Cheers from Scotland!

I know I have been neglecting this blog lately... just been too busy and tired with school. Don't worry, Dad, I haven't forgotten that that's why I'm over here! (Not that they'd let me...) But I was lucky enough to do some traveling this weekend...so here is it is. My first weekend getaway. I went with two of my roommates and two other girls to Edinburgh (which is pronounced "Edin-bur-owe" -- thanks Mom for correcting me BEFORE I went there and said it incorrectly). It was Ah-maze-ing. I loved Scotland. The people were so friendly, the city was beautiful, and the history was so interesting! We stayed at the Art Roche Hostel, which was actually really nice. We had an 8 person room, but we only had to other roommates, these nice Italian women. Our Hostel was a couple blocks away from the Royal Mile, which is where all the Tourist sights are, and just below Edinburgh Castle. This was the view from the window in our room:

Not bad huh? We were really lucky with the weather. As you can see it was clear blue skies (the clouds came in the afternoon) on Saturday, not too cold. Perfect for walking around. I had read that in Scotland, you really get a workout walking around the city. And that is a very true statement. Every street is on a slope. The city is many different levels, because they kept building on top of it. Which was REALLY COOL because there is like an underground city below the Royal Mile, called Mary King's Close. A close in Scotland is like an alley or narrow street, so Mary King's Close was an old market street from the 14th century named after a successful shopkeeper, Mary King. We did this hour-long tour (no cameras allowed so no pictures to accompany my tale) of the underground street, and saw the different layers of building throughout history. The street was thought to be haunted because when the plague came to Scotland it apparently wiped out the inhabitants on Mary King's Close. And apparently some psychic got a feeling that a dead girl's unsettled soul was in one of the rooms. Spooky. Anyways, you can google it if you want more info, bottom line, Mary King's Close. Very cool. Worth the 10 pounds.

The architecture in Edinburgh was all Gothic and beautiful. Look!

The Cathedral on the Royal Mile.

We did a tour of the Edinburgh Castle, which was also very cool. Very old. Beautiful views of the city from the top of the mountain. We could see all the way to the ocean. Look at the views!

 My friend, Sara, and me in front of the castle.

After the castle, we went to one of Scotland's oldest kilt factories. We learned all about how they make the kilts, and the histories of each different Tartan. Naturally I asked all about the history of the clan of Macdonald. It is one of the oldest clans, dating back to an Irish monarch. They mostly came to Western Scotland, but then they dispersed all throughout the country over time. I played with the idea of quoting the song by the Scottish Tenor, you know, about the "murhdar of the clan of Macdonald," but I held back. This woman who works in the factory told me, for about 20 minutes, all about the history of Macdonalds and about their different tartans, but I only understood about 40% of what she said because her accent was so strong. And then I started thinking...am I even a descendent from the Macdonalds? It's not how we spell it...but I know we're Scottish. Well this is awkward. I need to brush up on my ancestral history...

How they make the kilts.

Kiltmakers!

After we went to the kilt factory, we got lunch at this quaint tea place. This one woman does everything: cook, serve, clean. She was about 65 years old, very sweet, and had been doing this for 30 years. We were talking to her about living in Scotland and we told her we were from the US. She said, "Oh well I've been to Arizona. I just loved it there. It didn't rain once." 

Julie, me, and Connor at tea.

After lunch, we went to the "Scottish Whiskey Experience." They take you on a tour and teach you all about how whiskey is made, show you one of the world's largest whiskey collections, and give you tastes of whiskies from different areas in Scotland. It was a cool tour, and an interesting experience, but we all concluded that we do not like whiskey. But I can appreciate the minimum 3 years it takes to make it. Here are some pictures from the factory.

Everything in the cases holds whiskey -- including the bagpiper and the golfer!

The most expensive bottle of whiskey in the collection is the third from the right. I forget how much exactly it was (I've never been good with numbers, as well you should all know) but it was a lot.

That was pretty much the tourist-y things we did, that I have pictures from. We also just roamed a lot of the city, taking in all the pretty architecture. OH! something I forgot to say. The music playing in the shops and cafes all has the bagpipes in some part. It's so funny. I really liked it though. Here are some more pictures we took throughout the weekend.

Connor, the piper, and me.

 Modeling the kilts for you.

Outside the Palace (Day 2 was a little rainier)

I loved this store. Not because of the merchandise, but because of the name!

Okay, the other thing, is that they REALLY DO say "wee" all the time. And not just say it. It's on the names of their stores! See:

It says, "House of Edinburgh: A wee gift from Scotland"

Okay. last thing. We had breakfast the second day at this cafe called Elephant House. Let's see who the real Harry Potter fans are. Anyone? Wellll JK Rowling was sitting int his cafe, when she scribbled her ideas for a little series of books called Harry Potter on a napkin. It has since then become somewhat a shrine to this day, with pictures of the author on the wall, and a very Harry Potter-adorned toilet seat in the bathroom. More than that, it was very cute, good food, and had a beautiful view of the castle.

The front of the cafe

The cool view of the castle from our table. Probably where JK sat herself.

Before we left, we passed this shop that I recognized from the Travel channel. It claims to have the world's best hot chocolate. So, naturally, we had to see for ourselves. It was a funky shop, selling tartans and kilts made there in the store, a cafe in the middle for coffee and sandwiches (and hot chocolate of course) and then in the back of the shop, there was a camera and backdrop of the scottish landscape, with costumes to the side to put on before getting photographed. Weird. It just might have been the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted though...

Looks amazing right??? It had toffee chunks, marshmallows, whipped cream, chocolate shavings, toffee popcorn, and this sweet and sour green wafer on top. DELICIOUS.

Okay LAST THING, for real. But this is a shout-out to my Southern school! We got pulled pork sandwiches from this place called, the Pig (original, I know). They have one pig each day that they've prepared, which sits in the front window. Totally gross. But it was SO GOOD. I don't know, it may have rivaled South Carolina's pulled pork...

All in all, it was a really fun trip. I loved Scotland, and we had so much fun exploring the city!