Edinburgh Living

Whelp, sorry mom and dad but I'm staying here in Edinburgh. This is definitely my favorite city so far. There's a castle, bookshops on every corner, everyone is welcoming, you can walk to any part of the city, there's good whisky, AND Scottish accents. Ladies, you know what I'm talking about. I mean, what else could you need? There's amazing food (not like Paris but still delicious), beautiful craigs to climb close by, and the museums are all free. I have had a wonderful time here in just three short days so far, and I wish I had a million more. 

Before I go any further, you must know how to say the name 'edinburgh.' It's not like Pittsburgh. It's much more refined. First, open your mouth just a tiny bit. Like you've just walked up a flight of stairs and have to breathe harder but don't want everyone to know you are breathing hard. Perfect. Now say "ednburra" without opening up your mouth any more. Roll the Rs a bit. Now you sound just like a local! Well kinda... I can't understand half the things the locals are saying. Ever watch the movie 'Hot Fuzz'? If you haven't, go watch it now, it's hilarious. The guy that has all the unregistered guns and old sea mine? They talk like that. It's real!! And hardly anyone wears a kilt in the city. Just so you know.

But seriously, this city is gorgeous. It still feels kinda old. Not like London where you're reminded of the WWII era all the time, but back in the sixteenth century old feeling. It was the first planned city after all. 

To be honest, I think I have spent the most money here... Which is a bit embarrassing but there's so much to do!! Obviously, the museums are free but I had budgeted them out for today. More on that later... You have to pay to enter the castle and boy was it worth it! Beautiful views of the city and lots of little museums inside. They even had a prison of war from the revolutionary war. Complete with recordings of hilarious American accents saying ridiculous things like, "I'm not a pirate! Where's my eyepatch then?" And rousing speeches along the lines of "how long until we can break out of here to burn the redcoats?" You get the idea. The national military museum had the most extensive collection of war memorabilia I've very seen. And the great hall was the hull of a boat!

They have the daily firing of the one o'clock gun, to mark the time for the ships in the bay.

Why one o'clock you ask? Why not noon like any other rational marker of time? Great question! Math is the answer. Twelve shots fired costs more than one and it gets the same job done.

Blah blah blah, great historical significance, Ally... But where's the fun stuff?

Look no further! I had an amazing in time in none other than the Scottish Whisky Experience!!

It's this awesome little building next to the castle on the Royal Mile where (no joke) you ride a barrel through the distillery process and then get to sample a bunch of whiskys. I even got a membership of their special club and a free whisky glass! Some pictures from this extraordinary afternoon:

They have the largest whisky collection in the world. It was floor to ceiling, about as big as a NYC apartment, rows upon rows of only Scottish whisky. Fun fact: even after sealing the bottles, a certain percentage of it is "lost" depending on what's in it. The reasons behind this evaporation isn't really known since it varies even between bottles from the same barrel. So the Scotts decided it was supernatural and call it the Angels' Share.

I also took a couple tours. One get-your-bearings one and another dark side tour. Both guides were amazing, I highly recommend the Sandemans company when you're in Europe. But guess who we found while squelching through graveyards? (in order so scare us apparently) None other than the Dark Lord himself.

Apparently JK Rowling used this cemetery outside of the cafe where she wrote the books to draw naming ideas. There's also a McGonagall and Moody in the same area. The school through the gates gave her the idea for Hogwarts; it's four towers for the four houses. True fact!

I wish I had ages more time in this city. Alas, I fly out to Dublin tomorrow morning. Just in time for the USA V Germany game! But today has been spent resting. This morning I was raring to go to all the museums; I got to the library and the national one, but three hours into my day a cold hit me like a train. So I drifted back to my hostel and have been catching up on netflix (OITNB mentioned Outlander! One of my favorite books!!) and eating soup. Whisky helps too, I'm told. Normally I would just push through but Friday begins an amazing week with miss 'even-tempered and nice' so I don't want to be under the weather when Mandy and I are galavanting through Irish pubs or watching Henley. Even though that nickname is in quotes, please don't interpret it as sarcasm, she really is a wonderful person and very nice. 

There's Edinburgh! I hope to come back one day very soon and stay much longer. I have some heritage here so it shouldn't be difficult to persuade my ancestry-obsessed relatives to accompany me, maybe next year? 

Have a great Wednesday!