As much as I might have a case of the blues, there's no denying that it is incredibly beautiful here. The landscape is rugged, and definitely reminds me of parts of New Zealand, but the buildings are nothing like I've ever seen before.
The first 'made-me-gape-out-the-window' sight was, strangely enough, Durham. I didn't manage to grab any pictures as I was crammed into the aisle seat, but I'll definitely say that it's worth a google image search. After Durham we passed Berwick-upon-Tweed, and that was also a sight to behold. But Edinburgh. Edinburgh is something else.
I wasn't ever expecting clear weather in Edinburgh in the middle of winter, but I was amazed that it was 10℃ when I got here (as opposed to 1℃ in Osmotherley, the last place I'd been before getting on the train). And in all honestly, the overcast sky when I got to Edinburgh made the skyline all the more impressive.
Yesterday was definitely the most obnoxious I've been as a tourist since I've been here, but in my defense, have you ever seen Christmas markets as pretty as these?
(If you have I don’t want to hear about it. No one likes a
braggart).
I spent the afternoon wandering through the gardens and up
and down the Royal Mile. That was followed by a vain attempt at napping in my
dorm room, but when you’re surrounded by rowdy Australians (and boy, were they
everywhere), attempting sleep is futile. So instead I went in search of wifi,
and spent a tearful hour messaging home while yet another group of Australians
played Kings Cup next to me (it’s amazing how major holidays and events can
make you feel the distance that much more).
Thankfully, nearing eight o’clock I had actual plans to
distract myself with. Having long since abandoned my plan of going to the
street party (I might have paid twenty quid for a ticket but I was not prepared
to wait three hours in line just to collect it), I’d also been invited to
‘Helen’s Hogmanay Hoolie, a private party hosted by my friend Jim’s aunt, and
held at The Hub, an old converted church that serves as Edinburgh’s festival
hub on the Royal Mile.
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The end of the line to collect street party tickets... |
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...which continued all the way up and around that church tower in the distance |
Being piped into a church was enough to make me giddy (and
no I don’t mean physically squeezed in, I mean there was a guy in full regalia
at the door who played his bagpipes while guests entered), and by the time we
got inside and received our glass of champagne, I was practically shaking with
excitement. The band was good, the company fantastic, and by the time the
buffet opened, I was even game to try some haggis! (What’s even weirder is – I
actually enjoyed it!)
The rest of the night was a whirl of ceilidh dances,
fireworks and Drambuie, the latter two going together beautifully as we stood
under Edinburgh castle to take them in. Following the celebrations it was home to bed for me, as jet
lag was working its magic, and I was fearful of falling asleep on the street.
Unfortunately, an easy sleep was not in the cards for me, as the first thing I
saw upon opening the door to my room, was a penis, glaringly obvious in the
light from the open doorway. “Well” I hear you saying, “some people enjoy
sleeping naked.” And I concur. Some people do. But usually, in an all girl
dorm, a penis is not what you’d expect to see if that was the case.
It became quickly apparent, while I searched desperately for
my earplugs, that my suspicions were correct, and someone had brought company
back to the room. And whether it was because they were absolutely trashed, or
because they were Australian, they didn’t seem worried about being quiet (oh
bite me all you Aussies, you know you’re bloody loud). Happy New Year to me.
The interruptions continued well through the night, with
people trickling in until 5am (Obviously this meant that I was justified in
sleeping until 2pm the next day). Even when I did venture out, the weather was
not on my side, and all my walkabout achieved was landing me in a pub where I
paid more money than I want to think about for a delicious burger and beer
combo (pricey but worth it).
Then, once again, it was home to bed, or at least home to
wifi, to plan out my next few days in Edinburgh, and my next few weeks beyond.
I still managed to be tucked up in my bunk by 9pm though, and had probably the
most continuous, restful sleep I’ve had since arriving (thank god for
earplugs).
So now I’m contemplating breakfast and planning out the days
activities, before another surely early bedtime this evening. I am planning on
a haunted underground tour though, so who knows if I’ll even make it back at
all…
Great photos! They look positively magical. And you were so lucky with the weather! Glad you took photos of the line for tickets - it's hard to imagine so many people in little ol' New Plymouth.
ReplyDeleteI love reading every word of this Bri! I miss our random coffee dates/D&Ms but I can see you are having an amazing time!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love you xx
ReplyDeleteAwesome... Cant wait for the next instalment. Keep Planning and exporing x
ReplyDeleteWhat a great read! I'm loving it.
ReplyDelete