My "Proper" Date with Lauren (sponsored by Azibo)

The back story:
Last week, Lauren and I went to speed dating sponsored by this society, Azibo. You know the drill, 3 minutes with 30 people over the course of an hour and half. no biggie. The only girl I remember was one from Russia, who went off on this whole thing about the conflict between Russia and Georgia (yes, I made the mistake of telling her I went to school in Georgia, and she made the mistake of thinking I meant the country). All I could respond with was: "So, do you know Maria Sharapova?" But after the first round, we found out that there were prizes being awarded for a couple that was the most compatible. Smile off, game face on.

The plan:
Lauren and I would rank each other as highly as possible on the score-card and hopefully we would win ten pounds to go on a "proper date" with one another. And unlike most of my plans, this one actually worked. We got a gift certificate to go to a cafe called North Point, near the cathedral ruins.

Can you say, "Love at first...3 minute convo?"

The Date:
As with any "proper" date, we started off with a trip to the cathedral for Anglican mass. We wouldn't want anything unkosher (or i guess, un-Christian) to happen during our date. Mass was interesting. We stuck out like sore thumbs amidst the crowds of students wearing their St. Andrews red capes. And the seats all face towards the center aisle, so everyone could see we were foreigners. It was basically a showdown at morning mass. This was particularly unfortunate for the very expressive soprano sitting opposite Lauren and me. She certainly was loving the Lord.

Historically, all the students at mass file out of the cathedral and start a procession down to the pier. Contemporaneously, the handful of students at mass meet up with a larger group of students whose drinking habits the night before will now require them to attempt the pier walk incredibly hungover. Apparently, the Rick Steve's and other tour guide books describe this pier walk as "the thing to see at St. Andrews." As a result, we were met at the pier by hoards of paparazzi (okay, so there were a couple purple haired old ladies with their disposable cameras...but this is my blog, so I can embellish when necessary). So there were these paparazzi snapping pictures of us left and right for magazines like Us and People. As we walked onto the pier, I tried to act like I belonged, but Lauren and I were wearing all black, so we looked like we belonged in a funeral procession instead.

Hand-holding. A staple of any "proper date."

Back from the funeral.

The actual pier walk itself begins at the far end of the pier and you walk back towards the cathedral ruins. You might think that this walk would be pretty relaxing, and you'd be wrong. Why you ask? 1) the pier walk actually takes place on a stone wall about a foot and a half wide; 2) the winds are pretty gusty at the beach; 3) low tide meant that there was a 20 foot drop from the pier to a bunch of rocks. Hence Lauren's fear.

Pierwalking.

"This is kind of Scary"

Afterward, we went to North Point. The restaurant is basically the quintessential American breakfast place. It's kind of trashy looking, with rickety tables and chairs. The place is always packed and has that terrible service that you come to expect from a breakfast establishment. We walked in to find our new friend Taylor (who we met a few days earlier at a bar in town). We invited him on our date (because everyone knows tricycles are more fun than bicycles). Scrambled Eggs and fresh salmon for breakfast. always delicious. And we didn't even go over our 10 pound budget.

Then we were off on a hike through the east sands (which should really be called the East cliffs, since there really isn't any sand involved). The further we got from St. Andrews, the more beautiful the views. Looking back at the city and the ocean, it became clear why some crazy amount (like 60%) of St. Andrew's grads meet their future partners at the University.

I should get paid to rep Emory T&F this well. Up on the East Sands.

You know, just chillin' on a mossy rock.

We ended up about three miles away from the city and discovered the enchanted (sorry, more creative license) "Castle course" (one of the most famous golf courses in St. Andrew's, second only to the "Old course"). The dunes looked like we were in outer space. Can't you just see a cute little hobbit creeping out of one of those knolls?


...and then we had to get home, which proved a little more difficult than expected. Apparently hitchhiking is not as common in Scotland as other parts of the UK.

ugg...

failure.

We found some wild berries along the way.

Snackaroo.

Then there was this giant field of hay barrels and we couldn't resist. Recess!

Practicing terrible squatting technique on the hay barrel. Steve Lewis would be so disappointed.

We're frum Amurica!

But we finally made it back. Thanks Azibo! (even though I still have no idea what your society does).

Next blog: DRIVING LESSONS!!! Look out St. Andrews!