We explored much of the ship, some went rock climbing on the back of the boat.

That evening was the first formal night at dinner… followed by a stage production in the theater.

Our towel animal for the day was an elephant.

Overall a pretty quiet day, but thats exactly what I wanted!

The first day we flew down to Los Angeles and boarded the “Vision of the Seas”. There wasn’t a whole lot to do besides finding a spot up on deck and watch the Port of Los Angeles fade into the horizon.

Also, the Women’s Bathroom in the Columbia Tower Club is rated the 6th highest restroom with the best view in America! I didn’t get to see it for obvious reasons but I sent my camera in for a look…

I also feel it should be noted that there is a Starbucks on the 40th floor of the Columbia Tower. P.S. I can see my building from this picture… can you…

It was essentially my job to hand out free gifts (bags, t-shirts, hats, demos, boxers, etc). I was in charge of all the free swag which is a major point for people to attend these expos. Over the three days I was averaging interacting with 5-10 people per minute… 12 hours X 60 minutes X 10 people X 3 days = 21,600 people. Day one it was fun. Day two… going good. Day three… I hate people.

We also had a big SingStar stage which is a game similar to Dance Dance Revolution but instead of dancing you sing. We had a whole range of performers from the awesome to the awesomely bad.

There was plenty of things to see… in fact there was everything to see. I can surely say that I have seen everything in the world after attending PAX… including dudes dressed up like Princess Peach (in a full pink prom dress).

So. Last night in Edinburgh. A bunch of us decide to go out and take a haunted ghost tour. So we go out to this cemetery, and our guide is telling us about how this cemetery inspired Frankenstein, Dracula, and Harry Potter. How there are over 500,000 people buried here, that it is currently 20 feet higher than it was back in the day because of all the bodies. And then our guide takes us inside a locked part where it is the most haunted. The place we are at now is one of the most haunted places in the world! Our tour guide gave us the disclaimer that if anyone has any problems, they cannot assume any health responsibilities. That you are on your own, but they will happily drag you out of the graveyard in case of death.

Ooo scary.

So he is telling us about all the stories how the walled area that we were in was one of the first concentration camps ever for people refusing to convert. He is also telling us the story of how this is the spot where a tour member such as our selves felt a chill, and suddenly began being strangled by disembodies hands and how there have been many reportings of ghost sightings, etc. He said that the space within these walls is where all the sightings and poltergeists happen/appear.

Oooo.

Next he takes us into this deep dark crypt and begins telling us the stories of the people buried in there. Some of the other tour members (there were about 30 of us) refused to go inside they were so scared. Anyway, Mr. Tour Guide is explaining about all the people who have died here, when suddenly I go numb and everything goes black! Next thing I know I am sitting outside the tomb with everyone looking at me and the tour guide asking if I have any conditions they need to know about and/or need an ambulance. I said I was fine. Next thing I know I am out of the cemetery with the taste of blood and dirt in my mouth and my friends are handing me Kleenex. I had no idea what happened!

But then I realized my lip was bleeding, my gums were bleeding, my teeth are numb, the side of my face hurts like hell, and I have a splitting headache. But in terms of feeling numb, it completely went away as soon as I was taken out of the cemetery and hasn’t returned since. So after that we caught a cab and came back to the dorms since I was bleeding and covered in mud!

In the cab is when I heard exactly what happened.

When we were in the crypt, I was in the back, when most of my friends stayed near the door. The guide was telling his stories when suddenly the people in the back started screaming and running out of the crypt which managed to scare the CRAP out of everyone, tour guide included. My friends said they saw something move out of the corner of their eyes and figured it was some planned masked man going to jump out. And then they see me laying in the back of this crypt! So they get me out and this is the part that I remember of being outside the crypt, but then I pass out again and they take me outside the cemetery. They canceled the tour early so the guide can talk to me to make sure I don’t need the hospital. After waking up outside the cemetery, I was feeling fine again (besides the obvious pain in my face). The tour guide decided to not charge me for the tour and he wants me to email his boss my story!

My friends on the tour said it was the scariest thing they have seen. I feel like I should have gotten a commission!

I was processed by ghosts in one of the most haunted places on earth! How freaken awesome is that!?!

I just wish I didn’t have to land on my face on solid stone… in a crypt… where 3% of the dirt is human remains.

But it makes one hell of story to end my Europe trip with!

We flew directly from Edinburgh to Milan. It was my first time to the Europe outside of the United Kingdom! We had fantastic views of the Alps from the plane.

Upon arrival, we had to catch a bus to the train station so we could get to Brescia where our hotel is. Due to the International Design Fair, every reasonable hostel/motel/hotel in Milan was booked. So we stayed in Brescia, about an hour train ride away.

When we got off the train, there was a large parade/demonstration immediately outside the train station. Not knowing Italian, we had no idea what it was for. But people were dancing, carrying torches, and singing so it was entertaining. Later we learned that it “might” have been a racist demonstration… singing songs about “send them back to Africa!”. We felt bad for not knowing what it was for. But we never found out exactly what it was.

We found our hotel and it was late, so we just visited the hotel bar and went to bed.

For the next two days, we travelled all over the Isle of Skye. Climbed many hills, walked many paths, explored many castles. Be sure to check out my Flickr account for hundreds of photos from this trip.

Perhaps one of the greatest parts of the trip was that we got to visit (and touch!) Loch Ness! Alas it was just a lake (-ish thing… its not technically a lake… but for all intents here, it was) but the weather was great. One more world destination to mark off the list!

After Loch Ness we made the long trek back to Edinburgh where we decided our next destination would be St. Andrews… for the last day before Mom and Grandma flew home.

Next we moved up the road to a little gift show / cafe place where I had my first true Haggis meal. It was better than expected… assuming you don’t think about what you are eating. They also had a highland cow (hihlin’ coo’).

Back on the road… we made a few picture stops.

We then finished the part of Old Town we didn’t see yesterday. End of Day Two.