Edinburgh

When I got back from my lovely family vacation in Spain and Portugal, I took a couple days of rest in London and then head to Edinburgh with Caroline and Emma!

Birthday-I'm old now. 

We we finally arrived in Scotland, after the most crowded 5 hour train ride ever, it was so crowded in the city because of the festivities. Scotland is so picturesque and looks like a town out of a Charles Dickens novel (or the magical world of Harry Potter). After meeting up with Emma, who was unfortunately battling the flu, we walked around and went out for a lovely dinner in celebration of my birthday. I had delicious curry and a brilliant gin, mint, berry spirit!

Candle Light Walk (one of the many activities) 

Edinburgh 

Harry Potter Toilet 

Edinburgh celebrates the bringing in of the new year with 4 days of celebration. When we arrived people were participating in the candle light walk (which we thought were people carrying fake swords). The next day was new years eve day and we lounged around, did some sight seeing and visited the coffee shop where JK Rowling wrote the majority of the Harry Potter novels! They even had a decorative toilet and writing all over the bathroom walls. Caroline and I even ventured to a movie, Burlesque, which was not a good movie at all. But Cher was fun? Emma's roommate, Molly, threw a new years party in the dorm, inviting a bunch of her MBA friends and we had such a great time! At 10:15 we ventured to the street party (which was 2 min away) and there were a bunch of stages, people everywhere and overall merriment. The man performing on the stage closest to us, at one point was singing, "I want to be like you" from the Jungle Book. It was so much fun and festive. Soon it was countdown to NYE and than amazing fireworks and sining ensued. New Years was fantastic!

We also went on an underground tour of the underground city in Scotland, which was pretty cool. The streets use to be lower and so they have to put streets over portions of the old city, which created an underground city. During the tour the plague was mentioned a lot and thank goodness we don't have that anymore.

Underground city, haunted room

There was one interesting story (and the photo below I was not suppose to take a photo of, owned by the government?) But this is the haunted room in the city beneath the city. A little girl was locked in this room to die on her own from the black plague. She was very unhappy, until a ghost hunter came to "feel for supernatural beings" and discovered the little girl and the little girls sadness. The ghost hunter decided that all the little wanted was a doll, so the ghost hunter went and bought the little girl and barbie dressed in a kilt (no joke) and the little girl was happy! So now people bring her toys...It was an interesting story and terrible to. During the time of the plague parents needed to decide if they should lock up their infected children in their room to die alone, or have them affect the entire family. Unfortunately there was not a good solution so most children died on their own. 

NYE hello 2011

Anyway, Edinburgh was great and I cannot wait to return when its warmer!