Hi friends,

Over the past two days I made the venture out of England and into Edinburgh, Scotland. And let me tell you, it was an amazing time. The trip itself was entirely impromptu--Lizzie, Catherine, Ailee and I booked our train tickets the night before, and I packed in about three minutes. We stayed with one of Catherine's friends, Richard, who is studying abroad at the University of Edinburgh, and were warned that our accommodations would be less than ideal (which I later found was a massive understatement). After the four hour train ride there (which I might add was about a million times better than the flight from Houston for those of you who read my last post), Richard met us at the train station and led us back to his flat where we dropped off our things. We then headed straight over to King Arthur's Seat, a hill in the center of Edinburgh whose peak has arguably the most gorgeous view I have ever seen. While the view from the top was stunning, the trek up was miserable. The hike was steep and physically demanding, and we were straight off the train, so none of us were in hiking attire. It was foggy but not too cold, which made the weather what I can only describe as clammy once we started to sweat. I actually think that these conditions almost made the view more beautiful once we got to the top. 

After we took in the view, snapped our pictures, and rested a bit, we hiked back down the hill, which was actually more precarious than the way up, because the combination of the steep incline, loose dirt, and relatively quick pace we were moving at created the perfect atmosphere for me to slip and fall. Once we reached the bottom, we headed straight to a local pub for a drink, and then back to the flat to freshen up before dinner. Dinner itself was really fun, and afterwards we went to a club called Why Not?, where we somehow ended up on the VIP list. There were a lot of locals our age there, and loud music and colorful lights made for a fun atmosphere. 

Lizzie, Catherine, me, and Ailee at dinner

We started the next morning with a coffee at The Elephant Cafe, where J.K. Rowling wrote the beginnings of the first Harry Potter novel on a napkin. The cafe itself looked pretty normal, until I got to the bathroom, where all of the walls were literally covered by Harry Potter themed graffiti. I let my nerd flag fly and etched my initials into the wall. 

This Way To The Ministry

We then walked over to the Edinburgh Castle. It was so cool that there was this giant piece of history in the middle of this bustling city. We walked around the outside, and then headed over to the National Museum of Scotland, where we got even more history after exploring the Mary Queen of Scots Exhibit. The exhibit was fascinating, and I learned so much about the Scottish queen who sacrificed her kingdom and ultimately her life because of her passion for two men.

Outside Edinburgh Castle

We decided to make dinner instead of going out, so we all pitched in for ingredients and had our own Taco Tuesday dinner. I have only known Ailee and Catherine for a week and a half and they already know me well enough to demote me to cheese grater while everyone else did the real cooking, which was it's own perfect storm. Lizzie was in charge of the meat, and that was the meal's saving grace. Catherine tried to make rice without instructions, and we ended up throwing out what became a big blob of white mush. We didn't have paper towels, so we got creative and used a roll of toilet paper for napkins, which was actually a hilarious experience. After dinner, we met up with a friend of Lizzie's and mine from UT, John Melvin, who is studying abroad in Edinburgh this semester. He is a part of the golf club, and we tagged along with the whole group and played Pub Golf, which was essentially a pub crawl with specific scoring rules for the drinking. It was a great way to see a wide variety of Edinburgh night life!

Texas pride in the UK!

After an uncomfortable night's sleep on two chairs pushed together (Richard wasn't kidding about those less than ideal accommodations), my seat on the 8:30 am train ride back to London felt like luxury living. All in all, I had a fantastic time in Scotland--it was a perfect mix of culture, history, night life, and fun memories!