Day 1
I hate the feeling of wet socks. The squelching sound and squishy dampness in my shoes is disgusting. So naturally on the Thursday we leave for Edinburgh it's raining, the cobblestones mutating into small ponds. My shoes are instantly soaked through. And this is the one trip where I neglected to pack my umbrella. Go figure.
It's a trek to the bus and once inside safely nestled into the leather seats I strip my still dripping socks off and grab my flip flops from my backpack. As a side note this is the second time I've managed a long weekend with nothing more than my backpack for packing supplies. That may mean nothing to you but to me that's pretty freaking impressive. Next I grabbed my travel pillow and promptly conked out. It's a seven hour drive from Cambridge to Edinburgh and though we were making a few stops along the way, that amount of time in a moving vehicle is synonymous for naptime.
True to form, I didn't wake up until we stopped for food three hours later at a rest stop. Forty-five minutes later and we were back on the road and I was back to dreamland. Our other major stop, two hours later, was at Sir Walter Scott's mansion Abbotsford. It was pouring rain when we first arrived but not even the gloomy rainclouds could detract from the jaw dropping beauty of Abbotsford. Apparently, Walter Scott was like a literary rock star of Scotland. He made being Scottish cool again. Scott was the first true international bestseller with his novels translated into several languages. As a result, his house is huge. Abbotsford looks more like a castle than a regular mansion, and it overlooks a vast expanse of greenery leading down to a river. Scott's garden's surround the house and, while not in perfect shape, are absolutely beautiful.
We were given a brief tour of Abbotsford which included his library (the proportions of which every English major aspires to have one day), his study, where a writing box crafted from the wreckage of the Spanish Armada stands prominently on the desk, and his dining room, still set as if expecting visitors. One thing I was surprised about was that Scott collected little bits of paraphernalia from famous people; he was a fanboy. Among his collection is a ring worn by Lord Byron and the cross that Mary, Queen of Scots is supposed to have held prior to her execution. The man liked his armor too. Suit after suit of armor and large swords on the walls of a single room. In the midst of all this is a ornate golden clock that was rumored to have belonged to Marie Antoinette. FANBOY!!!
Abbotsford and Some of Its Gardens
After the tour we were set loose to enjoy the grounds for about half an hour, and blessedly it had stopped raining. I took a ridiculous amount of photos of the Abbotsford gardens. All the flowers were in bloom and every hue imaginable was represented. It was absolutely beautiful. Scott, it turns out is a national hero even today. He appears on Scottish money, and later on in the trip we discovered that Scott is responsible for rediscovering the long hidden crown jewels of Scotland. So the quite like him up there in Scotland.
From Abbotsford it was another three hours before we arrived in Edinburgh. Driving through rural Scotland is like being in another world altogether. There are picturesque stone walls, crumbling from centuries of use, that still corral sheep. And there are an obscene amount of sheep to be seen. Any field you pass is guaranteed to have those little fluff balls munching grass, cows are another common sighting. As the bus maneuvered up and down the narrow hills it felt like we were on a roller coaster. Seeing a bustling city after all this was a bit of a shock.
We checked into the conference center at Pallock Halls and were incredibly excited by the fact that not only did we each have our own showers but we had TV's. Our primary goal at the time though was food. We walked down a few blocks and found a great gastro pub called Steamie. Michaela, Nathan, Michael, Jess, and myself were in heaven. Best burger since setting foot on this island. Hands down. Four out of five of us agree. Jess couldn't agree because she ate pasta, but had she ate the burger she would have raved about it too.
When we got back to our rooms around eight p.m. our group decided to check out the lounge area. Inside we found another T.V. and an inexplicable VHS of Silence of the Lambs. Evening made.
Day 2
We had one perfectly nice day in Edinburgh and I thank God it was Friday. We went up to the castle and walked around, exploring the museums and the glorious views. The real fun began when we left the castle and walked along the Royal Mile. Just outside the castle was vast shop and museum to wool and kilts, the name of which escapes me. Essentially if it's plaid and wooly you can find it there. I splurged and bought a legitimate kilt. My spending from then on during the trip was seriously curbed but hey, you're only in Scotland once, right?
A Small Portion of the Whiskey Collection
After that we walked all of five feet to a place called The Scotch Whiskey Experience. For £9.50 we got to ride in a huge barrel and learn the basics of whiskey making. The barrel ride then dumped us out into a guided video of all the types of whiskey made in Scotland. The tour explained that each different area had distinct flavors to their whiskey and to really hit the point home they provided us with a scratch and sniff card that let us sniff the major flavors of the varying bouquets. The flavors ranged from smoky, to citrus, to floral. At the end we walked into a room where three thousand bottles of whiskey were housed, the biggest collection in the world. We were then given a dram of whiskey from whichever region we chose in our very own glasses (which we got to keep). I chose the Highland whiskey which is the more floral flavor. You can't tell at all. It just burns on the way down. Delicious though.
We continued walking down the mile, entering random shops to look around, and were accosted on the streets by people advertising shows for Scotland's Fringe Festival. Unfortunately, we didn't take in a show while we were there, but it was fascinating to see everyone walk around in costume trying to attract the tourists. At the end of the Royal Mile is Hollyrood Palace, where the Queen stays when she is in Edinburgh. Most of us clamored back on the bus and back to Pallock Hall so that we could grab a few quick hours of sleep before going to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo that evening.
KILTS!
Sweet Lord the Tattoo was amazing. So many men in kilts playing bagpipes! It was a thrill to see them all march out of the castle gates the pipes' noise filling the air. I couldn't stop wiggling in my seat; it was so exciting! The show was more than just bagpipes though. Several different countries were represented as well including Brazil, Germany, and the Dutch. The excess of uniforms was glorious to behold. But nothing tops the Scottish pipers in their kilts. Incredible!
Day 3
Saturday was entirely our own. A group of us decided to go to the Edinburgh zoo, and let me just say that it was a brilliant choice. Some of my favorites were the buff-cheeked gibbons. We literally staid by their towering cage with its many ropes for over twenty minutes. The gibbons were so active, performing high flying feats and tussling to our amusement. There was a little baby gibbon being bullied by its siblings and we would root for it as it climbed around the ropes evading capture. I'm sure we were quite obnoxious. At one point a gibbon actually launched himself at us and hung suspended by a rope face pressed against the glass. He stared at us with the same curiosity that we had for him. There was literally a thin pane of glass between me and a teenaged angst ridden gibbon.
We also got quite close to a jaguar as it paced back in forth in front of the glass prompting Megan to say, "Sir or Madam, could you please sit still?" The jaguar eventually complied. Unfortunately my camera battery was dying so I have no pictures of this but it was an awesome experience. We came across a tiger the same way, pacing back and forth in a side enclosure separate from his main cage. Steel bars, bamboo poles, and a brief amount of space. That's what separated us this time. The tiger let out a growl and stared us down with his glowing amber eyes before he stalked off into his primary enclosure. Beautiful and absolutely frightening.
But the best moment of the day was the penguin parade. This feature is unique to the Edinburgh zoo. At feeding time penguins line up and are let out of their enclosure and the march under the guidance of zoo officials to a special feeding pen. Visitors line up along the path and can take pictures, but children are advised to stay out of flipper slapping range. Yes, that is a real thing. It was beyond cool to see a penguin waddling literally five feet from me. There's a picture that captures the "OMG penguins" moment I was having. I'll share it because it's delightfully embarrassing.
OMG PENGUINS!
After the zoo we took a bus to the city centre and had hot chocolate at The Elephant House, where J.K. Rowling wrote the first several Harry Potter books. I completely dorked out. And the little coffee house was a welcome respite from the rain that splattered everywhere after we left the zoo. Edinburgh was beautiful but it was incredibly cold and rainy. I was grateful to return to Pallock Hall and snuggle in bed. We ate at Steamie again and piled into my room to watch The Mummy Returns on my T.V. It was a very laid back but wonderful night.
Day 4
We left Edinburgh and Pallock Hall by nine a.m.. And shock of all shocks it was raining. My feet were not happy. But I slept again through the majority of the trip, this time we only stopped for lunch. It was such a relief to return to Cambridge. It feels like our little home and it's sad to think that in a few short weeks we'll be gone for good. I was so exhausted when we got back to Gonville and Caius. A warm bed is such a beautiful thing.
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