Toussaint Travels #3: Edinburgh, Scotland

Finally, installment number three.

Because I am so behind on my life and school is getting hectic, as I have all my final papers and exposés due in the next few weeks. (Isn't that always the way the end of the semester rolls?), I have decided to just post a bunch of pictures of Edinburgh and make a list of the things Addie and I did.

Before we go any further, let me just say that Edinburgh is my second-favorite city, after Lyon of course (which is really magical, I really must do a post on that). It was nothing at all like France for many reasons and not just because they spoke English there. I have not done a lot of traveling to different countries so I only have France, England, and Scotland to compare but they were totally different in comparison with California.

Addie's and my list of activities are as follows.

Wednesday:

• Arrival at Waverly train station+late night talk+first tea in Scotland

Views from the plane

Thursday:

• Internet café while Addie was in class
• Walk around George Gardens—real fall arrives! leaves in the air
• Small walking tour (The Meadows!)
• Traditional pasty (delicious pot-pie like thing)
• Walk through Giles Cathedral—gothic church
• Decision to make cranberry bliss bars (good decision) 
• Mac N Cheese, made by Addie 
• Hocus Pocus with her flatmates

The street!

From Waverly Bridge

The park! It is fall!

HOLLY (I think)

So enchanted!

My love!

Traditional Pasty-delicious!

Giles (Gyles) Cathedral

The Meadows

Friday (HALLOWEEN): 

• wandering Princes Street (shopping stretch)
• stroll through Princes Street Gardens
• great purchase: Christmas leggings from Primark 
• Scottish Monument
• Starbucks: they give you drinks in real mugs!
• Addie makes me dinner again
• Halloween Facetime with Joe, Alec, Addie, Syd, Wheat, and Mom and Dad
• Halloween movie extravaganza: Halloweentown, Scream, Under Wraps
• Non-alcoholic cider and some face masks 

Edinburgh Castle

A close—a little alleyway

A real-life pub!

Scottish monument

So windy

We saw a real-life ghost on Halloween

Let's do some face masks.

What I missed out on at home. Love you guys!

Saturday: 

• Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (who cares if it is the day after Halloween?)
• hiking Arthur's seat! we made it halfway 
• I try Irn Bru (some Scottish soda)
• Queen's residence in Scotland
• Clarinda's Tea Room: cream tea with scones and clotted cream and jam, so good! 
• The Newsroom (a bar) to meet Jen! and friends from her Ireland program

Arthur's seat from the bottom

Here we go!

Views from Arthur's seat

Cream tea! Delicious scones!

Sunday: 

• Scottish breakfast at the Meanwhile Café (aka I try haggis)
• Gift shopping for people
• Saw Elephant House (where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone) 
• Greyfriar's Bobby (touched the nose!) 
• Greyfriar's Churchyard with the 
• Scottish National Library exhibit on WWI
• LoveCrumbs for tea and cake
• Pizza at home

Scottish breakfast-potato scones, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, eggs, toast, beans and haggis

The sign says it all!

Pretty church

Touching Greyfriar's dog's nose! (for luck!)

More city shots

LoveCrumbs

Castle again!

Monday: 

• Leave at the unseemingly hour of 3 am for my 5:50 am flight
• Have the absolute worst travel day of my entire life in which I get stuck in Amsterdam for 6 hours more after missing my corresponding flight, forgetting my charger in Edinburgh, getting two gate changes, a flight delay and then a new plane. 
• Finally getting home at 7 pm 
• Let's not talk anymore about that. 

Being sad with my suitcase waiting to leave.

Finally in the air 6 hours later

Lyon airport at night