Formulating a plan

T minus 9 days.

Yes, that's right...I fly out August 30th, a week from Monday.  OH MY GOODNESS.  I've spent the last week at home just relaxing and sleeping, but now it's really starting to hit me that in nine days I leave the continent.  Yikes.  Meaning that in the next nine days I need to sort through all of my belongings and decide what of it is worth cramming into two suitcases to last me all semester.  Yikes yikes.

But right now I'm doing slightly more exciting things!  I'm currently in the process of planning my pre-semester UK/Ireland tour.  I cannot even describe to you how excited I'm getting.  I've booked my first couple of nights in a hostel in Edinburgh, so I'll spend Tuesday and Wednesday checking out Edinburgh and seeing the grand festival that will be going on.  I'm currently debating where to go from there.  My original plan was to go up to Loch Ness and hunt monsters.  That is still a possibility.  However, there's also supposed to be some incredible scenery for hiking and biking around the Trossachs/Loch Lomond.  (Choir people: Yeah, I'm going to have that song stuck in my head the entire time I'm there.  Yay.)  That option is in a much more direct path between Edinburgh and what I'll be doing after that: Ireland!  My mom's goddaughter lives in Limerick and has most kindly offered me free accommodation there as well as companionship on some day trips to cool Ireland things.  I'm down.  I said I would arrive in Limerick on Sunday the 5th, but I'm hoping to possibly push that arrival date back for some additional time to meander through Ireland on my way there.  My itinerary after that is totally up in the air.  I just have to get myself back up to Edinburgh by Saturday the 11th for moving into my apartment!

Sorry to spew my half-formed plans at you.  I'm just starting to get really, really excited.  :)  Please feel free to give input if you have any ideas.

My offer of postcards still stands!  Let me know within the next week and I'll happily mail you things from various random locations around Scotland and Ireland, if you would like.  Also, if you would like to have my mailing address for the time I'm over there, let me know and I will send it to you via email or Facebook message.