Edinburgh... You Have My Love (When It's Sunny)

I last left you all at the end of my hitching journey. It couldn’t have been any easier, or luckier I suppose, to find my host’s flat. However, when I arrived, no one was home. Okay, no worries. I was expected, but when was an entirely different story. My luck continued when I found a guy walking by that let me borrow his mobile to call my host, James. With no answer, I dropped a message and intelligently asked him to call me back when he had a moment. I hadn’t slept in a while people, cut me some slack! Turns out, he was still at work, but rushed home quickly to find me sitting on the stairs outside. The best part was that both his roommates were in fact home. I got a good laugh out of this. What can I say, I roll with the punches! The best part is after spending the week with them, I can totally see why they didn’t answer the door. While staying, I was able to meet 4 other surfers. James and his flatmates provide a strong foundation for the Edinburgh CS community.

Not much to report for my first day in a new city. I spent all day Wednesday recovering from a seriously long two days hitching. Aleem, Krist, and James were awesome in allowing me to literally sleep well past any type of reasonable hour (noon I think). And even when I woke up, there was no pressure to leave and get out of the flat. Once I did, I ended up spending the rest of the day learning a bit of the city layout and collecting maps. I rode the bus system all over getting ideas of places I wanted to visit. That brings us to Thursday…

Botanical Gardens

This was my gungho day of tourist crap because I really had no idea how long I was in Edinburgh. I jumped into the city and went for it. My first stop was the hike up to Edinburgh Castle from Princes Street Garden. Little did I know, when I got to the top I had to turn right back around because they were doing construction at the connection point. Okay, no biggie, I’ll head down and go around. Boom!! Detour my friends. I looked across the street and saw the National Gallery with a clear and legible sign that said, “Free Admission.” Sold… I'm not exactly a museum connoisseur, but I rather enjoyed my visit. It isn't a very large museum compared to say (jumping forward in my travels) the Ulster Museum, but I enjoyed the information and artistic displays that were exhibited. Afterwards, I headed to the Botanical Gardens. You all know what they are so I don’t need to go into it. What you do need to know is that they are massive. If this is something you want to see, go in late spring so you can get some color; otherwise, you’re just going to see lots of trees and shrubs that are finely pruned and some mothers pushing their baby strollers around.

View from Arthur's Seat

I spent Friday doing a hike up to Arthur’s Seat. I started with a hearty meal at The Mosque Kitchen. If you ever visit Edinburgh, you want to have lunch here. It’s a mosque near the university that has a kitchen open every afternoon dishing out curry. For 4 pounds, you can get a substantial meal that will leave you smiling and satisfied. I couldn’t tell you why Arthur’s Seat is titled so or it’s importance, but it is a definite stop on any trip. It’ll take you about 2-3 hours to hike up and back depending on how many pictures you snap and the quality of the weather. I could easily see spending an entire 8 hours doing it though. They’ve basically turned it into a recreational park where you will see mountain bikers, hikers, tourists, picnickers, dog walkers, etc. The view from the top is 360 degrees and you can see all of Edinburgh, the Firth of Fourth, and beyond. Well worth it. On my way back to the flat, I stopped in to a city pub for the staple Scottish fair, haggis. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it’s a little, furry, ugly bastard of a rodent with the face (and size) of an armadillo but the body of a rat. The interesting thing about them is that their legs are shorter on one side of their body to make running around hills more efficient. It’s the weirdest thing I have ever seen. That being said, they are a rather tasty little critter. If you aren’t a fan of pepper, you may want to stay away as it is heavily used in its preparation. Traditionally served with neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes), it is a very wholesome and carb loaded meal… yummy!

Scottish Haggis before...

Scottish Haggis after...

The rest of the weekend was a fiesta getting to know James, Aleem, and Krist. You can see pictures posted on Facebook for a detailed reenactment of said events, because it’s all a bit hazy for me. I do remember having an awesome time and I was clearly not drunk enough because I continuously stepped in far too soon to assist James with a few squabbles. The Scottish people enjoy their Napoleon complexes when they’re boozed up. All is well and I ended up staying 7, instead of 3, nights with the guys.

James, Krist, and me... deadly!