A quick montage of the last several months...

I suppose it seems I've been missing in action, but really, I've been incredibly busy since my last post! Winter Break proved fruitful for traveling, and I completely took advantage of the time to go places. The following will be an attempt to catch you up on all that I've done...


Before Christmas, I headed to Paris for a few days with Stuart. And in those few days, we saw it all. Eiffel tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Champs Elysees... you name it, we saw it! We ate giant crepes made by a singing street vendor. We went all the way to the top of the eiffel tower and oood and awwed at the city at night. We enjoyed a fancy meal and devoured escargot that were served in their shells. We marveled at how small the Mona Lisa really is. We dodged traffic in the first and largest roundabout in the world. Paris was romantic, beautiful and exciting... yet... the people left a little something to be desired. Perhaps it was too much to expect a friendly waiter in a bustling metropolis like Paris.

Next I headed home to Chicago for Christmas. I brought Scottish goods for everyone! Haggis in a can for Chris, whisky for Dad, celtic earrings for Sara, and a watercolor painting for Mom. Now that I think about it, it seems like Chris got duped this year.

After catching up with many-a-friend in good old Lake Forest, I was off to Scotland again. New Years (or Hogmanay as they call it here) I spent in a tiny little town called Traquair. I think there were 5, maybe 6 houses in the whole village - itty bitty. I joined some friends for a ceilidh in the Traquair town hall, and it was a surprisingly fun new years! All the men donned kilts, and the evening was filled with traditional Scottish dancing and of course, drinking.

In the new year, I was led to the unfortunate reality that I had to study for exams. Yes, I still wanted to get my masters degree, so I took a break from the fun of the holidays and bore down on the books. Suffice it to say, I passed my exams (phew!), so I get to take another batch in May as my reward!

Following exams, Stuart and I headed off to the Costa del Sol in Spain to travel, get some sunshine and visit with his brother, sister-in-law, and their two adorable babies. We used it as a week to relax, and that it was. Dinner at 9:00 or later every night, daily walks on the beach, and more. We took a short trip up the coast to Granada where my long-time family friend Jeff Greene is now living. The Alhambra was an absolutely beautiful Moorish palace, and you can really spend days wandering about it all. Stuart and I also discovered the difficulty of traveling without knowing a word of Spanish, but we eventually made our way. As John Riddick says, "all you need to know in Spanish is 'dos cervezas, por favor'". And apparently it helps if you say it with a lisp. After Granada, we saw the high-class, yacht-filled Puerto Banus, and made a day trip to the interesting town of Gibraltar, which is still owned by the British.

After a relaxing time in Spain, I returned to St Andrews to play hostess for some visitors. Joey Good came to visit on his traveling quest about the UK, then my friends from Wales, Hannah and Dai, arrived the following week.

While having visitors, I made it to Stirling to see the famous William Wallace monument, headed to Glencoe for some hiking in the snowy highlands, drove to Manchester area for a weekend with Stuart's sister, and took a roadtrip down south to visit Hadrian's Wall and the old Roman ruins.


Now after all the traveling and the visitors, classes and my research project are back in full swing at St Andrews. I still find time for a bit of fun, of course - I went to a rugby match in Perth last week with some friends to see the Scotland A-team crush Ireland 67-7! And this weekend I'm off on a massive roadtrip down to London with the Bobby Jones boys for a dinner we're invited to at the Duke Hotel... we're leaving Saturday and driving back Sunday!

There's much more I could write, but I wanted to at least catch you (whoever that may be reading this!) up on my whereabouts these last months. I'm still here, still loving it, and still excited for more to come.