Scotland!

After the awesome hike up the Crags (the cliffs) and Arthur's Seat, Stef and I kind of just hung out in her flat until later in the evening when we were invited to her friend's flat for a crepe party. The crepes were so yummy and very authentic because Stef's friends that were making the crepes were French. So we hung out there with a bunch of other people eating crepes, drinking wine, telling stories, and singing songs until we were all exhausted.

On Saturday Stef took me on a tour of Edinburgh. We walked around part of the University of Edinburgh, went to Cowgate, George IV Bridge, a statue of Greyfriars Bobby, and the cafe where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter. We walked down and around the Royal Mile and down to the Grassmarket where people used to be hanged, then, for TT, we sat on a bench along a wall that looked up to Edinburgh Castle which was sitting on top of the rocky hill. Then we went down to Princess Street and the Princess Street Gardens. It was very cold and it started to rain as we walked up Colton Hill so we hurried along and walked over to the Elephant House, where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter and had coffee. It is no wonder she was inspired to write in that cafe with its amazing view of Edinburgh Castle and its location on George IV Bridge, one of the most haunted places in Edinburgh. There is also a view of the cemetery where Greyfriars Bobby and his owner are buried. After the busy day we wandered back to the flat and had lunch around 4pm so we never left for dinner until around 9pm. We found a great Mexican restaurant off of the Royal Mile and had delicious food and sangrias. We left the restaurant around 11pm and decided that it was about time to head to bed.. after the 30 minute walk back to the flat.

Today while Stef was at class I wandered over to the Royal Mile and walked all the way to the top where the entrance of Edinburgh Castle is. I went into the castle and walked around all of the museums and exhibitions in there. I saw the crown jewels of Scotland and the 1pm firing of the gun that happens everyday since a long time ago. (I don't remember when) There was a lot of cool information about the Scottish Royal Army and war stuff and all the Scottish war paraphernalia. I spent a good while wandering around and then went on my way down the Royal Mile again. While I was walking down the hill I heard a REAL Scottish Bagpiper! It was pretty cool. I stayed and listened to a couple songs then went on my way back to the flat. My train left at 6pm from Edinburgh, so I had a couple of hours to hang out with Stef and then I left for York. I got in here around 8:45pm. It was definately an awesome weekend and I would love to go back to Edinburgh again!

(Due to the broken camera misfortune I'm not sure how any of the digital pictures I took will turn out. If they are any good I will post them on flickr. I also borrowed a friend's 35mm camera so once I get the prints and possibly photo cd's I will try to get them posted to flickr as well.)