Has it really been two months?

I've clearly struggled with updating over the past few months! Summer has been crazy and wonderful, and especially with the 12 month program finishing up, it has been a personal challenge for me to spend as much time with friends as possible before everyone goes back to "real life".

Since so much has happened, I am just going to post pictures, and explain it all in captions!

July:

With the new flat, I needed to pick up a few things from Ikea. My dear friend Rajil volunteered to drive me so I didn't have to struggle on the bus with book shelves.

Success!

We also stopped at Costco to pick a few things up. Luckily Rajil is a cheap date... The only payment he wanted was a baked potato from the little food area! They were delicious, though. 

My friend Elisa's flat has a beautiful view from the roof. It was such a lovely day, we just had to go up and enjoy it.

I also started my new internship in July (which has been amazing!). Right outside Appleton Tower (the building I work in) is George Square, a major festival venue. Set up for the festival started in early July.

Appleton Tower is one of the tallest buildings in Edinburgh, and affords a great view!

A night out with the girls at The Queens Arms.

An attempt at tater tot hot dish. Without tater tots, it did not turn out so great. :-(

Rajil drove me and Cassie down to South Queenserry, and area outside of Edinburgh, where you can view the Forth bridges.

The red bridge on the right is the Forth Bridge, which is for trains, and the left is the Forth Road Bridge. The Forth Road Bridge is being replaced by the under construction Queensferry Crossing, which should be done in 2016. Some classmates used the new bridge as a case in the Project Management course, but I did not take that one. 

A road in South Queensferry

Edinburgh had a little heat wave in late July. Residents said it was the warmest stretch in over five years. It was really lovely weather, though the hottest it got was around 75. We got some ice cream to cool down, though!

After South Queensferry, we went to Crammond Beach and had a lovely walk to the little island/peninsula in the middle. When the tide comes in, the path is covered, so there are signs that tell the estimated time of the tides. It was very beautiful.

We were not the only people who wanted to go to Crammond Beach this day. There was a total traffic jam trying to get out because with the parked cars, there was only room for traffic to go one way. It took about 20 minutes to sort out.

We found a beautiful little cafe along the stream and stopped for a lovely little lunch. Another great day out in Edinburgh!

The third movie in a loose trilogy came out in July. The movies were called the "Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy" (Cornetto are delicious ice cream treats in the UK). The movies are Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The Worlds End (the newest). While they don't have the same characters, they have the same main actors and director and writers. I invited classmates to go with me to see all three of the films in a row, with the newest showing at midnight.  Only two were up to the challenge! We had dinner and Cornettos at my flat to prepare for 7 hours at the movie theater.

Vijay and me with a minion.

Me and Nabeel at snack time during an intermission.

In the theater. Only one more to go!

Jonny had a little gathering at his flat followed by bowling. It was a super fun night, and gave me my first introduction to Pimms. It is delicious! This was my lane of bowlers.

Jenny and I.

There was also an arcade.

Mike and Jenny got super hardcore with the basketball. Later, Mike and I played against Jonny and Jenny. I am sorry to say we lost. :-(

Ready for the festival!

Bristo Square, in the center of the main campus, was another major Festival destination.

After a few bad rains, I decided enough was enough and got outfitted. I bought Hunter Wellington boots and a Fulton umbrella to protect me from the elements. Both very British brands (used by the Queen!), so hopefully up to the task of protecting me from this British rain. 

We had a lovely tapas night out, and Jenny and I decided to treat ourselves to the special. It was so much food, but so delicious. This was a Spanish omelette and scallops for our first course. 

No trouble finishing those off.

Next course was huge! Duck, fish, salad, potatoes and meat! It was all so good, though.

We did it!

Aaaaand we finished our Girls Night with some gelato from the best shop in town, Affogato.

There was a random owl exhibit outside the shopping center one day. I was pretty happy about it.

This is a barn owl, one of my favorite varieties.

Another setup for the Festival right by my office.

My friend Nina has a membership to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, and she got us a reservation for dinner one night. It was amazing. this was the amuse-bouche, served with a paired whisky.

This was my starter. Venison and a rye crisp with beetroot and greens. It was glorious. I have been very into venison as of late. 

And my main: a fresh mozzarella  and roasted tomato tart. It was great as well.

I went Salsa dancing with friends. It was a lot of fun! I have been thinking about doing regular classes, but I just haven't found the time or motivation.

And, at the end of the month, we had our Retro-themed Flat Warming! It was a great time, with lots of people coming out to help us break it in. 

And that pretty much sums up the rest of July! It was a fun month, but nothing compared to August. That will be coming soon! :-)