A few weekends ago, me and a bunch of my flatmates flew over to Edinburgh for the weekend. I'd never been to Scotland before and didn't really have any big expectations for the trip, but I was totally blown away by Edinburgh. It's such a cool, medieval kind of city, with tons to do, but it's still small enough that it's pretty hard to get lost and definitely manageable for a weekend visit. The architecture and green space was absolutely beautiful and all the Scots that we met were a lot of fun and very helpful. We checked out some castles, met William Wallace, hung out where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter, sampled some fried Mars Bars, visited some of the most haunted places in Europe, and went underneath the city to learn all about a Stage 4 poltergeist called the Smithfield Entity from a tour guide who by his own admission looked like an extra from The Matrix. And apparently, this poltergeist has been known to follow people home leaving scratch marks and bruises on people from as far away as New York and Tokyo.. wonderful. People have tried to sue the tour group for bodily harm caused by this ghost, but since they're trying to prove in a court of law that they were attacked by a poltergeist, needless to say they haven't been too successful. Despite our numerous encounters with the supernatural, it was a pretty great weekend!
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| Right as we got to the Castle Rock Hostel, settling in! |
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| It was nice to have a bed that stayed in one place throughout the night, unlike my bed in London which is on wheels that don't lock.. |
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| Good night Scotland! |
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| Good morning Scotland! |
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| Our view right as we walked out of our hostel |
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| Our first encounter with the supernatural.. we didn't realise that this place was apparently haunted until after we had gotten breakfast there. The food was really good though, so it all worked out alright! |
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| We heard the sound of bagpipes and decided to follow them.. |
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| This guy and some other bagpipers were there all day playing |
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| St. Giles Cathedral |
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| Edinburgh Castle! |
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| Well this guy stole my outfit.. |
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| Horse whisperin' |
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| Hi Dad! |
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| The royal chambers of Mary, Queen of Scots and her son James, also where Charles V lived after fleeing England when his father was executed |
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| Michael Jackson: Pop icon, purveyor of fine malt whisky |
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| Cemetery for the dogs of soldiers at the castle :( |
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| Checking out my chapel! |
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| After we left the castle grounds we went to check out the Scottish Whisky Experience, also known as "Malt Disney".. but tours were 25 euro and none of us really liked whisky that much, so we just went to the gift shop and got a few free samples there instead |
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| William Wallace hanging out outside the castle |
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| The pub we ate dinner at, which had delicious food and was right next to Greyfriar's cemetery and the statue of Greyfriar's Bobby, a terrier that slept at his owners grave every day. The locals at this pub would feed Bobby and make sure he was taken care of, and when Bobby eventually died they buried him in the cemetery and renamed the pub "Greyfriar's Bobby" as an homage to the dogs loyalty |
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| Entrance to Greyfriar's cemetery |
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| Bobby! |
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| "A tribute to the affectionate fidelity of Greyfriars Bobby. In 1858 this faithful dog followed the remains of his master to Greyfriars Churchyard and lingered near the spot until his death in 1872" |
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| Apparently this statue is one of the most photographed things in Scotland |
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| Bobby's Grave |
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| Did we mention Greyfriars is one of the most haunted places in Europe? |
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| It's also where JK Rowling got most of her inspiration for the characters in Harry Potter - here we found McGonagall, and apparently there's a Tom Riddle buried somewhere in the cemetery as well |
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| The Elephant House, where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter |
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| Our hostel/the castle by night |
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| My friend Megan and I accidentally matched.. |
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| Some shots from inside the hostel - it was a really cool atmosphere, complete with faux medieval tapestries and suits of armour |
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| Getting breakfast at the Elephant House! |
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| Apparently JK Rowling sat in the Elephant House, looking out onto Greyfriars Cemetery and gained a lot of her inspiration for the book from that, then wrote it all out on some napkins |
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| In the bathroom, people had written all sorts of messages to JK Rowling on the wall.. this one was my favourite: Dobby <3's Socks |
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| Another view of St. Giles Cathedral |
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| Adam Scott statue |
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| We were told that fried Mars Bars were a specialty in Scotland.. |
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| Going for it! They were really good, if a bit sweet.. I felt like I was about go into diabetic shock after eating a whole one |
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