Edinburgh
My plane trip over to Edinburgh was in a smaller (50 people) propeller powered plane. That was the first time I've ever flown in a plane like that and after getting used to the large blade spinning violently out my window it was a rather nice flight. I showed up in the late afternoon and got a bus from the airport to the city center. There's nothing quite like the feeling of stepping off a bus into a new country's major city, alone, having absolutely no idea where the hell you are. I knew I was on the right street but which way to go from was pretty much just a guess. I guessed right....I'm kew like that. After signing in with the hotel I ventured off to explore. So my first day was pretty much me just walking around the main street and climbing one of the highest hills in the city to get a great view. When I was on the hill I met an older gentleman and his dog and I played frisbee with the dog for like 15 minutes. I know you aren’t supposed to talk to strangers but he didn't have candy he had a dog so it was ok. The city set up is so amazing. There are pretty much two sides of the city both on hills separated by a valley which is now park type land.
The next day (Friday) I took a full day bus tour to the highlands. It was a twelve hour tour that included the chance to see a beautiful part of the country and allowed me to take a boat ride on Loch Ness. The only down fall on the day was that my camera battery died right before Nessy showed up. She and I are kew now. I gave her tree fitty. That night I went to Hard Rock to eat dinner. The food was great but eating alone was sort of depressing. But I think the fact that I was surrounded by three...ehemm THREE birthday parties all upper 20s women may have contributed.
On Saturday I took the city bus tour around Edinburgh and visited the Castle that overlooks the city. The castle was really fun and especially after my castle class was very interesting. The history of it was amazing and the sheer size of it made it really fun. There was a wedding going on there while I was there. The groom in his kilt and the bride in her dress walked down the pathway of the castle to a bagpipe. After the castle I visited the Whiskey Heritage Museum and picked up a little somethin somethin but not after taste testing a few first. Side note: Whisky stores smell very nice. That night because of the Hard Rock debacle I ate Burger King in my room to the company of the movie Maverick. It was a very nice date.
On Sunday I had planned on taking a tour to St. Andrews with the same company I went with to the Highlands and then get back in time to make my flight out which left around 9. But when I showed up to take the tour they said it was cancelled because they didn't have enough people taking it. I was pondering giving up on it but I really had my heart set on seeing St. Andrews. For the golfer impaired (Aren’t we all) St. Andrews is known as the home of golf and where the sport originated. It hosts the British Open...one of the four major tournaments each year. So it’s kind of like Mecca for a golf fan. And still to my surprise I got myself there. After consulting with a lady at the visitor information desk I decided to take my chances with the public bus system. And because it was Sunday there was no direct routes to St. Andrews. St. Andrews was a little over 2 hours away and I needed to switch buses about half way. There was a 2 min leeway between arrival and departure so I had little room for error on finding the next bus or having the bus I was on be late. If either of those would have occurred I would be left to wait an hour before the next one would show up. This was again a big deal because I had a plane to catch. When I arrived in St. Andrews I allotted myself three hours to see the city and the course before hopping back on the return bus. The city itself was great. Pretty much built around St. Andrew's University where I am told Prince William goes. I being much more of a Prince William than he will ever be (both looks and spoils) apparently scared him off because I didn't see him around and I'm pretty sure I had some paparazzi following me. In the town I saw, an I'm sure at one time, amazing chapel and a nice castle overlooking the North Sea. But my real fun started when I reached the course. I was kind of worried about how to go about it because you don't want to just walk around the course while people are playing golf especially this very high end and exclusive course. But to my amazement and utter joy the most famous of the holes, the 18th, was open to the public (at least for that day). You could walk around on the fairway...no one dared walk on the green (you just don't do that) but it wasn't marked off. The real thrill was walking over Swilcan Bridge which goes over a small creek in the fairway and is known for having the best golfers in the world walk over it to finish their rounds. After I got my kicks from walking around that whole I ventured to the club house. Also if you want to say you played on the course without going bankrupt they have a little putting course called the Himalayas that is pretty much putting on moguls. It’s really insane and pretty difficult. I borrowed a club from a kid and did one hole. After seeing the course I went and visited the Golf Museum witch was right outside the course and overlooking the "Chariots of Fire" beach. The museum was kinda nice...nothing flashy but one thing I liked learning about was the first trophy they gave out there was a belt. It looked like a wrestling belt. After I finished with the museum I decided to get a snack before I hit the bus. That snack, a delicious Belgium waffle, cost me my bus. The timeline the lady at the Info booth gave me and the timeline the busses where running at there was 10 mins different. "Ya had to have a snack, didn't ya fatty?" So I was somewhat concerned about making my flight at this point, as one more missed bus would have put me in Edinburgh for another night. Luckily I showed up at the airport with an hour to spare.
My friend Soldier with the North Sea in the background
View of Scotland from Calton Hill
Rainbow over Loch Ness my camera died right after this.....seriously
Edinburgh Castle
Me at St. Andrew's
