MAR-GOES

I am excited to write this blog since it is about my favorite trip I took all semester. Greg and I had enough skips to basically take a whole week off and take a long trip somewhere. We thought and thought for 2 months about where to go. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the week, it just took a little bit of convincing. I wanted Scotland and England and Greg was thinking an island. As tempting as sitting on the beach sounded, it is possible to get tropical close to home (Mexico, Caribbean, etc.) Guess whose idea won. It took some planning ahead of time to get him to say yes but it worked. Before I knew it, we were really planning our trip to Edinburgh and London! Here’s a long blog so get ready and enjoy!

I have always been fascinated with London. I went last summer with my best friend Liza and fell in love with the city. I thought it might be ridiculous to go back to London since Greg and I have both been, but it is too wonderful of a place to second guess. I could go to London every month and find something new to do. I was so stoked to be back in London. As for Edinburgh… it is my father’s favorite place he’s been. I figured that has to count for something from a man who has been to places like Egypt and Israel. We chose to fly into Edinburgh, stay for 2.5 days, train to London, stay there for 2.5 days and then fly back to Prague. We knew it would be an exhausting trip but we were both very excited.

When we arrived in Edinburgh we first went to our Air Bnb. This was the best Air Bnb I stayed in through my whole trip. It was clean, beautiful, in a good location, and the owners left us a bottle of their favorite wine in the fridge. Count me in on that! We were starving so we quickly looked for food nearby. Thankfully, our Air Bnb was right by the main area. It is interesting in Edinburgh because the “main area” is a road that goes for a mile called the Royal Mile. On one end of the road is Edinburgh Castle and on the other end is Palace of Holyroodhouse, Queen Elizabeth’s Scotland home. Anyway, right on the mile was a BBQ place and that was our first stop. I had a pulled pork sandwich and a chocolate milkshake. It was yummy.

We then wasted no time and started walking the Royal Mile. This is when I absolutely fell in love with Edinburgh. Every building is made of stone and the ground was also cobblestone. It is exactly how I dreamed Scotland would look like. It felt old but beautiful. Edinburgh has a charm to it, one I didn’t exactly expect. To say the least, I was pleasantly surprised. We walked the whole mile, walking in and out of shops along the way. When I tell you there was a cashmere shop every other shop on the mile, I am not lying. That is Edinburgh’s thing, cashmere. I did not pick any up but it was fun looking at and feeling… soo soft. I did treat myself to a neat tweed purse. It is very Scottish and I love it. We really spent the day exploring that area of Edinburgh. There was also a movie being shot right on the mile at night. Greg is very into film so it was cool to see the behind the scenes making of a movie. We headed back to the Air Bnb and had a relaxing night watching the Netflix that was provided for us. (Luxurious, I know.)

The next day, we went to the New Town of Edinburgh and got a delicious breakfast. On this side of town, it was more modern. There were typical shops such as H&M, Zara, etc. We didn’t spend too much time here because the Old Town part of Edinburgh is too beautiful to not spend time in. We went to see the Edinburgh Castle. It is very beautiful. I had a lot of fun here because I was able to recreate some pictures that my dad took when he went in 1987.

After that we walked all the way back down the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Although we did not go in here, I recreated another picture of my dad’s.

Right next to the Queen’s palace is Holyrood Park. This is a famous place to walk around and hike to the top of. On the top of a long hike here, is Arthur’s Seat, the main peak of the hills. Arthur’s Seat is the highest point in Edinburgh. Being with Greg, Mr. Adventure and Outdoors… I knew I was going to make the journey to Arthur’s Seat. I said yes and was excited for some hiking and fresh air. Even though I live in a city and walk everywhere, I missed being with nature and fresh air very much. Obviously I had to get some cool pictures along the way….

We finally reached the top and I was blown away… literally and mentally. Literally because it was so windy I was actually being pushed and pulled by the wind. Kind of nerve wracking when you are at the highest point on a mountain. Mentally because Edinburgh is gorgeous from above. I did not realize that it was along the North Sea. When atop the mountain I could see the sea, the town, and all of the countryside in between. It was well worth the hike, my breath that was taken from me, and my spiked heart rate. Man, I am so out of shape. I always knew I was but all you need is a little (big…) hike to bring it to the forefront of your life. I’ll work on it when I work on it.

We hiked back down and landed in a pub for some snacks to hold us over. An elderly couple and their grown daughter sat down with us at our table. The restaurant was full and Greg and I were at a 6-person table. They asked if they could sit and we were about to leave so we said yes. (Not that we would have said no if we just sat down too.) Anyway, we said a few words back and forth with the family and before you know it, we were sitting there for over an hour with them. It was just so genuine and special to sit with complete strangers and talk about all kinds of things. They also just so happened to be the cutest people ever. We talked about Prague, America, Scotland, their family vacation planned this summer, the Grand Canyon, our studies… You know, if I had to pick one place where I could picture people being like that, I would’ve said the UK. It was just extremely refreshing. It is kind of sad that having a good conversation with strangers is refreshing, but it doesn’t happen nearly as often as it should. We eventually had to leave but I left with the biggest smile on my face. This made my heart happy. Also, my dad just texted me this: “You know I had a very similar experience as you did in a pub in Edinburgh – Friz and I stopped in for lunch and a pint – an older man joined us at the table – then a woman and her daughter (who was a barrister/lawyer) -and we ended up staying all afternoon and talking through dinner!  I think that added to the warm feeling I have about the city!”. See! It’s Edinburgh, it is a charming place. The people of Edinburgh really make it as special as it is. Everyone we interacted with, from the couple, to waiters, to cashiers, were friendly. (This was also our first trip to an English speaking country… that was awesome. And who can complain about a Scottish accent? Not me.)

I was sad to say goodbye to Edinburgh. I left with a complete bittersweet feeling. Sweet because I got to experience it, had a great time, and was headed to London. Bitter because we were leaving with no certain time of return. (Although I know I will make it a priority to go back to Edinburgh.)

We woke up early to catch a 5:00 am train to London. We are so used to early travels, nothing phases us anymore. We arrived in London around 11:00 am. We checked into our Air Bnb, also a very pleasant stay in a convenient location. We didn’t have any time to waste in London either. The first thing we did was go to the Camden Market. This place was awesome. It is an area in Camden filled with vendors selling anything you can think of. You can buy jewelry, art, clothes, wallets, and so much more inside. Outside along the water was where all of the food stands were. You can pick from literally any kind of food you could dream of. Of course I had a hard decision here… I ultimately ended up choosing handmade pasta with alfredo sauce. It was delicious. Greg got pad Thai. For dessert there we picked up an Oreo brownie with chocolate ice cream on top.

We then went to shop around a little. We walked around the Soho area. It is a very cool area filled with neat shops and restaurants. We peeped in and out of stores and found dinner. We ate at a Mexican restaurant and it was just alright unfortunately. Europe just doesn’t do Mexican as good as we or Mexico (obviously) does. We found jumbo milkshakes after… can’t even describe it so here’s a picture. It was actually absurd and we left with sore stomachs but SO worth it.

We went back to the Air Bnb because we had a big day the next day. So big that I’m saving it for it’s own blog… bum bum bum cliffhanger.

The next night, after our big day, we headed towards the tourist must-see spots. When I was in London last summer we spent a lot of time doing the must-see things so Greg and I just admired from outside. We saw Big Ben, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, and walked along the River Thames.

 

It is in this area where I had a small photo shoot… no shame.

We went and got Sushi that night. It was so good, per usual. I also got to grab some of my favorite macaroons, Ladurée (only found in NYC, Miami, and CA in America), for dessert after. We headed back for a relaxing night. We had to wake up at 6:00 am for a 9:00 am flight.

We were headed back to Prague before we knew it. This trip was perfect.

I am so grateful we were able to go on this trip. Now that I have all of my travels finished, I can officially say that it was my favorite trip. Madrid comes at a close second. I can also say that other than Prague, Edinburgh is my favorite city I’ve been to. Again with Madrid coming at a close second to that. London will always hold a special spot in my heart though.

I can also officially say that as of today, I am done with school this semester. I have ONE DAY left in Prague. Wow. I will post a follow up to this trip very soon in regards to that little cliffhanger I talked about.

I am officially a Junior in college. That is scary.

Thanks for reading. I hope you all find yourselves in Edinburgh one day, that place is a special one.

xx