Edinburgh, Oh Edinburgh!

Edinburgh has my heart.

Seriously, I am in love with that city.

We had the entire day to explore the city and see whatever we wanted to see within it. The whole group of us trekked to the bus stop to go into the city. The bus that whisked us to the gray and beautiful town was a double decker, so that made me very excited very quickly. Higher views! Of Scotland! How fun! (Although I'm sure the Scottish people riding the bus didn't appreciate the squealing every three seconds about seeing sheep or cute flowers or cute Scottish boys. I'm sorry, Scots! We were rested and caffeinated and in a new area--there are no real excuses besides being over-excited.)

When the bus (gladly, I'm sure) dropped us off, we immediately headed to the Royal Mile, which is the most famous strip in the city. There, a person can find kilts, wool, funky souvenirs and even funkier people. We were fortunate because we had a personal tour guide who seemed to know more about the city than the tour guide book I'd purchased. So we got some personal insights and history on the city and some amazing buildings. I saw the building where Knox lived. It had some great detailing work on it. Actually, so many of the buildings here are filled with details and delightful artworks. It's really incredible to see. (It also makes for a very long day filled with me stopping every three seconds to go "oooh! LookatTHAT!" while snapping five pictures of it.)

The Royal Mile ends at Holyroodhouse, where the Queen vacations for one or two weeks out of the year. I was all set to go and see how royalty lives when I was informed that it was closing for the day. The occassion? Some royal Duke was visiting, so he had the run of the house instead of willing-to-pay tourists. Boo. Instead I wandered the gift shop and withheld from buying many sparkly souvenirs.

Behind Holyroodhouse is Arthur's Seat, which is this very sharp hill. Apparently it has an amazing view of the city and Scotland in general. I saw some figures on top of it and I'm sure they had a fantastic view. I waved at them and wished them well while snapping pictures of it from the comfy position I had at the bottom of it. Me? Willingly exert myself? Uphill? Steeply. No thanks.

Instead, the walk back up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle proved to be workout enough on it's own. HolymotherofGOD, that is one steep and long climb to the castle. And trust me--it feels like more than a mile, too. My saving grace was that there were many fun souvenir shops to pop into and get distracted by. Becky and I found this adorable Christmas shop where we HAD to buy ornaments. Come on--when else is a person going to get to celebrate the holidays, Scottish-style?

Halfway up the Mile, things began to get very lively. I noticed more people thronging around the street. Booths were set up displaying everything from deep purple thistles (Scotland's flower) to celtic knot jewelry to technicolor photographs of the city from every angle. Street performers awed onlookers. A bagpiper played songs of his country. Children darted around the centuries-old fountains and gateways. A magician called out for brave volunteers, while girls giggled nervously as they got immortalized in charicature format. A woman distracted me with her jewelry and I walked off with a beautiful choker, funky ring and a new friend. The street was brimming with vitality, love and joy. It was vibrant, it was vivacious, it was inspiring.

At one point my friend looked at me and asked why I was smiling. I replied that I didn't have a specific reason--the whole scene, the entire ambience, everything swirling around me and enveloping me--it just all made me happy. Happy to be there, happy to be alive, happy to be experiencing that very moment.

We lingered on that street for quite a while, soaking it all in. When we decided to head up to the castle, it wasn't because we were sick of the festive atmospher, but rather, we wanted to see what else the city had to offer. But that's for another entry, as my time at the internet cafe' is about to expire soon...