A quick preview of interesting sites in and near Aberdeen

I didn't post yesterday because I was exhausted, so I'll sum things up now. First, a view from the room:

Yesterday, Steve and I found a great cafe called Cafe Creme. It was wonderful. We ate lunch there. We had homemade chicken noodle soup and fresh sandwiches. We also had Cherry Tree Cola, which was fantastic. Mom, I'm totally taking you here.

It was a nice day yesterday. We only had a little rain. Here are some pictures looking down Holburn St.

After lunch I took Steve to the St. Nicholas Kirk (church) to take some pictures of the cemetery. My mom asked me to take some pictures for some tattoo ideas for my stepdad. Here are some pictures from the cemetery I wrote about in the previous blog. It's worth a visit to read the headstones.

Here are some other sights around Aberdeen. It's such an interesting place.

"This is Marischal College, which used to be part of Aberdeen University. It is the second largest granite building in the world (after the Escorial in Madrid), and is one of the most famous buildings in Aberdeen. Unfortunately, it was converted into the new home of the city council, at a time when swimming pools and sports centres were closing due to lack of funds." (http://www.snaphappyross.co.uk/europe/scotland/aberdeen.shtml)

I thought some people might be interested to know what the printed money looks like compared to US dollars.

Later that night we went to a social event for the Association of American Women in Aberdeen. We had dinner and went bowling. They also had bumper cars. They call them "dodgems" here. Totally opposite of what you are trying to do. We met loads of people and had a wonderful time. Our lane won "Best Team" for the overall highest score. They gave us gift cards to... guess what... Starbucks. There is no escape. Very appreciated though. :o)

Today we slept in a bit and then took a tour of some things with one of Steve's coworkers, Collin. He was so nice to take us around. We drove west to see the Cullerlie Circle of stones. It's estimated to be about 3,000 years old. I read in a book that most of the circles were likely built by farming communities as a way to note the seasons. The largest stones or arches were aligned with the rising of the moon if you stood in the center. Some were later used as places of cremation and burial.

We went Banchory afterward and took a walk through a park. It was beautiful. Then we got ice cream! Steve had chocolate mint, I had mocha chocolate, and Collin got Scottish fruit so he could "pretend it was healthy." haha.  The next stop was Crathes Castle. It was built on the funds from a large dowry from an arranged marriage in the 16th century. We didn't go in because we decided we needed a full day to visit the castle and gardens. We'll go back.

We drove to Stonehaven next. It was such a cute harbor town! Collin told us the fish restaurant there is amazing. I'll just add that one to the bucket list. Take a look at the harbor and town. Steve says it's what he pictures in his mind when he thinks of a Scottish harbor town.

The famous Dunnottar Castle was our next stop. Kelly, I'm sure you remember this one as my background on my work computer! Beautiful. I can't wait to take my sisters here. You have to walk quite a ways down and then hike up to the castle grounds. Again, we didn't do this today because we were just previewing the sights. One thing we talked about was the chilly wind blowing across the North Sea. I can't imagine how it was to live there without central heating... no thanks.

Beautiful, eh? We are so blessed to have this opportunity. It really is amazing to me that God picked a small town nobody like me to experience something so wonderful.