Edinburgh

The train ride to Edinburgh was probably the best part of the trip! I loved seeing the countryside in England and Scotland. The train followed the coastline, so for hours I stared out the window at the ocean and the cliffs with crashing water. (People on the train thought I was nuts because I kept taking pictures...) We passed so many farms and sheep (and baby lambs SOOO adorable!) and the pastures literally are on the edge of the cliffs, so I was concerned that the sheep were going to get confused and plunge into the water. Even though I am not the biggest fan of farms and "ruffing it", I would consider living in Scotland on a farm and wear rainboots all day...maybe for a week :)

After we got to Edinburgh, I dropped all of our stuff off at the hostel and made our way to a cafe for some food. Since it was raining and gross out, Liz, Mal, and I decided to go to a 3D movie/documentary on the Loch Ness Monster (which lives in Scotland!). I liked the video and I am a true believer.

Following the movie we met up with Alyssa and her two friends Dana and Amy from UNH who are studying abroad at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. We all went to the Scottish Whisky Factory (yes, people in Scotland spell whiskey without an "e"). It was an actual ride through the factory and then we did a whisky tasting.

That night we went to Heriot-Watt University with Dana and Amy to a Beer Festival where there was over 100 different types of local Scottish beer. I had a great time there tasting different types of beer and meeting the university students.

Saturday morning I climbed for hours up to the very top of King Arthur's Seat, one of the highest points in Edinburgh. The hike up was tiring, but well worth it! At the very top (it was so high that my ears were popping) we could see for miles and miles all around. Once we began our descent, we realize that we actually took the longer and harder way to the top...but it was quite the experience!

We all went to a local pub for lunch and then walked around the square and did a lot of shopping. I really liked the cute little stores, and the people there were so friendly. Saturday night we did a pub crawl around town with some other UNH students who were with us in Scotland.

So far, Scotland is my favorite place yet- I absolutely loved it and had the best weekend there!! The giant castle on the cliff was amazing, and I saw the castle where the Harry Potter movies make Hogwarts!!