The past ten days have been a tale of flatmate fun, classes, going to clubs, cooking/baking and seeing another castle.
Last Friday, we went to O2 ABC nightclub. The layout was nice, and I enjoyed the indie-like music played on one of the floors, though it was not dance-conducive. Saturday was a return to the Garage for the Traffic Light Party. Ashley and I were supposed to get free glowsticks upon our entry, but they apparently ran out before we arrived. The music and atmosphere were really good.
Earlier on Saturday, Andrea, Anna, Jacquie and I tried Assam's Indian Restaurant. Their chicken patia (sweet & sour) was truly delicious. It wasn't all that expensive either--only about five pounds ($7-8).
On Monday, Ashley, Anna and I ventured to the birthday store to prepare for the week, or more accurately ten days, of birthdays (Mine, Ashley and Jacquie's). We bought balloons, noise-makers, banners, crowns, pins and fancy 21st glasses.
I turned 21 on Tuesday. It still hasn't really hit me this year. Maybe it's because 21 isn't a big birthday in the UK. Anyway, Tuesday afternoon, I went to Provand's Lordship, the oldest house in Glasgow dating back to 1471.
The house was really awesome. It had an array of cool, old furniture--chairs, tables, etc. And, almost every room had at least one fireplace. There was a really epic spiral staircase in the house, too. All the awesome spiral staircases here make me want one in my future house one day.
Tuesday night, in keeping with American tradition, my flatmates, friends and I headed to Barony Bar in the Student Union. It was a really fun night with friends and the DJ played some pretty good music, including Ashley's request of "Right Round."
On Thursday, I made my first attempt at baking in the UK. I made the chocolate chip cookies that I frequently make at home. Though they did not turn out as well as usual, they were still pretty good. Finding shortening was an issue--I ended up with some "baking vegetable fat" which sounded similar.
Ashley, Anna and I booked our trip to Dublin March 16-20 for St. Patrick's Day. Well, by booked, we have our flight there and our hotel. We are hopefully taking the train and ferry back, but they cannot be booked more than 28 days ahead of time.
On Friday, I returned to Glasgow Necropolis and Glasgow Cathedral with Ashley and Anna. We had a lovely afternoon exploring the beautiful graveyard and ancient cathedral.
Jacquie and I ventured to Dumbarton, Scotland (a half hour train ride out of Glasgow) on Saturday afternoon to see Dumbarton Castle. Before walking to the castle, we searched for a cafe to eat lunch at. Unfortunately, we happened across the most depressing square that I have seen in Scotland. K.F.C., McDonald's, Domino's, Subway, a New York Italian restaurant and, the worst of the worst, Asda, part of the Wal-Mart family. Luckily, we spotted a Maritime Museum with a cafe inside.
Dumbarton Castle was amazing! As we approached it, Jacquie was worried that the huge cliff we saw with a castle-like gate at the top was something that we would have to climb. It turns out, she was partially right.
The castle was spread out all across the hill. Luckily, the journey up was staggered with stops to see various cliff/castle parts.
My favorite parts of Dumbarton Castle was the cliffs, the river and the cannons. There were literally a dozen cannons! It was absolutely gorgeous! We truly felt that we were in Scotland. The views were fantastic. The trip was well worth it!
On Saturday night, we had a little flat party in honor of our birthdays (Mine on the 15, Ashley's on the 20 and Jacquie's on the 24). Jacquie made a delicious cake and our French friends Mathieu and Maxime made us a lovely apple tart. Following our pastry-filled party, we went to The Garage (again) for a night of dancing and fun.
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