Wow. So this past weekend in Edinburgh constitutes the most fun I've had this trip in the UK. It would be ironic if the most fun I have studying abroad in London takes place in Scotland, wouldn't it?
I can't even express how much happened while I was there. Allow me to lapse back into list-form, for simplicity.
1. Edinburgh Castle: Big castle, big hill, awesome Scottish tour-guide. He was funny and told us all about the history, but I feel like he played off of Scottish stereotypes for jokes too much. It's not that I'm a very PC-advocate kinda person, but his jokes were getting a bit stale. Nice guy though. I was disappointed that the castle was mostly rebuilt; very few of the original structures still stood, which is half the fun for me. Also, did you know that the motto Poe uses for Montressor's family crest in "The Cask of Amontillado" is actually an old Scottish Motto? Check out the picture on the right...I nearly flipped when I saw it, and the tour guide explained it later on, though he seemed unaware of Poe's use of it.
2. Arthur's Seat: While I'm talking about things on big hills, let me mention Arthur's Seat, which is a huge hill/mountain right beside Edinburgh. It was pretty incredible; the views were unreal, and I love running up big hills. The safety stuff would never have flown on the US, since there was basically nothing stopping you from falling off the side, but that just added to the sense of adventure. Pictured Left: Jackson achieving zen on top of Arthur's Seat overlooking Edinburgh.
3. The Scotch Whisky Experience: I don't especially like Scotch, but after going to this museum, I have a new appreciation for the art behind it. They gave us all samples of Scotch and told us how to detect the flavor notes in them. We also got to see the worlds largest Scotch collection, which you can see me and Bennett in front of in the picture. I'm hoping that one day I'll be able to appreciate Scotch, but it's sort of dubious. It seems like much too masochistic of a pleasure for my taste. That might have been a pun.
4. Other Stuff: I'm getting kind of lazy, so here's the run-down: Bus tour of Edinburgh, danced in a beer-garden (lots of fun), Saw the Scottish Parliament (gaudy, pretentiously modern, expensive), Almost bought haggis but came to my senses, Wandered around taking in the sights, Had tons of fun. It's a nice city. That's about all.
1. Edinburgh Castle: Big castle, big hill, awesome Scottish tour-guide. He was funny and told us all about the history, but I feel like he played off of Scottish stereotypes for jokes too much. It's not that I'm a very PC-advocate kinda person, but his jokes were getting a bit stale. Nice guy though. I was disappointed that the castle was mostly rebuilt; very few of the original structures still stood, which is half the fun for me. Also, did you know that the motto Poe uses for Montressor's family crest in "The Cask of Amontillado" is actually an old Scottish Motto? Check out the picture on the right...I nearly flipped when I saw it, and the tour guide explained it later on, though he seemed unaware of Poe's use of it.
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