One and One Hundred (and Scotland!)

Well, everyone, this blog is one year old today! Happy Birthday, blog! And, by random coincidence, I believe this is also the 100th post I've written here. Now, normally I'd take a moment reflect fondly on the passage of time, how much has changed since last June, everything I've learned about history and myself, how happy I am with life right now etc., except that I'm in Scotland. And frankly, that's probably far more interesting than anything else I would say about this past year (on my blog, anyway. *innocent smile*).

I arrived in Edinburgh yesterday. It was, predictably, cloudy and cold when we landed and I immediately wished I had brought a warmer jacket. Our room wasn't ready at the hotel, so we wandered up Princes Street for a bit. I got a Hot Chocolate Milano from Caffe Nero (oh, how I've missed those!) and I saw some lovely stores that I've really missed, such as Barrett's Shoes, Boots Pharmacy, and Debenhams (which carries Jane Norman, one of my favorite stores in Bath!). It remained cloudy. The wind picked up. Luckily, our room was soon ready and as we walked back towards the hotel the sun began to peek through the clouds. By dinnertime, the sun shone broadly and the walk to Rose Street for dinner was actually quite nice. We ate at a pub called Dirty Dick's, est. 1859. Fantastic food (I had a Steak and Ale Pie and Sticky Toffee Pudding) and a really hilarious waiter. After dinner I pretty much crashed into bed, but not before noticing that it was still light out at 9:30 at night.

And still light at 4:00 AM. Yes, that's when I woke up for a good hour and a half. Talked to Zan online, browsed Facebook, prayed for sleep, and finally it came! I actually got up a little before 9:00, and then we were off onto the Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour. Today we spent most of our time at Edinburgh Castle. BEAUTIFUL. I got to see Mary, Queen of Scot's bedchamber, the room in which James VI/I was born, the Crown Jewels of Scotland, the Stone of Destiny, and (the most romantic part!) a traditional Scottish wedding in Saint Margaret's Chapel. The Chapel itself was built in roughly 1150 and is not much bigger than a good-sized walk-in closet, but crowded inside we could see bridesmaids and friends, and outside a bagpiper played. Then from around a medieval gate appeared an old-fashioned Rolls Royce and inside sat the bride and her father! The bagpiper and bridesmaids came down the path to greet the bride, then in procession they walked up to the chapel. The whole thing was absolutely gorgeous, and at the end they fired a cannon.

My mom and I spent the rest of the afternoon touring around the city. We saw, among other things, the Scottish Parliament (an odd, African-themed building), the Royal Mile, the filming of a Bollywood movie, a man dressed as William Wallace just chilling on the street, the outside of museum called Dynamic Earth which advertises a 3-D video narrated by David Tennent, and Holyrood Palace, where the Queen resides on her visits of state. Tomorrow we plan to go back to a few places for a more in depth look, plus perhaps we will visit a Scotch Whisky tasting place, Mary King's Close, and (if we're lucky!) take a ghost tour. There's also this graveyard with a touching story about a dog who sat by his master's grave everyday for 14 years before he himself died; the city has erected a statue to the dog, and the cemetery has a shop called "The Creepy Wee Shop in the Cemetery," so we might go there tomorrow also.

I've decided I quite like Scotland. I knew I loved the Highlands, but due to the rain and cold and jetlag yesterday I felt a bit dubious about Edinburgh. But after today I feel quite certain that I will love this place, too. Mostly it just feels really, really nice to be back in Britain after so long away. :)

Heading out to dinner now! Three cheers for pub grub!

EDIT: Ended up at eating at Pizza Express. Bliss! Also, it's 10:45 at night and still not completely dark outside.

(Pictures to come!)