Edinburgh
Alright so after Barcelona we went to Scotland. We flew from Girona to Glasgow and had to take a train from Glasgow to Edinburgh at around midnight Sunday night. It was reeeally cold in Scotland, especially at night. But it was super fun just to hear the Scottish accent that I love so much... even if I didn't know what people were saying part of the time.
When we got to our hostel we checked in and saw our amazing rooms. Really, amazing (well, at least by hostel standards). We had huge down comforters with duvet covers and clean sheets and looong beds (I love long beds, for obvious reasons) and everything was in working order. The bathrooms weren't too crowded and even though we had paid for 2 beds in a 4 person room, the other 2 were empty the first night so we got our own room.
After checking in, we decided to head out and try to find a pub. We ended up wandering around looking for Dropkick Murphy's (a pub that the guy at the front desk recommended) for a while and finally found some guy on the street who offered to help us find a pub. Well, we found one but the guy we were with wasn't allowed in because he wasn't dressed well enough. We offered to not go in, but he told us we should go without him because we were only going to be there for a day. So we went in and we met some cool people, drank a beer and watched the live band.
After going home and sleeping for just a bit, we grabbed breakfast and then we went to our hostel to take the FREE walking tour of Edinburgh that they offer. It was a Monday so there was no one on the tour except for Ashley, the tour guide (Cal) and myself. We had a great time wandering around Edinburgh. We went to the famous cemetery, saw the coffee shop where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book, went inside a church, climbed the Scott Monument, walked through the royal gardens, watched the cannon on the castle get fired (it is fired once a day, I believe at 1 pm) and got attacked by a squirrel. Cal was hilarious because he's from Australia and apparently they don't have squirrels in Australia. So he just about lost his mind when this squirrel came up to us and started climbing all over us. Literally. I had a squirrel on my leg and climbing behind my back. Closest I've ever been to a squirrel, I'm glad Cal was there to appreciate it.
After the walking tour the 3 of us grabbed lunch. I ordered haggis (sheep intestines, traditional dish)... it was not so delicious. But it wasn't gross either. I was proud of myself for ordering it though, I like to try different cuisines. After lunch, Ashley and I went to the castle so that we could go in and do some exploring. I wandered around a bit and then realized my lack of interest in Scottish museums and my abundant interest in Scottish sunsets. So I sat, listening to my ipod for about an hour, watching the sunset... on top of a castle. Probably one of the coolest experiences of my life. Then I did a bit more exploring before they closed the castle on me.
After our castle experience, Ashley and I grabbed dinner at a pub. I had the most delicious steak pie ever! It reminded me of my mom's beef stew that she makes (that's going on the list of things that need to be made when I get home, by the way). I ate the whole thing, which was quite a feat considering the portion sizes in Scotland. Then Ashley and I went back to our hostel to take a nap (I had to do laundry too).
Then we went downstairs and met up with Cal because he was leading the hostel's FREE pub crawl that evening (lots of freeness... really the best hostel ever). We had a lot of fun at our first pub where we played pool and I drank and Australian beer at Cal's recommendation. It was good, but very different from what I'm used to. Then we went to the second bar which happened to be Dropkick Murphy's. Ashley and I were a little perturbed to find that it was actually right next to our hostel the whole time. Whatev. It was here that we met a couple of guys named Lewis and Sam who were also both Australian. We hung out talking to them for a while and planned on meeting the pub crawl at the next pub. Well, we went to the next pub and they weren't there, but karaoke was!!!! So Ashley had a GREAT time forcing me to sing Shania Twain (I'm NOT a country girl). Man I feel like a woman... greeeat. But it was funny and we danced/sang the night away with Sam and Lewis.
At 3 am we had to be on the bridge by the train station to meet the bus that was taking us to the airport to go to Paris. Picture this: we didn't get any sleep and we were running through the streets of Edinburgh after having just gone on a pub crawl... you can imagine the hilarity that ensued.
We finally got on the bus and apparently, I took part in the following conversation:
Me: Ashley, I need to go to the bathroom.
Ashley: Ok, go ask the bus driver.
Me: Alright
Me: Scusi, dove il bagno?
Driver: What?
Me: Il bagno? Vicino al'autobus???
Driver: What?!
Me: Parli italiano?
Driver: No.
Me: Donde esta el bano?
Driver: WHAT?
Me: Comprendes?
Driver: NO!
Me: Ashley, he didn't understand me.
Ashley: That's because we're in Scotland Patty, he speaks English
Me: I know that. It's just that he speaks Spanish.
Ashley: No he doesn't Patty, we're in Scotland!
Me: Ok, fine. You ask.
Ashley: Excuse me, where's the bathroom?
Driver: In the back.
As you can see, I was a riot. After this little exchange, I reached my desired destination of the bathroom without any ocular lenses to aid me. Then I fell asleep only to wake up long enough to get on the plane and then sleep some more.
Edinburgh was great though and even though we weren't there for very long, we had ridiculous amounts of fun.
Some pics:
Ashley and I at the karaoke bar
Sam, Lewis, Ashley and I
Lewis and I having a grand ol' time
Trying to find the pub crawl... unsuccessful
Hey, look at us, we're in a red phone booth!!!!
Scottish breakfast. What did I tell you about the portions?
View of Edinburgh from the castle courtyard area... pretty huh?
Haha, it's a castle!
My friend the sunset.
Me+castle+sunset=good times
I'm on top of the Scott Monument here
View of the streets below from atop the Monument
I climbed that (i.e. the Scott Monument)
Ashley and I on our walking tour. Bobby is the dog featured in the picture. He's famous because when his master died, he waited by his grave for 14 years. I want one!
Live band that was playing at the pub we went to on the first night in Edinburgh
This is our hostel. Great place, bad picture.
When we got to our hostel we checked in and saw our amazing rooms. Really, amazing (well, at least by hostel standards). We had huge down comforters with duvet covers and clean sheets and looong beds (I love long beds, for obvious reasons) and everything was in working order. The bathrooms weren't too crowded and even though we had paid for 2 beds in a 4 person room, the other 2 were empty the first night so we got our own room.
After checking in, we decided to head out and try to find a pub. We ended up wandering around looking for Dropkick Murphy's (a pub that the guy at the front desk recommended) for a while and finally found some guy on the street who offered to help us find a pub. Well, we found one but the guy we were with wasn't allowed in because he wasn't dressed well enough. We offered to not go in, but he told us we should go without him because we were only going to be there for a day. So we went in and we met some cool people, drank a beer and watched the live band.
After going home and sleeping for just a bit, we grabbed breakfast and then we went to our hostel to take the FREE walking tour of Edinburgh that they offer. It was a Monday so there was no one on the tour except for Ashley, the tour guide (Cal) and myself. We had a great time wandering around Edinburgh. We went to the famous cemetery, saw the coffee shop where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book, went inside a church, climbed the Scott Monument, walked through the royal gardens, watched the cannon on the castle get fired (it is fired once a day, I believe at 1 pm) and got attacked by a squirrel. Cal was hilarious because he's from Australia and apparently they don't have squirrels in Australia. So he just about lost his mind when this squirrel came up to us and started climbing all over us. Literally. I had a squirrel on my leg and climbing behind my back. Closest I've ever been to a squirrel, I'm glad Cal was there to appreciate it.
After the walking tour the 3 of us grabbed lunch. I ordered haggis (sheep intestines, traditional dish)... it was not so delicious. But it wasn't gross either. I was proud of myself for ordering it though, I like to try different cuisines. After lunch, Ashley and I went to the castle so that we could go in and do some exploring. I wandered around a bit and then realized my lack of interest in Scottish museums and my abundant interest in Scottish sunsets. So I sat, listening to my ipod for about an hour, watching the sunset... on top of a castle. Probably one of the coolest experiences of my life. Then I did a bit more exploring before they closed the castle on me.
After our castle experience, Ashley and I grabbed dinner at a pub. I had the most delicious steak pie ever! It reminded me of my mom's beef stew that she makes (that's going on the list of things that need to be made when I get home, by the way). I ate the whole thing, which was quite a feat considering the portion sizes in Scotland. Then Ashley and I went back to our hostel to take a nap (I had to do laundry too).
Then we went downstairs and met up with Cal because he was leading the hostel's FREE pub crawl that evening (lots of freeness... really the best hostel ever). We had a lot of fun at our first pub where we played pool and I drank and Australian beer at Cal's recommendation. It was good, but very different from what I'm used to. Then we went to the second bar which happened to be Dropkick Murphy's. Ashley and I were a little perturbed to find that it was actually right next to our hostel the whole time. Whatev. It was here that we met a couple of guys named Lewis and Sam who were also both Australian. We hung out talking to them for a while and planned on meeting the pub crawl at the next pub. Well, we went to the next pub and they weren't there, but karaoke was!!!! So Ashley had a GREAT time forcing me to sing Shania Twain (I'm NOT a country girl). Man I feel like a woman... greeeat. But it was funny and we danced/sang the night away with Sam and Lewis.
At 3 am we had to be on the bridge by the train station to meet the bus that was taking us to the airport to go to Paris. Picture this: we didn't get any sleep and we were running through the streets of Edinburgh after having just gone on a pub crawl... you can imagine the hilarity that ensued.
We finally got on the bus and apparently, I took part in the following conversation:
Me: Ashley, I need to go to the bathroom.
Ashley: Ok, go ask the bus driver.
Me: Alright
Me: Scusi, dove il bagno?
Driver: What?
Me: Il bagno? Vicino al'autobus???
Driver: What?!
Me: Parli italiano?
Driver: No.
Me: Donde esta el bano?
Driver: WHAT?
Me: Comprendes?
Driver: NO!
Me: Ashley, he didn't understand me.
Ashley: That's because we're in Scotland Patty, he speaks English
Me: I know that. It's just that he speaks Spanish.
Ashley: No he doesn't Patty, we're in Scotland!
Me: Ok, fine. You ask.
Ashley: Excuse me, where's the bathroom?
Driver: In the back.
As you can see, I was a riot. After this little exchange, I reached my desired destination of the bathroom without any ocular lenses to aid me. Then I fell asleep only to wake up long enough to get on the plane and then sleep some more.
Edinburgh was great though and even though we weren't there for very long, we had ridiculous amounts of fun.
Some pics:
Ashley and I at the karaoke bar
Sam, Lewis, Ashley and I
Lewis and I having a grand ol' time
Trying to find the pub crawl... unsuccessful
Hey, look at us, we're in a red phone booth!!!!
Scottish breakfast. What did I tell you about the portions?
View of Edinburgh from the castle courtyard area... pretty huh?
Haha, it's a castle!
My friend the sunset.
Me+castle+sunset=good times
I'm on top of the Scott Monument here
View of the streets below from atop the Monument
I climbed that (i.e. the Scott Monument)
Ashley and I on our walking tour. Bobby is the dog featured in the picture. He's famous because when his master died, he waited by his grave for 14 years. I want one!
Live band that was playing at the pub we went to on the first night in Edinburgh
This is our hostel. Great place, bad picture.
Comments