realized that I was at the end of the city and on the trail to the fortest sitting on a bluff high above the water three miles outside the collection of buildings inside the town. Windy, watery and cold past the point of comfortability I was determinded to viste the castle that I had spend the day before investagating online. Pushing through the wind and rain the three miles as small cars showed off their 50 - 80 horsepower engines zooming by every now and again to the main road I was walking on, I finally made it to the castle in good time.
I have had a membership to the Scottish castle historical soceity that would have allowed me to viste Tantillon castle incorporated in my membership fee, But that membership had expired a month before. While talking to the helpful historical soceity woman at the front gate of the castle while my hands regained their usefullness so that I might pay for a continue to my membership, I soon realized that my bank cards would not work. One of the cards didnt have enough money on it, the other was only an ATM card and the other had never worked before but I keep it with me in the hopes that it will work in the future. After many failed attemps to pay with these cards and not enough cash in my wallet to pay for a membership in one go, I was forced to pay just for the day to viste the castle I had traveled so far to see. But not to treat the fee to viste this castle due to its location out side the normally visted areas of Scotland was realitive low. I was soon walking the grounds of history, of rebellion and patriotism, of bravery and restistence. The castle now in ruins of the what greatness it once was, was still an amazing work of enginering and masondary. The castle made for war fare of sords and arrows near the end of its use with stood bombardment by the increase of technology that was 1770's artillary, but met its end to the endless enemy of time. Once inside the walls the veiw over the bluff was the ocean and an island home of a long empty monstary, light house and protected bird habitat.
Due to the cold, wind and rain and a train to level in only a couple of hours, my time at the castle was shorter then I would have enjoyed on a nice day. So sadly sooner rather then later I was back on the street walking the three miles back to the small town center with quant shops and tourest couples marveling at butchers shops as if they had never seen them before. Back on the train back to Edinburgh I made it just in time to be joined buy student from a university just outside of the main city of Edinburgh back to the city center. So back in the city I weaved through the now very large crowd of students and professionals with the same destination in mind as me 'home and food' I made my way back to the building I had started my day in.

Marti Gras/ Fat Tuesday

Edinburgh doesn't really celebrate Fat Tuesday or ash wensday due to the not so high concentration of cathlic people and the connection between the holiday and the religon. But not being from the UK and being a student who looks forwad to celebrateing any holiday that he can, desided to have a Fat Tuesday dinner. After much research and surveying of companying members of this shindig, the menu turned out to be an inturpretation of pork sausage jumbo soup, involved corn bread, very nice soda bread brought by a pal and the funniest cake I have ever made a king cake. For the main there was only four of use and I was cooking for six, flatmates and what not. But some had already had other plans for their main course so us few were left with a great deal of food that we very successfully concered.
Other then eating grand amounts of food I was and am still unaware of what intails the celebrations of Marti Gras, other then "partying."  So food was the main focus of the meal and I spent the later part of Tuesday cooking, baking and chopping for the end all. But I did perpar the cake a day before mostly cause I dislike waiting for things to cool. But at any rate I was a fun wonderful night, we watch two good films an old'e and a new'e and I ate far to much.

It was a really good cake that is why there is so many photos of it, also its cool looking.

Fun fact: The king cake is the cake made to celebrate the 12th day of Christmas and so how also became the cake of Marti Gras.

From Brussels with Waffles

Early December i went even more abraod from the Europe home base of Scotland to the not so distant destination of Brussels Belguim. These photos are from that adventure.This is the last brewery left in Brussels, also perhaps the coolest place ever. self guided tour of a small three story building. I got ther when they opened at 9am, I was the only one there and the employees most likly thought I was a heavy drinker but I do not care. I had a great time and learned quite abit about making Lambric.

Where the speecher of the house of Belguim paraliment stands to address the house. I was at the paraliment the day after the Belguim goverment got their new primeminster after not having one for a record breaking over 500 days. I got to watch as he and his family took their first pictures on the steps of paraliment, I was the only non news, goverment or security worker there. It was so cool.

The city Musium called this the little peeing boys American o

utfit

Master chocolate maker at work

Grand place

Brussel Christmas fair light display and classical music display. Very very cool.

At Cantillon

The hall of Justice!

Back!

I am back from a long break from writing that was spent studying, stressing, taking exams, visting with family, traveling to the homeland, traveling to the land of chocolate and pissing little boys (Brussels), running new years races in a kilt, having missed timed holiday partys, yelling at my computer while streaming sports to my room while surrounded by Europeans who had mostly have never seen the sport, cooking, workingout, going on brewery tours, competing in curling and along with many other actitivies that for the most part ocuppied my time.
But now I'm back in Scotland at University trying very hard to study in more of an excess to which I had done in the pervous semester, so that I might continue my educational pride to this semester. Although somethings that have to do with financal stuff are just so complicated and boring that sometimes, mind you only sometimes I have problems focusing on the matterial.
But a main difference from last semester is that I am living in a new different and exciting place outside the citys biggest public park. Its on the top floor which I anjoy greatly due to the vue (misspelt on purpose).
Disclaimer I am Dyslexic (Its a learning 'disablility' thats why I sometimes have spelting problems) I tryed to get extry time for my exams through the university office who deals with 'disabled' students last semester in January but I had never heard from them. So when I was in the states for the winter break I went to my high school and got all my  educational papers about my Dyslexia (not someone else, that wouldn't help(jokes)) and set up a new appointment with the same office. When I came to the office with my paper it turned out that had my file on record since the last January when I had my first appointment with them and that I could have had extra time for two exams blocks. But the past is in the present and I am working it all out with the University to get it ''ok''.
There is many things I have to write about about my time off from writing and new socities that I have expressed interest in that have to do with beer. Pictures will be posted and the unfolding of events will be told........