Views of the city from both ends of the Royal Mile

No class on Fridays for this parliamentary intern-in-training, so I was free to do a little exploring. I slept in for the first time in a week and then took a jaunt on the Royal Mile,   home to Edinburgh's most historic sites.  To get there is only a five-minute walk from my apartment, and the perpindicular road from which I approached bisected the street that is, in fact, about a mile long.  I turned left on Friday, saving the right side for Saturday, and made my way past the kilt shops and numerous museums up to Edinburgh Castle. 

[caption id="attachment_96" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The Royal Mile in all its historic glory."][/caption]

Edinburgh Castle is the number one tourist destination in Scotland, and I wanted to make sure to check it off the list like any other American tourist. The seat of the Scottish monarchy when there was one years ago, it's on a hill, overlooking the rest of  Edinburgh and asserting the city's grandeur.

[caption id="attachment_99" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="I bet you can't guess what this is!"][/caption]

I paid my nine pounds entrance fee and walked up the cobblestone pathway to the main part of the castle. The castles of fairytales always seemed to be singluar structures to me, but this one was more commune than castle, with multiple buildings enclosed in its stone walls. I trapsed through a chapel, a great hall, a hokey exhibit about prisoners of war, and various other structures and museums before making my way to the room containing the crown jewels. I've seen the ones at Windsor Castle in England, and the Scottish monarchs really got the short end of the stick.  They only had a crown, a scepter, and three other items of blingy jewelry. 

But what was most impressive about the castle, I thought, was the amazing views it offered of the city below.  I could imagine Mary, Queen of Scots standing at the stone wall and thinking about her subjects below or perhaps reflecting on what it's like to become a monarch at the age of nine months. Ridiculous, right?

[caption id="attachment_100" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The Great Hall."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_102" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Castle path, with a view of the city and the North Sea."][/caption]

After I finished at the castle I hurried  my way back down the Royal Mile and to Princes Street (it was very cold). I made three important purchases: a hair straightener, a UK sim card for my cell phone, and a delicious cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows. It really is all about the beverages here! 

I wrote before that the Scottish go out every night, right? Wrong! Curiously most Edinburgh students don't really go out on the weekends. Apparently it's way more expensive to go to pubs and clubs on Friday and Saturday nights, so the weekends are chill nights. I spent my Friday night watching "The Holiday" at one of my friend's apartments and enjoying American-style chocolate chip cookies. They don't have slice and bake cookies here, so don't come to Scotland if you're a lazy baker. Joanne, my friend's roommate from England, was shocked (and I think a little repulsed) when we told her such things existed.

On Saturday my friend Alison and I set out on the Royal Mile, this time turning right toward Arthur's Seat. We passed by the parliament building and I was able to appreciate just how weird it looks in comparison to the rest of the city for the first time.

[caption id="attachment_104" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Not such a great picture of the building, but compare this to the pictures above."][/caption]

Alison and I then made our way into Hollyrood Park which Paddy said is basically a miniature Highlands in the city. He was right; although I never felt as though I were leaving Edinburgh it definitely gave me the nature fix I've been craving. We met a girl I know from USC and several international students from places like Slovakia, Lithuania, and Austria and started the ascent to Arthur's Seat. It was a much more physically challenging task than I had expected (should have worn more appropriate shoes), but man was it worth it. At some points the hike was almost vertical and when we finished the trek we had amazing 360 degree views of Edinburgh. 

My hair - and in fact my entire body - was assaulted by intense winds at the apex, but thankfully the wind also helped propel me upward as I made the difficult climb. I was legitimately worried at times that I would fall over. We stayed for a while to enjoy the incredible views and then started the descent, motivated by wishes for hot beverages.

[caption id="attachment_107" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="View of Arthur's Seat from a distance (hopefully giving you an idea of what it is!)."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_108" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Getting assaulted by the wind."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_112" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="What we made into a seat on Arthur's Seat."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_109" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="View from the top. "][/caption]

The hike down included a stop at the ruins of a chapel with  a view of a loch with real swans!

[caption id="attachment_113" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Saying hello from the chapel's door."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_115" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="My first Scottish loch!"][/caption]

Saturday night was a little more eventful than the last; I went to a nearby pub to listen to a band called Joy Terrified. Appropriate, as I was terrified by their deafening noise. I couldn't really make out much of what they were saying, but I did enjoy watching the lead singer jumping up and down about a foot away from me (we were naturally in the front row since we were such big fans). Yet despite the fact that I may have permanently lost some of my hearing, it was really fun to see a different side of the culture here. They're coming back in March, yay!

 

[caption id="attachment_117" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="My new favorite band."][/caption]

You may be suprised to learn that I actually did some school-related work today. I have to give a presentation Wednesday on law in Scotland, so I went to the library and have been reading/preparing for that for a while. I feel as though I've been here for way more than a week already, but I know I'm just beginning to experience what this country and continent have to offer. One week down, 17 to go!