Edinburgh: Birthday Goodies, Illusions, and Castles

Hello everyone!

So, this past week, I was busy with Birthday and Scotland preparations.  Monday was Lauren's birthday, and Friday was mine. On Wednesday, we met with our British family, and they took us out for an Italian meal in their hometown of Sleaford, which is about twenty to thirty minutes away from Grantham. It was so nice to see them again and make plans for the next visit, which is when Lauren's mom is coming next week!

On Thursday, I only had my two classes, so it wasn't super busy.  Before I went to my class, however, I got a box in the mail.  I wasn't expecting a package, so it made me very happy.  My family had put together and Birthday and Halloween present for me, which included Danish wedding cookies.  Oh, how I missed them!  That was so exciting for me to get that package!

Thursday, Rachel and I packed, listened to music, and drank Yorkshire tea that I had bought at Morrison's that afternoon.

Friday morning, it was time to depart for Edinburgh, Scotland.  Before we went to breakfast, Rachel told me that she had bought me a birthday present as well (which she did not have to do).  She got me a Harry Styles poster (we're currently trying to find a place to hang it), a four disk Christmas music cd, and the Michael Jackson Thriller vinyl.  I'm super excited to get a record player and listen to the vinyl when I get home!

At eight o'clock that morning, we left Harlaxton for another adventure.  Around 9:30, we stopped just north of Doncaster and Leeds at a service station.  I found the Leona Lewis album I've been looking for and some tea and shortbread from Costa.  We got back on the road at 10:30 and drove until we reached Hadrian's Wall, which the Romans built in the first few centuries AD.  From up on top of the hill where the wall was, I felt like I could see all of North England.  It was such a sight to see.

After Hadrian's wall, we go back on the road.  Soon, we stopped at the English-Scottish border for a photo.  There was a bagpipe player there, so it really was a nice welcome to Scotland.

We finally got to Edinburgh (at almost 5:00) after several hours of sitting on the bus and checked into our hostel.  Our room had four bunk beds.  I knew four of the girls (Rachel, Brittney, Lauren, and Leah), but I hadn't met the other three girls.  Staying in a hostel was definitely a new experience for me.  I'm not sure that I prefer it to a hotel.  Haha!

After we got our things settled, me and four girls I do know went out for my birthday.  First, we went to The Elephant House.  This is the cafe that J.K. Rowling was sitting in when she began to write the Harry Potter series.  I got a cappuccino, and it was pretty and delicious.

Next, we went to dinner at Nando's (the best restaurant on Earth).  It is really good.  I wasn't very adventurous and got the same thing I did when we went in London.  It never disappoints.

By that time, it was dark out, and we wanted to explore and find the Edinburgh castle.  We walked up some creepy streets and alleyways, and I decided that I don't like Edinburgh at night. Nevertheless, we finally found the castle, and it looked so pretty at night.  They had it lit up, and behind it, you could see the Edinburgh skyline.  We walked some more and found ourselves by the Scottish National Gallery.  Beside the gallery, there is a park that is surrounded by tall, old buildings.  We decided to come back the next day, so we could actually go in the park.

The next morning, we woke up and went to the National Gallery.  It was very cool to see art from so long ago, and the detail that artist puts in to the work is incredible.  After that, we walked down to the park.  Upon walking into the park, I heard a jazz band, and I had to go and find it.  They were across the street, so we just watched from the other side.  They were so good!

Next, Rachel and I got invited to this Chinese Festival they were having.  They served us green tea, Chinese cookies, and taught us some Chinese.  I also got a pretty cool temporary tattoo and took pictures with pandas.

We finally got to walk in the park after that, and then we decided to go to Starbucks.  I, of course, had my favorite autumnal drink, a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

After Starbucks, we went back to the hostel to decide what to do for lunch.  We decided on, you guessed it, Nando's!  It was just as good as the night before, but I got the grilled chicken wrap this time, and it is now my favorite.

After Lunch, we went to the National Museum of Scotland. There, we saw the first mammal ever successfully cloned, Dolly the Sheep.

We did some shopping, and I bought a plaid, Scottish scarf.  We walked up to the castle in the daytime, and we were able to get such a pretty view from it. You could see all of Edinburgh and the sea in the distance!

Next on our list, was to to go to The World of Illusions. That place was so much fun, and we all had a blast doing the five floors of illusions.  There was a mirror maze, and a bridge that stayed still, but everything around was moving, so you felt like the bridge was moving.  That was fun trying to get across it without falling. At the top of the building, was a rooftop terrace where you could see the whole city and the sea once again.

We ate dinner ate a place called Garfunkel's, and it was also delicious! The reason being that they had pink lemonade.

The next morning, we got up and loaded onto the bus around 11.  There was beautiful scenery of the coast and the countryside once we got back into England.

We stopped in a town called Durham for lunch and had Mexican food at a place called Chiquito. I had chicken enchiladas (good, but not as good as dad's) and strawberry cheesecake, which was so good!

We arrived back at Harlaxton around 7:00.  I was so exhausted from the weekend, so I studied for a quiz we had the next day, and went striaght to sleep.

This weekend was very busy and exhausting, but I overall liked the city of Edinburgh.  I would have loved to see more of Scotland as well.  Right now, London is still my favorite city I've been to.  This weekend, we're heading off to Ireland for a really fun tour of the country.

Watch my vlog for Edinburgh here!

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Love always,

Alexandria