Edinburgh

Day 4: Edinburgh

Today we got up super early to catch our bus to go to Edinburgh for a day trip.  According to Lonely Planet, Edinburgh is one of the top cities in Europe to visit, so when in Scotland, why not?

When we got to Edinburgh, we weren't really sure what we wanted to see/do.  Mary let us borrow her Lonely Planet of Scotland, which was extremely helpful.  After about 3 minutes, we stumbled upon a park with some amazing animal photography and of course, we had to reenact what was happening in the pictures.  Mine were all with penguins, duh.  I'll only post one because they are a little ridiculous, but that's kind of how my friends and I act at times, like dumb tourists.  After the photoshoot which lasted longer than necessary, we headed towards the Royal Mile to check it out.  It was rather impressive.  Lots of plaid, kilts, and other things extremely Scottish.  Probably more plaid than should be allowed on one street, but I'll let it slide because it's Scotland.  We encountered a scary viking/warrior like man, but I was too afraid to go near him to get a picture with him.  He was shouting and was obviously enjoying his job a little too much, but he was fun to watch from afar.  We continued walking up the Royal Mile toward the big castle but opted not to go in it.

We explored a bit more and got a little lost trying to find the statue of Greyfriar's Bobby, but we ended up finally finding it and we even ate at the Greyfriar's Bobby restaurant!  It was sooo good.  Finally a steak that's not 2 mm thick like the "filetes" in Spain.  I definitely enjoyed my lunch and left rather stuffed and content.

On our walk back towards the Royal Mile, we stumbled upon another historic site.  We saw a couple getting a picture taken in front of a building with their baby, and we thought it was a little weird until we got closer and saw what the building was.  It was the cafe where J.K. Rowling began the Harry Potter books!  Amazing!  So of course we had to copy and get photos as well of this historic landmark.  Then we headed back towards the Royal Mile, where a plaid scarf was purchased (it had to be done) as well as other small Scottish gifts.

At the end of the mile, we found the Queen's residence when she comes to visit Edinburgh.  Not bad not bad.  We also creeped on a couple getting their wedding pictures taken.  They will have the best wedding pictures ever.  Who wouldn't want wedding pics at the Queen's house in Edinburgh, Scotland?

After walking around some more, it was time to head back towards the bus station.  It was a rather exhausting day, walking around everywhere but I got a good nap in on the bus.

Once we got back to Aberdeen, we headed out to go get drinks at the Bobben, a cute little Scottish pub, but we were informed that we needed our passports to actually order drinks.  Seeing as none of us had our passports on us, we headed back to Mary's flat to come up with Plan B, which consisted of going to the bar on campus.  When we got there, it was also closed.  On to Plan C?  We decided to just go back to Mary's and use a bit of her Bailey's and mix it with ice cream.  Wonderful combination.  I'm sure you've already discovered this Peggy.  If not you must indulge because it is extremely "yummy" as you would say.

Well that's it for today.  Hopefully I'll get another two days done tomorrow, but I have a big presentation and also have to pack for IRELAND so we'll see.  I'm going to Ireland from Thursday until Monday, and it's going to be sweet!  Can't wait but before then, I have to do some school stuff.  Who knew that study abroad actually included studying and school and not just traveling?  Shocking.