Lucky Number 13

Today, I boarded a plane and visited my thirteenth country, Scotland!  (I have also been to the US (duh), Canada (also duh), England, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, the Bahamas, Poland, the Czech Republic, Panama, France, and Switzerland – yes, I realize a couple of those are administrative regions of China, but I’m all for them being independent states, so I count them separately.  🙂 )

A couple of weeks ago, I decided I needed to get out and take one last trip before I headed back to Seattle.  I chose this week to do this because I only had class on Tuesday, which left me Wednesday through Sunday to go on a trip.  Of course, I couldn’t take up the whole time because I also have a final to complete, but, currently, I’m pretending that doesn’t exist.  Anyway, I chose Scotland for a few reasons: 1. They speak English. 2. The airfare was cheap. 3. They speak English. 4. It was only a 2 hour flight. And 5. They speak English.

So, I arrived in Edinburgh a little after 3pm, and took a taxi (snapping a few pictures along the way)

One of the many beautiful churches in Edinburgh.

Random houses in Edinburgh.

The Meadows - a huge park in the middle of Edinburgh.

to the bed and breakfast where I am staying.  And it’s adorable!

My room! I didn't get a picture of the outside today - I'll try to remember to get one tomorrow.

After resting for a minute (and trying to forget about the pain in my toe (a tip: if you’re walking in the airport behind someone with a roller bag, you should pay attention to where you are going rather than have your face buried in your book.  Otherwise, you run the risk of running into the person’s roller bag when he stops suddenly, and might kick said roller bag with your broken toe.  And that would hurt.  A lot.)), I headed out to check out the town.  The wonderfully nice woman that runs the bed and breakfast (the Lauderville Guest House) pointed me in the right direction and I headed toward the city centre.

Another beautiful church.

The streets are absolutely gorgeous.

Ruins on a hill... clearly I'm not too clear on what exactly many of these photos depict, but the sights were so pretty I couldn't stop taking pictures!

Another cool structure.

Shots of Edinburgh.

Another church?

After wandering around and doing a little shopping, I stumbled upon the Hard Rock Cafe in Edinburgh (apparently there is one!).  Since Nancy has requested that I pick up pins from each Hard Rock Cafe I see, I went in and went shopping.

Hard Rock Cafe Edinburgh.

After completing my HRC mission, I wandered around a little bit more.

George Square.

Gratuitous Edinburgh shot.

By this time, I was getting pretty desperate to find a good restaurant.  I really wanted to find a good pub to eat at, but was having trouble finding such a thing (shockingly).  I even almost gave in and ate at a TGIFridays.  Luckily, I found the perfect street just in time!

Rose Street.

I decided to eat at a Scottish pub called Dirty Dick’s.  It looked popular and like what I would expect a Scottish pub to look like.

The menu! In a comic book!

I loved the decor.

I ordered their specialty, which was a steak & ale pie.  Yum!

Yum!

I was totally full after dinner, but I didn’t want to leave yet (nursing the wounded toe, afterall – plus was really enjoying my nook book and a diet coke), so I decided to go for dessert!

Toffee bread pudding!

It was so darn good.  I am going to have to go on a major diet/workout spree as soon as I get home (and as soon as the foot heals).

And a parting shot of the restaurant, since I forgot to get one prior to dinner.

The pub!

Since I did not have the energy to walk the 30 minutes or so back to the bed and breakfast, I hailed a cab and got the nicest cab driver ever.  He told me all about the city, assured me that I could call the cab company any time because they are all vetted by the government, so my safety was guaranteed, and refused to take a tip!  He was so sweet.

Everyone I encountered today was super friendly.  I’m really glad I chose to come and I can’t wait to see more of the city tomorrow.  I am definitely not going to be able to see everything because I’m only here for a short time and so much requires too much walking for me in my lame situation, but I’m going to see as much as I can.  I’m already compiling a list of things to do when I eventually come back, though!