Arthur's Seat, Library, Blackwells, Royal Botanic Garden, Royal Oak (Thur, 19): norsebre

norsebre

Arthur's Seat, Library, Blackwells, Royal Botanic Garden, Royal Oak (Thur, 19)

Jun 19, 2008 20:53

After all that sleeping, I still took the opportunity to wake up at 6:50.   I guess I'm programmed to wake up early no matter what the time zone is. The other reason is that I feel like I'll miss something if I sleep in or whatnot.  Thus, I was awake before everyone else, except Ron Cella since he gets to breakfast about the same time. Since we didn't have to meet as a group, then I thought I'd take the opportunity to trek up a bit of Arthur's Seat. Arthur's Seat is a really big hill just behind the Pollock Halls where one can see all of Edinburgh. It's been a pretty day for it and I'm really glad too, even though it was windier on the way back down. I stole a flower on the way back down, but I'm not sure what to do with it quite yet.   Yes, I could press it in a book I suppose, but I don't think this is the right kind of flower for that. I'll figure something out eventually I'm sure.

After everyone gather around 10:15 in Reception, we all went on to the bus stop for #33 to the city center.  This morning was also the first time I had been to the top of the double-decker bus, or at least on this trip I think. So I took a few pictures from that upper view and also of Heather and I in the mirror. We got off at a bus stop for what I think was one stop or two too early, but who knows. We all then walked into the National Library of Scotland, dropped our backpacks off in a coat rack area, and then led off to a wee room for a book showing and lecture.   Like I said before, I'm not one on literature books and all the books the curator brough out were forms of literature. For example, no offense to AnnHamilton, but I don't get giddy and excited when I see the first book printed and signed. I more than anything enjoyed watching my classmates reactions when they looked through some of the books.

Walking down the street to Blackwells bookstore since I've been told to at least go into a book store for the experience. Well, I didn't see it very much different, except the lady at the front went out of her way to help me. I ended up getting a thin book on Scottish history and a cd of Eddie Reader, a local singer who has a cd of Robert Burns' poems (also the same cd that my teacher has).   Everything was organized and clean, and I just wanted to buy all the books!

Outside of Blackwells, I pull out my Edinburgh pocket map to see where I was going to next. So I instantly decided on going to the Royal Botanic Gardens. There were a couple gentlemen wearing shirts with University of Edinburgh emblems on them and looked to be maintentance. They helped me to get on the right bus, which is #8. The #8 bus goes through the city center and to the other side of town where the gardens are. When we got to Canonmills lane, I looked at my map again. Someone asked if I was lost and I said, "no, I just want to make for sure I get to the gardens. This particular gentleman what bus stop to get off at and where to go from that stop. I still am amazed of how many people have been overly polite and have gone out of their way to help me or one my classmates. Anyway, I ignored paying the fee for a tour considering it's a garden for crying out loud, but buying a map and guide would've helped, but I didn't have 50 pence on me. Apparently, the gardens is quite large and I went down many of the paths that were off the main one. I took my time and it took me at least a couple hours to go through the whole thing. The whole place is very peaceful and is the kind of place I would go to in order to read a book or just to relax. I took lots of pictures and even recorded the sound of the wind and birds on my recorder.

Bus #8 drops me off back where I started. The pub "Royal Oak" is across from Blackwells and I've been told they have music there on some nights, so I check it out. Checking it out turned into a long discussion with an old man named "Callum." He had a clear accent from the west (maybe close to "pure english") and we talked about everything Scotland, so it was very lovely of a conversation. I recorded that on my recorded as well. He was eating Mac n' Cheese and it was making me very hungry, so I decided to try Stovies. It has a mashed potato base with carrots, onions, and stewed beef. It's very good and should learn how to make it or teach mom how to make it when I get back home! It's definitely a homemade dish that I would recommend to anyone. Before I know it, I'm a conversation with 2 or 3 people and drinking a pint of Guinness, which lasted about 3 hours since I'm not a beer drinker. I finally got a Bailey's instead, which was much better. An English chap and his daughter came in and we had lots to talk about, and he ordered 4 glasses of Bushmill's whisky (irish). It's apparently much smoother than Jack Daniels or Jim Beam, but I'm just not fond of drinking whisky by itself. For those of you wondering, no, I did not get drunk. These drinks that were had were in a matter of hours and not all at once. Finally, a couple musicians showed up and played traditional folk songs on guitar. So I recorded about 20 minutes on my camcorded, took pictures with the Powershot until the battery was dead, and also recorded about 12 minutes on the voice recorder. All of those should make for some interesting multimedia presentations.

The #33 bus brought me back to Dalkeith Rd. in front of the dorms and here I am updating my blog. I'm getting to bed! G'night!

Pictures! -

Arthur's Seat (A BIG hill next to my dorms where you can all or most of Edinburgh from)
)

Some pretty steps on my way up the hill -

I didn't go all the way up, but here's a view of the path I took and a partial view of the city (the castle is that dark medieval looking thing to the right) -