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| Arthur's Seat from halfway up! |
Sunday was another beautiful, sunny day. A group of us hiked up Arthur’s seat, the
major hill in the center of Holyrood Park.
It yielded gorgeous, panoramic views of the city and we enjoyed a Tesco
picnic lunch surrounded by some seriously good scenery. We walked by the new Scottish parliament
building- one of the most unique buildings I have ever seen- before continuing
on to Carlton Hill. Another park,
Carlton Hill has lots of history and neat buildings/structures. There were great views of Arthur’s seat and
Salisbury Crag nearby and it was cool to learn about some of Edinburgh’s
prominent figures highlighted by monuments.
Sunday afternoon, I trekked 1.5 miles out of city to Leith Links which
was hosting a ‘Mela Festival’. Mela is a
celebration of international music and dance.
I was only there for about 2 hours, but was able to see a Qawali band
and a Middle Eastern orchestra. I walked
back to the city and caught a bus to Jackie and Ken’s. Ken and I cycled to Inverleith Park where we
had a terrific view of the 45 minute firework display taking place over Edinburgh
Castle. The firework show marked the
end of the Festival and a celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. There was an orchestra playing on Prince’s
Street (we heard on the radio of the group seated in front of us) and the
fireworks were terrifically in sync with the music. There were so many different colours, and a ‘waterfall
of light’ down over the castle that was quite a sight!
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| Couple on Carlton Hill |
I spent most of Monday getting settled in the apartment,
rearranging my room and buying the odds-and-ends needed to get situated. I went for a run in Holyrood Park which has a
scenic 5K loop around Arthur’s seat. We have
finally identified the wonderful (my opinion) smell that seems to permeate the
entire city…its wort from the numerous breweries! I’m beginning to associate that smell with my
new home here in Edinburgh. I saw Brave,
the new Pixar film based in Scotland, at Odeon- a nearby theatre..great
movie!
Yesterday I went back to Parliament to explore the building.
I asked if I could have a look around and was told Parliament was working and
that I could sit in their session! It was a very cool experience, a bit hostile
and argumentative, but tis the world of politics! Scottish Parliament is young-
the building just opened in 2004- and they are currently seeking the best
balance for the country of devolution/independence from the United Kingdom. In the entrance hall, they are currently
showcasing the “William Wallace Letters” exposition, so I learned a little bit
more about the Braveheart protagonist.
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| Scottish Parliament |
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| Scottish Parliament from Salisbury Crag |
Last night, we welcomed a fourth scholar, Stevie, to
Edinburgh. She has just finished 5
months on the Appalachian trail! We met at Nick’s apartment where ‘Los Cartos’
delivered some delicious Chipotle-like burritos before heading out in New Town
for some beers, ciders and newfound ‘Crabbies’- a delicious ginger beer!
After talking it over the past few days, Caitlin and I
decided to take advantage of these last couple days without classes by taking a
spontaneous bus trip around Scotland.
This morning while cybersquatting in McDonalds, we bought tickets via
Megabus to Inverness! I’ll post again upon our return J
Fun Scotland fact:
Ben and Jerrys has a whole set of flavours only available in the UK!! As
someone who made it a personal mission in the states to try all 70+ B&J
flavours, this was an exciting discovery. There was a scoop shop attached to
the Odeon theatre where I sampled “Oh My Apple Pie” and “Vermonster” two ‘British
line’ flavours. DELICIOUS J
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| View of city from Arthur's Seat |
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