Dear Edinburgh, I love you

5.6.10
Left Glasgow this morning. Jenny Sara and I snuck out early to get some coffee at a really awesome place- def should have gone there more- oh how I love Scottish boys and their accents. Our first stop was Falkirk Wheel- a giant rotating contraption that transports canal boats from one level of a canal to the other. It was crazy, not srue why it was necessary, but hey go for it. Then we went to ‘the Pineapple’. A building with a pineapple on it- it was weird. Then we drove through Sterling and got lunch in Duncombe- there was a market going on (!!). We went to St. Andrews next- walked around the town, played some golf, walked on the beaches. What a life those college students have! It was a really nice town, would love to be there in the summer when the British Open is there! Finally made it to Edinburgh (late) and Jenny, Dave and I went to dinner at an Indian place. I made the mistake of asking for it to be ‘a little spicy’ and ended up getting my mouth lit on fire. We went to get gelato after- for medicinal purposes of course- and went back to the hostel to read/do work.

5.7.10
Went on a run in the morning. The goal was to run up Arthur’s Seat (a –almost-mountain on one of the borders of Edinburgh) but I kind of went the wrong way and ended up running up along another hill across a ravine from Arthur’s Seat..whoops. Went for a quick coffee and met everyone for the day. We walked all around the city- climbed the acropolis, went to the Scottish Houses of Parliament- liked it a lot, great modern building- walked the ‘Royal Mile’, went to the Castle, and (most importantly) did some Scotch tasting. I had a pretty sweet one, but everyone got a different type. Some were really smoky- I felt like I was breathing in ash! After we all walked to an art museum (closed, boo!) and found dinner. Decided on a Mexican place, so good. We went back to the hostel to rest then went out. I found a cool area and we went to a college-y bar that was basically one giant dance party, a.k.a. our kind of scene. We danced until 2 and went back to the hostel. Going to be tired tomorrow!

5.8.10
Woke up and investigated some street blocks in Craig’s New Town with Emma and Jenny then met the group to climb up a monument. Great 360 views- still really windy though! We walked around the lark and the castle then explored the college area a bit before DuPuy dropped us off at the Scottish History Museum. The design was interesting- it had a lot of really great moments, but it wasn’t too cohesive and the materials were one too many and a little cheap looking. We went to lunch then checked out some new architecture. Shopping was next on the agenda then we convinced ourselves to climb up Arthur’s Seat- big ass hill. The views were amazing from there. Edinburgh really is a beautiful city and the sun had managed to come out for us so the shadows were amazing on the buildings. We climbed back down then hit Craig’s New Town for some more shopping. I managed to get separated from Jenny and the guys so I just shopped by myself and went back to the hostel to get my book and read at a restaurant for dinner. Not going to lie- it was kind of nice being by myself for once. Being constantly surrounded by 7 people and DuPuy all the time can make alone time precious. Back at the hostel and doing some computer work. Back to Kiplin tomorrow!