Grace Graduates from St Andrews University

We are finally to graduation!  With Grace having had no high school graduation to speak of, due to it being 2020, it was particularly meaningful that graduation from St Andrews was incredibly special and intimate.  This is a school that has had literally hundreds of years to figure it out and have done so in a beautiful way.  

Throughout the week, they do two graduations a day, morning and afternoon, for a total of ten graduations.  I'm assuming this is done due to space constraints but it also makes it so personal as each student is given time to approach the vice chancellor (Sally Mapstone), kneel in front of her, get tapped on the head by a 600 year old piece of cloth (signaling the moment they are graduates), get their hood snappped in place and leave to applause.  

After the ceremony itself, the graduates process out of Younger Hall and down the street to the quad where they circle for a bit and then all the guests join them in a mass huddle on the quad!

Another tradition of the school is to never step on the PH on the ground right outside the quad.  It is considered an academic sin but as a new graduate, Grace made sure to step (jump) on it!

After the ceremony, we went to a garden party for the graduates.  Grace chatted with friends and her favorite professor!

We are incredibly proud of Grace for all of the hard work she has put in, the choice to have a totally different college experience and all the ways that she has grown and matured during the past four years spent in Scotland at University. 

Time in St Andrews

Once we made it back to St Andrews we had a full week with lots of graduation activities.  For two of the nights, Grace was unavailable because she went with her roommates to see the Taylor Swift concert in Edinburgh.  On one of those days Bryce and I went to see the pink castle leaving Harris behind to have some alone time!  We also took to the Old Course and played put put.  This is not an American version of put put with bumpers and windmills but an 18 hole course with grass and knolls.  It was tremendously fun, and in fact, we went back later in the week to play with Grace!  I've been telling anyone who will listen that I've now played the world famous Old Course.  :). 

We also had dinner with Emma's parents, coffee with Tess and her Mom (Grace's first roommate) and several parties for graduates.  I loved spending time with Grace's friends!

One day, we took a jaunt over to Crail to see their pottery studio and to have lunch overlooking the North Sea.

We also went on a Gin distillery tour!

Each of the girls graduated on a different day so we were able to attend the procession and congratulate them while they were in the quad.  

We also went, just the four of us, to a celebratory graduation dinner at The Seafood Ristorante.  This was such a special meal at a very special restaurant.  Grace got up at 4 in the morning, over Christmas Break, just to snag reservations.  The restaurant literally juts out over the North Sea and the food was crazy, crazy good.

St Andrews is such a special, and beautiful, place.  I feel so lucky that Grace got to spend 4 years there and I cannot help but be thankful for her time but also sad it's over!  Up next... Graduation!

Grace's favorite tree

The Pink Castle (Craigievar Castle)

 

If I ever owned, and lived in a castle, this would be the one!  I read about the pink castle years ago while researching places to visit in Scotland and, of course, it immediately went on my must visit list.  It has been under renovation for the last year and it only reopened the week we were there!  

The castle, built in 1626, was not always pink but rather an off whitish color.  However, in the 1800's the Laird instructed that the castle be made pink to match the local pink granite.  The pink harling (which is a limewash) covers the stone of the castle and is absolutely stunning, especially against the green of the surrounding hills.  

Bryce and I took a day from St Andrews to go and explore the castle, the grounds and the woodlands of the castle and I was so happy we did, it was everything I was hoping it would be!  They only conduct guide led tours of the castle (no photos inside), which was wonderful to learn more about the castle and to hear some fairly wild stories about those who have lived there!  

It was a fairly long drive to get to the castle but I think it was well worth it!

The Hogwarts Express aka Jacobite Steam Train

As everyone knows, I'm a big Harry Potter fan, so of course I wanted to go see the Jacobite Steam Train Hogwarts Express cross the Glenfinnan Viaduct.  I knew that we didn't really have time in our schedule to actually ride the iconic steam train and really, I just wanted to see it, not be on it.  It actually worked out perfectly because while there, the afternoon train was cancelled!  

It was a fairly short hike to the viewpoint and we were lucky it didn't rain while we were waiting because it poured on our walk back to the car!

Across from the viaduct is the Loch that they filmed the scene where Harry ride Buckbeak!

From here, we drove through Glencoe Valley, which was stunningly beautiful, and headed "home" to St Andrews!

Isle of Skye- Day 2

Our second full day started with a long, and very steep, climb to the top of Old Man of Storr.  This large pinnacle rock was created by a massive landslide.  We were lucky that it was a beautiful day and we could see for miles!  

It was steep so most of us had to pace ourselves but Harris got to the top 20 or 30 minutes before the rest of us and so he relaxed while waiting for us.  He enjoyed this hike, especially climbing to the top of all the formations (he's the little dot in the second photo down)!

It was super windy at the top!

After we got to the bottom and managed to recover, we drove to some other scenic areas such as Kilt Rock, The Quiraing (it was so windy we didn't even hike around!), Brother's Point and finally, Fairy Glen.

Fairy Glen was a sweet hike where one could easily imagine that fairies do indeed live amongst the rocks, hills and sheep.