Edinburgh

Scotland!!! Where do I even begin? Maybe with the fact that I only had 6 hours to enjoy such a huge and amazing city, which was not even close to enough time. I could’ve spent days there, a week even if I strayed from the touristy bits. But alas, I went on a school-guided tour, and that’s just what you get.

The coach left campus around 8am, and we didn’t actually arrive in Edinburgh till noon. Ugghhhhh. We made a half an hour stop about 45 minutes into the drive, which I found a little unnecessary, and of course that actually turned into a 50 minute stop when some German kid decided to be on his own agenda. Once on the bus, he proceeded to sit directly behind me and practice his Spanish with the Spanish guy next to him…the whole ride. Shelby didn’t get much sleep.  Towards our arrival the German kid got hungry, and I swear if I heard “Agh I’gm soo hungreee” “I juzt need a burghher or somezzzing” one more time I was going to turn around and unleash 4 hours worth of pent up rage.

Thankfully this did not happen and all parties arrived intact.

May I take this time to say that this will be the extent of my complaining for the rest of the blog post. I realize I do it quite often, and I apologize to those that would prefer a more forgiving and cheerful entry. But I happen to think the positive parts of my day are just as enjoyable and noteworthy as the ridiculous ones. I hope you all agree.

Anyway, we get there and I walk up to the castle, which is absolutely stunning by the way. It was a perfect day, sunny and cloudy in intervals, but no rain or wind. The castle was just a zoo of people, and unfortunately ticket lines were long and entry tickets were quite pricey, so I didn’t get to experience the inside of it. But I marveled from the outside and enjoyed the views that it afforded (see pictures below). And at the end of the day I was quite happy with my decision to avoid the long lines and spend my 6 hours elsewhere.

Basically I just set off down the Royal Mile, stopping wherever my interest was caught. The whole street below the castle was quite a spectacle—loads of kilt-wearing bagpipers, fire jugglers, statue people, and a souvenir shop in every other doorway. I stopped at St.Giles cathedral and wandered around inside a bit. It was fantastic, absolutely beautiful, and so much to look at from inscriptions on the floor to the huge stained-glass windows—And yes Dad, even the ceilings (I put on my engineers cap and tried to appreciate the Gothic arches and structure to their fullest). I didn’t however take any pictures from the inside, as I thought they wouldn’t do any justice.

Continuing down the Royal Mile, my next stop was a museum entitled “The Peoples Story”. I wasn’t enthralled, but I saw ‘free admission’ and thought I was obligated to take advantage.  Mistake…Huge mistake. I walked in and stood next to what I thought was a family enjoying the exhibit…turns out not a family…WAX PEOPLE!! AAAGGHHHHH. MY WORST NIGHTMARE!!!!! I tried to stifle my gasp as not to draw attention to my stupidity. I calmed down, told myself to stop being such a freak and learn something about Scotland dammit. But as soon as I turned the corner I was met by another huge wax figure dressed in mounds of plaid. Gaaahhhh!!!! Stop freaking out!!!!! I was going to get through this. I crept past him and darted up the stairs to the next exhibit, ‘Working Conditions’. I see a couple of REAL people through the doorway and think the danger is over. So wrong. I walk in and look behind me to see an army of impoverished, raggedly dressed wax figurines swarming around the room, women wielding pots and brooms, men with fishing nets, children with the most haunting stares I’ve ever seen. Total panic. Fuck holding onto my composure, I ran out of there so fast. I wasn’t going to let them get me. The woman at the front counter wasn’t even phased by my speed, she must be used to that reaction.  Outside! Freedom! Fresh air! And so goes the story of the last time Shelby attended a museum with free admission.

Thankfully the rest of my tour was much less frightening. I wandered into a couple local gardens off the main street, seriously considered buying Loch Ness monster souvenirs in some shops, and ended up at the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the end of the Mile. This I did pay the admission for, and had an absolutely wonderful time exploring the official residences of the Queen by audio tour. Once out of the palace you can walk around the gardens in back, which was my favorite part with great views of the Scottish hillside (pictures below).  At that point, I only had about two hours remaining and I’d set my hopes on relaxing and finding a good place to enjoy a pint. I got a recommendation from a guy in a whiskey shop (which I figured would be a fail-proof strategy…no need for another Fibber McGee’s debacle) and ended up at The Albanach, where a very nice bartender presented me with samplings of all the ales on tap, upon my indecisiveness and endearing American smile:)

Of course it wasn’t over. As soon as I returned to my flat (after another 4 hour bus ride) I was talked into accompanying my flat mates to go partying downtown. One loud club, lots of dancing and drinks, a late night run to McDonalds, and two incredibly sore feet later, it was 5am and I was in bed. Now that’s an awesome day:)

Castle!!!

View from the castle

St.Giles

Secret garden

Palace of Holyroodhouse

The royal gardens

Another creeper pic of people walking

Final view from the castle--I think it looks like Narnia in the background:)