Early Wednesday morning all 42 of us hopped on a train to Edinburgh (that's the capital of Scotland). Let's just say that I have become a huge fan of trains! They have more room than a bus or a plane and are much smoother. This train ride was especially wonderful because of the breathtakingly gorgeous views out the window. I tried to read my book, but I was constantly distracted by the windows. It was what I image the east coast to look like. Cool, dark water, rocky beaches and cliffs, lighthouses and vivid green grass. It was mesmerizing. I was in love with Scotland before I even stepped off the train!
I fell even more in love with it once I got there! There's just something about Edinburgh that you have to love. It has fun shops, restaurants and museums along the main road (known as the royal mile). At the top of the road is the gorgeous Edinburgh Castle that over looks the whole city and at the bottom of the royal mile is the Queens palace and parliament. As soon as we arrived we toured Edinburgh Castle. It was our first castle and I'm pretty sure that everyone loved it! It helped that it was not even close to as cold as we thought it would be. On a scale of one to Preston, it wasn't even a 4! Some girls and I stayed quite a while exploring the castle. We went in to all of the memorials and museums; and yet again, took lots of pictures:) We meet everyone back at the Hostel before we headed out for dinner. - now this was my first experience with a hostel and I will admit that I didn't know what to expect. But I was pleasantly surprised! It was very nice and I really liked our little room- So, for dinner I went to my first Pub!! I know, it is HORRIBLE that I have been in London for over a month and hadn't eaten at a pub, but it just hadn't happened. We went to the Mitre pub and it was AMAZING! Some of the best food I've had yet, so I will definitely be visiting more pubs. Afterwards, some of the girls wanted some of Scotland's famous shortbread, so they stocked up with some boxes and gossip magazines. Haha we had a fun night walking around and hanging in our room.
Thursday was one of my favorite days since I've been here in Europe! It started with my good friend Paige and me going on a BEAUTIFUL run around Edinburgh. (Paige and I run every morning- rain or shine, freezing or sunny-and I love it! I've been taking pictures of everywhere we run and I'll post them all together at the end of my little adventure here in Europe) We ran up to this lookout point and saw the sun rise over the city. So fun! After a quick breakfast, we headed down and walked around parliament. The parliament building is possibly the coolest structure I have ever been in. It amazed me. Paige, Kaylee and I actually got to watch a live debate, so that was cool to see how their system works. We looked at the Palace across the street, but didn't pay for the inside tour (it was a bit pricey). Then we hiked Arthurs seat! This was one of my favorite things I've done here; I just loved every minute! Edinburgh is right next to the ocean and the views were amazing. Paige, kaylee, Carly and I had a complete blast!! The views were indescribable and the girls were so fun! We spent most of the day hiking to different peaks or ruins and taking plenty of pictures along the way:)
We had a nice little lunch at the hostel and then I took a much needed, quick little nap. Kaylee, Sharon and I set out and explored some more of the city.
We went to find what we thought would be a museum about the 300 or so convicted witches that were burned at the stake; but when we got there, it was just a plague on the side of a building. We had a good laugh:). Then we went to the Elephant cafe. This is were JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter! So yes, I've been to the birthplace of the great HP. We tried to tour the peoples museum but they kicked us out to close. So then we walked up to the top of the lookout/hill and enjoyed the view. We meet up with people back at the Hostel and walked over for Annie and dinner. We ate at this place called taste of Italy and it was pretty good, but Annie was better. It'd been a while since I'd seen the musical and it'll always have a special place in my heart; I loved it so much when I was a little girl. There were times when it was extremely cheesy, but what musical isn't?! It was a great way to end such a wonderful day.
Friday we hopped on a coach (that's what they call buses) and drove the New Lanark world heritage site. It was an old mill town and it was really beautiful. The tour was informative and interesting, but the best part was the ride. It was the oddest/weirdest/funniest attraction I have ever seen. It went less than 2 miles per hour and talked about the life of a little girl at the mill town (done in a very creepy way). "remember us, remember us"- I will never forget it. I rode with Liz and we were laughing our heads off:) We also hiked up to the waterfall that powered the mill. It was such a beautiful walk. Everything is so green even though it's winter. The walk was really relaxing and enjoyable. Afterward, we headed off to Sterling. As soon as we got there, we toured the castle. I don't know if I liked it as much as Edinburgh castle, but it was still really cool. Then we had our little "American night". Haha, we went to a very Americanized restaurant and to a movie. It was the first time I have been to the Cinema over here (they do not call it a movie theater). It was fun!!
Saturday I slept in for the first time since getting here and it was WONDERFUL!!! We headed out for the William Wallace monument at 10:15 and hiked to the top. It was on top of a hill and then 246 stairs. The view was great and the company was better. The rest of the day was spent traveling. Coach to train, train to tube, tube to home:) The London center has really become home and I love it!!
Well there's a summary of my trip to Scotland!! Enjoy
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