Ah, Scotland. Edinburgh was the first non-US city I ever visited, and it holds a special place in my heart. I fell in love with Scotland after being there only 8 days and I couldn’t wait to go back. I got my chance when my friend, Anna, suggested the Hogmanay Festival for our New Year’s celebration. As the largest (and possibly only) official New Year’s festival in Europe, it sounded like an excellent idea. I’m going to save Hogmanay for another blog post; this one will detail our non-Hogmanay adventures in Scotland this time around.
We stayed at a hotel that was absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately we had to walk up eight flights of stairs to get to our room, but at least it was good exercise.
Because of Hogmanay, Edinburgh was super touristy. That was okay, though. My accent didn’t stick out too much and we got to enjoy all of the cute bagpipers out on the streets.
The weather was…typical. Last time we were in Scotland (in July), it rained every day. Now, December/January…it rained every day. Thankfully I brought my new windbreaker jacket, which kept me warm, and my Hunter wellies. Anna was smart and bought a pair of arm warmers which I stole from her as often as I could.
Anna took us to see her old uni, Edinburgh University, and then we went to Emo Square where she used to watch the emos every day. They must have migrated for the winter because they were all gone, so Anna and Ange had to fill in the gap they left behind.
We wandered ALL over Edinburgh, exploring fun little closes for which Scotland is known. We brought Gucki (our traveling gnome) along with us on our adventures.
Besides Hogmanay, the major highlight of the trip was hiking up Arthur’s Seat, a huge hill right off the Royal Mile. It was incredibly muddy and windy and FREEZING but we had a ton of fun and laughed the whole way up (when we could catch our breath). At the top, we planted the Scottish flag, popped open a bottle of Bucks Fizz (the cheapest “champagne” we could get at the store), ate some sugary waffles and cheddar cheese (don’t ask), sang a bit of “Auld Lang Syne”, and welcomed in the New Year. The view from Arthur’s Seat was stunning; if you ever go to Scotland, you must make this one of your stops.
On the way back to our hotel, we stopped in some touristy shops where Anna tried on the Highland Coo hat she’s been eyeing up for days.
We had dinner at The Elephant House, the café where JK Rowling wrote the first HP book, using the great view of Edinburgh Castle as inspiration for Hogwarts. In the women’s restroom, the walls were covered in notes of thanks to Rowling and quotes from the books. I couldn’t resist leaving a thank you note of my own.
Last time I was at The Elephant House, I drew a picture of an elephant that the staff posted up on the wall. The photograph I took of it ended up in an online guidebook to Edinburgh. This time I drew another picture and…
…they put up this one too! Huzzah!
Such a lovely end to my trip. Tomorrow I’m hopping on an early morning train for London and then it’s Paris! But first, as promised, a Hogmanay blog. Check back soon for stories of nude men, cups of “tea”, and playing with fire.
man scotland looks so beautiful and so do you in that last picture wonder if i could get renee do go there . when she sees these pixs maybe she'll want to go . cant wait for paris blog love mom
ReplyDelete