There are certain moments in your life you will remember forever. Graduations, birthdays, weddings, Christmases – and of course events unique and special for each person – certain moments that define you, but more importantly remind you of your purpose. This weekend I had one of those moments - a moment I will always remember - as I looked down over the city of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Thursday evening, we went to sleep preparing ourselves for an early morning and a long weekend ahead. Just five hours after finally falling to sleep, my alarm clock began to sound. I woke up, did my last minute packing and headed out into the dark morning, at least an hour before the sun even began to crack through the night. The tube closes at 12:30am and so we figured we would catch a bus to Kings Cross Station where our group was meeting (we booked the tour through a tour group that Katie actually interns with called International Friends) to catch our 6:15am train. The problem was, while planning our bus journey, we saw that there was a good chance the buses were planning a strike for the weekend – great timing right? So instead, I called Rob (who has assumed the role of boss AND London caretaker) and he graciously booked a cab for us (since I had no idea who to call for a reasonable rate). So we rode in style to the station, got some coffee and breakfast and waited for our train to arrive on the platform.
Katie, Andrea, Josh, Ashley, Kelsey and I made up the Elon group – and the six of us were joined by about 25 other tourists from across the world – Australia, India, South Africa, Taiwan to name a few – led by an International Friends tour guide named Tom. We all boarded the train excitedly and settled into our seats about to embark on a five-hour train ride to Edinburgh, Scotland.
On the train – bustling with the chatter of many different languages – Andrea and I watched Sex and the City on Kelsey’s computer, while the rest of the Eloners who went out the night before slept. I fell asleep for a little while, but anticipation kept my eyes peeled on the train windows as I watched lush rolling hills of green speed past me like a high-def imax movie on fast forward, but with the wonder of knowing it was actually real. At night, they say you should count sheep to fall asleep – but I was much too busy admiring all the sheep grazing the rural landscape to close my eyes. Not to mention, I am not really a delicate flower when sleeping, let alone sleeping upright on a rain – my mouth hangs open, I drool – it’s not pretty, so it was probably for the best.
We finally arrived in Edinburgh station and the entire group trailed out of the train and onto a coach bus where we got our first glimpse of the city. We were then greeted by our kilt-adorned tour guide – couldn’t even tell you his name – who took us on a two hour bus tour of the city – directly after coming off the train. At this point it was about 11:30am, and we were up at 4am, so we were hungry and not in the mood to be cooped up on a bus – sitting – like we had for the past five hours. Needless to say, this is why my tiredness kicked in. There was certainly much to see, but unfortunately it was a windy and rainy day – the sky was gray and lifeless. But through the haze it was clear that Edinburgh is an architectural beauty. We drove around historical monuments, and saw the cobblestone roads, unique shops, and classic pubs that lined the streets. The city line was adorned with tall steeples of churches, unique buildings, and of course the main feature – the amazing Edinburgh Castle, which stood paramount on a hill above the city at the end of the main road - The Royal Mile.
I have to admit, the beauty of it all was a bit over- shadowed by the gloomy weather, and even further tarnished by our lackluster tour guide. His voice was low, melodic, and hardly captivating, and he had no passion for what is esteemed as a charming and worthwhile city. He was an old man – so I get that energy runs low – but just like taking an ambien sleeping pill, he lulled me into a sleep coma. I was out like a light, no sheep required– and so was everyone else on the bus. As hard as I tried, I could not keep my eyes open. We made only one stop, where we got out at the palace where the Queen resides one week out of the year. It was actually really funny because our guide was a man of few transition words – he would merely pick up his bag pipe and play to move us along – which was….unique. He led us to the tall black gates by playing, and he continued to play for about three minutes even after we were stopped. Even more hilarious, you would have thought he was Britney Spears the way the Tai’s (the name Tom gave them because he referred to them as a group the whole time…) surrounded him snapping photos and giggling. He then went on for twenty minutes, as we stood in the rain telling us boring and pointless anecdotes that had nothing to do with the palace as we all waited for him to finally lead us inside. Except instead, and without a word as to why, he picked up his bagpipe, began to play again, and led us to a random door twenty feet away. There he showed us how to ring a Scottish doorbell, and then led us the same abrupt way back to the bus – where we all fell back to sleep, as if the detour had been a dream – a boring and pointless dream – more like a nightmare.
After the tour, starving, cranky and a bit upset that the sky above was rolling with gray and black clouds, we headed toward our “hotel.” I initially was very excited to be going to the hotel promised by the tour description – comfortable bed, television with cable, full breakfast provided, central location – not to mention, it was considered a hotel so I thought, this will be so nice – probably two or four people to a room, maybe even more comfortable than my bed at the flat. We pulled into East Claremont street and up to the Elas Guest House – guest house? Hm… maybe that is what they call hotels here in Scotland. We walked in and were greeted by a short and obese Scottish woman, dressed in a floral night gown, red lip stick outside the border of her mouth, and completely incapable or organizing herself to show us to our rooms without stressing out about keys and room assignments. And worst of all – she emerged from a cloud of cigarette smoke that filled the house, the sheets, and basically every corner of the dimly lit, antiquely decorated “hotel.” PUHLEASE…. I know this may sound pretentious and completely snobby, but this was not what I expected or was led to believe I was paying for – the smoke was the worst part – instant headache every time I walked in. The woman finally directed us to a room with eight twin bed lined up against the wall like in the children’s book Madeline. The Elon girls roomed with four other girls from different parts of the country – all eight of us sharing one bathroom in which the toilet did not flush and the sink was the size of a cereal bowl. It’s size was not the worst part – the faucets were one steaming hot and one freezing cold, so to wash my face I had to cup my hands into both to form a pool of warm water in my palms to quickly splash onto my face – most of which fell to my feet. Again – I know I am a spoiled brat – I realize this – but it was just so unexpected. And the smoke – ugh, it just makes everything smell and feel dirty. I just hate it. It just felt yucky. The beds did not have a top sheet, the comforters were clearly not washed – it was a far cry from even the worst hotel I have stayed in. I guess that is what it means to be a student studying abroad - it is part of the adventure. I recognize that. But even still, International Friends will be receiving a little letter from me expressing my, how shall we put it – displeased feelings about the misleading of our accommodations in the tour description.
After dropping off our stuff, we decided to head out, wake up, and explore the city on our own. We first had a much-needed lunch at a pub just up the street from what should have been described as our shack of smoke (our hotel…). It was a really nice Scottish pub, and I had delicious French onion soup to warm me from the rain. After lunch, the six of us headed down Royal Mile, of course with many pauses to take pictures of the city. Edinburgh is unlike any city I have ever been in – it had this village feel with all the cobblestone streets, eclectic variety of building design, monuments next to five star hotels (which was depressing to walk past) and really cute side streets. In comparison to London it is extremely small, but there was something refreshing to its quaintness – less traffic but still with all the cool shops and side streets of a bustling city. And really great restaurants and pubs too!
After taking in our surroundings, we headed all the way up to Edinburgh Castle, where we picked up our audio tours and spent two hours walking around the grounds. The castle was really exquisite and reminded me a lot of the Tower of London - but its location, rising above on a hill – made it idyllic for panoramic views of the entire city. It was really beautiful and historic, and thanks to the audio tour – educational. The weather, on the other hand was not as pleasant – the rain and wind moved us in and out of the many buildings that looked like stone castle houses - it was really like its own abandoned stone village. We had to simply ignore the wetness – we only had three days in Edinburgh and Mother Nature was not about to ruin one of them.
After we toured the castle, we walked around and did a bit of shopping (finally able to find some good presents yay!) and then headed to another pub for dinner. A general who used to live in the building supposedly haunts this pub. The legend has it that his spirit still inhabits and even appears in the pub after hours. In fact, Edinburgh is a big hot spot for haunting, ghost tours, and historic spooks – which I am not so much a fan of. This made going back to the smoke shack to sleep even less alluring. But the food was delicious. Andrea and I split a Scottish meat platter with sausage and some of the most delicious chicken kabobs and garlic bread. After eating, exhausted and stuffed, we headed back and settled in to the nest of nicotine.
Upon getting all my stuff out to change I realized I forgot pajama bottoms – so I slept in my jeans the entire weekend because I didn’t want my body to touch the sheets – oh wait, there were no sheets – so actually, I didn’t want my body to touch the musty comforter. I even tucked my jeans into my socks for full coverage – and you would have too . After calling my mommy to make me feel better, I finally fell asleep.
The next morning I was very happy to get up, eat some cereal (and avoid the disgusting looking meat layed out for us on a tray – it must have taken the Scottish chain smoker so much effort to put her cigarette down and take them out of their plastic packaging from Tesco – so much for a breakfast) and leave the building. Walking out into the fresh air was amazing, and immediately revitalized me. We then headed onto the coach bus about to depart from the lowlands of the city of Edinburgh into the breath-taking landscapes of the high lands on the High Land and Loch Ness tour, lead by a much more enthusiastic, yet hilariously repetitive and stuttering Scottish man named Fred.
This all day event winded us through the most incredible sights I have ever seen in my entire life. Seriously, I have never been so amazed before – it is really indescribable – the mountains coated in the most vibrant green grass, with waterfalls cascading down the sides like natural rain gutters, pouring into babbling brooks below. Throughout the day we saw more rainbows than I have in all my years combined – and we are talking fully arched rainbows from end to end. The sky was so blue with moody clouds drifting through, sometimes creating a mist of rain, but not enough to disrupt the views or the streaming light of the sun peaking through. It was so stunning. The landscape varied greatly as well, from farms and fields, to mountains. The entire day we drove along making three stops – one for coffee at the Hammish Snack Bar – named after the huge bull that lives on the premise - and another for a lunch at a tour bus stop in Fort William. There were a couple of photo stops, but mostly, we stayed on the bus and flashed an embarrassing amount of pictures through the bus windows, messed with the camera settings to get the perfect shot, listened to Fred stumble through his dialogue and repeat himself a million times – which became a joke among us – and enjoyed the traditional Scottish music he would play when he finally decided he had said the same thing over again enough times.
We wound through tons of Lochs, and Fred told us ALLLL about every single one of them – which was interesting, but again – a bit repetitive. I guess the truth of the matter is, the sights needed no explanation. They were wondrous all on their own framed by rainbows and sunlight and dressed with hundreds of sheep.
The final stop was to Loch Ness, which is the largest and most infamous Loch in the world – in large part because of its depth, capacity and of course its mysterious tales of the sea monster claimed to exist beneath its rolling waves. Loch Ness (and perhaps its monster) surrounds Urquhart Castle, which was again – so stunning and calming – probably my favorite castle so far (and there have been many…). We explored the castle for an hour before getting on a boat and riding down the Loch in hopes of spotting the monster (no such luck – we joked that they would probably stick a mechanic one in the water that would pop out at the end of the journey like the Jaws ride in Universal – but I guess it turns out, the Scottish are classier than that ). Being on the water with the breeze in our face, the sun beating down on the midnight blue waves and the lush surrounding mountains – it was perfect.
After spending some time in the gift shop, we headed back on the bus and listed to Scottish music for the direct 3 ½ hours back into the city. Fred continued to tell us all about kilts and other Scottish traditions, as well as his girlfriend and where she lived – it had its interesting moments and its over shares, but was overall an amazing tour. As we drove back into the city, with the orange lights illuminating the sky line, the town looked like one of the those toy villages you set up at Christmas time on the fireplace mantle. It was truly beautiful.
Starving, and excited to celebrate Ashley’s 22nd birthday, we headed back to Marlboro country, freshened up, and then went to a hole in the wall take away late night eatery. It had literally everything you could possibly ever want – ever. But I got a 7 inch personal pizza which was incredible (but much too small ), with Scottish sausage on it, which is so good – and I mooched some of Andrea’s amazing onion rings, and a bite of all of their chicken kabob pita wraps. It was cheap and fast, and we ate it on the street corner outside. It was no fine dining but it was filling and delicious. We then walked to a pub up the street, different than any of the ones we had already been to, called Cask and Barrel. It is probably one of the nicest pubs I have been in this entire experience – the bar was beautiful, it was not too crowded but still had a certain energy to it that gave it spirit. We sat there for hours, and met three Scottish guys who had just gotten back into town from Glasgow where they were watching a football game. They were so nice and interesting, especially Dave who is an actor, married with three kids, super nice, respectful and not sketchy at all. And it didn’t hurt that he looked like a bit older version of Jude Law. We talked the entertainment industry (he might contact Kelly Management for representation, which made me feel so cool that I became a contact for him, and new so much about what he was talking about when referring to the industry), politics (which was really interesting to hear the Scottish perspective) and everything in between. As midnight rolled around we sang Ashley happy birthday, parted from Dave, and headed back to go to sleep – exhausted from the long day.
Sunday was considered a free day, but we had to be out of the cancer sauna (I forgot to mention how over-heated it was… ugh!) by 10 am (GLADLY…) so we stored our luggage downstairs and met up with a friend Josh had roomed with from India named Vic. He is 23 and very nice, and fit right in with the us (unlike the crazy, rude Tai’s…. strange group of like 15 year olds… I don’t know what they were doing on this tour…they could care less about the information and just chatted over the guides….don’t they have school they should be in right now?).
Anyways, the mission of the day was to walk back into town on the beautiful sunny day and explore the National Park. Within the green paths were four huge crags - the tallest called Arthur’s Seat. This crag is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrod Park (the Queen's palace), a wild piece of highland landscape in the centre of the city about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. The hill rises above the city to a height of 251 m (823 ft) – little did we know, this is much easier said than done.Dressed as if we were going on a stroll we hiked 2 miles up the steep, rocky and muddy face of the crag. It was so challenging, so unexpectedly steep, and so gratifying when we reached the top, which overlooked the entire city - even the castle. This is what I referred to earlier - it was one of those moments you know there must be a God.
I cannot explain to you just how beautifully small and insignificant you feel overlooking the North Sea bordering the brilliant city below. As we caught our breath, stretched our legs, took videos, pictures, and a mental image that will stay with me forever, I couldn’t help but feel so blessed. At that moment, no smoky house, disgusting toilet, small sink, or annoying Taiwanese teens mattered – and suddenly every uncomfortable aspect of the trip was swallowed by the sheer beauty of a world I never knew existed living in my little NC life. We are so easily distracted by our everyday routines, by complaints, stresses, and insignificant setbacks (by smoky houses) – we go through a lot of life with this kind of tunnel vision and forget that there is so much out in the world and so much going on that is bigger than us. Yes, economies crash, people die, the shit hits the fan, things fall apart – but all the while this beauty and this wonder exists – it has existed for thousands of years and no matter what, it will continue to exist so long as this earth keeps spinning. It is endlessness, timeless, dependable and constant, in a turbulent world that so often feels like none of the above. We just have to open our eyes and let ourselves see it. I am so glad I had the opportunity.
After climbing down the crag – which was just as much of a challenge – we had a delicious lunch at a very American restaurant with an overwhelming menu called The Filling Station (which made me think of my Lynnie in Greensboro who loves a bar of the same name there). I had an amazing meatball calzone and Katie (as well as everyone else) had some incredible mac and cheese, which I of course had a bite of. We then shopped some more and around 2pm walked back to catch the bus at 3 pm back to the train station. In total, we figured out that we probably walked about 8 miles today - most of which was uphill. THANK GOODNESS! What a great workout. Now as I write we are pulling into Kings Cross Station after a long and loud train ride full of the crazy four New Castle women sitting behind us, even louder and cackling women in the car in front of us, and two drunk men in the seats next to us – it was an adventure.
The trip restored my faith and allowed me to appreciate the bigger picture. Life is too short to not only experience and see these miracles around the world, but more importantly to live your life with the knowledge that they are there – meaning, just like that song, you are living a life where you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean – or in my case on top of a big crag. It was grounding and beautiful, long and tiring (and smoky at times…), but worth every second.
Love and hugs,
Jenny
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