Get yourself to Edinburgh

The second leg of our trip brought Jesse and I up to Edinburgh, Scotland. We actually stayed a short train-ride out of the city at his friend Shane's place in Linlithgow. Shane was only there the night we arrived and took us to his team's rugby practice; there was much more rugby to come. Edinburgh is a well preserved medieval city that is very easily explored by foot, though their bus system is very well laid out as well. Once again, we lucked out and were told we were there for the nicest weather they'd had in a while. That being said, we were still very cold but we were very lucky to have missed the rain! 

As expected, I had a very hard time understanding their English when spoken to... though I loved their accents! The Edinburgh Castle sits up on the hill at the top of The Royal Mile. The views from the castle were amazing as well as the pieces within each museum on-site - like the Scottish Crowned Jewels. If you think that kilts and bagpipes are just a Scottish stereotype then you should think again because they're very proudly worn everywhere! 

 

Edinburgh Castle

View from Edinburgh Castle 

View from North Bridge up to Calton Hill 

St. Margaret's Chapel at Edinburgh Castle 

View of Calton Hill from Edinburgh Castle

Scottish man playing bagpipes on The Royal Mile - one of many all over town! 

We really loved walking around this place. The varieties of food offered were mostly centered on British food (bangers & mash, steak & ale pie, haggis, fish & chips...) or tons of curries and Indian/Pakistani restaurants. And of course, there were tons of pubs and bars all over the place. Jesse was quite content to seek out all the beers he can't get stateside while introducing me to Strongbow Cider. Overall, the food was much better than I expected, though I'm totally sick of restaurant food and really just want to cook for myself again! 

Next up, more rugby!! 

Bisous, 

-kelse