Back from holiday!

Ooooh, it's been a while! I can explain, honest. See, I was on holiday for most of August! First, we went to Scotland for a guild barbecue and meet-up, then we got back and were home for one day before we left for Lowlands, a music festival! Busy month, indeed.

But first things first, because I have some good news! My thesis, the one you may or may not have heard me complain in great detail about, that monster that gave me headaches, temper tantrums and stress-related meltdowns, is done and graded, I got a 7 out of 10, I am officially done! Woooo!

And by 'officially' I mean 'done by all standards, but not yet recognised as such because the Uni is being a horrible pain in the general behind area'. I've got until the 31st of August to get them to confirm my graduation, or I have to re-register as a student just to be able to graduate... Gotta love burocracy.

Anyway, on to more interesting things: holiday pictures!

Our trip took us from Amsterdam to London, where we met up with friends living there. On Saturday, we began our trip to Scotland by driving up to the Lake District and checking in to our hotel just in time for the England-Wales rugby match. I saw my first real rugby match on tv! It was awesome! I did my best not to bother our friend, who used to play rugby himself, too much about rules and the how and why of the game, but it was difficult. Such a strange game to watch! And such a strange audience to watch it with, as well! We were staying in a hotel with a sports bar so the pub was packed with people, both supporters of Wales and of England, but there was no awkward hostility between the rivalling fans like you'd get with a football match. (unlike the next day, when we watched Manchester United against Manchester City and people almost got into a fight over it)

The town we were staying in was a lovely little place that had turned into a tourist nest, called Ambleside. There were streets where literally every house was turned into a B&B. Hotels everywhere. Outdoor shops everywhere.

Unfortunately for us, the weather had turned from sunny and warm to rainy and blegh, so the trip we took on Sunday to see a bit more of the Lake District was mostly done from the car.

Our trip took us to the stunning Wastwater lake, a large, stretched-out lake in the middle of nowhere (literally, I think the road we took was a paved-over goat trail) that was voted as 'Britain's Favourite View' on a tv show in 2007. Unfortunately, my camera's batteries died right after I took the first two pictures, but in hindsight, this may have been a good thing. I don't think I would have wanted to leave if my camera had worked.

Our trip took us down to a town similar to the one we stayed in, called Keswick, where we had lunch in a very crowded little café.

On Monday, we continued on our way to our destination: Wanlockhead, the highest village in Scotland. Inhabited by about 400 people (if not less) and about 10.000 sheep.

Literally.

They were everywhere.

I won't bore you with endless pictures of the week, because thanks to the rain we did not do a lot, except..
Drink and make merry...

And roast bits of meat and veggies. The rest of it... well.. Let's just say that what happens at a Vintage barbecue, stays at a Vintage barbecue. Or as we put it:

Oneshotting bosses and wiping on trash. Or rather, oneshotting Sambuca and wiping on stairs.


Our trip home took us through the Peak District, where we were once again wowed by stunning views down into valleys and up along mountains. This was taken across the road from the Cat and Fiddle inn at the Cat and Fiddle road, which is infamous for the high number of accidents among motorcyclists.

Since I don't bring my camera to a festival, this is where the holiday pictures end. I enjoyed our annual get-together, loved seeing old and new faces, finally meeting some of my guildies who I have only heard on Mumble or Vent or seen on pictures, though I would have loved to have seen more of our surroundings as well. Scotland, the Lake District, the Peak district.. I would love to come back some day and do a proper holiday with lots of exploring and enjoying your stunning countryside. For now, I'll leave you all with one of the very few touristy pictures ever taken of me.

I do a fabulous dork wave, don't I?