Málaga

Last Monday, Matt came across a good deal on tickets to Málaga, Spain. He told me that Málaga was in southern Spain, and promised sunshine and warmer temperatures. That was all I needed to hear! I found out later that Málaga was one of the places my parents stopped on their grand honeymoon to Spain in 1989. Cute! We really didn't formulate much of itinerary before leaving, which, in this case, worked wonderfully. We were able to explore the city, eat some delicious food, and enjoy the Moorish baths. We also attended a Spanish ward on Sunday morning, which was really cool!

Our flight to Málaga was at 6:25 AM, meaning we were heading to the airport at 4 AM... but we arrived in Spain before noon! I was relaxed simply by the presence of sunshine upon our arrival. Scotland is great for many things, but one does not see a lot of sunshine in Scotland in January. Once we arrived in the city center, we dropped our bags off at the Airbnb and got ready to walk around and explore the city. Highlights from our first venture outside include seeing the old Moorish fort Alcazaba, climbing up to said fort and enjoying a spectacular view of the city, walking along the harbor and seeing warships, seeing the old Roman theatre, and simply enjoying the warmth and sunshine.

About halfway up our "hike"

Along the harbor

The view from the top of our hike

Found this cutie in the garden

Roman theatre. Built in the first century BC under Emperor Augustus when the Romans occupied the city. 

After working up an appetite, we were ready to EAT! Unfortunately, siestas are a real thing and restaurants were all closing up. We actually got kicked out of a restaurant when we walked in! So, we made our way back to the Airbnb and waited it out. Most restaurants didn't open until 8, so being American tourists, we naturally arrived at 8 PM sharp and were the first people there! After a delicious dinner, we walked around in search of dessert. We found a delicious gelato place along this road, which was lit up and full of locals enjoying their Friday night. After walking over 14 miles and having been awake since 3:30 AM, I was so excited to climb into bed and pass out.

 Although we didn't have any concrete plans for our time in Málaga, I knew that we had to try some authentic churros. Apparently, churros are a completely appropriate breakfast food in Spain! We ordered a big plate of churros and two mugs of hot chocolate, which basically tasted like a melted chocolate bar. YUM!

Expert tip: dip your churro in the hot chocolate for maximum deliciousness

On Saturday, after our delicious churros, we made a quick stop in a store to buy me a sweatshirt. Although the weather was sunny and lovely, I had underestimated what 60 degrees really feels like! I am actually wearing the sweatshirt right now too, so I think that qualifies as a good purchase! After some delicious sandwichs for lunch, we headed to the Moorish baths. Men and women go to their designated changing rooms to put on a swimsuit, before being led to the baths. In the middle, there was one swimming-pool sized warm pool. On one side there was hot tub sized cold pools, and the other side had a medium sized hot-water pool, steam room, and a room full of warm marble surfaces. We devised a little plan where we got in up to our waists in the cold pool, scurried into the hot pool to warm up, relaxed on the warm marble chaises, then recovered in the medium temperature pool. We repeated this several times, (and lost track of time... it smelled heavenly and there were only about 10 people in the huge space) before being led upstairs for our massages. There were massage tables all set up in a big room, which smelled like amber and roses. The message was about 15 minutes, and it was the perfect way to top off the experience. Overall, it was one of the coolest and most relaxing things I've ever done! Matt and I kept looking at each other and saying "This is amazing, I can't believe we are here right now!"

The baths from the outside

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around, and even made our way to the beach! That night we enjoyed another "late" dinner, and somehow ended up back at the same gelato place... that cookies and cream gelato was no joke!

The next morning, we checked out of our Airbnb and walked to church. It is so cool that no matter where you are, you can find an LDS church. Everyone was incredibly nice, and even though I didn't understand a single word of the meeting, I felt the spirit as I sang those hymns in Spanish! After church, we hung out at a really cool nearby mall, where we actually were able to catch a train to the airport! Convenient publish transportation always comes in clutch! Once at the airport, we FaceTimed my mom and ate dinner before boarding our flight back to Edinburgh. As soon as we got back to our flat, we were streaming the Superbowl! I am so happy the Eagles won. Well, that's all for now!

A Month in Edinburgh

Almost exactly one month ago, I packed what felt like my entire life into two suitcases, a duffel bag, and a backpack, and kissed my family goodbye. I wasn't ready for the immediate longing I felt for home just seconds after pulling out of the driveway in the Uber. I started crying as we drove down Northside Drive, wishing I could go back and give my mom one last hug. However, by the time we reached the airport, whatever sadness I felt had morphed into the usual travel stress. I was able to check both my suitcases (neither were over 50 lbs., which was a miracle) and then say one last goodbye to my dad.

Matt and I breezed through security, exchanged some dollars for pounds, and then headed to our gate to await our flight. After charging up our devices, and a quick call to Matt's family in Memphis, we boarded our 8-hour flight to Paris. We were in the second-to-last row, but luckily it was a wide-body plane, and we only had two seats in our section, meaning that I got the window and Matt got the aisle, and no poor stranger had to sit by us for 8 hours. :) We listened to music, enjoyed a rather good plane dinner (as far as plane dinners go), and watched the fourth Harry Potter movie on my laptop. Then, we attempted to get some sleep, seeing as we were landing in Paris at 6:00 AM local time.

Breakfast on the plane... not too shabby

We made it to Paris without incident, and deplaned, changed terminals, and went through security again in a bleary haze. We then made our way to Starbucks, which we ate at our gate. The next flight was much shorter, I was in the very back, while Matt was somewhere in the middle. I slept for a bit and then filled out my landing card. As we descended into Edinburgh, I was awed by the beautiful green scenery. After getting off the plane, we had to go through immigration, which after all of the fuss that was made about having several different documents, was really quite easy. At baggage claim, our bags came out one right after the other, which was funny given how much they had been through. The zipper on Matt's small suitcase had busted open, but luckily nothing seemed to be missing.

 The weather was in the mid-30s, which actually felt quite warm after the intense cold spell that swept the US in the weeks before I left. We found a taxi without much trouble and enjoyed listening to him chatter as we drove to the center of the city.

When we reached the hotel, we were greeted by a bit of mayhem and disorganization. Once the rooming situation was sorted out, we had a bit of time before we were supposed to be at lunch to be introduced to the program director. Lunch was, well, not delicious, but I was so hungry that I barely noticed. The view from lunch was spectacular. It was a clear day, and Edinburgh castle looked majestic perched on the hill. After mingling a bit, Matt and I set off to explore, and get UK SIM cards for our phones. I'll never forget walking down the hill toward Princes Street, hearing bagpipes playing in the distance. It hadn't hit me yet that this was the place I was going to be spending the next five months of my life. After stopping at Boots, Primark, Three, and Lush, we headed back to the hotel. That night we ate at Nando's, and it was delicious. We walked down Victoria Street and explored the Grassmarket area where our hotel was.

The rest of orientation went on for too long, but finally, on Wednesday, we moved into our flat! 5/4 Darroch Court, St. John's Hill. We were the first of the flatmates to arrive, so we spent Wednesday-Sunday settling in, shopping for necessities, exploring the city, and trying to recover from jetlag.

My rather sad-looking bedroom pre-beautification

Nothing a trip to John Lewis can't fix!

The next Monday we started classes, and since then, life has had a nice rhythm to it. Wake up at 6, gym from about 6:30-7:30, walk home, shower, eat breakfast, study/read, go to class, go to the library between classes, eat a packed lunch (pb&j every day..), walk home, make dinner, eat dinner, change into pajamas, and watch something on Netflix/hang out with the flatmates. We finished The Crown, and have kind of been floundering ever since. Matt and I both have Wednesdays off (yay!), so we spend them running errands, relaxing, and catching up on work. So far I have traveled to two places: The Lakes District in England and Málaga, Spain. I will write about those in a separate post! Overall, this last month has been challenging, rewarding, fun, different, exciting, and full of happiness. Here's to four more months in the best city in the U.K.!

The Old College at the University of Edinburgh

Holyrood Palace (the Queen was in residence!)

Arthut's Seat

Spotted on the walk from campus

My earmuffs have been a lifesaver 

The view from Arthur's Seat!  

Never take this street when it's icy... learned this the hard way ;)