Nostalgia

Coming and going hold that same sense of anticipation and loss. I am sad to leave, but happy for the time I spent here and ready to see home again. This was an incredible experience. I learned a lot and probably never would have visited Scotland if I had not come on this trip. Scotland is unique and rich with history. I'll miss the bus system and walking so easily to places. I'll miss the pub environment and all the good beer. I'll miss the sense of family we created amongst our group. Edinburgh is a place I will never forget.

Harry Potter and the Elephant Cafe

I am a huge Harry Potter fan, but am not one to publicize it. Scotland was the birthplace of Harry Potter, and it happened right here in Edinburgh. Now, I am not a crazy fan so I did not flip out at the Elephant Cafe, but Natalie and I did walk in it once to look around. That is where J.K. Rowling wrote the first book. It will be cool to tell people I was there. The prices were a little expensive and Natalie just wanted coffee so we headed elsewhere.

I was crushed (kind of), when I found out Harry Potter was going to come out while we were here. But then it turned into this great opportunity, just see it here with everyone. We went to the Vue on the Leith Walk. The theater was huge and there was the option of an 18 and up theater. The bottom was like a mall with expensive restaurants. The popcorn was prepopped so it was not that delicious. It was a typical movie theater, only 6 pounds. The movie was awesome.

I think it is cool the irony that I saw the end of it all right in the place where it began. Judge me.

Pollock Halls

I write this as I near the end of my trip, so that might skew my opinion a little. Pollock halls has its pros and cons. Arthur's Seat and the Crags are right behind, which makes them great landmarks when we would get lost. Also, I could wake up at 10 and make it to the top of Arthur's Seat in an hour. It is nice to have that recreation in your backyard. Yet, sometimes Pollock Halls feels immensely far away from everything.

The rooms are nice. I liked having a single and my own space, and the maid service was amazing. But there was no common room for us to really hang out in, which would have made it immensely better. I wish we had a better kitchen so we could cook in it. That would have helped save immensely in food costs.

Edinburgh Castle

One of the field trips for our class was the Edinburgh Castle. I already had some preconceived ideas on the castle because of an article and discussion we had with Bob. When he asked what we thought on the renovations done with the castle I disagreed with the plans. But I thought that Bob made a good point when he said that it is more about preserving history and a celebration of the past of sorts.

However, Edinburgh Castle has been my least favorite castle. It was really crowded and felt very touristy. Perhaps it would have been better to go earlier in the day. The entrance was bogged down by a stadium they were building for the festival. The views from the castle were nice. The tower room was interesting and told some of the history. Natalie and I accidentally went to look at the crown jewels and it took us about 20 minutes to walk through this weird exhibit. I'm not a fan of the fake people models set up to look like they're from the past. Everything just seemed too new with all the shops.

The two best parts were getting to hear and see the gun shoot off and the Scottish soldiers, which were guarding the cathedral that was a war monument (which was really pretty inside).

(awkward award)

Oban

How fitting that the first and last weekend we took a group trips. We headed out to Oban, which takes about four hours by train. A neat town by the ocean that smells like seafood the instant you walk out of the train station. I am not a fan of seafood, but everyone that was loved it. We stayed in a really nice hostel. After we were all settled we went to a restaurant called Cuan Mor. The staff did not seem to like us much but the food was delicious.

Natalie, Sierra and I were hoping to go mountain biking but the rental shop was all out of bikes. So we headed up to McCaigs Tower, which is not really a tower and not as exciting as it sounds. After exploring some shops we did not have much else to do so we decided to start exploring the pubs. Some of them had interesting names, one was the Cellar Bar which was small. O'Donnnels was the coolest pub, there was live music and it kind of reminded me of a bar in Athens. We got to dance a lot. I tried haggis for the first time that night. It tastes just like meatloaf. Natalie and I split it, but she said that she had had better and that there weren't enough neeps in our dish.

On Saturday, Natalie and I woke up early to meet her parents. Along with the Buckleys, we all went to Dunstaffnage Castle. It is not a preserved castle so it was in ruins and very cool to explore. There was an old well and it was mostly used for housing. I found a golf ball hidden in the crack and written on it was: Please leave for Simon to find again. There was also a small chapel. There were graves in one room that were as early as 1975. It was a little eerie and this contraption in the middle looked somewhat like an old incinerator. The area around the castle was beautiful. We found a bog that we ran across and all began sinking. There were two beaches, well the shore was rocks. We found a tree swing. Peter and Ingrid were the best pushers. It was so fun.

After the castle we went on an hour long boat tour that showed us more spectacular views. We got to see a bunch of seals on this little island. Natalie said they looked like huge slugs, but they were adorable. One of the pups was only two weeks old. The Foys and I spent some time in the Oban chocolate factory, which had incredible truffles. Then it was time to head home.

Admittedly I think I would have preferred to spend the weekend in Glasgow or Inverness, but Oban was beautiful and fun to explore. A small town, perfect for one night. I wish the weather would have been better so we could have gone to the Isle of Mull.

Stirling

Before trekking off on my grand adventure I received a lot of advice from my family... namely one of these pieces of advice was that I had better go and see the William Wallace Monument. Boyt my brother and father love the movie Braveheart. Luckily, Buckley had planned a trip to Stirling which has a magnificent castle and the William Wallace Monument.

Stirling is only an hour train ride away and when we got there we all walked to the castle together. It had great views of the city. Stirling Castle is much cooler than Edinburgh's. It is the home of of King James V who was Mary Queen of Scots father. I thought that guided tour and plaques throughout the castle were informative without being too much. You could explore each different part of the castle on your own and did not have to follow a tour which I liked. The wooden carved heads were cool. Also the inner part of the castle was painted a bright peachy orange, which was typical of castles from that era. Natalie and I found creepy, dungeon chambers.

After that we all ended up at Nicky Tams pub which was sub par and it took forever to get our food. Then we all hopped a bus and headed over to the monument. The hike up and down is so pretty. We didn't pay to climb the top of the tower but you can go up there for free. There were people dressed in costumes who told stories about William Wallace. Quite exciting.

The National Museum of Scotland

Maybe I was tired of so many museums, but I did not enjoy this museum that much. The building is really cool. But I do not like when museums don't really give you a sequential order or path to follow and things are hanging out just willy nilly everywhere. There was so much stuff to look at! They had a lot of stuff that people used to cook with and wear. There was a creepy horse skeleton. The Roman stuff was really awesome. The industrial section was definitely the coolest. We did not make it to the top floors and I'm upset that the garden on the roof is always closed. It was free though so it might be worth it to go at least once and check it out.

King Arthur's Seat

I climbed King Arthur's Seat with Natalie and her family. It was a little bit of hike and rainy, but still really cool. It is great for exercise. we took the steeper way up the stairs. You could go up the back and it sort of winds it's way up. On the bottom peak people make rock formations of their names or other words. It looks really cool when you see it from the top peak. The city looks huge from up there.

While we were at the top a cloud rolled in and engulfed us. You could see it happening. It was really cool and you could barely see in front of you. I liked this little crack you had to climb through to get to the top. It was warm inside it on the way down.

Diggers

The best day of class was when Richard surprised us. We went on a tour through Tollcross and Fountainbridge. Then we went to a cemetery which was really creepy. Then came the surprise.. Richard walked us to a bar called the Diggers. He had a room reserved in the back and he bought us three pitchers of beer that I had never heard of or had before. It was so nice of him. The room was pretty cool too. It was really old and had old fashioned cushions lining the room. I took some coasters from there that were funny. I really liked that pub, very Scotland-esque.

The Meadows

The Meadows is a huge park that is right by the school. We often eat lunch there and just people watch. There are always people playing cricket, rugby or football. Lots of people run through it. THere is a golf course at one end. Every Thursday we would go play soccer with Buckley's kids. Karl and I got pretty competitive the last time we played. I wish we would have brought a soccer ball or frisbee or something so we could spend more time there. The grass is cut so short there as well.

The Crags

Bob took us on a field trip down Cannongate and it ended at the new parliament building and Holyrood Palace. I think the new parliament building is obnoxious. There is just too much stuff on it. If they had picked three of the cool designs on it and enhanced those element it would have been better. The architect died before it was finished and his wife insisted they followed his plan down to every last detail. Bob thinks that if he had been alive he might have edited his design a little bit. Anyways, the Crags are also right there. Adam, Michelle, Natalie and I decided to hike along it after class because we were there. There is also a path that runs along the bottom of it. It was one of the coolest views of the city. You could see everything. The grass was so soft and it was beautiful.

Portobello

I've been to Portobello twice now. It is a cool little place. There is a promenade along the beach that is fun to walk on. You can also get gelato. One time we got ice cream in little teddy cones. It was kind of weird, the texture was slightly gritty. A lot of people were rollerblading, which made me think of Miami. The sand was orange and so soft! The water was freezing and you have to wear a full body suit to go in it. When Richard took us to Portobello he told us how people used to take sea baths. There were these contraptions they put out into the sea and people changed in there and then took a bath. He also said there was a dock that went out into the sea but I think it got destroyed by a storm. I found some cool stones and shells. One of the shells I'm going to make a necklace out of.

Turkish Baths

To cure our hangovers Natalie, Michelle and I went trekked out to Portobello to try out the Turkish Baths. It was only six pounds and definitely worth it.

It is a whole process. First you have to take a cold shower. Then you go into the steam room, which is way better than a sauna. The steam room was nearly unbearable and you're supposed to stay in for 6 to 14 minutes. We could only do 6. Then you go into the plunge pool, which feels so good. The last step makes you just fall into it. Then there are three separate relaxing rooms that all continuously get hotter, the tepedarium is the first and the calederium is the last. Then you just repeat the process as much as you want. It's supposed to help cleanse your pores. It made me feel great. We all felt very European. Our turkish bath pass also allowed us to swim in their indoor pool which was nice.

The Abbey

The Abbey is definitely our go to place. We went there the first night we were here and we continue to go back. A pint of Belhavens is 2.70 and the food is amazing and all around four to five pounds. I got the Mexican burger and it is one of the top five burgers I've ever had. If you order soup they give you a huge bowl of it. Lots of people get vangers and mash and everyone says the haggis there is good. I got a wrap one time that I was a little disappointed with, but I was just super jealous of Kelly's tomato basil soup.

It is a typical pub and they have a lot of regulars. The first night one woman sang Sublime's Summer Time for us, it was funny. We started to get to know the bartenders pretty well. One of them is really cute and everyone is crushing on him. His name is Barry, but you have to say it with an accent. We all plan on having our last meal there.

Black Medicine Market

After a long day of class and walking around Edinburgh, we were starving. We also wanted to stop at Tesco to buy some groceries. It was raining outside (not surprising at all), and we stumbled upon the Black Medicine Market. We went in because Buckley had recommended it and Kelly had to pee. It turned out to be a good choice. I had a pesto and chicken sandwich which was warm and delicious. It was not expensive at all. You could also get soup with your sandwich. The inside was like a little cafe. All the chairs were of different varieties and there was interesting wall hangings. There some antlers an interesting wood carvings. I'd like to go back to this place before we leave.

First Weekend Out

Our first weekend out was pretty eventful. On Friday we went to a bar called Frankensteins. The beer was a little expensive, but the inside was cool looking. There was a huge dance floor and an upstairs lounge. There was also a bottom floor that we hung out on for a while. There were some creepy rooms and statues. There weren't that many people in there, but we made our own fun. We had to teach the bartender how to make Irish car bombs. We tried to buy him one, but there were cameras everywhere and he wasn't allowed to drink.

On Saturday we found a really cool street with a lot of fun pubs, Cowgate. There were promoters everywhere handing us fliers for different clubs. We went to a place called Siglo first because they had 2 pond beers. We met some really nice people. One woman was from Manchester and she taught me what cheeky meant --not rude like I thought, but flirty. There was a lot of dancing, which was the best part. People in the UK dance much differently than the U.S., they get way more into it and take up a lot of space.

After Siglos, Jamie, Laura, Natalie and I went into Sneaky Petes, a jaeger bar. The sound system in there was incredible. We did a lot more dancing. We met some really nice Irish people whose accents were impossible to understand.

Edinburgh is definitely a fun place to go out in!

Shopping on Princes Street

Natalie and I spent a day trekking up and down Princes Street and doing some shopping. We needed to get a cell phone and I desperately needed a raincoat. We headed to Trespass which is a side street that connects Princes and George street. They were having a huge sale and everything was 50 percent off. I ended up getting a decently priced raincoat for only twenty pounds. It's purple and super nice. Natalie got a fleece that is really soft.

We also stopped in a few shoe stores. Everything was fifty percent off in almost every store. I suspect it was because it was the end of June and everyone was probably getting ready for new stock. We also stopped in Top Shop, which I believe takes Kate Moss' designs. One just more recently opened up in New York City a few years ago but they are very popular in Europe. It reminds me of an H&M. The boys and girls clothes were both on different floors. Natalie got a cool knitted shirt. I was wondering why they were selling so many summer type clothes since it is never really that warm here.

Shopping is not one of my favorite things to do but it was fun to venture into stores that you do not typically see in the U.S.

Thistle Pub

It was cool when we were walking around New Town with Tawny because I had not really explored there before. When she took us on our walking tour she kept pointing out all of these cool places to go and eat or shop and I was getting frantic trying to remember all of them. She took us down an alley way, well it was not quite an alley way but a back street in between Princes and Georges Street. The street was a very long name and I just remember it began with the word Thistle in there somewhere.

Anyways, a few of us decided to pop in there for a drink after our field trip. It was small, but fun for one drink. It was about average price and the beer there tasted good. I just had a Belhavens. The coolest part about this pub though was the pub dog! His name was Carson and he definitely had some pit bull in him and I do not know what else. He would just climb up on the bench next to your or put his head in your lap. He was really friendly. He hung out with us the while we had our drinks there.

There was also a group of older men there visiting Edinburgh. They were really funny. We asked them to take a picture of us and they told us they knew we were Americans because we had such white teeth. One of them also kept returning his beer because it was too cloudy.

The best part about this pub was that it was different than any other pub I've been in so far.

Gladstone's Land

Today we went on a field trip with Tawny all around New Town and Old Town. It was a lot of walking. ONe of our first stops was Gladstone's Land, an old tenement building that has been restored to look like its natural state, well as much as it can.

I love museums and places like this so I was excited. It was actually very educational and informative. All of the tour guides in each room were little, old Scottish ladies and they were so cute and hilarious. They said that some of these tenements could reach eleven stories high if you counted from the back. One thing we learned was that often times each floor would have sand in between them to prevent the spreading of fires. It's amazing these buildings even stayed standing.

The first floor was the shop, and they had the colors of the different dyes they used back then. Then we went up a spiral staircase into a small room that was something like you'd describe a study today. All of the large dressers, and bureaus and such had hidden nooks and crannies to store valuables and money in. Sometimes you would have to knock on it a certain way. The kitchen was pretty small. The maid, and if she had children, would typically sleep in there on a pull out bed. We also got to see the shoes that women wore over their shoes so that the hems of their dresses wouldn't hit the ground. The front multipurpose room was the coolest. It had the original ceiling and wall paintings still on it and that was incredible (faded of course). There was a creepy walker for a child. I was shocked at how ornate the bed was. People back then would entertain people in their bedroom. This place was so tiny, but this was where one of the wealthier families would have lived.

The back room was restored to a much later date and was an entertaining room. Here we learned where the saying "her face fell off" came from. Women's makeup had a wax base, so when they say by the fire their faces would literally melt off. There were screens that women could sit behind to prevent this.

Mums

At the beginning of the trip we all tried to scope out inexpensive places to eat. I also thought it was important to try something different every day. Mums was a comfort food restaurant. It had a fifties-ish feel with a bunch of old posters on the wall. There were free magazines and newspapers to read. You could get soup and bread for really cheap, I believe it was 2.50. I had the pumpkin, potato and leek soup. It was pretty delicious and kept me full. This was the first time I saw the ketchup dispensers shaped like tomatoes. I also noticed that they do not have mustard, but mayonnaise as dipping sauce at the table instead.

Indian Food

There is tons of great Indian food.. and many other different types of cuisine as well. But I love Indian food so I'm more concerned with that.

Noor
This is one of the first places that I ate dinner at. Natalie and I went kind of late and just stepped into the cheapest place we could find on the never-ending-name changing street. We got a meal deal. I opted for a curry that was a little less spicier than I might of preferred. IT was a tiny takeaway place, but you could sit in. We decided to sit in to avoid the rain.

We had really great service for a place so small. We had something similar to rice cakes/chips brought out to us. Our meals were decent portions for being a value meal. Also, I received the largest piece of naan bread I've ever gotten at an Indian restaurant... awesome. The rice was different... It had been cooked in something and had spices in it.

All in all a great, small place to get a quick, inexpensive dinner.


Mother's Kitchen
I could be really off on that name... but I know it's close to that. This is yet another Indian restaurant that I have tried in Edinburgh. We tried to get take out, but either the guy misunderstood us or really wanted us to stay there and eat. (You have to say take away here, not to go.) This place was a really good deal! Under four pounds for rice and curry. I had chickpeas and potatoes in mine. This the first tim I've had chickpeas cooked and they taste much better that way. Our servings were huge bowls and it kept me full for the rest of the night.

This place is also on the name changing street. I think I would prefer Noor's curry better though. This curry was already pre-made and sitting in a display window, being heated. Not sure what type of machines those are called.

St. Giles Cathedral

I always like going to cathedrals because we do not have these sorts of things in the U.S. I thought the outside of the cathedral was a little creepy. I also have never seen a cathedral smack dab in the middle of a large, busy street like St. Giles.



Richard gave a speech on an important piece of parchment that was signed by many of the men involved in the Scottish reformation. The stained glass was beautiful and told different bible stories. Bob Morris told us during a later field trip that many of them were dedicated to people. I had not noticed that before. I love places with huge, cavernous ceilings-- naturally I love ceilings in great cathedrals and churches. I also walked by the statue of John Knox.

I wonder if people realize how lucky they are to be living this close to history and place that tells so many stories.

Arriving

Delirious with lack of sleep and adrenaline-filled with anticipation, that was me as I stepped off of the plane and into Scotland. While I was not altogether thrown into a magical place that made me feel different inside every inch of me, I was enchanted. Perhaps I am still affected by those whimsical ideas we have in our youth of going to a new place and expecting to find a new magical kingdom. I expected heavier accents and strange, archaic buildings.

However, I noticed how dark green everything seemed, the quick paced movement of city life and refreshing feeling of being far away from home. I was impressed at how well we navigated as a group of around 8 with large, heavy suitcases.

I noticed that advertising here is very different-- not so sexualized perhaps?

I felt an adventure coming on, maybe not a Peter Pan adventure, but something new.