Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle

Last week, the news of the "big freeze" reverberated through newsstands and TV programs.  People were stranded for hours or even days at Heathrow, Gatwick was closed, and a friend of mine was even snowed in in Edinburgh for a few days.  For most of last week I thought that I wouldn't be able to make it to Edinburgh.  Reflecting on my recent disastrous attempt to travel to the north, I thought maybe Scotland was just not in the cards for me.

Luckily, I chose to travel to Edinburgh by train.  And although many train routes were affected during the "big freeze", the capital-capital route must be pretty high priority, as they managed to keep an hourly service running the whole time.  Despite an almost three hour setback, I finally arrived in Edinburgh at 2:30 pm on Friday.  And as the train was pulling into Waverly Station past King Arthurs' snow-capped seat, I had a gut feeling I was going to like Edinburgh.

King Arthur's Seat

And I did!  I loved it.  Edinburgh is probably my favorite place that I've visited so far.  When my friend (who is studying in Edinburgh for the semester) picked me up, we dropped my stuff off at her flat and walked around.  We strolled through Grass Market, and then up to the picturesque Edinburgh Castle, which looms over the city, lit up beautifully by the sunset. Then we sauntered down the Royal Mile to St. Giles' Cathedral.  We went in to the gorgeous old cathedral, catching up on gossip and swapping study abroad stories.  We contined to the Elephant House, the cafe where JK Rowling (an Edinburgh resident) started writing the Harry Potter series!  We each got a pot of tea and a pastry and sat in conversation for a good chunk of the afternoon, enjoying the company and the atmosphere in the birthplace of Harry Potter.

On our way back to my friend's flat, we proceeded down to the Christmas Market in Princes' Street Garden.  Although it was festive (think craftsmen, crepes, and mulled wine), at this point all the Christmas Markets are starting to blend together.  We walked back to the flat and made dinner, and later prepared for our evening out.  My friend really cultivated a nice group of friends, who organized a pub-crawl for the evening, hitting local favorites such as Greenmantle, There Sister's and Biddy Mulligans.
  

Holyrood House

We woke up early the next morning, energized and excited to explore the city.  My friend was an excellent tour guide.  We started our day with a stroll down the entirety of the Royal Mile, which ends at Holyrood House, the Queen's official residence in Edinburgh.  Intrigued by its beauty and lovely scenery, we each coughed up the ten pounds admittance charge and took the audio-guided tour.

Little did I know, Holyrood House was the residence of the famed Mary Queen of Scots.  We were able to tour her bed chamber and other private rooms as well as the regular old State Rooms.  After finishing in Hollyrood House, we jumped across the street to Parliament House.  Designed in an extremely modern, eccentric style by Spanish Catalan architect Enric Miralles, Parliament House is the source of much contention among the Scottish. 

View from Calton Hill

From Parliament House, we climbed up Calton Hill, which delivers breath-taking, post-card worthy views of the whole city.  We spent a half an hour or so snapping pictures and chatting, enjoying a perfectly clear, sunny day.  After descending from Calton Hill, we revisited the Christmas Market in Princes' Street Garden for lunch, where I had the most delicious (read: unhealthy) meal of my whole life: a nutella, banana, and marshmallow crepe.  Yum!      

As the sun set (around 4 pm), our feet got so cold that we could hardly walk.  So we popped into the Scottish National Gallery, which I liked because of its manageable site and low-key atmosphere.  To end my trip, we had a leisurely dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant called Vittoria's, complete with wine, appetizers, and desserts.  A lovely trip! I'm already planning a return trip complete with a tour of the Highlands...