Adventures in Edinburgh

I told you I was terrible at keeping a blog, but I'm trying to do better! This past weekend I went to Edinburgh with, Scotland! We took the train up on Friday afternoon and despite some train technical issues (typical) we made it there around 7:30. After checking into our hostel we met up with a friend from AU who is studying in Edinburgh. From there we went to a place called the Jazz Bar that is exactly what is sounds like. It was a lot of fun and the perfect way to relax from traveling.
                        

Saturday we began to explore to city. We ventured over to the Royal Mile and began by taking a tour of the Scotch Whiskey Experience. It was fun to learn about how whiskey is created and the history behind it. We were taken through the different regions of Scotland where whiskey is made and how the flavors change. Finally, we were able to sample one of our choice. I chose a whiskey from the Highlands called Alencadam.
                    


After that we went to Camera Obscura, the coolest optical illusion museum I have ever seen! Check out some pictures below!

For dinner on Saturday we went to a pub called Greyfriars Bobby's bar.The bar is named after a dog, Bobby, who according to the story was owned by a man named John Gray who died of tuberculosis in 1858 and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. His terrier kept watch over his master's grave for the next 14 years until Bobby himself died.

 Sunday we started the day at the Edinburgh Castle. Despite being very cold and windy the castle was a great time to explore. One of the coolest parts was getting to see the prisons. Unfortunately, this was also the part of the weekend where my camera died.

After we were frozen we went to The Elephant House where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter! A cute little cafe the best part is the bathrooms where Harry Potter fans have graffitied the doors with quotes from the books, including a list for Dumbledore's Army, which I signed up for, of course. Before it got too dark we went to the graveyard right next door to search for the characters of the books. Apparently, J.K. Rowling took many character names from the headstones. We found Tom Riddle and McGonagall before it got too dark. But, apparently there is a Hermione Granger buried there.

Sunday night we went to quiz night at the University of Edinburgh's Library Bar with our friend who is studying abroad there. Although our team came in last it was a lot of fun! The TV/Film and Sports sections were the most difficult because they were all UK centered.

Sunday we went on a tour called The Real Mary King's Close which shows parts of the underground city of Edinburgh and also includes some ghost stories. It was creepy because it was so dark! Afterward we went to the National Gallery of Scotland to kill some time before returning to our hostel to grab out luggage and hop on the train back to London.

This weekend was packed with activities and Edinburgh is such a beautiful city! Despite seeing so much there are still things that I would love to have done, such as Arthur's Seat.

First Post

I am terrible at making blogs and keeping up with them, so bear with me. I arrived in beautiful, rainy London at 7:40am on Thursday January 6th. After getting through customs (they let me in!) I tried to figure out the Tube and successfully made it to Kensington, where I am going to be living for the next 4 months!

From there I met my lovely roommates, Annsleigh Carter and Morgan Immerman! We live in a triple but our room is a good sized and we have a bathroom. I also lucked out by getting the single bed!

(Me, Annsleigh & Morgan at the Natural History Museum)

The next few days included orientation stuff and exploring! Naturally, I lost my umbrella on the first night there. So sad. Luckily, since rain is quite common here I was able to buy another one for pretty cheap.

FIE provided us with a coach tour of the city as well as a walking tour of the local area. I have about a million pictures so I'll save you the pain of posting them all here since I forget what most of the buildings are. But, the tours were very interesting and the tour guides very knowledgeable.

In terms of nightlife, we have checked out Piccadilly Circus for different pubs and clubs. Piccadilly Circus is a fun area, lots of people and lots of bright lights, but definitely on the more expensive side. However, it's London and everything is expensive.

Finally, last night FIE hosted a Welcome Reception for us on Imperial College's campus. It was a great way to meet some other people in the program. After, a couple of us went to Imperial College's campus pub and mingled with real life British students!!