Anyway, Scotland was simply sublime - how else to say it. Last Thursday, Matt and I left our house at about 10:45 PM and met Sean at the train station. Our train pulled away and headed North at 11:45 PM and we did our best to catch some sleep on the train. The seats were relatively comfortable, but the train was freezing cold - until of course they put on the heaters, at which point the train became unbearably hot. Oh well. I got a few Z's before we arrived in Edinburgh at about 7:15 in the morning. I took this right when we got out of the station:
Our room was empty at the hostel, so they let us get our keys at like a quarter to 8 in the morning. We set off and found a place to eat breakfast - overpriced and not that good. Oh well. We walked down the main road (the Royal Mile) downhill. At the bottom was the Scottish Parliament, which was right near these hills and hiking trails.
Right across the street, there was some big event going on. Matt went and asked a cop what was going on, and apparently the Queen was in town. We saw some people with fuzzy hats and kilts march around and play music near the palace there in Edinburgh, but no sight of the Queen.
Next we walked back uphill along the cobbled road toward Edinburgh Castle.
At the castle we FINALLY saw a guard in a big hat who couldn't move. It was funny, because his body was stock still, but his eyes were always darting around.
The view was great from the castle. I made another panoramic picture from the top, but facebook didn't let me upload it. Here's one of the pictures.
These cannon was called Mons Meg. It shot these absurdly huge balls made of stone for more than two miles! Cool to look at.
Next, we actually went to find a tattoo parlor. Sean was getting a tattoo of part of his family seal (Scottish, of course) and wanted to get it in Scotland. He made an appointment they fit him in that day. The artists turned out to be really good, and his tattoo came out really well. No pictures, though, sorry. After, the guys there recommended we go to the steak house across the street because they said it was the best they'd ever been to. Oddly enough, half the menu was vegetarian (what a country, the UK). Sean ordered a small order of haggis (!) with "neeps and tatties," which is turnips and potatoes. I get the same thing, except I got the vegetarian haggis. Apparently, they've been making it for like 40 years and now the kind without meat is considered pretty legitimate in Scotland. Haggis is supposed to be the heart and lungs of a sheep boiled inside of the sheep's stomach (or other kind of casing) and served like that, but the only haggis I saw there wasn't served in any casing at all. Anyway, Matt and Sean tried both the meat and veg haggis. They actually liked the meat one, but both said the meatless version was a lot better. Not positive what was in it, as all the recipes are different, but it was a bit nutty and had a little spice to it - there might have been pieces of peppercorns in it.
Next, we took a rest at our hostel, then took a walk through the park in the middle of the city. The sun was out and this park was so nice, it was truly hard to believe. Apparently, there used to be a loch in the middle of the city by the castle, but it was drained and the park was built in its place.
Finally, we went to a pub for a few pints and headed home by 11:00. It wasn't even dark by 10:45! Proof:
We got a few hours sleep, but had to be up before 7:00 to get cleaned up, have breakfast, and get to the tour bus that was taking us around the highlands and up to Loch Ness by 8:00 or so. As we walked onto the bus, the driver / guide handed each of us a nip of Famous Grouse whisky and said "Here's breakfast." So funny.
Anyway, our driver had been giving tours for more than 30 years and knew absolutely everything about every single place we drove and everything that had ever happened there in the last thousand years. One funny thing was 'the Wee Shop,' which is the smallest store in the world. They sell land, and it's basically just a little closet with a desk, a phone, and a computer. I don't remember most of what the guy said about the various things we saw. But it was all just staggering to look at.
When we finally got to Loch Ness, the sun was coming out and it was very sunny. Perfect. Here's Urquhart Castle on the Loch. The bus stopped here and let some of the people off to see the castle and then take a 30 minute cruise. Sean did that, but me and Matt decided to only take the longer cruise. It wouldn't been nice to see the castle, I guess, but the long cruise was so great that I regret nothing.
The water on the Lock was so dark and was very odd to look it. Apparently, the water picks up dark color from moss as it comes down from the mountains. It was like floating on a lake of Guinness. Dark black.
Anyway, the way back to Edinburgh was less pretty than the way there. We took a more direct route on the highway and it started to rain. Still, it was beyond anything I'd ever seen. Also, there were a lot of golf courses.
We got back to Edinburgh at about 8:30 and went back to the hostel for a lie down after the 12 hour marathon of a tour we just went on. After some rest, we got back up and went to a different pub. We hung out there for a while and then went to bed early again. Once again, we had to get up early, though this time it wasn't until about 7:30 or 8:00 until we got up. It's funny that I sleep in on days I am working and get up early when I'm on vacation.
Our hostel had a cafe next door that sells cheap, large breakfasts to people staying there. Of course, you pay about 3 pounds for the huge breakfast, but then coffee costs 2.50 pounds. They always find a way to get you.
Our train left at 10:00 and we arrived home in London in time to watch the tennis match. Fantastic.
Well, that's it. Time for bed.
1 comment:
We finally figured out how to make a comment.(we think)
We want to go to Scotland!
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