Today we made it to Edinburgh! I’m officially in Scotland!
Wahoo!
So today involved a lot of bus riding so it will probably be
a pretty quick post. So we got up and had breakfast at our hotel which was
great. Then we hopped on the coach and rode for about two hours until we got to
Fountains Abbey. This abbey was a lot like tintern abbey, it is in ruins! It
was HUGE though and of course really beautiful. This one was also interesting
because it wasn’t the typical layout at all. I will let you see from the
pictures. It was really neat though, very picturesque. There was a little river
right next to it and the grounds were kept really nicely. The lawn was all
mowed and you could tell they take good care of it.
After that it was back on the coach and of to Hadrians Wall
to hike! This was optional but I decided to do it! It was about 3 miles and
took us about 2 hours. We started at the remains of an old roman fort along the
wall which is actually the best roman ruins in all of Britain I guess. It was
pretty cool but mostly just rocks so nothing too interesting. It still is weird
to me that Britain was ruled by the Romans. I guess there’s actually a theory
that Christ visited the British isles during his younger years that there are
no records of. Interesting stuff right? Who knows.
So after that we did our little hike and it was beautiful!
We were technically in Northumberland National Park and it is a really pretty
place. Not the Lake District, but still beautiful. I really like all the pine
trees and big rivers. It reminds me of home. For the hike we basically followed
the wall, which is kind of up on a ridge, so we were able to overlook the
countryside for miles and miles. We were so lucky we had good weather. It was
cool to see all the fields that kind of look like they make patchwork quilts.
And of course you have the sheep everywhere. I freaking love sheep. I still am
set on being a black sheep in Wales in my next life. So we hiked and hiked and
hiked and then ended in this little town called Once Brewed. And by little town
I mean it had like one building, the Visitors Centre. Which makes no sense. But
I guess it’s called Once Brewed because back in the day this guy owned a
brewery and everyone complained of it being too weak so it became notorious for
that. Freaking random right?
I’m sorry this post is gonna suck but I am currently
freaking out trying to finish my Disney paperwork on this shizzy hostel
internet and I can’t call the office and I’m exhausted. So bear with me.
So we got little treats there because we were gonna be on
the road again for a while. I got two flapjacks, which are not pancakes. They
are like glorified granola bars and they are super good. I swear food here is
just a ton better than back home. It will be sad to go back. But anyways then
it was back on the coach for about two hours. We stopped at the Scottish border
and took pictures! So that was exciting.
Then back on the coach.. and finally Edinburgh! Our final
destination on our lovely North Trip. We are staying in a hostel in a good spot
near the center of the city. I have to say… this place is really interesting.
Not sure how I feel about it yet. The first thing we did was have a little
orientation tour lead by a former BYU student who is getting his PhD here at a
university. My first impressions were that this place is 1) really really dark.
I don’t if it’s the stone they use, the fact that’s it’s really far north, or
what, but it is just not a cheery place. Second of all, the big festival is
coming up. It’s all this really really sketchy fringe stuff so it is super
risqué. So all these posters are basically plastered across the town and there
is all sorts of nasty things going on. Seriously. Let your imagination run
wild.. I guarantee they have it here. So that was scary. Next, all the places
we walked by were these scary bars and tattoo shops and stuff. It did not come
across as an inviting or friendly place. They use all this purple lighting so
it kind of has this dark glow.. It’s just all so eerie! I do not like it!
Finally the people. I literally feel like I’m walking around a bunch of circus
freaks. Everyone here is all edgy and looks like they just found this new
obsession with the punk rock look. So they dress really fashionable but just
super funky. Like a crack addict let loose in American Apparel. Yep. So at
first I was definitely sketched out.
We started walking to the other side of town and it got
better, however. Our ‘guide’ took us to the café where JK Rowling wrote a lot
of Harry Potter, as well as the cemetery where a guy named Tom Riddle is
buried, who inspired her with the Voldemort character. There is also a private
school just outside that cemetery that apparently was the model for Hogwarts.
So that was pretty cool. This is also where they have all the Olympic décor up
so that was a lot more cheery. I think in the Capitol of Scotland Wales and
England they have the big rings on display so we found those. OH I totally
forgot. This whole walk we were walking around the Edinburgh castle… most legit
thing I have ever seen. Seriously. It’s perched up on top of this hill and it’s
HUGE and it’s freaking intimidating! We are touring it at some point so I will
fill you in on that later. Around this area is also a lot of Scandinavian
looking architecture, especially in the churches. You can tell we are a lot
further North, close to Norway.. so there are definitely influences here! I
want to go to Norway so bad!! But it’s beautiful, so that’s the part of the
city I really like. We walked through two cemeteries and I have to say.. this
whole city is super eerie. Like everywhere you turn there is an ad for a ghost
tour and I can see why. This place is freaking creepy. Like I said earlier I
think it’s mostly how dark their stone is and everything here is just so gray.
But these cemeteries were legitly the scariest ones I think I have ever been
in. it’s cool though! I kind of like it.
After our little tour we were let loose for dinner and we
got some indian food. It was good! Probably the best I’ve had since our west
trip to cornwall. Surprisingly the best Indian food I’ve had this whole trip
was definitely in Tintagel… which is so random. You’d think it’d be in London
for sure. This place was good though. There are a lot of cool places to eat
here and lots of history so I am excited to get a little familiar with the
city.
Im gonna hit the hay! Pray for me that I get my freaking
Disney stuff to work cause I’m kind of freaking out! Tomorrow we are going to
Glasgow for Olympic soccer! We are watching Sweden and France! So I’m gonna
pretend I’m Swedish for the day J
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