On Thursday, Cat had to go to a few classes so we parted for most of the day. I got to ride in the front of the top of a double decker bus, which was delightful. I went on a free walking tour on the Royal Mile led by an incredible fast talking American who had adopted a Scottish accent in the three years she had lived in Scotland. Edinburgh has a lot of interesting and weird history... lots of criminals and death, really. I met a lovely girl named Nina who is teaching English in the South of Spain, and I am actually going to visit her in May. :D After our tour WE ATE HAGGIS (it's not as bad as it seems), and we walked up and down the Royal Mile where there are a ton of souvenir shops, too much tartan, and castles on either end. One is where the queen says when she is in Scotland, and the other is Edinburgh castle, which was a little too pricey to go in but absolutely beautiful on the outside.
We also went into St. Giles Cathedral and had an old volunteer tell us random information about various crests and an angel with bagpipes. Nina and I made plans to meet back up the next day to do some more touristy stuff, which I was super happy about because I'm not used to travelling alone and Cat had more classes to attend. Cat and I met back up and grabbed dinner in a pub and drinks with her friends from scuba club.
Friday I started off early to go to the writer's museum. Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott (among others I can't recall right now) are all from Scotland and are a huge source of pride. It was a small museum but it was a lot of donated items from their lives with some interesting context and biography. Next I walked down to the Walter Scott Monument, which was basically a big weird tower that you can walk up. If I was any wider, I wouldn't have made it up the steps. It had a couple different levels where you could stand on a platform and look out on the city, which was incredibly beautiful. They also give you a little certificate for making it all the way to the top. :p After that, I met up with Nina and her friend from Paris, Edward (who she calls Samson, aha). We went to the Scottish museum and saw some groovy Viking things. Then we went to the Elephant Cafe, where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter. I am extremely neutral on all this Harry Potter business, but it was a really cute place. I obviously loved all the elephants everywhere. The bathroom walls were covered in graffiti dedicated to Harry Potter, which was quite cool. We spent some time hanging out in the sunshine and then went our separate ways again. Cat made a really lovely dinner for us and then we went out to a bar that offered Scottish (Ceilidh) dancing. SO MUCH FUN. The band gives directions for the dance without music and then you just kind of try to follow along as much as you can. It was a lot of spinning around, partnering up, and laughing. There was a few men in kilts who were obviously better than us and helped everyone. It was incredibly fun and I feel like if you want to make new friends, that is an awesome way to do it. Everyone is so friendly and happy. After that they played some solid sing along songs for us to dance to. Cat and I got really excited for Bryan Adams, showing our Canadian heritage? Then we grabbed kebabs (which is the thing instead of shwarmas in Ottawa) and people became fascinated with our Canadian accents.
Saturday Cat and I got to hang out, which was awesome. We had breakfast with Nina, Edward, and another friend of theirs. Hangover breakkies are even better in the UK because of the sheer amount of grease and different things you get. Yum. Cat showed me the central part of her university, which was super beautiful and old. Then we went up Arthur's Seat (a beautiful hill on the edge of town) and looked at the view. I have been super lucky and have had sunshine everywhere I went - Edinburgh was no exception. It was a bit of a trek to get up the hill but it was very worth the view. Later in the night I met back up with Nina and Edward to do a ghost tour. Lots of interesting stories - Edinburgh had a lot of grave robbers because of the medical school. We went into a cemetery and up on to another weird hill with a half finished monument on it. Quite neat, but not scary. Then afterwards they take you into the pub for a free drink.
Friday I started off early to go to the writer's museum. Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott (among others I can't recall right now) are all from Scotland and are a huge source of pride. It was a small museum but it was a lot of donated items from their lives with some interesting context and biography. Next I walked down to the Walter Scott Monument, which was basically a big weird tower that you can walk up. If I was any wider, I wouldn't have made it up the steps. It had a couple different levels where you could stand on a platform and look out on the city, which was incredibly beautiful. They also give you a little certificate for making it all the way to the top. :p After that, I met up with Nina and her friend from Paris, Edward (who she calls Samson, aha). We went to the Scottish museum and saw some groovy Viking things. Then we went to the Elephant Cafe, where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter. I am extremely neutral on all this Harry Potter business, but it was a really cute place. I obviously loved all the elephants everywhere. The bathroom walls were covered in graffiti dedicated to Harry Potter, which was quite cool. We spent some time hanging out in the sunshine and then went our separate ways again. Cat made a really lovely dinner for us and then we went out to a bar that offered Scottish (Ceilidh) dancing. SO MUCH FUN. The band gives directions for the dance without music and then you just kind of try to follow along as much as you can. It was a lot of spinning around, partnering up, and laughing. There was a few men in kilts who were obviously better than us and helped everyone. It was incredibly fun and I feel like if you want to make new friends, that is an awesome way to do it. Everyone is so friendly and happy. After that they played some solid sing along songs for us to dance to. Cat and I got really excited for Bryan Adams, showing our Canadian heritage? Then we grabbed kebabs (which is the thing instead of shwarmas in Ottawa) and people became fascinated with our Canadian accents.
Saturday Cat and I got to hang out, which was awesome. We had breakfast with Nina, Edward, and another friend of theirs. Hangover breakkies are even better in the UK because of the sheer amount of grease and different things you get. Yum. Cat showed me the central part of her university, which was super beautiful and old. Then we went up Arthur's Seat (a beautiful hill on the edge of town) and looked at the view. I have been super lucky and have had sunshine everywhere I went - Edinburgh was no exception. It was a bit of a trek to get up the hill but it was very worth the view. Later in the night I met back up with Nina and Edward to do a ghost tour. Lots of interesting stories - Edinburgh had a lot of grave robbers because of the medical school. We went into a cemetery and up on to another weird hill with a half finished monument on it. Quite neat, but not scary. Then afterwards they take you into the pub for a free drink.
Sunday I spent the day in Bristol after my flight. It was a bit chilly, but it was a cool city. There is an entire street dedicated to street art called See No Evil. Definitely my favourite part. It was really impressive and it gave the city a lot of personality in what looked like a bit of run down/industrial area. There was also an old church that had been bombed. I mostly just wandered around and looked at the buildings. I am pretty certain that I could go anywhere in England and just be impressed by everything because there is so much history behind everything. Canada is a baby compared to England. I also went down to the waterfront - lots of museums about Bristol's history, maritime life, things like that.
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