I am in Iceland... For the time being anyways. I am in the middle of a 4 hour layover before flying to San Francisco and eventually home.
Scotland was fantastic! I arrived to a light mist, which meant I once again was able to utilize my rain jacket. In four weeks between Iceland and Britain I was rained on three times. That has to be a record. I also had a slight head cold, possibly from three straight nights of pub crawls in Manchester.
Most of Edinburgh is in the process of getting a face lift as the world famous Fringe Festival begins next month. Buildings are wrapped in scaffolding and some alleyways are closed off. Not even this was enough to ruin Edinburgh.
I spent a total of three nights there, once again in a hostel that was located above a pub (allowing me discounts). I started by walking the Royal Mile, with Edinburgh Castle at one end and Scottish Parliament at the other with a mile of cobblestone street and historic buildings in between. At the end of the mile is Holyrood Park, a nature area of about 650 acres with a few old volcanoes in the center. The largest, known as Arthur's Seat because it is thought to be the location of King Arthur's Camelot, supplies magnificent views of Edinburgh.
By night I retired to the local pub scene and learned a few tricks. For starters, Scotland will never be short on whisky. It is near mortal sin to walk into a pub and order a shot of Jameson (ask for Jameson, neat, and it is essentially the same idea without the dirty looks). My favorite pub was Greyfriar's Bobby, not because it was so unique but because of the story behind it.
"Bobby" was a Skye Terrier that belonged to a man named John Gray, a policeman. Gray died and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard (located behind the current pub) and for the next 14 years his grave was guarded by "Bobby" until the pup finally joined his owner at the age of 16. The dog is widely celebrated and there are a collection of sticks on his tombstone.
Because my time in Britain was coming to a close I was determined to see and do all of the things left on my list. I had another full English breakfast, complete with black pudding. Feel free to click the link to read about the ingredients. I sat at The Elephant House, the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote the first two Harry Potter novels. I even enjoyed the street performers so much that I was part of a performance for about 10 minutes (yes, I have film).
Overall, this trip was exactly what I had hoped it would be. It brought new experiences, new people, new cultures, and new stories to my life. I saw things I had been longing to see for years. It was almost daily that I would smile to myself and think "look where you are right now."
It seems fitting that on my first day ever as a traveler in 2011, I met Mike Scopazzo who shared with me the truest sentence I have heard yet.
"The worst day traveling is better than the best day at home."
Greyfriars Bobby Statue outside pub
View from Edinburgh Castle
View from Calton Hill
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