Edinburgh o'er the Weekend

No true Alma College Scot would be complete without a trip to his/her "homeland".  Despite the fact that I had to wait until I graduated, I finally made it to bonnie Scotland.  Although I've been gone from the school for a short while, it was so nice to hear "Scotland the Brave" on bagpipes again.  The locals apparently have caught on to the fact that tourists love to hear and see pipers as street performers.

I took the night bus to and from Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, for a weekend visit.  Sorry Cardiff, Wales, but Edinburgh was much more captivating in both character and number of attractions (London still is a strong #1 for that position, though).

I arrived in Edinburgh just as the sun was starting to rise, at around 7.45.  Not only did the crisp autumn air shook the grogginess off of me from the less-than-ideal night's sleep, but the sight of the city's Old Town across the valley took my breath away with its beauty (see above).  Spectacular!

Wasting no time, I headed east to the famed Arthur's Seat in Holyrood Park.  It offered marvellous panoramic views of the city, especially on such a nearly-cloudless day.  The hike to the summit of the 186m (610ft) peak was the start of a great weekend.  I followed a Scotsman up to the top who offered me pointers as to which was the best and quickest route, but made a bit of a mistake in descending the Seat alone via what looked to be the water drainage root (I realised that when it was too late...about half-way down the hill).  Oops.  It was an adventure, given the many slips that could have easily been my last.  Haha.  I am surprised that I made it down in one piece!

It was a bit windy up there (as you can see per the wind-blown hair...).

At the bottom of the hill and park were the Scottish Parliament and Holyrood Castle (the official residence of Her Majesty the Queen whilst in Scotland).  After I toured the latter, I made my way to Calton Hill.  The Nelson Memorial offered nice views of the city as well.  One could see down one of the main streets, Princes Street, and across the city.

The rest of my day was devoted to doing outside activities: walking up and down some of the main streets (Queen, Princes, the Royal Mile, etc.) and going to see the castle!  Medieval history seemed to be a major theme in Edinburgh.  It was so fascinating!  The sheer length of the time frame in which humans have occupied Europe and left their mark through written, painted or constructed works is so interesting and enthralling.  That's another reason why I LOVE Europe.  There's just so much history!

Sunday was my last day in town before I got back on the bus to London.  The weather wasn't as nice; the clouds and rain that I expected to be present all weekend did indeed make a day-long appearance.  You can't go to Scotland without experiencing the lovely Scottish weather, eh?  I didn't mind.  I checked out the museums that I failed to see the previous day (i.e. the National Museum of Scotland and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery).  I did some last-minute exploration of the city--touring St. Giles' Cathedral, walking the Grassmarket and strolling through the Princes Street Gardens--before I got on the night bus for London.
Overall, the weekend was phenomenal.  I was so glad that I decided to start to increasingly explore the UK.  There are so many diverse places here.  A great example of this is Scotland and Wales themselves, which although both occupy different locations of the island and are integral members of Great Britain, have completely different ways of and outlooks on life and Britishness.  It was interesting to experience the ambiance of each city and get a taste of the Welsh and Scottish peoples and heritage.  For instance, whereas Wales seemingly has made a point to preserve its language and culture through bilingual signs but remains firmly under British control, Scotland appears to not have as vehemently guarded their language but has taken more of a nationalist approach to gain ever-increasing autonomy from the UK as a whole.  You would think it would be the opposite.  How intriguing.