Get ready, this one is going to be lengthy.
After a 4 hour long train ride to the north I arrived in the beautiful capital city of Scotland. The train ride was gorgeous - the north sea was spectacular to see. I packed in my nifty new suitcase but man did I feel uncomfortable. Everyone else packed in backpacks and here I was hauling a pack bigger than me! Oh well, it was too late to do anything so I embraced the situation. At least I didn't forget anything :) During the train ride I read and listened to music. I also overheard a game of 500 that the guys were playing in front of me. I have to admit, it was kind of painful - at one point someone bid 8 Clubs with the ace, six,seven and eight and a king of an off-suit. It was definitely entertaining! Our hostel was called the St. Christopher Inn and was located right near the train station and the center of the city. We put our stuff in our room (there were 6 of us in one) and then headed into the city to find some lunch/dinner. We ate at The Elephant House which is fondly known as "the birthplace of Harry Potter". J.K. Rowling wrote much of the original novels in that cafe. It overlooks the Edinburgh castle which gave her inspiration for Hogwarts. It was a great little cafe and a nice tourist attraction! Let's just say that my whole trip was about one, big tourist trap, but I enjoyed it immensely!
After dinner a group of us took a City of the Dead tour into underground caves. It wasn't supposed to be funny...but it was! It was one, big sucker buy...oh well. It's definitely a story and something we won't forget. After the walk, we stopped at a pub called The Scotsman's Lounge where we ordered a pint and listened to live, Scottish music.
The next morning we walked around the beautiful city which was filled with lovely, old buildings. Vilma set up a tour of Parliament for the whole group. The building is new - built in 2004 - and very modern and didn't seem to fit in at all. The citizens of the town called it "the disgrace of Scotland". Inside though it was beautiful and refreshing. We also saw the Holyrood Palace which is where the Queen stays when she visits Scotland. In the afternoon, 4 of us toured Edinburgh Castle which offered spectacular views of the city and the North Sea. It rained and poured ALL day long, but that didn't stop us from seeing the sights. We took a tour of the castle which was led by a very funny Scotsman whom reminded me a lot of Jimmy - his sense of humor was spot on. When the tour concluded, I saw his name tag and guess what his name was? Yep, Jim.
That evening, Calleigh convinced me to pay 9 P for a Scotch Whiskey Experience Tour. And boy, am I glad she did! We rode an interactive ride describing how single malt whiskey was made. Later on we learned about the different regions and then we were able to taste a sample. We also were allowed to keep the neat glass. At the end of the tour we saw the biggest collection of scotch whiskey in the world! I also learned what Johnny Walker Red was - Lud, you know what song I'm referring to?? It was there, in the gift shop, that I saw a bottle of whiskey for only 12,000P. I didn't make a purchase. That night we hung out at the hostel bar (cheapest food/drinks) and ordered 2 for 1 burgers and 6 P "buckets". It was definitely a fun night!
This morning we had every intention of climbing Arthur's Seat - an inactive volcanic rock that provides breath-taking views of the city. At 7 am we were all dressed and ready but it was pouring, as usual and instead we had some breakfast :) The train ride home felt long but I was able to sleep which was nice...Hostel living just isn't my thing. Not to mention, I slept on the bottom bunk and had to stare at the words, "Death Bed" before falling asleep every night.
Overall, Scotland is a beautiful country and I'd love to go back. The Scottish are definitely nicer than the English. Now off the Sports Cafe to cheer on those Vikes!!
After a 4 hour long train ride to the north I arrived in the beautiful capital city of Scotland. The train ride was gorgeous - the north sea was spectacular to see. I packed in my nifty new suitcase but man did I feel uncomfortable. Everyone else packed in backpacks and here I was hauling a pack bigger than me! Oh well, it was too late to do anything so I embraced the situation. At least I didn't forget anything :) During the train ride I read and listened to music. I also overheard a game of 500 that the guys were playing in front of me. I have to admit, it was kind of painful - at one point someone bid 8 Clubs with the ace, six,seven and eight and a king of an off-suit. It was definitely entertaining! Our hostel was called the St. Christopher Inn and was located right near the train station and the center of the city. We put our stuff in our room (there were 6 of us in one) and then headed into the city to find some lunch/dinner. We ate at The Elephant House which is fondly known as "the birthplace of Harry Potter". J.K. Rowling wrote much of the original novels in that cafe. It overlooks the Edinburgh castle which gave her inspiration for Hogwarts. It was a great little cafe and a nice tourist attraction! Let's just say that my whole trip was about one, big tourist trap, but I enjoyed it immensely!
After dinner a group of us took a City of the Dead tour into underground caves. It wasn't supposed to be funny...but it was! It was one, big sucker buy...oh well. It's definitely a story and something we won't forget. After the walk, we stopped at a pub called The Scotsman's Lounge where we ordered a pint and listened to live, Scottish music.
The next morning we walked around the beautiful city which was filled with lovely, old buildings. Vilma set up a tour of Parliament for the whole group. The building is new - built in 2004 - and very modern and didn't seem to fit in at all. The citizens of the town called it "the disgrace of Scotland". Inside though it was beautiful and refreshing. We also saw the Holyrood Palace which is where the Queen stays when she visits Scotland. In the afternoon, 4 of us toured Edinburgh Castle which offered spectacular views of the city and the North Sea. It rained and poured ALL day long, but that didn't stop us from seeing the sights. We took a tour of the castle which was led by a very funny Scotsman whom reminded me a lot of Jimmy - his sense of humor was spot on. When the tour concluded, I saw his name tag and guess what his name was? Yep, Jim.
That evening, Calleigh convinced me to pay 9 P for a Scotch Whiskey Experience Tour. And boy, am I glad she did! We rode an interactive ride describing how single malt whiskey was made. Later on we learned about the different regions and then we were able to taste a sample. We also were allowed to keep the neat glass. At the end of the tour we saw the biggest collection of scotch whiskey in the world! I also learned what Johnny Walker Red was - Lud, you know what song I'm referring to?? It was there, in the gift shop, that I saw a bottle of whiskey for only 12,000P. I didn't make a purchase. That night we hung out at the hostel bar (cheapest food/drinks) and ordered 2 for 1 burgers and 6 P "buckets". It was definitely a fun night!
This morning we had every intention of climbing Arthur's Seat - an inactive volcanic rock that provides breath-taking views of the city. At 7 am we were all dressed and ready but it was pouring, as usual and instead we had some breakfast :) The train ride home felt long but I was able to sleep which was nice...Hostel living just isn't my thing. Not to mention, I slept on the bottom bunk and had to stare at the words, "Death Bed" before falling asleep every night.
Overall, Scotland is a beautiful country and I'd love to go back. The Scottish are definitely nicer than the English. Now off the Sports Cafe to cheer on those Vikes!!
I know what the cafe that you were talking about looks like. I saw a documentry on J.K. Rawlings and they interviewed her at that cafe and showed the view. I'm glad you had a good time in Scotland because you had to come back to see the Vikings lose. I went to bed sick and woke up sick. I know who I don't want to win in the Superbowl!! We had a great time up north for our second annual Galowitz's weekend. I sure can tell the ones that don't get out much!! Anglers was the choice of bar the first night. Long Island's were the theme!! We had rain Saturday afternoon and woke up to big fluffy snow on Sunday. Always the day you leave you get snow! Hope your weather gets better so you can ditch the unbrella's. I will have to learn how to scipe - Kristin just told me this computer has a camera lens thing on top. Always wondered what that was. Love from here.
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JK said...
ReplyDeletePip pip cheerio and all that rot.
Kim, that's great about the cafe...I loved it there and could totally see how she got inspiration for the novels. I'm glad you had a good time up north - too bad about the snow though. I would LOVE to skype with you sometime. Hopefully we can figure out a time. Love to you both!
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