After traveling pretty much every weekend since getting here, it has been nice to give myself somewhat of a breather since getting back from Paris. I have logged quite a few hours in the library working away on a big paper for my Fiction in Edinburgh class, but in between the studying I have also had a chance to explore more of my city. I always love to be on the move - sitting still and staying in one place for an extended amount of time has never been one of my strong points. Therefore, even though I haven't been heading off on any big trips these past few weeks, I did take it upon myself to 'travel' all over Edinburgh in hopes of keeping my busy-bodied side happy.
I love nothing more than a good to-do list. So, of course, when I first got here I had to compile one for Edinburgh, just to make sure that I hadn't missed out on anything when December 18th rolls around. As much fun as being deported on the grounds of overstaying my temporary student visa sounds, I think I'll go home and enjoy Christmas with my family minus any run-ins with the British authorities. But my list definitely received some check marks recently, starting with the Edinburgh Royal Botanical Garden. My friend Katie from Melbourne, Australia and I wandered through the 70 acres of gardens (not all 70 acres though... we're not that intense), snapped pictures of Scotland's largest plant fossil, one of the 'Craigleith Trees' that lived 320 million years ago, and spent far too much time making funny quacking sounds at the ducks and feeding them crumbs from our sandwiches. We also both love to walk, so we decided to forgo the bus and head back home on foot instead, which allowed us to stop and spend the £1.20 on coffee instead of public transportation. I mean... cutting twenty minutes off your journey with a bus ride or enjoying a delicious latte? That is not even a question.
The Glass House at the Botanic Garden 
Wandering through the different gardens My first weekend of staying in Edinburgh was filled with Arcadia activities. I am pretty sure I have mentioned before how impressed I have been with my study abroad program, and this weekend was no exception. Over the summer our study abroad coordinators sent out a list of all the programs and weekend trips they would be offering throughout the semester. I signed up for a bunch and ended up getting pretty much all of my top choices. Arcadia also operates study abroad programs at the University of Glasgow, Aberdeen, and St. Andrews, so participating in their trips is a great way to meet other students and hear about their experiences at different universities around Scotland. I ended up doing two events in one day, beginning with a book club event for One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night, a mystery novel I read for one of the Arcadia book clubs I signed up for (I say 'one of' because I did in fact sign up for both book clubs... they both looked so good I couldn't help myself!!) We started off at The Writer's Museum, then took a guided literary tour of Edinburgh before getting a chance to actually meet the author of our book, Christopher Brookmyre, for lunch at a pub on the Royal Mile. After having met him it is pretty neat to stumble across one of his novels while wandering through the second hand book stores here in Edinburgh (which I do... on a daily basis).
The second event of the day was an Indian Culture Evening, complete with Ballywood dancing and superbly delicious, mouth watering, delectable, life changing Indian food from Mother India's. The Ballywood dancing... well... I am going to choose not to elaborate on that portion of the evening. We'll just say our dance class reconfirmed the fact that I have never been, and will never ever be, much of a dancer. But thankfully my parents raised me to have a good sense of humor and I ended up having quite a good time in the back row waving my arms and hopping around with my fellow awkward dancers. Honestly, the main reason I signed up for the event was for the food. Mother India has been voted the best Indian restaurant in Scotland and whoever made that decision was absolutely, 100% correct. I cannot even begin to describe how the butter chicken and chana masala simply melt in your mouth, or how the perfectly seasoned garlic naan bread soaks up the leftover sauce on your plate so well, or how you just cannot stop eating the super spicy ginger chicken partly because your taste buds will die if you do and partly because it is SO GOOD. Anyway, per usual I digress into talking about food too much. Bottom line - if you ever come to Edinburgh, GO TO MOTHER INDIA. For every meal. Breakfast included. Just break into the kitchen if the restaurant is closed. End of story.
View of Princes Street Gardens and the Scott Monument during our literary walking tourThe next day it was time to venture a little bit outside of Edinburgh, this time to the town of Linlithgow about a 20 minute ride away. Okay, prepare yourself for a confusing connection: My high school Spanish teacher's friend who she worked with after college now lives and works in Afghanistan where she has a roommate who is originally from Edinburgh. Confused yet? Basically, in a nutshell, my teacher's friend's roommate's family wanted me to bring a friend out to Linlithgow for the day so they could be the most amazing hosts and show us around the town and cook us the most delicious meals ever. That is most the important thing to know.
My friend Mairead (who is also studying abroad through the Arcadia program) and I took the train out to Linlithgow on Sunday where we were met by Linda and John Pirie and their dog Barney. Linda immediately switched into tour guide mode and made sure that we saw Linlithgow Palace, Blackness Castle, and once she learned I was a bit of a bookworm, even the Hawes Inn in South Queensferry where a scene from Robert Louis Stevenson's book Kidnapped was set. Then she drove us back to her house where she and John cooked us a delicious dinner and dessert and stuffed our pockets full of Cadbury chocolates before driving us back to the train station in a glorious food coma. After subsisting on 19 pence cans of spaghetti hoops (they're not as sketchy as they sound, I promise) and tomato soup, it was great to enjoy a home cooked meal. (I am seriously missing your cooking Mommy!!!!! And might possibly be counting down the days until you get here...)
Visiting Linlithgow Palace - where Mary Queen of Scots was born in 1542
Blackness Castle, which used to serve as the state prison. In the lower level of this portion of the castle, there was this super cozy area called 'the pit' specially reserved for the worst criminals. Basically they plopped you down there and left you to deal with the fluctuating tides and nice little sea creatures that might drift in and share the space with you. Fun, fun, fun.
I have also been spending a lot of time with one of my fellow Davidson students, Jenny Hall, the girl that I traveled to the Isle of Skye with back at the end of September. She is also an English major (and conveniently equally obsessed with all things book wormish and historical) and a very to-do list oriented person, aka the perfect partner for exploring the city. Each week we plan out at least three or four 'adventures' and places that we want to check off of our lists. The Edinburgh Zoo is one of two zoos in the world that has a daily penguin walk. Yes, you read that correctly a penguin walk. Allow me to set up the scenario for you - two overly sugared up (thanks to an ice cream stop on the way to the zoo...), perpetually childish, and Disney obsessed 20 year old girls make their way to the Edinburgh Zoo, where they are easily the only people over the age of 10 (maybe 8...) jumping up and down and using funny voices to talk to the adorable little penguins. Did we care? Um... clearly not.
Penguins!!
Yeah... a wee bit excited
The penguins are released to make their rounds and visit everyone!
Jenny and I left the zoo and headed off to our next activity - (drumroll please...) 44 SCOTLAND STREET!! Allow me to explain - after I decided to study abroad in Scotland, I decided to do some reading before coming here. I chose to begin with Alexander McCall Smith's (the author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books which you probably have heard of) 44 Scotland Street series and ended up absolutely falling in love with the series. It sometimes (more like always) ended up competing with my Davidson reading last semester. The books started out as daily installments in The Scotsman newspaper and they were so popular that he decided to publish them as novels. 44 Scotland Street, Love Over Scotland, Espresso Tales, The World According to Bertie, and The Unbearable Lightness of Scones carried me through spring semester and my summer in D.C. and made me even more excited for finally going abroad. Thanks to the series, I feel like I was able to familiarize myself with Edinburgh even before I actually arrived. Sometimes when I am wandering around now I will come across a name of a street or pub or restaurant that I recognize from the daily routines of the book's main characters. I recommended the books to Jenny over the summer and she became equally obsessed with them - therefore we made a vow to pay a visit to Scotland Street at some point during the semester.
Interestingly enough... there is no number 44 on Scotland street. It stops at 43! Just a little joke from Alexander McCall Smith I suppose. We spoke with a woman who lived farther down the street and she told us that ever since the book's publication, they have had quite a few people searching confusedly for 44. We decided to just take a picture at number 43. Close enough.
Paying a visit to the Cumberland Bar, where the character Angus Lordie and his dog Cyril spend a lot of their time
With Halloween fast approaching, Jenny and I went thrift store hunting in search of an acceptable costume that wouldn't break the bank. We ended up deciding to be sailor girls. In retrospect, I kind of wish I had opted for a big old body suit like a furry teddy bear or wildebeest or Highland Cow... anything WARM. But our dresses were cute, even if they were a little chilly.
Seeing that I have absolutely ZERO hair, make-up, or fashion fashionable Jenny was in charge of my appearance
At a Halloween party in our friend Louisa's flat, who also goes to Davidson
Jenny showing off her costume
The next day we decided to continue the Halloween spirit by paying a visit to the Edinburgh Dungeons. Now, this is probably one of the most touristy things you can do in Edinburgh. Once again, did we care? Nope. We are determined to see as much of our city as possible, so pretty much anything goes. And let me point out... this thing was SCARY!! Maybe the bravest of souls would consider pitch black dark confined spaces, random characters covered in blood and gore jumping out at you, big gusts of cold air, fake dead bodies, and a 16th century torture chamber a little hokey. We, on the other hand, did not. We found it terrifying. And certainly did not fail to express this with a healthy number of blood curdling screams. We spent most of the journey through the dungeons clutching onto one another and alternating who kept their eyes open and led us and who buried their face in the other's shoulder. Fun times, fun times.
Allow me to explain this picture - the culmination of your Edinburgh Dungeons experience involved being 'hanged' at the gallows. They plunk you in this ride, strap you in and then raise you up while the executioner reads your death sentence aloud in a booming, ominous voice. Then... they hang you!!! Eeek!!! Ahhh!!!! This part was actually fun though, seeing that I am missing out on Scarowinds this year, this would just have to do! But this was our picture from the ride... rather than paying £10 we managed to sneakily snap a mediocre quality photo of it. It was just too good to leave behind...
Jenny and I then took our Halloween adventures outside of Edinburgh and went to St. Andrews to visit Meme Summerrell, yet another Davidson student, who is studying there for the semester. (For the record, I promise I am hanging out with non-Davidson people... they are just the only ones mentioned in this particular blog I guess!) We took a train up there on Saturday morning and spent the afternoon exploring the town before dressing up in our costumes and going out yet again for Halloween.
The Cathedral ruins
Watching a football game with Meme and some of her friends from the football team at a bar in St. Andrews
Tour guide Meme showed us around the town and even took us to the dorm where Prince William lived when he attended St. Andrews
Davidson reunion
Mommy, this photo is for you
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, regarded as the "Home of Golf" since the rules of golf were first established here in 1897
Halloween party number two! I promise I was wearing my costume... it was just really, really cold.
Well those are all the adventures I have to share as of right now! This week Jenny and I are planning on either trying out falconry (yes, you read that correctly) or going on a day trip to Glasgow to see their amazing art and science museums. Quite possibly we'll just end up doing both. Then this coming weekend I am participating in another Arcadia trip, this time an overnight trip to the Firbrush Activity Center where we can choose from a bunch of outdoor activities such as hill walking, white water kayaking, orienteering, and mountain biking. I hope everyone is doing well, and thanks for reading!
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