back[b]logged: EDINBURGH! (getting there)

{the green fields of scotland, as seen from the train}

tuesday after class, we set out.

four of us.

kiersten, andrea, preston, me.

57 pounds.

pound it for four hours of bonding in a train.

we did a little of this:

and a lot of this:

and a lot of listening to music off phones (jimmy eat world, etc.) and just having meaningful conversations.  you know, the stuff bonding-in-a-train is made of.

and then we arrrrriiiiiived!

ladies and (one) gentleman, edinburgh!

so we check into our hostel first thing (caledonian backpackers.  my first hostel experience.  LOVED IT.  i highly recommend this place.  nice people, clean, colorfully painted walls...you know the drill.  i'm a sucker for color.)

and then naturally the next thing to do when in scotland is find the nearest pub.  of course.  

the amber rose: right down the road, and you get two for one on dinners and desserts...i guess they're pulling all the stops to try to get people to buy food, not just beer.  presenting: 12 byu students who are A) hungry and B) can't drink beer in the first place!!!

 

 i ordered bangers and mash...aka: very large sausages (we all know how i feel about sausages), potatoes (we all know how i feel about potatoes...yes please idaho), and really delicious graveeeeeee:

oh and did i mention the two for one desserts?  yes please.  except for that i was kinda full-ish after my bangers and mash (one and a half of which i had preston-the-token-male eat)...which amounted to him also finishing me and andrea's chocolate cakes.  both.  this man doesn't mess.

and then this sign on the way out.  "thank you for your custom"?  "oh you're welcome."  ...i have no idea what that's supposed to mean.  my custom.  okay.  you're welcome scotland.  you. are. welcome.

and then.....

the CITY OF THE DEAD UNDERGROUND CITY TOUR.

we walked through the underground caves and caverns of edinburgh where people used to live.  it's one of the most haunted places in the world (?  don't quote me on that one.).  and this guy with his scottish accent and scary stories really freaked me out.  when we turned off all the lights down in the caverns to listen for ghosts i thought i heard breathing in my ear.  freaked me out.

then we walked the streets at night (we do a lot of that it seems) and it was romantic.  as we learned on the bonding-time-on-train, i am a sucker for romantic atmospheres.  nighttime in the city...especially if it's a humid city...romaaaantic.  in dc, my favorite moments were being out at night in the city and the humidity.  so fun to be in edinburgh with friends.

we went home to our hostel and slept for a few hours because there were adventures early in the morn.