First, I'd like to apologize for not updating my blog as frequently as I was last week. However, my short time in Scotland has been extremely busy. So let me know backtrack to explain what I've been up to for the past three days.
We left London on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. Of course, it was a beautiful sunny day and of course, we were going to spend all of it on a bus. But alas, we left, and after spending about an hour getting out of the city, we were finally on the road and heading towards Edinburgh. Things that suck about long bus rides: everything. The bus was really hot, I lost feeling in my butt after sitting for four hours straight, and it was almost impossible to sleep on the bus. I was glad that I two seats to myself so I could spread out. Still, it was a long day on the bus.
We finally arrived at our destination at 7 p.m. and most of us were cranky and tired. However, Dalkeith House is a beautiful home, surrounded by several wonderful acres of land. We checked in to our rooms, got oriented (probably unnecessarily) and then headed into the town to get some food before they stopped serving. It was a small shock that it was so light out, until I remembered that we are closer to the North Pole and thus the sun sets and rises much earlier.
Spending 9 hours on a bus will take a lot out of you, even though you aren't exerting any energy. Thus, we only last a bit more before we all returned to the rooms and passed out.
On Monday, we were up pretty early to get into Edinburgh for our class/tours. Dalkeith is located about 15 miles from Edinburgh so we have to take a bus into the city and it takes about a half hour. First mistake of the day: purchasing coffee that I couldn't bring with me on the bus. Tossing that after two sips was really upsetting.
We had our first visit of the day at the Central Library of Edinburgh and that lasted two hours. Then we had time for a quick lunch at a local pub before heading to our second visit, which was at the National Archives of Scotland. Both were awesome, but left us both tired and a bit cranky. The weather was nice, so we wandered downtown Edinburgh for a bit and purchased some gifts. Then we decided to try this famous dessert that Jenny had heard of via a friend. We entered The Albanach, and into a magical world. Melissa, Jenny, and I each ordered a separate dessert. Best.Desserts.Ever. I had Belgian Waffles and Ice Cream. Melissa had the Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake, and Jenny had the Cranachan. All were awesome in their own way and it energized us to conquer the world.....
Or instead of that, walk to the ocean! It didn't look too far from the center of town and with the dessert courage, coupled with some liquid courage from my Scottish Coffee and Melissa'a Irish Coffee, we decided to make the trek. Our second mistake of the day....
One hour, three miles, and a lot of bitching later, we finally arrived at the sea. It was totally worth it. We got to walk on the beach and look our into the Firth of Fourth. It was still a beautiful day and made up for the pain coursing through our legs. Getting back to Dalkeith was quite a trek as well, for we needed to run to the bus twice. Both times uphill. We missed the first one, but made the second one, and finally made it back to the house by 830. A long but truly rewarding first day in Edinburgh. This is all for now. I will update on my second and third days in Scotland when I find the energy write again.
- Kate
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