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Sunday, May 7, 2017

Tripping Down the Stairs


So I landed in Edinburgh, Scotland after traveling for (over) an entire day. I left San Francisco at 9 PM on May 3 and landed in the United Kingdom at 7 AM on May 5th. I couldn't check into my hotel until 3 PM so I had to wander around for quite a while. I decided to walk up to Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile, on the hunt for another keychain of a highland cow to replace my unraveling one at home (as of evening on the next day, I still haven't found one :( )






I also went inside St. Giles Cathedral. We walked by it a bunch last time I was here but I never went inside. Pictures weren't allowed unless you paid a fee so I don't have any photos, but it absolutely gorgeous inside. The interior is surprising simple architecturally but the stained glass and little details really stand out. As I was walking in I heard a tour guide talking about a little room off to the right, where The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, the highest order of chivalry in Scotland, meet (WITH THE QUEEN). The room is new, an addition added in the early 1900s, but was designed to be in the same style so there is crazy intricate woodwork. Above each seat are these crazy ornamental columns with the person's sword on it and where on top sits an idol made by the person. It's super cool, and the guide who was there was really nice and informative. It definitely was a hidden gem, and if you are ever visiting Edinburgh, I highly suggest visiting St. Giles Cathedral and finding that room.

I grabbed a sandwich from Nero, a cafe on the Royal Mile and walked back down towards Prince's Street, where the glade and Scott Monument are shown in the picture at the top. The Royal National Gallery was there (and free!) so I decided to walk through that. It's not a huge art gallery by any means but it is interesting to see the range of Scottish painters and landscapes/portraits. The building itself is absolutely beautiful, with each room a different, vibrant color and the shapes reminded me of an old Victorian mansion if the walls had been taken out. Also, my favorite thing ever is when two older British ladies talk about art. "He looks quite eager, doesn't he?" towards a portrait of a young man. It's fantastic.

This painting was thought to be done in majority by Leonardo Da Vinci!

After that I was going to go see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 at the movie theater. On the way, though, I decided to walk up the 287 steps to the top of the Scott Monument, a towering Gothic looking thing right next to Princes Street Gardens. Wow, was that spiral staircase small. The landing were also tiny, the one at the top so narrow that we all had to shuffle in a circle just to get back to the staircase. It was also so windy. But the view was great!





So then I walked to the movie theater. I know what you're thinking: "Jasmine, you really went all the way to Scotland to see a movie?" And no, no I didn't, but see a movie I did! I liked it a lot. And I didn't fall asleep! Though on the way out I did miss a step and I fell. Like, onto my knees on the floor. Not many people saw, I don't think, but oh boy was that embarrassing. I walked to Tesco (a local grocery chain) and got a salad, some snacks, and KINDER EGGS MY FAVE.

The precious.

Finally, FINALLY, I could check in. I wasn't carrying my heavy backpack, thank god, but my feet hurt so badly (probably why I missed the step) and had been traveling for over a day and I was so, so gross. So I checked in, took a shower, and fell asleep for 4 hours, despite my attempt to beat the jet lag. And then woke up, had a snack, and proceeded to stay awake until 4AM, reading and wide awake. So that made it fun to try and wake up the next day.

Spoiler: I slept in until 2 PM.

Happy travels!

Jasmine

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