The adventures of Matt and Rach in Edinburgh!

I am sitting here thinking about the best words to describe Edinburgh... picturesque, stunning, friendly, a feast for the eyes! But none of those really do it justice- luckily, I have photos! These don't show nearly half the beauty of the city, but at least I can give you some visual idea of what I am about to ramble on about!

A couple of weeks ago, my house mate and good friend Matt asked me if I wanted to go to Edinburgh because he had a spare train ticket. Of course I agreed, because I have wanted to get to Scotland for a while now! So last Saturday, Matt and I popped over there for the day! (The fact that we could do this JUST FOR THE DAY still blows my mind!)

We had to get up really early. We left our flat at around 5.30am to catch a train to Newcastle, where we would board another train for Edinburgh. I didn't mind because I am a morning person...but a vanilla latte from Starbucks (my latest addiction, it seems) definitely helped me along!

The train ride was only about two hours. When we got off at the Edinburgh central station we walked out side and straight away were in awe of the city around us. The above photo is pretty much the first photo I took, just meters from the station!

I don't know how many times I said 'HOW COOL IS THIS!?' and I am sure Matt was sick of hearing it, but the scenery was honestly breathtaking! The buildings are so old and the whole city is built over a hilly landscape, giving the impression that all the buildings are piled on top of each other. There are so many contrasting layers to the landscape- gorgeous parks full of trees and green grass, old churches, rickety streets, castles- all in the one glance!

One of my favourite photos of the day

Something that Matt was probably used to (being from Chicago) that I could not get over, was the beautiful Autumn trees! I have obviously seen Autumn before, but not like this. The grass in Edinburgh is so GREEN and perfect- it is like green carpet. The yellow leaves from the trees had started to fall and they looked so beautiful sprinkled all over the perfectly green grass. In Australia, I guess I am used to yellow grass and a few browned gum leaves scattered over the ground (which also has it's own beauty), so I was really amazed by the trees for my entire day in Edinburgh. I'm sure Matt was probably sick of hearing 'Oh my god, look at that tree! Matt, can you see the tree!? Isn't it pretty?!! Matt?'

Haha!

The first thing we did was go to Edinburgh Castle, which is a definite 'must' for anyone going to Edinburgh.

Matt and I agree that it is by far the coolest castle either of us have ever seen. The old bricks and pathways have been really well preserved, and you almost feel like you have gone back in time when you walk around the castle walls. Plus, they have heaps of old cannons!

Matt was thoroughly impressed by the cannons

I was thoroughly impressed by the morning Whisky tastings

After the castle and some Whisky tasting, we went for a wander through the streets. As usual, this was my favourite part about the day. Having no real agenda and just having a stroll is, in my opinion, the best way to experience a city.

I had to take a photo of this. My immaturity got the best of me when I saw what
someone had done to this poor statue. 

You couldn't walk far without hearing the music from one of these guys. By the end of the day Matt and I wondered if they knew more than just the one song that always seems to be played on the bag pipes....

We watched a street performance for a little while.
Always a laugh

Next was LUNCH! We found a pub that seemed 'scottish' enough, and first of all ordered a whisky and a beer. My whisky was absolutely foul and I am a little ashamed to admit that I didn't finish it! My Scottish beer, on the other hand, was a delight!

I had a beef and dumpling stew and Matt ordered Haggis! I was very proud of him for being so adventurous... I love trying new things but I couldn't bring myself to order that. I did try a little bit of his and it was not bad at all. Plus, he said he enjoyed it!

Matt and I, having a Scottish beer!

After lunch, I wanted to go on the Close Tour, which is a tour of the underground streets of Edinburgh. But it was all booked out, unfortunately, so we went for another wander through the streets. We ended up finding a giant hill (which we later found out was probably the famous volcano that Edinburgh is built around).

Matt had never climbed a mountain before, because there are no mountains or hills in Chicago (or so he has told me!) So we had to climb the one in Edinburgh...

I don't think we realised just how high it was. My legs are still sore from it and I am writing this post four days later!

But it was well worth it! The view was... well I can't even describe it! I have climbed a few hills/mountains on my travels, but this one had the best city view! As much as I do love Adelaide, this view sure beats the one from Mt Lofty on a Saturday morning! (Sorry, only my Adelaide readers will get that reference!)

I like this photo. And I like that I got to be with Matt on his first mountain-climbing experience!

This is another of my favourite photos from the day! This little dog was so excited to be up
on the mountain! He made climbing it look so damn easy, too....

After enjoying the view (and a sneaky swig of whisky at the top of the mountain!) we walked down and headed back towards the city. On the way, we saw a nice duck pond full of white swans...as if Edinburgh wasn't pretty enough!? I was starting to think the city was just showing off at this point...

That was my day in Edinburgh! We left at about 7:00pm...so it was a very long day and I fell asleep on the train home (Matt experienced first hand my extreme sleeping skills!)
Edinburgh is one place that I really REALLY wish I had more money to go back and see again. But I guess I will just have to put it on the future-travels list (I swear that list is never ending!)
I am also really glad I got to spend the day with Matt. This trip has taught me how valuable it is to find people you really 'click' with and feel comfortable enough to just hang out with. Matt is definitely one of those people! I am very grateful that I got to see Edinburgh with such a cool person, and that even in many years to come I will remember our day in that amazing city!