One Royal Circus Edinburgh

... without it but I guess a lot of people will have lots of memories of their time there.
I had thought of going to Raith Rovers game but changed my mind the day before traveling - good job I did - the Raith match was cancelled!

Anyway - enjoyed the game. Ended 2-0 to Alloa who now move into the promotion contention in Scottish League two.

FINALLY, a real trip!

So randomly decided on Friday to accompany my friends on their Edinburgh day trip. Not for anything touristy, just to check out the place. Heard it was gorgeous, so why not?

After crawling out of bed at 5.30am, we got to the bus terminal for 7 and hopped onto the Megabus down to Edinburgh. Nice, quiet ride, nice little nap.. until they tell us that we have to change in Dundee. Ugh.

Out ...

Today, I was planning to go to the youth hostel at the castle, but the Land Rover had other plans!!!

Oh dear, game over! I popped out to start the Land Rover this morning at around 9am and the engine was smoking like a trooper and sounding a lot worse than it normally does. I called the AA at around 10:00 and they turned up at at around 10:45 from a local garage. He told me that the engine is fairly terminal (piston problem ...

... compound where they conduct top secret research on such important issues as traveler weariness, which oversized carry-on bag can be squashed down enough to fit in the overhead bins, and how airlines can pinch every last euro from unsuspecting passengers. In reality, “area 14” is the check-in for Aer Lingus flights to the UK, Italy, and Germany. I had no trouble finding it since there were signs posted at the terminal entrance (yay!) and I had the good sense to ...

... driving us across the local housing estate (and telling us we probably should walk through there on our own) the taxi driver drops us at our inn, which is lovely and has an honor bar (which we'll be visiting shortly). We freshen up, then grab a glass of Tennents (brewed in Glasgow, essentially by Anheuser-Busch ) downstairs while we read brochures and examine maps. There are 2 bus lines that pass directly in front of our ...

... The tough walk was well rewarded. We eventually reached a point where the ground flattened out and there were no railings beside the drop of the cliff, so you felt completely out in the wilderness. The sense of freedom was one of the most liberating i've had on this trip. Continuing around the hill, we took the more gentle 5 mile incline back down - halfway back being astounded by the sight of a small ruin. Going up to explore, we found it was St Anthony's Chapel - only a facade ...

... town. Grabbed a quick, cheap breakfast at the golden arches and headed into town to see the castle! It was the first castle I think I've been in, and took a while to walk around. The views were spectacular, and you could see the city for miles in many different directions. They had replica cannons in place where the real defenses used to be, and every now and then I'd come across an archer's hole where I could poke my head in front of and see what it must've been like looking out at ...

... bag pipers we would see that day. The West Princes Street Gardens were in full bloom, and even though the weather was a little overcast in the morning, it was a beautiful and enjoyable walk. You could see the castle in the background of all the trees and flowers as the walkway winding through statues and ponds...pretty picturesque if I must say so myself :) We wanted to get up close and personal with the castle and Sarah claimed that ...

... well. As I mentioned last time? we were having some crazy 80's/going away party for our bartender on Monday. The party has come and gone now, and haha I scored Mon/Tues. off work this week so it was a good time. Lots of crazy scary costumes and even scarier music. Lots of good pics too!! Alas, the 80's - the decade to forget in my opinion. Aside from Bon Jovi, Starship, Alanah Miles, Cyndi Lauper, and maybe one or two other rock bands but whatever. I kind of got dressed up ...

... on the SARS situation) I found the bus from the airport into the city center, which turned out to be really quick and easy. I've been wandering around the city in amazement ever since. There's not a building to be seen that doesn't look at least a couple hundred years old, and to top it off there's the giant Edinburgh Castle perched on a stone cliff right across from my hostel. My first impressions of the ...