Today ends my first week on holiday, and I finally feel like my jet lag is wearing off.
Day 3 (continued)
After finishing my last post I headed back up to the room to meet Sierra and we found that our roommates had changed. The new girls were much friendlier, so we introduced ourselves. It turns out the four new girls had all come from different hostels in Edinburgh, and none of them knew each other either.
We all hit it off, so after some introductions, we headed out to dinner. We wandered around downtown until we found a Mexican place (I know, weird) and had some decent food.
We had such a great time that most of us decided to stay out and find somewhere to grab a few drinks. After walking round for a bit we still hadn't found anything, so we turned to Google. Good ol' trusty Google. Listed on the map was what Google called a "pub." We figured a pub was kind of the place to be in Scotland, so off we went.
After the bouncers checked our ID's they informed us there was a pub downstairs, or if we were feeling brave, we could go upstairs for karaoke. Needless to say, we decided on Scottish karaoke. So. Much. Fun! We walked in and it was so packed we had to stand along the wall. Everyone sang along to every song, and most people danced to every song. Everyone was very friendly, and most were very drunk. Who would've thought that Scots loved karaoke so much.
Day 4 (3/25)
When I woke up on Friday the sun was shining (gross) and bunch of the girls had either left already or gone to breakfast. Giovanna, who is from Guadalajara, but studying in York, was chilling in the room so we had breakfast and then found our way over to the Glasgow Cathedral and Necropolis.
Afterwards, we parted ways and I made plans to meet up with Gavin.
Gavin has been such a fantastic host! He picked me up from the hostel and we headed to Edinburgh. That first evening I got settled in to my room and then he took me down to South Queensferry to this posh bar right on the water. From there we had a great view of the three bridges, one from the 1800's, one from the 1900's, and one still being built today.
We got caught up on each other's stories, which was fun since I hadn't actually met him before dinner on Wednesday night. A mutual friend had told me to contact Gavin on Facebook when he found out I was planning this trip, and that had been our only form of communication up to this point. Luckily both of us are fairly outgoing, and we connected almost immediately.
It's amazing how a love of travel can bring two strangers, or six, together.
The view from my room in the hostel.
The Necropolis
The view of the cathedral.
We had a gorgeous view of Glasgow from the top.
Goodbye, Glasgow!
Day 5 (3/26)
When I woke up Gavin had made some fantastic eggs benedicts, and haggis. Haggis is actually pretty tasty!
After breakfast we took the bus into Edinburgh to check out the castle, but because of Easter weekend it was packed! We ended up grabbing some drinks at a place called Greyfriar's Bobby. A bobby is a dog, and the bar has a statue out front of this dog who's nose you can rub for good luck.
The story goes something like this: Greyfriar got a puppy, but he died when the dog was only 2 years old. So, for the rest of this dog's life it would walk to the graveyard and sit by Greyfriar's grave. People fed and gave the dog water for years, until he also passed away. Why rubbing his nose is good luck, I'm not sure.
After that we had beers at a place called The World Famous Frankenstein. It was a themed bar, and the inside looked like a big laboratory. In the middle on the hour the music would change and this big Frankenstein would come down from the ceiling.
We decided after that it was time for some food, so we went to the birthplace of Harry Potter; The Elephant House. The food was pretty tasty. I had a toastie for the first time. There were pictures of J. K. Rowling everywhere, and the bathroom was covered in Harry Potter quotes. I might have to go back with a marker.
After that we walked down to the end of the Royal Mile (the mile from the castle to Parliament) and up Carlton Hill. I got some fantastic pictures of the view from the top.
My first bite of haggis!
Edinburg Castle
Touching Greyfriar's bobby's nose for luck!
This is the café where J. K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series.
Part of the Royal Mile, or high street
Carlton Hill
This is Gavin!
Day 6 (3/27)
Sunday took us out to Stirling Castle, with some amazing views of the surrounding areas. We also made it over to the William Wallace Monument. That was pretty cool, but it's a spiral staircase from top to bottom and my legs were definitely sore after.
On our way home we stopped at the Kelpies, which is Scottish for water horse (i.e. Nessie), or any other monster it turns out. They're the giant art installations in the middle of a park called The Helix in Falkirk.
We had naptime in the afternoon, which is becoming a regular affair, but in this instance I was saving up some energy to meet Gav's mum. She was having all the women in the family over for drinks and some snacks. Gavin said he felt like he was throwing me to the wolves, but I had a pretty great time! I got to see some traditional Irish dancing, and my drink was never more than half empty. Plus we got to talk about what a pain men can be, because that's what girl time is all about.
I wish I had gotten some pictures with them, but I'm sure I'll see them again before I go back across the pond.
Stirling Castle, and ice cream!
Scotland's national animal is the unicorn, so I couldn't resist coloring one when the opportunity presented itself.
My room at Gavin's.
Wallace's sword
The view of bonnie Scotland from the top of the Wallace Monument.
There were so many rainbows yesterday. They even talked about it on the news this morning.
There are daffodils EVERYWHERE! I love it.
The Wallace Monument
The Kelpies
Making a wish
This is South Queensferry. We went here for drinks my first night, but it was too dark to get a picture of this quaint little town on the water.
We'll see about that.
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