Being hip in Edinburgh

Being hip in Edinburgh

Greeting from Scotland! Sorry it has taken me awhile to publish this, but I'd have a very busy past few days. but alas, here is the long awaited Scotland report.

The bus ride (about 7 hours) to Polluck Halls in Edinburgh was long, but we took a nice detour to Abbotsford to see Sir Walter Scott's house and take a walk around the gardens and see the shelves upon shelve of books( although they were currently our for preservation purposes which was sad). Once we got to Edinburgh Julia, Sarah, Caiti, Lisa and I found a great Italian place that gave us a discount for being students. I have missed pasta and veggies greatly. On our way back to the rooms, we walked the end of the Royal Mile so we were fully prepped for the next day.

My room in Polluck Halls in very nice, I have it as a single but there are two beds and I have my own bathroom which is lovely. Its comfy and works as a good place to sleep while I spend the rest of my time exploring the city.

First thing on the agenda Friday was a visit to Edinburgh Castle. This castle had perhaps the best view out of any of the monuments or structures I've seen so far. You could see every inch of Edinburgh fro each different look out atop the castle. We ventured inside and say Mary, Queen of Scots apartments as well as the crown jewels. It was neat to see a different style of royal living. In England, all of the palaces and places of importance are more refined in style, with clean cut stones that are light and ornate. Edinburgh Castle however, had towers of dark stones, still rough like when they were found. I enjoyed the new vibes. After that it was time for a nice walk down the Royal Mile, which is a road that runs from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood (pronounced 'hollyrood') Palace. The Royal Mile was packed with restaurants, pubs, and more cashmere and lambswool scarf shops than one can handle. It was a sight, especially since this weekend played host to the Fringe Festival which offered many group handing out fliers in weird and vibrant costumes advertising poetry readings, musicals and raves that take place all over the city. One of my highlights for the day was that Caiti and I finally found a henna shop. A woman of Indian birth who lived in Kenya had a tent set up and we each had our left arms painted. It looks very cool and facebook pictures will follow shortly.

The Military Tattoo was a fantastic event. Right outside of Edinburgh Castle a large stadium was set up with a wide space between the two sides. It was a bit chilly because we were all seated outdoors, but the performance was amazing. It consisted of different groups from different countries playing everything from bagpipes to trumpets on bicycles. There was a Scottish group, a Brazilian group, a Dutch group and an English group as well. Apart from the music, there was Highland dancing, a bit of comedy and a Shetland pony. the light effects displayed on the castle were wonderful too. All in all it was very nice show.

Rainy Saturday was a much mellower day with Caiti and I going to see the Royal Botanic Gardens. It was a trip figuring out Edinburgh public transportation, but we managed to get to the gardens and it was so worth it. We wandered around flowers and trees for a few hours, seeing Chinese water plants and a waterfall as well. One of my favorites was a small cottage in the Queen Mother garden which on the interior was lined completely in sea shells and had a ceiling made of pine cones. Even though it was a rainy day it was beautiful on the gardens. That evening it was a pretty chill night. We met up with Sarah and Julia, had a nice dinner on the campus grounds and had a fairly early night in preparation for the ride home on Sunday.

Sunday dawned rainy as ever as we traveled back to Cambridge. I managed to sleep most of the ride so I was ready to do oodles of history reading once back on campus. Sunday evening we found a reasonably priced Italian place, had a nice dinner out and went back to homework. Scotland was a fun trip, exciting weekend, but I am once again happy to be back at Caius.

Cheers.