Adventures in Scotland...

Hello folks!  It's been a while since my last post, pretty much because I've been super busy with classes and life in Cambridge.  But this past weekend I went to Scotland.  I remember way back in June and July when I was gearing up for my trip I thought "oh, the Scotland trip isn't until the end of the summer" and now it's already happened and I can't believe I have less than two weeks left in this wonderful place.  But, enough reminiscing and back to my Scotland trip.  We left early Thursday morning after an insane night out where we just randomly walked around Cambridge, occasionally stopping from pub to pub.  I didn't even crawl into bed until 4 and I had to get up at 7 the next day... to say the least, I slept soundly on the bumpy and winding road to Scotland!

Driving to the border was absolutely beautiful.  It felt like I was driving through Middle Earth (which was perpetuated by the fact my friends and I were listening to the soundtrack in the back of the bus).

  We didn't even get to Edinburgh until 5 or 5:30 even though we left at 8am! Where we were staying was about a mile outside the center and right at the base of Arthur's Seat, which is the mythical location for King Arthur's Camelot.  We essentially just walked around Edinburgh the first night, exploring the winding roads, back alleys and cobble-stoned streets.  It's such a puzzle of a city that folds back in on itself and winds this way and that, up and down around the hills of Scotland.  Also, while we were there The Fringe festival was going on, which is a worldwide festival for artists, musicians, comedians, street performers and entertainers.  The streets were crazy with buskers which was fun for us because there was near constant entertainment.

 We had an early night after a very busy day and got up early on Friday to go see Edinburgh Castle.   It was built in the 1100’s and towers over the city and the lower town.  It was really beautiful and in great condition but the best part was the view from the top- you could see all of Edinburgh and even to the sea!  After the castle we stopped at the Scotch-Whiskey Experience on a suggestion from none other than my Grandmother.  I learned all about how scotch-whiskey is made, the different kinds of whiskey in Scotland and (most importantly) how to do a proper tasting.  There are 5 regions of distilleries in Scotland- the lowlands, the highlands, speyside and isaly.  I tried a whiskey from the highlands which is characterized for having a distinct vanilla taste.  To taste it properly you first hold your glass up to the light to see the color of your whiskey.  A lighter color means it was probably stored in a bourbon cask while a darker color indicates it might have been aged in an old sherry cask.  Then you swirl your drink around to look at the legs of the whiskey.  If the legs drop quickly the whiskey will be lighter and easier to drink.  If it takes a while for the legs to drop it means the whiskey will be heavy.  Then you get your nose all up in there, take a big whiff and have your nostril burnt off with the powerful alcohol scent.  Once you have regained your ability to smell, you go back and take another whiff, and another, until you fully appreciate the smell of the whiskey.  Then, finally, you take a sip.  I drank all my taster but I still don’t like whiskey- it just burns everything on the way down.  I do have a deeper appreciation for whiskey now though so we’ll call it a success!

How to check the color of whiskey:

For lunch we went to The Elephant House, the infamous place where JK Rowling began writing Harry Potter.  Although crowded, it wasn’t a tourist attraction.  I got a great lunch and was so inspired sitting where JK Rowling wrote my favorite books of all time.  It’s a very unassuming Harry Potter hot-spot, until you go to the bathroom.  The walls and mirrors are completely covered with quotes and thank you notes to JK Rowling.  It was so overwhelming to be surrounded by all these praises, all these lives that were made different by a book, that I got a little bit teary eyed.  I did make my mark upon Scotland and left a note in the bathroom.  “Words are our most inexhaustible form of magic, capable of inflicting injury and remedying it.  Thanks for all the magic in my life”.

That evening we went to the Royal Military Tattoo, which was fun and enjoyable but definitely not my favorite part of the trip.  It reminded me a bit of Fantasia or the Epcot parade in DisneyWorld, complete with fireworks at the end!

On Saturday we took a day trip to North Berwick to go on a bird tour and see some puffins then came back for naps and I took a walk outside to the base of Arthur’s seat.  After dinner and a pub, Sarah, Jenny and I went on a haunted tour of Edinburhg.  We went into the suffocating and damp, subterranean vaults and the black mausoleum in Greyfriar’s Kirkyard.  It was very interesting although I didn’t have a paranormal experience- I just liked learning all the macabre history of Edinburgh.  From satanic rituals to concentration camps, the Scots really know how the handle themselves, let me just say that!

The next morning I got up at the ungodly hour of 5:30am after 4 hours of sleep to hike up Arthur’s Seat and see the sunrise.  The hike up wasn’t that bad even though I was exhausted.  When we got to the top, though, it was totally worth it.  On one side was the ocean and the sun rising over it.  It shed rays onto the water, kissing the crests and shoreline and casting everything else in shadow.  On the other side was Edinburgh, cloud covered except for a perfect rainbow beginning at the castle and stretching into the far off hills.  It rained on us a bit but we had this glorious view and 6:30am mimosas to brighten the mood.  Sitting there I could definitely see why people call it the mythical spot of Camelot- it’s so beautiful and majestic, truly fit for a warrior king.  As you can probably tell from this insanely ling post, I loved Scotland and can’t wait to go back, I’d love to explore the highlands and moors someday and maybe get a glimpse of Nessie!