We beat the floods!

Northern England was flooding pretty badly by the time we decided to leave London for Edinburgh. The official at King's Cross told us not to get on a train unless it was an emergency. So we went, anyway. =)

Quick Tips:

Edinburgh is my favorite little city in the world. You can walk anywhere, the hostels are cleanest I've seen, the people are the best, and if you want to use the internet... only go to the Easy Everything around 9pm. 6 hours for 1 pound!

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking gets you farthest around here. The hills are plentiful and steep but you'll be more in shape by the time you get home. The city isn't that big and really isn't worth doing anything else but walking.

I remember the day I was sitting at home printing out the directions to a few hostels I found on the internet. A very simple map of Edinburgh was all I had when we arrived at the train station so I was relieved to find out that E-burgh was really as small (and cute) as the map said it was. The hostel was hardly a five minutes walk from the station, up a very intimidating hill (which we tamed as the week went on).

A bright blue door squished between a restaurant and a convenience store is the entry to my favorite hostel in the whole world (so, I haven''t been to many). The staff was more then helpful getting a room for us and giving us advice on what to see. I remember the colours most of all, though. Like the door the stairway that spiraled up five floors was bright blue. The ground floor was checkered black and white and the walls were bright yellow with red doors to the rooms they offered. They offered everything we could ask for... internet access (although we found out later it''s much cheaper to go somewhere else.), a full kitchen, laundry machines, a comfortable lounge with a large T.V. that played Simpsons every evening around 5.

I was impressed with how clean everything was and how friendly the people were.

Later that week we got stranded in Edinburgh for a little longer then we bargained for. All the floods that we passed through in York went down to London and caused all sorts of chaos. They stopped the trains going down there the day we were supposed to go back to London and catch a flight home. We would be stuck there for an extra five days, when it was expected the railways would open up again (thank god for open rail passes. =) Since we hadn''t budgeted for this we were in a bit of a dilemma. The people at the desk said it was no problem. If we did two hours chores a day, we could stay free! =) So that''s what we did.

One of my favorite things about The Backpackers is that it''s right in the middle of everywhere you want to be. It''s also in the "Old Town" so you get that whole historical feel.

So my next stay in Edinburgh will definitely be there.

Mmmm... A huge baked potato with butter, melted cheese, and vegetable chunks after running around the city in the freezing November rain. Nothing can beat that. You can get a "small" (read: HUGE) or a Large (read: SUPER HUGE) potato stuffed with a choice of about 10 different topings. Tuna, Eggsalad, vegetables, a mexican rice mix, are just a few of what I remember. You can also get home made potato salad, and a bunch of side dishes. All delicious.

The only problem I had was the smelling my dinner on the short walk back to my warm room at the hostel.

This was a very fun atmosphere to be having drinks with my closest friends. A live performer would be jamming away on his guitar taking requests and locals would be taking turns telling you all about how either Scotland is better then England or debating foreign politics. I never felt like an outsider here. We made it our favorite pub and even became friends with the bartenders.

The prices are reasonable, and the only things I would warn about before I'd recommend it is the smokey air and you can't avoid socializing with someone there.

The castle looms over the city, perched on a cliff. At night, when the castle is all lit up, it offers one of the most spectacular views of the city.

Edinburgh is a must see, a very important part of Scottish history, and not like any other castle or palace I've seen in England.

This is what we did, and I highly recomend the same for anyone: Three of us went to a tour company on the corner of Cockburn and the Royal mile called Rabbies. They offered us a ticket that gets us into both Stirling castle and Edinburgh castle for only 8 pounds, which is a very good deal. We went to E-burgh castle that day and explored throughout Edinburgh and then the next day we caught up with a bus tour (Rabbies) that took us out to Stirling, Loch Lomand, and the Trossachs for about 20 pounds. Definitely worth it, but I'll review the bus company later.

So be there, or be square.

It's a small coach that fits maybe 15 people, and a very knowledeable, friendly, tour guide that takes you wherever you signed up to go. You stop a couple times, so you're not riding in a bus for the most part (unless you go all the way up to Loch Ness), and you get a few hours to explore at each stop. This is a full day tour, but at a great price. And if you're a student you get a discount. =)
The best part is seeing a variety of Scotland, and hearing all about the history and interesting stuff along the way.

The trips we took were The Trossachs, Loch Lomand, and Stirling castle (one tour); St. Andrew's, and Fife; and the Highlands tour up to Inverness.

The Gothic Rocket is a large black tower dedicated to a famous author (I can't remember. My English teacher is going to kill me.) that started tourism in Edinburgh.

It is the ugliest memorial I've ever seen.

But has that historical, deeper meaning, beauty. =) And look! If you haven't gotten enough exercise walking up all those hills you can climb all 590 some steps to the top of the memorial. You get a certificate souvenir if you climb all those steps. I'd prefer a cookie and a pat on the back. ;)

Because it's right in the middle of Prince's street and you can't miss at least seeing it from a distance, we decided it was worth actually going up to it and inspecting it up close.