It's not a cow, it's a Coo!

This past Sunday, I took a tour with The Hairy Coo, a tour company with a unique concept: providing a tour that's free and lets the customer put a value on how much it's worth!

Our tour guide, Donald/Don/The Don, is a co-founder of The Hairy Coo.com, and I have to say he was a BRILLIANT tour guide! He was super friendly, and was extremely knowledgeable about everything and anything Scottish, with a great knowledge of Scottish history and was a fabulous storyteller. Of course, being Scottish, there were also lots of cute tips about becoming acquainted with Scottish culture. For example,

• When in Scotland, there's no 'yes' or 'yeah' or 'oui' or 'si' - it's a good old aye for everything!


• Greetings here are "hiya" instead of hello, and "by-e" instead of just 'bye'.

The tour bus we were on was named Dolly (after Dolly the sheep) and was painted to look like a good old proper hairy coo - complete with fringe, horns, and lots of orange!

The first place we went to was Stirling. If any of you have seen the film Braveheart (which, by the way, is an absolute MUST if you're coming to Scotland) then you'll remember the Battle of Stirling!



Stirling was an extremely important area because it was only at Stirling that the river Forth was narrow enough to build a bridge across, and hence gain access to the Scottish Highlands. During the first war of Scottish Independence, Andrew Moray and William Wallace fought against John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey. William Wallace won despite having only 2300 men against the Earl's 9000-13,000! Go Scotland, ha ha!

William Wallace is such a hugely important figure in Scotland that there are several monuments dedicated to him throughout the country. In Stirling, the National Wallace Monument sits on the hilltop of Abbey Craig. It's quite a walk up to get to the monument - I was sorely regretting not having worn my good, proper walking boots that day...











Stirling is pretty small compared to Edinburgh, but nonetheless the view from the National Wallace Monument isn't bad at all :)



Next up, of course, the Stirling Castle! There are castles absolutely everywhere in Scotland. (I hate to say it, but I think our castle in Edinburgh beats Stirling's :p)



The tour even provided some cute props for our photos, so of course the Hairy Coo had to make an appearance in front of Stirling Castle.



For lunch, we stopped in Aberfoyle, a picturesque little town just on the fringes of the Highlands.





We then went up to the Trossachs National Park. It's just starting to become autumn here, so look at the amazing colours that we're just starting to get in the leaves!!!!



It's like the world is on fire.

It's funny how some areas are still really green but some areas are super rusty and beautiful looking. I've never experienced an autumn before - I've seen summer spring and winter, but I've never seen an autumn. I'm so excited for it to come :)

We went to Lake Drunkie, which is named so because in the past, smugglers would hide their whisky by throwing the barrels into this lake - and after the police or whoever checked on them had moved on, they'd fish the whisky out again and continue on their way.



Left to right: Ivana, Deborah, me, Avery and Mikayla.



And then, this being the Hairy Coo, where else should we go next but to see the wee beasties?!



I LOVE THEM. They look like giant plush toys come to life!!!! They're adorable and massive, but they're so sweet and full of personality.



Look at those horns! The hairy coo is also known as the highlands cow, developed in the Scottish Highlands, and was one of the first breeds of domesticated cow to have existed. Their shaggy coat provides insulation during the cold Scottish winters, and in the old days cattle drovers would take the cows down from the highlands to places where there would be market for them, such as in Edinburgh.



Just so you can compare how big they are against a human hand. We even got to feed them!





There was even a wee blonde baby coo! (Can you tell I'm loving Scottish words?)





From here, we went to Loch Katrine, the setting of Sir Walter Scott's poem The Lady of the Lake.





Again, the area looks beautiful because of the changing seasons - they reds, yellows, russets and greens blend beautifully it looks like an artist's palette!





We also visited Doune Castle, known for having been the place where Monty Python and the Holy Grail was filmed. Unfortunately I hadn't seen Monty Python (I still haven't) so I just enjoyed views of the very pretty castle and its very pretty surrounding area.





My friend Ivana thinks that Doune Castle would be the perfect place to hold a wedding, with this little clearing being the perfect spot for an outdoors wedding and reception in the castle. To everyone who's planning a wedding right now - here's a possible wedding venue, and then you can tell your kids that 'Mommy and Daddy got married in a castle!' Ha ha







And then, after Doune Castle, we went home to Edinburgh.

In all, a brilliant day out in the highlands. I'd definitely recommend The Hairy Coo to anyone who wants a quick taste of the Scottish Highlands with an excellent tour guide and lots of fabulous off-the-beaten-track views!

This blog post was not sponsored in any way. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Free Scottish Highlands tour is available seven days a week. The tour operates on a tips-only basis - which means you get to put a value on how much it's worth. Currently rated #2 out of 60 tours on TripAdvisor. The Hairy Coo also offers tours to St Andrews and even customises tours based on what you want to do while in Scotland. 

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First day of school

When I go to class, I carry no fewer than twenty-eight pens and highlighters in fourteen colours (and their shade variations) in my pencil-case. I know. I've counted them.



My timetable for school looks like this:

TUESDAY
10AM-10.50AM - US Government
2PM-3.50PM - The Philosophy of Wittgenstein
4.10PM-6PM - Theories of Mind

WEDNESDAY
11.10AM-12PM - US Government tutorial

Two days of school a week, which if you ask me, is pretty dang awesome. (It used to be one day, until I realised I had tutorials. Damn.)

This week marks the beginning of going back to class after a solid four months of summer break. The semester in Edinburgh is only 11 weeks long, which is super short compared to the 13 weeks that we have in Singapore.

A whole bunch of nice notebooks never hurts either.

There's so much to do now that class is in session - printing readings and notes, making sure that we know what's going on in classes, trying not to fall asleep in class with the aid of the wonderful substance that is coffee.

I'm only taking three classes, which is a huge drop from the five or six that I'm used to - so hopefully this means more time to travel! I'm excited for classes, actually; going to school makes me feel like I'm doing something productive with my life.

Until the crazy 3000-word essays kick in, that is.

We'll just have to see how the semester progresses, but hopefully it'll all work out fine :)

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Fancy Dress Party

There's nothing cooler than going to school and having the first week of your social calendar include a ball. I mean, come on. A BALL. A nice proper one where everyone's wearing nice clothes and everyone's dolled up. How awesome is that?

I went with my new friends Ivana (on the left) and Som (on the right)!

I did my hair up in a low bun, secured by about 12 bobby pins and hairsprayed like crazy because I knew I was going to dance. I also wore fake eyelashes, crazy insane feathery eyelashes. There's always a reason to have people coming up throughout the night and saying hi.



These ones were only £1 from Primark - such a good buy, and my statement of the night, too!

The Fresher's Ball, held at the Teviot student union building, was an awesome event - the place was done up so nicely! Nice wall uplighters put in, with fancy decor that made the entire place look completely different from what it usually does.





In Scotland, everything is an occasion for a céilidh, which is awesome because I completely love céilidhs.



I've said this already, but céilidhs are the coolest thing ever. It's the most fun, and meeting with new people and dancing all over the room is incredible. It doesn't even really matter that I don't know if I'll ever meet the people I dance with ever again; it's a great excuse for good healthy fun.



Some of you have asked me what a céilidh is - it's a type of Scottish social dance and gathering, where there's a live band playing and the steps are taught to you right before a dance, and then you repeat the steps often with different partners for the duration of the dance.

I love how half of us don't even know what we're doing, and the majority of people aren't even proper dancers, but no one judges you for not knowing what you're doing. Super fun!

Tip: Don't be like me and wear stilettos to a party where there's lots of jumping and dancing! I had to kick my heels off halfway cos my feet were killing me. Amazing fun nonetheless; I'd do it again in a heartbeat.



The lounge in Teviot had jazz music playing, and the band were brilliant. I love the upmarket, classy feel of a lounge - a drink in your hand (Coca-cola for me! Hahahah) with jazz playing and everyone just having fun relaxing. It's a really nice atmosphere!





Hahaha I know that photo looks like I'm not wearing anything, but I've got a tube dress on I swear!

There were lots of other things going on at the ball too - a photo booth, face and body painting, even a chocolate fondue fountain! Of course, we attacked the fondue fountain first, because we're girls and chocolate is good.

A brilliant night and fabulous start to a new year of school!

If school starts soon for you, all the best and have a fabulous year; if school's already underway, then get in there and have a fantastic year nonetheless! Remember to keep those mental gears turning and push through - don't worry the holidays will soon be here again soon ;)

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Fresher's Week

Fresher's week is in full swing, and I've met some wonderful people going out to the events which the Edinburgh University Student's Association (EUSA) has organised. I met a dancing moose in a kilt, which was hilarious.

By far my favourite event so far must be the céilidh (pronounced kay-lee), a traditional Scottish dance with lots of mixing with different partners and jigs all over the place.

Although the dance which my group did was terrible and in no way anything like a proper céilidh, it was definitely the most fun thing I've done so far. There are tonnes and tonnes of céilidhs organised in school, and I'm definitely going to more of them!



Remember that scene in Titanic when Rose was dancing with Jack and friends in the third-class cabin? That was a céilidh.

Anyone who's never been to a céilidh - put it on your bucket list!

I have also finally got around to trying haggis.



That little brown mushy stuff at the bottom? That's haggis. It tastes like very salty meatloaf, and as soon as you get over what's actually in it (sheep's pluck -heart, liver and lungs; minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours - thank you Wikipedia) I have decided I like it!

I've also tried black pudding, which is essentially concealed cooked blood, which wasn't half bad either. It's easier when you don't know what does into what you're eating, I think.

Because hey, people go to new countries to eat strange local gastronomical delights, don't they?

There's a ton of stuff going on for Fresher's Week. There'll be the ball at the end of the week (dressing up in nice dresses and shoes!) and lots of poster sales (room decoration!) and societies fairs (Harry Potter society! Yes I am serious) which means this week is going to be hell crazy. It's a fun hell crazy though.

It's only Tuesday, which means there's at least four more days to go of Fresher's. Bring it on!

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