On the One Road

So...sorry about the delay! My laptop died for the past week but it is FINALLY back!

So, I want to tell you guys about my trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. Last weekend, we took a trip to Scotland to explore the beautiful city of Edinburgh. And, I think this statement sums up our weekend,

"Um...is it bad that I kind of want to study abroad in Scotland now that I'm here?"

We had an amazing weekend exploring Scotland's castle-like exterior. Flying out of Shannon Airport on Friday night, I had such a buzz of excitement to begin my international escapades. Typically, many don't think of Scotland as one of the top trips to take while abroad, but it has such an amazing history and landscape that I encourage all to see.

Edinburgh is such a cool city. Right as we got off the bus from the airport, we looked to our right to see a beautiful castle-like cathedral staring at us. The pointed tiers lit up against the city lights casting an eerie yet peaceful glow over the surrounding area. Luckily enough, our hostel was right down the road from this cathedral! Now...our hostel was...interesting to say the least. Actually, we had a great experience with this place. The main staff was really friendly when we first arrived and our roommates were all really quiet, but totally normal people! (Though I was a little perplexed by the french couple who literally didn't leave their bed the ENTIRE time we were there!) It was everything you would picture in a hostel: a lot of young, artsy kids who are clearly not from the area all trying to look as authentically European and sophisticated as possible. I saw everything from chains to pink hair to a group of guys sitting next to me engaging in...um, well, let's just say illicit drug activity (once we noticed this we decided to move ourselves to a different part of the hangout room).

On Saturday morning, we awoke to a very filling breakfast of toast and more toast...

Then, we began our crazy escapades around the city! At first, we merely walked around trying to get a view of the beautiful buildings. Our walk led us through a large cemetery, cathedral, and eventually to an outside view of the southern face of the famous Edinburgh Castle. Eventually, we found ourselves on a free walking tour of the city (perfect for our poor college student budgets). Too much happened to fully detail, but here are a few of the fun things that occurred:

(1) We learned that the area I originally suggested to go out to for a pub was the worst area to walk around at night because of the stag/hen parties that erupted.
(2) That same area was once a famous murder ground for two serial killers trying to make bank by selling corpses to the local university as cadavers.
(3) I was brought up in front of a group and helped re-enact public punishments in Scotland...it involved my ear being nailed to a door and people throwing feces at me...enough said...
(4) Some college kids stole the "Stone of Destiny" from the English after centuries of Scotland losing it, only to drop the stone and crack it...way to be, college kids...
(5) I learned I would have been a "wonderful looking male prostitute"..I also had the option to be a pirate

Following this craziness, we went on a ghost tour later on at night exploring the darker history of the city. Most of that tour was a repeat of the day tour, but we did have some creepy encounters in the cemetery and tried to find some ghostly friends. Also, we learned that the Scots really need to rethink their building strategies, because they managed to build a half-replica of the Parthenon and an observatory in a country that has cloudy skies about 99% percent of the time.

But, in all seriousness, Scotland has an amazing and beautiful history that still resonates in the modern cities. Our group had a fantastic time that weekend, and I recommend everybody checking out Edinburgh at least some point. I'll update more about the Irish life soon! Until then...

With Irish Blessings,
Jim Jam