Today, we had a more leisurely morning at the Aloft hotel in Aberdeen. We had to be on the bus by 10 am, so several of us woke up closer to 9, while others woke up earlier to do laundry, as there is only 1 washer and dryer in our hotel. 

We had a driving tour of Aberdeen, where Ian (our tour guide) showed us around with Billy (our bus driver)’s help. They took us to a beautiful cathedral where someone was playing the organ, and after looking around a bit, we ran into some other handbell ringers, including one from Germany and a few from Japan.

The next stop involved attempting to find dolphins. We were not lucky enough to see them, but the water and shore were beautiful, so many pictures were taken, and several of us had fun climbing the rocks and hunting for sea glass. 

Billy then drove us back into the city, and we stopped at the maritime museum. Once we arrived, we had some time to see the museum and get lunch. Some people stayed longer at the museum and chose quicker food options, while others went out to fancier restaurants for seafood.

Next was the botanical gardens, where we got to walk around and see all of the plants, along with some freshwater turtles, which are apparently called Terrapins in the UK. Many of us also stopped to eat ice cream at a small store right outside before returning to the bus to head back to the hotel.

The bus ride back to the hotel was short but many people took a quick nap. When we returned to the hotel, we said a huge thank you and goodbye to our tour guide Ian, who has been such a great help and such a knowledgeable guide through so many cities and towns. We also said goodbye to Billy, our wonderful bus driver, who we will see again next weekend – he will be driving us to the airport when it’s time to return to New York! 

After we said goodbye, we all went to get our bell cases and headed over to the symposium hall, which is a very quick walk from the hotel. We set up our tables — we are close to the front of the rows of ringers, which is exciting! 

After we set up and put our music in order, we headed back to the hotel for a short break before the Friendship Dinner and the start of the symposium! Throughout the friendship dinner, ringers from all over the world introduce themselves to each other and trade trinkets. We had apple pins that say New York on them, and traded them for pins and stickers from people of Korea, Australia, England, Scotland, Japan, and more! We all made many new friends and are SO excited for the start of massed ringing tomorrow morning! 

-Chloe and Aria