Scotland: Where Everyone Is Adorable And Fortunately Not Mel Gibson.

"They may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom!!" - William Wallace/ Mel Gibson. 


  I'm not entirely sure that Willy Wally ever actually spoke those words but they were pretty much the only thing I could think of while walking the beautiful streets of Edinburgh, Scotland this past weekend. 

  Scotland really is one of the most lush, green places I've seen thus far. Although I didn't get a chance to leave the city, from the top of Edinburgh Castle I could see rolling hills just outside the city limits and little lambs frolicking all over the place! Thinking that the weather would be warm (ish) with a chance of rain, I brought my raincoat and leather jacket...big mistake. It only rained for about 10 minutes...wait, not rain... it basically monster hailed/snowed/rained and then POOF- the sun was back out. Needless to say I was freezing the entire trip but hey, at least I got some lovely pictures!

Castle with a view.

   We walked around the streets for a while before our faces went numb and we took refuge in a small cafe where everything on the menu was salmon, ham, haggis, or eggs. I opted for soup. We took a walk down the Royal Mile, a strip of the city with cool buildings and churches and pubs on pubs on pubs. Which leads me to the real event of the trip... the Edinburgh Pub Crawl. Picture it...74 college-age kids (and some 30 year old Spaniards) stumbling messily walking along the streets, gripping free drink tickets and being ushered out of the road and onto sidewalks as the night goes on. Essentially the night consisted of jaeger trains, dancing, live music, and sleepy cab rides home. My friends and I made a lot of new friends, lots of Australians who love Summer Heights High as much as I do and love "rangas" as much as I love myself- life long kinds of friends. 

Super casual. 

   After a long, cold day and a very interesting night, we ventured back to our hostel where I quickly realized I was a hotel kind of girl. I don't do public/mold-infested-worse-than-an-innercity-YMCA bathrooms. I just don't. Not a fan of vomit/meat smelling bedding either. But it's all cool beans. It WAS an experience...that I will avoid from here on out. Our friends got a room at the Hilton around the corner, so...that's totally fair- no really though, they were kind enough to offer us a non moldy shower.

Dawson understands my pain from staying in that hostel. 

  The train ride back to London felt like a million years but I did manage to read 2 full books on my Kindle (THANKS MOM AND DAD) and I took a quick cat nap before we pulled into Kings Cross (HEY HEY HEY HARRY POTTER SITES) and got on the tube back to our lovely Gloucester Road Station in Kensington. 


   The Motherland was wonderful, but I was glad to be back in London and be able to rest after a long trip home. So excited to be seeing more places in the UK!! I'm headed to Norwich, England in two weeks to see my favorite Canadian, A. Davis, and see her kick butt at rugby and spend some much needed friend time because I haven't seen this bitch since August. 


Toodles! 


Margarita