Fashion and Design in Europe Study Abroad: Edinburgh May 1 - May 7

I was blessed to go to Europe for the School of Family Life's Fashion and Design in Europe study abroad program. I was one of 3 directors. About a year ago, I told Natalie that I wanted to go on my own dime to learn how it works. Dawna Baugh will retire and Natalie would need a new co-director. Because of Covid precautions and our plan to travel to the UK and France, they designated me as a 3rd director. That meant BYU covered the cost of my trip and paid me a per diem for food. 

It was a ton of work to get ready to go. I was wrapping up winter semester, getting things ready for spring and summer, editing 340 online for summer, and trying to find time to help Jenny get ready to go on her mission. I was very stressed. I made it, though. Got everything packed and made it to the airport on Sunday, May 1, ready to fly to Europe. Many of us were on the same flight. 4 students went through Amsterdam. Dr. Baugh came from Paris, where she had attended a class. 

We flew to NYC, then to Edinburgh. We arrived around 10 am and got on the train into town. We walked to our hotel, the Ibis at St. Andrew's Square. They took very good care of us. It was hard to get used to no outlet in the bathroom and other oddities that we're not used to in the US. I had my own room which was very comfortable. Bathroom, queen bed, desk, mirror, closet, etc. I got unpacked, brushed my teeth, then met up with Natalie and the students. We all went on a little walking tour of Edinburgh. Natalie had found a self-guided Harry Potter tour. JK Rowling was inspired by and wrote the books in Edinburgh. We walked through cute streets, and down hidden closes. We also found headstones with names that were the inspiration for character names in Harry Potter books. We got delicious gelato. Natalie and I had reservations for an early dinner at Dishoom, right across the square from our hotel. It was the first of many delicious meals that she and I would enjoy. It's an Indian restaurant that has locations only in London and Edinburgh. It was AMAZING. It was so good that we made reservations for 4 for the next night. Dawna and Craig don't like Indian food, so we invited Jared and Logan, the only single guys on the trip to go with us. That made us fast friends. 

We had 23 students on the trip. The 3 directors were Natalie Hancock, Dawna Baugh, and me. Craig, Dawna's husband, came too. He owns his own insurance company, so he would join us during the day and work at night. It was great to have him along. A married couple, Jonathan and Abby, came on the trip. Sarah Adamson is married, but her husband wasn't on the trip. 2 of the young women were engaged. One student was from the University of Utah. All excellent students interested in some aspect of fashion, clothing, design, or creativity. 

Tuesday was the official first day of the program. It started with a walking tour of Edinburgh with Stuart Usher. He is the quintessential Scottish man. He wore red corduroy pants and a tweed jacket. He knows the city, as his family has a long history with Edinburgh. In fact, the performing hall in town is named Usher Hall. His family was wronged by the government and much of their land was taken due to eminent domain laws. He showed us so many great things and taught us about his city. We learned about King James of the King James version of the Bible, we learned where criminals would go for their last drink before getting hanged. We learned about early grave robbers Burke and Hare who sold corpses for medical research who got tired of the digging so they just killed people who were down on their luck and sold those bodies. They eventually got caught, Burke was hanged and his body went to medical research. Hare testified against Burke and ended up in England. We saw Edinburgh Castle, which was a community behind a wall. It was a great day. Dawna even bought Stuart's recently-published book, The Rape of the House of Usher. Natalie and I went back to Dishoom with Logan and Jared. We also took a walk to a neighborhood that is very Harry Potter-esque. It's called Dean Village. A high school friend, who has since lost his battle with cancer, Larry Huckestein, recommended it. We loved our little weird excursion. 

Our hotel was the Ibis. They had a breakfast buffet everyday. It was yummy. We all absolutely loved the potato scones. I've since looked up a recipe and I think I need to make them someday. We started each day with a thought and prayer. The students all signed up for a day to do share. Natalie was our supreme navigator. That woman is a homing pigeon. She also gets how to use the apps to find her way. She and I did a lot of fun things together in our free time. 

Wednesday we took a bus to Lochcarron  of Scotland in Selkirk to learn about weaving tartans. We toured a mill and saw how yarns are dyed, how threads are woven to make tartans. They make fabric for designers and for companies. When we were on the tour, we went to a room where 2 women were inspecting some pieces, inch by inch, for any imperfections. If they find a missed thread, they fix it. The fabric they were working on is for designer Victoria Beckham. We also saw fabric made for Gucci. I got to purchase some of the Hunter tartan. I learned that there is ancient and modern prints for tartans. The ancient is more muted colors. Modern is more bright. My ancient tartan has a stripe that's a bit orange. The modern is a true red. It's because of the improvement in dyes. They served us a wonderful lunch of sandwiches and desserts made by a local caterer. We learned that during the pandemic, they worked to source more local material from local sheep. We also went to a tiny textile museum that came highly recommended and is obviously the pride of the small town. 

Thursday we took a bus the opposite direction to Dundee. There we learned about the early years of the industrial revolution and factories in the textile industry. We toured a factory (Verdant Works) where jute used to be made and learned about life working in the factory. We also went to the V & A Museum. It's the only Victoria and Albert Museum outside of London. It houses a lot of modern art. The kaleidoscope was invented in Scotland. I bought myself a really cute silk scarf that has symbols of many items that represent Scotland. It was my first personal splurge of the trip. Natalie and I went to an Argentine restaurant that was highly recommended by some of our students. It was delicious, but neither of us is really into beef, so we probably won't be back. Yummy, but beef isn't my thing. Really yummy. 

Friday was our last full day in Edinburgh before traveling to London. We did a fun team building class at a chocolate place. We learned about the history of chocolate, tasted chocolate, and made chocolates. We all bought a lot of chocolate to take back home. I am taking some to book club on Wednesday. I bought a bacon, pancake, and maple flavored chocolate for mom and dad. I also brought a orange and tangerine, lime and sea salt, raspberry, banana, and one with nuts and fruit. One of our students spilled chocolate all over her pants, shoes, and a shirt. She was really upset. I helped her out in the bathroom. We got it off. She and I were already pretty close because she blew out her blow dryer on the first day of the trip, so she'd been borrowing my blow dryer each morning. Jane is a cutie.  After the chocolate class, Natalie and I went and saw some sights we still wanted to see and we did some shopping. I bought a cashmere scarf for Allie, some tweed gloves for Jamie for her birthday, and a tweed purse for myself. Splurge #2. I also got some kilt pins and tartan for Starlyn. We went to a surgeons museum, also recommended by Larry, but not that great, in my opinion. He said it's one of his favorite museums. I did like the installation of historical dental tools. 

Some other highlights of Edinburgh included:

1. A tour of the underground vaults where we learned about the horrible living conditions of the very poor in the 1800's. Some of the residents in the vaults were suspected to be victims of Burke and Hare. It was a very, very hard life of dark, death, and crime. 

2. It's such a great walking city. You can really get around just walking and we walked a lot. Loved the beauty of the city. Not so fun fact...Hitler didn't ever bomb Edinburgh during WWII. He refused to because he loved the architecture and art there. 

3. Watching our students start buying things, including, but not limited to, Harris Tweed purses.

4. Gelato

5. A typical Scottish meal, including haggis, that Natalie and I shared. It was really good. I think expensive haggis is probably better than the cheap stuff. 

6. Finding out that Debbie and Mark are going to sell their house and move into Jenny and Scott's house with Christian while they are on their mission. It's like Moses parting the Red Sea. What seemed impossible is now possible. Learned this news the same day Brianna shared her thought about being adopted and sealed to her parents. Adoption and fostering is a wonderful thing. What would our family do without Debbie?

7. Weather cooperated big time. We only got rained on the last day, as we were walking to the train station, and that didn't last long. 

Some not so bright spots:

1. Having to talk to many of our female students about their wardrobe choices. They were all expected to comply with BYU dress and grooming. We told them to not waste precious space in their luggage with clothes they couldn't wear. We were all limited to a carry on and a backpack. Best decision ever. I don't think I'll travel with a full-sized suitcase again. 

2. Not having WiFi that kept up with Natalie's. I'll pay for the upgrade next time so I can be more helpful. 

3. Missing Melia's birthday.

Some things I've learned:

1. I love everything I brought. I wish I hadn't brought my heavy water bottle. Next time I'll leave it home and just buy a water bottle now and then and refill. My wardrobe was perfect. Wish I hadn't brought sweatpants, but had brought shorts and a t-shirt for evenings instead. So so so glad I brought a compact down jacket, because I wore it daily in Edinburgh. 

2. Study abroad is a lot of work. The 3 of us directors met almost every night to discuss the next day and to craft a message to send out to the students. I sent that out each day in anticipation of the next day. I also carried all tickets.

3. Natalie and I are great travel companions. We have similar travel philosophies. See everything you can. Eat later. Drink later. Go to the bathroom later. Keep going. Share food because you want to try everything and you'll be sharing a meal again soon. 

4. Students don't watch the weather and they don't carry big bags with snacks, water, jackets, etc. 

The majority of the group made it to Edinburgh - Logan is our official selfie taker

Natalie and I at the Edinburgh sign

In the SLC airport, ready to leave. Just getting to know each other. I remember talking to Kenzie and she was so nervous because she goes to the U. Would she make friends? We all made friends!!!!!!

Logan and Jared took this photo on my phone in Dean Village

Crown on display at V&A in Dundee

Colorful shopping street in Edinburgh

                                                    

Plenty of stores that sold Harry Potter items

Cemetery with names that inspired JK Rowling

Tom Riddle

McGonagall

Some of my favorite things - journal, Book of Mormon, t-shirt

We love you Dishoom. Chicken Ruby, broccoli and mint salad, naan, rice. 

There's Stuart Usher in his cap

Edinburgh Castle was almost impossible to attack

View of cute homes from our walk near the castle

Look at those purple flowers. That's real!

The Last Drop...a pub that's been in Edinburgh since the 1800's

Loved the orange

Dishoom round 2...yes, it's very similar to round 1

Dean Village

Obligatory phone booth photo - Dean Village

Dean Village

Dean Village

Dean Village

Fabrics being inspected

I'm holding the modern Hunter tartan. I ended up buying the ancient because it had some orange. 

Wall of tartans

Borders Textile Museum

Fish at the Scottish restaurant. It was delicious. 

Directors: Natalie Hancock, Dawna Baugh, me

Verdant Works used to be a working jute factore

They say it's haunted and people have seen a young girl on this walking bridge

In front of and inside of the V&A. When I sent this picture to Derek he commented that it stood for Vera and Aarl. Yes, mom got a V&A bag

The architecture inside and out of the V&A in Dundee is beautiful and unique

This avocado toast was better than it looks

Can you believe how lovely this park is?

This was a waffle with popcorn, ice cream, and caramel sauce at the Boozy Cow. Wow, it was delicious

In front of the Ibis Styles St. Andrew's Square

The ancient Hunter tartan

Learning about, making, and tasting chocolate. We had a blast.

The vault tour with our awesome tour guide: Natalie, guide, me, Sophia, Jared, Mercedez, Maya, Rachel, and Taylee

This was near the vaults and it used to be the bad part of town, where cattle were driven and sold. Full of poop, blood, urine, etc. 

JK Rowling hands...those are some famous writing hands

Harris Tweed bag that I bought

Argentine restaurant

My hotel room and bathroom

Ready to head to London. Cuties. 

Everyone on the bus to London

Olives, bread, and hummus at the Scottish restaurant Howie's

Haggis served with mashed sweet potato and regular potato

Natalie got lamb. First time I've tried lamb and haggis and banoffee pie

Banoffee pie. 

Me and Natalie having fun at Verdant Works, Dundee

The whole group on the day we left Edinburgh

The Fab 4 outside of Dishoom and on our adventure to Dean Village

I loved the sentiment on this wall at the V&A and when I saw that Jared had captured a photo of it, I asked him to take this photo of me. It took some time to get it just right. 

I sent this to Derek and he said he loved the inclusion of Scottish comic book artists in the museum

He also couldn't believe this old video game was in the museum

I just love this building!

Because one photo of this saying isn't enough!