GLASGOW

So just about three months ago now, I was in Glasgow - my final destination whilst still in the UK.  I had found a ridiculously good deal on a flight direct out of Glasgow, and having only ever been to Edinburgh, I decided to go up a day early and spend some time in the city.  I have to say, Glasgow felt much more quintessentially Scottish than Edinburgh.  I think that Edinburgh, like London, is such a culturally diverse city that while of course there are those great bits of Scotland that you would expect, there are also a lot of aspects that make it seem just like another UK city, not particularly feeling like a different country.  Glasgow was less like that.  The Scottish accents were much more common within Glasgow, and the city itself definitely had a different sort of vibe.  It was a bit more natural and relaxed in the sense that it wasn't as touristy as Edinburgh.  Don't get me wrong, I loved Edinburgh as well, but the two had very different feels.

edinburgh, scotland

 On Friday I hopped on a train with some people from my school for a weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland!  One of the great things about Regents College is that they offer these weekend trips, so of course I had to take advantage.  And I'm so glad I did because Scotland was absolutely beautiful!

On our first night there, we did a took part in a pub crawl, which was quite a fun way to jump headfirst into Scottish culture.  ;)  We went right to bed after that and spent all of Saturday exploring the city.  We did a three hour walking tour which was by far one of the best parts of the weekend - the tour was fantastic, and during a quick break in the middle, we popped into a cafe where I had a, wait for it.... honey & cinnamon hot chocolate!  I had dreams about it, it was so delicious!

After the walking tour, we grabbed some dinner at a pub and walked along the Royal Mile before going on a ghost tour that night.  The ghost tour was decent, though not as scary as I would have liked.  I'm a fan of the scary.

Our final day, Sunday, was spent in the rain touring Edinburgh Castle.  Because much of the castle is outdoors, the rain was a bit of a bummer, but the castle was still impressive nonetheless, and the exhibits very informative and entertaining.  We ate our last meal in Edinburgh at The Elephant House, where J.K. Rowling sat and wrote the first two Harry Potter books!  Seeing the views out the back windows, where she got her inspiration was quite cool, and the food was good.  I had a brie, apple, and mango chutney panini that was to die for.

All in all, it was a lovely weekend in Scotland!

P.S.  I feel like I've been so neglectful of this blog lately, what with traveling and schoolwork, but I'm hoping to get back into a consistent routine in the next week, once I've finished some big projects and papers for school.  It's getting down to the wire, which is not only depressing, but means finals are right around the corner.  Oi vey.