DAYS 40 & 41: SCOTLAND pts. 2-3

Monday was a really long day! We took a cab into the city to get breakfast, which we were all in dire need for. From there we met up with Sam and his parents to visit the Edinburgh Castle. The tour of the castle took a few hours. One of our cab drivers told us that there has been a castle on that spot since 600AD. That’s really crazy if you think about it! There were lots of separate buildings on the grounds and we got to go through them all.

After the castle we went to Leith, the town next to Edinburgh closer to the water, to eat lunch and walk around. We ate at this little pub with a restaurant attached to the back. At first we were a little skeptical but we were pleasantly surprised of how delicious the food was! The menu of the place is set everyday with the freshest ingredients sourced locally. I had bacon wrapped chicken over mashed potatoes covered in a light mustard sauce. The presentation of the dinner was on the level of an overpriced five-star restaurant.  From lunch we walked to the docks to lie around in the grass and enjoy the views. It’s a very different feel than the city.

We took a bus from Leith, back to Princes Street, one of the main streets in Ediburgh.  A little rest was much needed so we went to Sam’s hotel to refresh and regroup while his parents went shopping. After about two hours of napping and watching TV, it was dinner time. We ate at a different Mexican restaurant than the night before, sharing another pitcher of strawberry margaritas (that weren’t as good as the ones from the first night, but still very yummy!).

The next destination was Finnigan’s Wake, the first Irish pub from the night before. The last place we was this bar called Espionage. On the sign of the bar, the O is a scope with crosshairs. It was obviously referencing spies or 007, but we walked in and the place was like a normal little bar. I was a little confused by the conflicting images but didn’t really think twice about it. After Sam came back from the bathroom he told he there was another bar below the one we were in that had a different look. Once we went downstairs, we found another set of stairs going down to yet another level, revealing yet another themed bar. Turns out this place had for different levels, all different types of bars. The one we settled in was mostly stone, and looked like an underground Russian grotto. It was very cool! We ended the night earlier than the night before. Sam will be back in London for one day on Friday before leaving to back home, so we said our goodbyes until Friday before heading back to our hotel.

Today was a very laid back day. It was nice to sleet in and take our time getting back into the city. We dropped our bags off at the train station and went out to seek lunch. We ended up going to the Food Hall at Marks & Spencer and grabbed sandwiches and snacks to have lunch in the park. After lunch we went in Topshop and I did a little bit of shopping. I haven’t really done much shopping since I’ve been in London because I’ve been saving all my money for travel. The train left Edinburgh at 5:00PM. It’s now 8:30PM and I’ve been working diligently on these posts since we left.

Edinburgh was honestly one of the most beautiful places I’ve been. It’s not like being at a beach, but is just as gorgeous. It’s such a small city and everything there screams heritage. The people were so incredibly nice and took so much pride in their city. It was an really fun weekend!

WELCOME!

The views from the castle were amazing!

See the ruins on the far hill?

This cannon is fired everyday at 1:00PM on the dot.

Cheese?

Our personal tour guide... Sam playing the role of Tony Skitt

Looking down one of the cannons at the ruins and the sea

Sam, Whitney and Jenny manning their guns

Some of the smaller buildings on the grounds

Inside this buidling was the war memorial, very moving.

Blue skies, finally..

The lower levels of the castle, too bad they were blocked off

Lots of stained glass throughout

Heading out of the castle

Lunch on the water

Bacon wrapped chicken breast & Cheddar cheese served over mash with a light mustard sauce
SO DELICIOUS! The presentation at this place was like a 5 star restaurant!

The lovely sides

Sam's dad's handcut "chips".. I love that he wasn't wierded out that I wanted to photograph them! Thanks Mr. Silver!

Moving on to dinner... Strawberry Margaritas!

Chicken Burrito

The full spread

Hip Hop night at ESPIONAGE

Straight out of the Russian Underground

Cheers to such an amazing experience!

Whitney and Jenny enjoying our lunch in the park before catching the train home

Back to London...