Scotty Land!

Leprechaun Man tour guide


Aussie Friends
Edinburgh Castle
A Highlander!  I wanted to take him home. 


So many sheep everywhere...

Hiya! Ok so last little trip update... I need to really think about this one because it was already like 2 weeks ago.  But, after Dublin, I headed over to Edinburgh.  I was supposed to be staying with my friend Chandler the whole time I was there, but long story short, Chandler was actually in Canada.. So I hastily booked myself a hostel.  I arrived late at night, so the first night I just hung out at the hostel, and took some time to relax from my busy day in Dublin (my life is so hard).  

The next morning, I got up and ventured out to see the city, by way of a free walking tour.  I figured it was the best way to see the town and learn some things about the history too.  I had the best tour guide!  He was this tiny little English man that looked like a leprechaun.  He was hilarious though.  He told lots of stories about old legends of Edinburgh, and showed us pretty much all of the important tourist landmarks.  I also had much better luck with the weather on this part of the trip too.  I think my favorite story from the miniature man was this one: Way back in the day, before plumbing, people used to keep all of the human waste from their homes in a bucket.  Late at night, they would all dump the waste buckets out the window onto the streets below.  Unfortunately this was done at the same time as most people would be leaving the pubs, as well.  So of course before dumping a bucket of pooh out the window, they would call out just to warn everyone below.  Well after a few drinks to numb your senses, you hear someone yelling out from a window,  what do you do?  I would look up.  So this, my friends, is quite possibly why we now use the term "shit faced."    

Moving on from that, walking around Edinburgh, I took the advice of one of my friends who lived there, and just tried to appreciate the fact that it's one of the few truly medieval cities left. Also how can you not love a city where there are random men scattered around playing the bagpipes and wearing kilts?  

When I got back to the hostel, I hung out with the other girls that were staying in my dorm room.  I went out for dinner and drinks with some Australians, who seem to be taking over Europe one hostel at a time.  Lucky for us, our hostel had the outstanding offer of "buy one get one free" drinks.  This offer should be illegal.  

During the rest of the trip, I did a tour of the castle, and then climbed up this mountain-like thing called Arthur's Seat to get a beautiful view of the city.  The castle was pretty sweet, they have some museums, the crown jewels, and some other cool stuff that I don't really remember anymore.   I also did a bus tour, which took me up to Loch Ness and the Highlands.  The views were beautiful, but I do have to say, it was a long haul!  I was on a bus pretty much for 12 hours.  But if I was in Scotland, I felt like I should see more than just the big city.  I was, of course, by myself.. but I met another Columbian girl around my age that was traveling alone too.  So at least I had someone to hang out with and have a chat during the loong bus ride.  Scotland is very.. green.  I guess that's the only way to describe it.  That night of the bus tour, my friend Chandler finally came back to Edinburgh!  I got to stay with her for the last few days of the trip, see her university, and meet her friends.  Also it is always really nice to see old friends from home over here.  Especially Cha, who I have known since I was like 5.   

So I swore this would be the last trip of the year.  But I finished my job, and boredom is starting to settle in.  We'll see what comes up! In the meantime I have been working on a way to come back here next year.. doing the job hunt thing, reapplying for my current job, and also applying the the university in Strasbourg.  Cross your fingers for me!