AMs Travel the WORLD

July 19

ELLIE
I'm back. Today was a nice day.
It was a long day that also seemed really short now that I look back on it.
Bright and early, at seven in the morning, there's a loud knocking on our door.
"Who is it?" Katie mumbled, sleepily.
"Lara. Come I come in?"
"Mm." When she heard that, she peeked her head in.
"Ellie and Stacey, we should be getting ready to go," she said.
"To where?" Stacey yawned.
"We're going to Princes Street today," murmured Lara. Her voice was hushed because Katie had fallen asleep again.
Stacey and I changed as quickly and quietly as humanly possible, and then moved out to go get breakfast.
At this point in our journey around the world, every morning everyone already had their travel backpacks ready and sitting by their chair at breakfast, so that we were ready to go right away.
I suddenly realize that it is almost August and the school year is nearly upon us. I don't want to go back to school. I'm kinda sad that I'm not spending the summer at home.
Anyways, the second we were done clearing the table of our mess, we headed out the door. Today we took the taxi, and I take note on how strange it is for the steering wheel to be on the right side rather than the left.
Our group got there first, like yesterday. Luke grumbled about the heat and crowd while we stood, waiting. Stacey and I simply admired the picture perfect scene and ignored him.
The others got here pretty soon, and then we entered the park at nine in the morning.
Sparkle let out a long whistle. "This place is beautiful."
It was even more perfect than from afar. Trees lined the path that winded past the various hills, and in the distance fountains gurgled and you could see these amazing looking buildings, like in postcards. Our little group of eight meandered along the path, admiring the beautiful sunny day.
Justice wrestled with a map, which Pat took from her and calmly smoothed it out, right side up.
"So, we're in the East Garden?" Justice inquired. Lara nodded.
"Will we see the West Garden today?"
"No," Lara responded. "Going through the East Garden will take all day, so we're going to the West part tomorrow."
"Cool. That means more time here!"
Justice skipped ahead, Pat in tow.
"Say, what's that big building up there? It looks like-"
"That's the Scott Monument, dummy," his sister poked him in the ribs. "1844, Sir Walter Scott?"
"Don't really remember that part, but I was right, it was the Scott building."
The rest of us exchange a look. None of us really knew about the spire. Those two siblings are insanely smart.
"We can go in," suggested Lara. "But don't run there. Let's just make our way over."
"Alright." Fletcher's shoulders sagged a bit, like a slowly deflating balloon.
The building was farther than anticipated. Lunch came before we reached there, and we sat and had some sandwiches that were leftover from yesterday's dinner. Luke and Justice chowed down like they hadn't eaten in a million years. Lara and I grumbled about their etiquette.
"Are we allowed to have food in the park?" Sparkle asked suddenly. We all froze, food in our mouth. Lara unfroze and swallowed.
"I'm pretty sure?" She made it sound like another question.
We ate faster after that.
The group made it to the Monument, and we entered cautiously.
"You know, this park is really old. Lots of history." Random spurt from Stacey as we enjoyed the coolness of being in a building. Is it me, or do historic places feel heavier? I think there might be a scientific explanation for that.
We learned more about the history of the spire than I really cared for, before moving back outside and continuing our walk.
"Lots of statues of people," noted Justice. "'David Livingstone'. Cool last name."
She began naming all the people we came across. I'm sure that if I grouped everyone together, we could name everyone that she had listed, but that's a lot of effort for this late at night.
We decided to go back, and the way back home was much longer. I was reluctant to leave the park, and walking back seemed like a lot of walking. I wished I had my bike.
Somehow, I survived the walk, and entered the cab with blistering feet. You would think that I would have learned by now that sandals are not good for walking. Oh, well.
At seven, we had another feast. Luke, who is a chef, was absolutely in love with the cooking, and asked somewhat shyly and politely for some recipes, to which Lara's aunt responded enthusiastically to.
Aha. After a bath, I filled in my entry for the day. Hope you enjoyed again.

A/N: Late again. What else is expected of me.
breezy out