We stayed in this hotel (converted student housing) in March of 07 and have no complaints. This place is only a few minutes walk to the Royal mile, Edinburgh castle..etc. The room was small but clean and was the only place that we could find without a shared bathroom within the same price range. The bathroom was very small but the water pressure was good and the shower never ran out of hot water. A full Scottish breakfast is included in the price which was actually quite good.

It is a sad day because everyone today is heading their own separate ways, I left first for Edinburgh, didn't have a chance to say my proper goodbyes last night or in the morning since i caught the first train to the airport :(((  It was great to travel, share laughs and unforgetable memories with all of you for 5 days!

I arrive in Edinburgh all tired, having no sleep, and I can't even think about eating food after last night :(

I am only in the city for the day so I quickly got to my hostel and hurried just in time for the FREE TOUR of Edinburgh... As you walk past Edinburgh Castle, on the Royal Mile you start picking up some of the stories that fill up Edinburgh, like the one about the mercat cross, which is the focal point of the town, where executions, proclamations (new king) and announcements (like that the price of bread/grain goes up) occur even to this day. The guide tells us stories of burglars being punished by getting nailed to the door of the mercat cross for one day. Some would try to escape by physically ripping themselves away from the door, but leaving a scar that reminds all that he is a burglar...

Then there is the Heart of Midlothian, which is a heart-shaped mosaic built into the pavement near the St Giles Cathedral. There are different explanations for why the locals spit on this heart: One says that it is illegal to spit anywhere but into the cross in Scotland, a Second tells a story that this is the place where they used to collect taxes and people spit to show their disdain for paying taxes LOL...  What I do know is that you can easily tell a foreigner from a local near this spot... The local will avoid the spot religiously, while the foreigner will PLOW RIGHT OVER IT :)

There were also stories of  Deacon Brodie, respectable citizen by day, burglar/murderer by night and was the inspiration of Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'.  Then there is Burke and Hare 'the bodysnatchers', who thought of a way to make money that was a bit "different", they would dig up bodies and sell them to the medical schools, CREEPY!!!  What I like most about Edinburgh is that everything in the city has a story and not just a name... There is Maggie Dickison's pub, which overlooks the Grassmarket. History says that Maggie herself was hanged in the grassmarket only she didn't die and her future husband bought her a pub which overlooks the very place where the botched execution takes place :)

A very short trip but I always find a way to make it a bit more interesting lol... It was raining at night so i call for a taxi for 5:10 the next morning to the airport to get to Dublin... Waking up you sense something is a bit off, look at the clock ITS 5:09! CRAP!!! I gather my stuff and rush down to the reception, check out, and still was able to catch the taxi driver right before he was about to leave...

On to Dublin...

If I wanted to impress my date, I would take him to the Thai Orchid. I love Thai food and I've been to quite a few recently, but this is simply the best Thai restaurant I've been thus far. The restaurant is rather small, but the interior is trendy and cozy. The Buddhist statues, wraparound mirrors and the soft glow of a candle votive make the atmosphere serene and pleasant. The food is fresh and absolutely delicious - especially the seafood and vegetarian dishes. The staff is also very friendly. I was slightly dissapointed with the menu though, because they had only a few choises in the dessert list, but maybe my expectations were simply too high.

The Hanover Hotel in Edinburgh is tucked away in a small alley behind Princes Street, but still a great location. We arrived to Edinburgh by train, and the hotel was within 2 blocks walking distance from the train depot. It's right behind the very busy Princes Street, so away from the traffic but near all the major shopping. Along the alley is several pubs, an internet cafe, chain restaurants, and a market. If you walk directly forward from the hotel, in less than 10 minutes you'll be at the Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile. During our stay here, we never once took a taxi or needed to rent a car. Everything we needed was within walking distance. The room was quite large and the bed was comfortable. The bathroom was the largest of any we had seen during our entire vacation in the UK! We were almost giddy with pleasure when we saw that! The television only received 4 channels, but at least it gave a little variety compared to other places we had stayed. The staff was very pleasant and accomodating, and the hotel had a workout room (for those not getting enough exercise from all the walking). I would definitely stay here again.

for reasons that I won't go into, I was at a loose end in the west end today, so I decieded to go to the Dean Gallery.  This meant walking around the lovely Water of Leith again, so I was happy.  People in Edinburgh say good morning, too, so I got to pat several dogs on the way. 

The exhibition in the Dean wasn't quite my thing - I'm not that into central european dadaist photography, believe it or not, it's one of my few cultural blind spots.  So having wandered into the city centre, I called Chris and nagged him into climbing Arthur's Seat.

Arthur's Seat was the great hangover cure of my university career.  Trust me.  By the time you've hauled yourself, shivering and head pounding, to the top of the hill, the acohol gives up its evil hold.  It worked for us, anyway, aside from the fact there was always some ancient person of about 85 jogging up the steep side like it wasn't even a slope.  That person is fit.  I need to start training now so I can do that when I'm 80 too!  And I figured that it would be a good way to spend a sunny day whatever happened.  WHen I get my computer working there are some great photos of Chris trying to look heroic.  Bless!  I even got a little sunburned.  Then we went home and took the mickey out of each others taste in exes for a while, as is of course traditional by now.  I've known Chris a very long time!  

Today was the wedding - I'm not going to go into great detail, because you don't know my friends so you won't be interested in their outfits, but suffice to say it was brilliant, I got to dance at a ceilidh (Scottish Country Dancing, and great fun) and every midge in Scotland welcomed me home.  I even survived the two hours sleep, adn sitting next to my ex in the church.

Midges - well, I'll post a travel tip, but they are very friendly mini-mosquitos.  As far as I know, they don't transmit diseases.  But they hang out in clouds and they do bite.  A lot. Beware of midges. 

So I was trying to distract myself ahead of this date.  Keeping myself entertained is at the best of times something of a battle, especially in countries where it is too rainy to just spend the day in a pavement cafe, and this was something of a challenge.  Sigh.  But luckily, I was in Edinburgh.  If all else fails, I can find myself a hill and climb it.

Queen's park is the park surrounding Arthur's seat, the large extinct volcano.  Having gone into the centre to pick up my replacement glasses, I journeyed forth to see if I could avoid spending the day obssessing about the appropriateness of my outfit.  I decided against going to the parliament - it's a great building, but I was feeling outdoorsish.  As a note on the parliament, it wasn't finished when I was living in Edinburgh, and last time I was here I wasn't here for long, so this is the first time I've had a chance to look at even the outside.  I'm rather taken with the fact it has large ox-eye daisies on the roof.  I tied my scarf over my shoulders and climbed to St Anthony's Chapel and the well, where I quite like the view and wouldn't get all sweaty like I would climbing to the peak. Unfortunately, there was a family pushing and shoving and smoking, so my tranquillity was not helped much. 

After that, I went to the city of Edinburgh museum.  I'll write a separate review, but it at least was quiet and I could force myself to learn about stuff - like how Cannongate was a separate burgh till a couple of hundred years ago - until the Bloke in question texted me when we were meeting and where.  That at least meant that I hadn't imagined the invite...

I'm not good on sophisticated.  Never was.  And certainly not on cool.

On the way back up the royal mile to get changed, I stumbled across a very small sign that said "garden open to the public", and into one of the most beautiful gardens I've ever seen.  Slightly overgrown, in a good way, full of drowsy bees and pinks and honeysuckles and half wild roses, and it smelt amazing.  Stunningly lovely.  My friends who live here don't entirely believe it really exists, but it does. 

Of course I left the house too early, and even the earnest display in Princes Street Gardens failed to kill enough time.  I was forced to resort to wandering about on the Water of Leith to kill time.  Normally I love the stretch of the Water of Leith between Stockbridge and the Village of Dean; it's in a little tiny gorge, so you feel like you've left the city, and there are ducks and flowers and an old mineral well.  But today, it was a little midgy for my liking.  The last thing I needed was fresh bites!  I was relieved when enough pacing up and down meant that it was the required five minutes late, not looking insanely keen mark!

first bar
little Argintinian place
brambles

In the morning me and Jenny were woken up by bunch of our friends. We went to buy some breakfast from Argos and ate it on our 'Q Style' bed. After some breakfast and chatting we headed back to Jenns guest house to change and shower. After a bit we came back and I saw that my WATP boys had come. I rounded the venue to the back entrance. Saw them and confirmed my Guest List so I could get in. Since me coming to Edi was a spur of a moment thing and I didnt have a ticket. They said YES YES FOR THE THOUSANDTH TIME YOU ARE ON THE LIST. It made me feel a bit more better. Then we decided that it was time for a game of pool since there was a pool/bowling place next door to the venue. (CORN EXCHANGE ROCKS!) After pool, I saw my second set of boys roll in. Timmy! I said hi to them and they were surprised since I wasnt going to be there. But meh. Told them we were off to bowling. So we went bowling for a bit. And then back to the line since Trina had her birthday and we had a cake to go with it. It was yummy.
Lining, lining and some more lining. Until it was 7pm. I used my Guest List. Got it. Front row.
WATP was awesome as always. One of tstm's better gigs Ive seen for awhile.
I hunted down my WATP boys hung out with them for awhile. They were in a hurry so I just goofed off with them for a bit and had a laugh. Then let them go.
Hunted down tstm boys. Timmy was excited about my shirt. He thought it was hilarious. I told them Id go back to the guest house to get my stuff and I got back.
And I hitched a ride from tstm to their place. And bunked there.

I flew to Heathrow, London and changed airports to Gatwick from where my EasyJet was leaving to Edi. My flight was delayed but it was okay. I met a nice band that I hung out with. Forgot the name already but I remember they were heading to Inverness. Anyways, the flight finally took off about 2 hours later and I made it to Edi safely.
I headed straight to the venue from the airport with a cab. Took some time for me to actually understand what the cabdriver was saying to me. Never heard so thick scotty accent. Made it to the venue after a very nice cab drive. Sam was there already.. then I saw Jenny and Trina. Hugs ensued. I didnt have a hotel for that night so we just headed to Jennys guest house to leave my bag there. Which was small. A normal backbag. Then we came back to the venue and next to it was a niiiice big 24h supermarket Argos. We got some blankets and pillows and camped outside the venue. Neither of my boy groups (yes, people) werent scheduled to come that night so I waited outside the venue. And I can safely say it was the most comfy camp-out Ive ever experienced. It was like sleeping in a hotel bed. It was that damn comfy.

We decided to learn about the city by joining a free walking tour.  The tour is definitely free but the guides reveal that it is customary to tip, and even let you know the usual amount given, which can be viewed as rude or helpful, depending on how much you originally planned to tip.  Anyway, the tour was great.  We found out about the tour from a pamphlet in the hostel, and we met on the Royal Mile by the Starbucks.  Which wasnt opened yet, to Kat's dismay.

The guide revealed interesting statues, like the one in front of the Parliament Building.  It was a statue of an English King on horseback.  Since the Scottish were not happy with the English at the time, the sculptorer left off the stirrups, and so the rider looks ridiculous without them.  Nearby, someone was buried below the parking lot of the Parliament building, which would have definitely gone unnoticed without the tour.  We also learned about the story behind the policeman and his beloved dog.  The dog was buried with him, eventhough there are no dogs allowed in the park/graveyard.  We took a tour through a very old cemetery, which had a very interesting past.  The guide pointed out a cannon ball buried in the side of an old building.  The background of the story of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde occurred in Edinburgh and the guide had an excellent narrative of this story.  Finally, the guide told us of the body snatchers that preyed upon the dead here.  We were very happy with the tour, and Kat and I tipped her 5 quid each.

We had lunch at a nearby place called Bella Italia.  I had a salad and Penne Alpina.  The meal cost 16 pound and was great.  Dinner was at Bilbos, we had the fajitas and they were average.

I traveled to Scotland with 2 friends of mine - Jatin and Simon. Our original plan was to attend the Edinburgh rocks weekend that was organized by the couchsurfing community (www.couchsurfing.com), which started on Friday and ended on Monday. We decided to skip the program and to travel around in Scotland for 2 days. At first Simon and I couldn't decided where to start our journey on Friday evening - Simon wanted to fly Edinburgh and I wanted to fly to Glasgow.  I had never been there before and wanted to walk around in the evening and find a nice restaurant or a pub that offers traditional Scottish pub food. Simon disagreed with me saying that the city will be packed with drunken youngsters and that Glasgow can be rather a dangerous place on Friday night. I was very stubborn and eventually I got my way, so we flew to Glasgow on Friday evening.

Well.. Simon was right.. Glasgow didn't look as charming that I hoped it would and there were plenty of drunken youngsters and young adults everywhere. In addition to that the bars had stopped serving bar food already an hour before we had arrived there. So our timing wasn't the best possible. We walked around in the city for 2 hours though, grabbed some food at the KFC (it was the only place where we could get food that late) and went back to the hostel. Our hostel, the Euro hostel (http://www.euro-hostels.co.uk/Glasgow_hostel/Index.html), was rather a nice place. At least much nicer than I thought in the first place.  Because the hostel charged only 15,95 £ for a bed in 4 bed dorm ensuite I though it would be either dirty or very noisy and that the beds would be really uncomfortable (I've been to some hostels like that), but but I was glad to notice that it was cozy, rather quiet (most people were drinking in the bar on the first floor instead of in the hallways/dorms and there was enough space for 4 people in the dorms. We didn't feel like sleeping, so we went to the TV room to watch a movie and play pool for the rest of the evening.  

The following morning we woke up early and went to the George square to attend Timberbush's (http://www.timberbush-tours.co.uk/) day tour to Loch Lomond and Loch Ness. There we met Jatin with whom we spent the rest of the weekend. The day tour was really nice! The scenery was incredibly beautiful - especially the canals, lakes and the mountains in the western highlands and central highlands  (http://www.scotcolour.com). We stopped in various places, such as Loch Lomond, Black mount, Ben Nevis and Loch Ness. I liked especially Loch Lomond (http://www.loch-lomond.net/), but Loch Ness (http://www.visitlochness.com/) was quite a disapointment for me. We were told that if we paid 10 £ we could go on a cruise to the lake on a 5 star jacobite tour so we (Jatin, Simon and me) did that. The stories were interesting, but he didn't really tell anything that we hadn't already read in the internet about the Loch Ness and the boat itself didn't look very luxurious. I actually would have given it only 3 stars, but maybe I just had too high expectations.  After Loch Ness we went to the Inverness, my friends told me that it was a charming place, but I can't really comment about it. I was so tired that I fell asleep in the bus and slept like a baby for well over 2 hours.

After we arrived to Glasgow Simon and I took a bus to Edinburgh. Jatin stayed in Glasgow, because he had booked a ticket for a different bus than we had and he couldn't change it to another bus ticket. We agreed that we would meet in one of the bars in Edinburgh later on. In Edinburgh Simon and I found a really nice Thai restaurant called the Thai orchid (http://www.thaiorchid.uk.com/). I haven't eaten that good Thai food for ages. Especially the seafood was delicious and rather cheap. I definitely would recommend that place. After the restaurant we went to pub called the Nicol Edwards, because it was said to be the most haunted pub in Edinburgh (?!?) I didn't see any ghosts there, but it was complitely packed with drunken people who were standing around like a flock of sheep. It was almost impossible to go to the counter to buy a beer and get it back to the table without spilling at least half of it on the way. Maybe there was a ghost or two once, but the people there were so loud that the must have scared even the meanest ghost to other pubs. I definitely prefer Scots when they are sober...

I was very lucky to find a guy there who offered Simon and I his couches (www.couchsurfing.com) for Saturday night. He was a really nice guy - warm hearted, witty and very talkative. In addition of letting us stay he actually even made us a big breakfast with mysli, bagels, juice and coffee! Jatin prefered a hostel, so we met the following morning. On Sunday we walked around in Edinburgh and visited 3 places - the Camera obscura (http://www.camera-obscura.co.uk/), the real Mary King's close (http://www.realmarykingsclose.com/) and the Holyrood palace (http://www.royal.gov.uk/OutPut/Page559.asp). We were supposed to visit also the Edinburgh castle, but our host told that it's not worth paying 10 £ go there and recommended us the Holyrood palace instead. All of them were really nice - especially the Real Mary King's close, beacuse we could go to the underground close and see the houses where people lived almost 300 years ago. The ghost stories about murderers and plague victims are thrilling and very entertaining as well. 

Because Jatin is Indian we went for a lunch to an Indian restaurant, Shamala, very close to the Real Mary King's close. The food there was very good, spicy and delicious. It was rather cheap as well - only around 12 £ for an appetizer, main course and dessert (it was a special lunch offer). It was so fulfilling I wasn't hungry again until late in the evening.

Simon and I went back to Glasgow right after visiting the Holyrood palace in the afternoon and Jatin stayed there for a couple of hours before going back to the Newcastle, where he lives and works. Unfortunately, our return journey wasn't very fortunate, because  ended to a wrong airport - Glasgow international instead of the Ryanair airport. Before booking the flight I was wondering why on earth we paid so little for our flights, but it's simply beacuse their airport is middle of nowehere and we had to pay over 60 £ (I don't even dare to count what that makes in euros) to get there by taxi :(

My brother and his girlfriend were over visiting us, so we were trying to figure out what to do and although I live here, its terrible the amount of things I haven’t seen! So we decided to do the Edinburgh Ghost Hunt, which for us started at 10pm at night (tremendous!) and finished at midnight.

From there he/she they walk past all the pubs with all the drunks hanging about, but they’re used to seeing these tours now passing them and you end up in a graveyard…oooooooohhhhhhh. You can on occasions get the odd person who spoils it but laughing at inappropriate times and some drunk people but I would recommend it to anyone, who is open to anything and wants to do something different on a Friday/Saturday! J

The Day I Entered Scotland

Distance: 90.6 miles
Ride Time: 6h 10m 23s
Ave Speed: 14.6mph

I had a good nights sleep at the B&B and the breakfast (Full English) was the best yet.  I felt much better than yesterday and the sun was shining outside.  I also knew that for most of the day I would have a tailwind.  Just before I left I slapped on a layer of suncream and the sun promptly vanished behind a cloud.

I found the A7 out of Carlisle easily enough and made good progress.  On the outskirts of Carlisle I stopped at a petrol station and decided to stock up with a lot of food (usually I would just take what I needed at the time and then stop when I needed some more).  Later I would be very thankful for this decision because I didn't see another shop until I was nearly in Edinburgh.

I was glad to get off the A7 and onto the B road that ran through the Eskdalemuir forest and here the scenery was beautiful.  This was the first time I had been to Scotland and my initial impression was that I had been missing out.  There were long but fairly gentle climbs followed by equal descents where I would go for 5 or more minutes without making a single pedal stroke.  It would have been possible to fly down these descents with a bit of effort but as I was tired I just cruised down them at 20-25mph.

Just as people had told me the climbs in Scotland tended to be much longer than the ones in south-west England but more gentle.  I much prefer these climbs as it is possible to get into a rhythm and I was really enjoying some of the climbing today.  On the descents I was very wary of sheep at the side (or sometimes the middle) of the road.  The ones that were looking at me were OK because they could see me coming and wouldn't jump straight into my path (I'm presuming sheep don't have suicidal tendencies).  It was the sheep that had their backs to me that bothered me because a bike is almost silent and I would get very close to them before the saw me and suddenly bolted.  I was just praying that one wouldn't be so startled that it ran out across my path.  Thankfully this did not happen.

The final run in to Edinburgh was fast and the only problem was I didn't really know how to get the the youth hostel.  I knew the street name that it was on and that was all.  I decided to just keep following signs to the city centre and after a bit of riding around in circles I just happened upon the street name that I knew and from there found the youth hostel.  There were no signs though like there were for all the other youth hostels I had stayed at.

The youth hostel was very nice although due to its huge size a little impersonal.  I had a burger and chips in the cafe at the youth hostel then had a quick venture to find the castle, which I walked a little way around before returning to go to bed.

Today my right calf/hamstring felt better, as did my bruised knee.  The roadrash on my left knee looks infected though although there is not much I can do other than apply antiseptic cream whilst I am out on the road.

Today got the 10am train from Liverpool lime street to Edinburgh, took 5 hrs in total including a 1 hour wait at preston station as had to take two trains to get here.  Easy journey, no problems or confusions, unlike the trip from clacton to liverpool, even took a packed lunch for the trip

got to edinburgh at around three and walked up the very steep ascent to my hotel without getting lost, but did have some problems with my stupid backpack, have fixed now

great day, wandered around town, edinburgh castle is actually really close and so are a whole lot of other touristy attractions

had dinner with nice girl named Kitty and then went on a walking literary pub crawl, great fun

will add more details later, but my money is running out

its monday morning and im just about to leave for my tour of scotland

yesterday was great, got lots done and saw a lot of the city, despite not even getting into my room until about 4pm

am looking forward to the tour, i cant believe how close the meeting point is to my hostel, so convenient, despite that hill up to it

Skye high tour day one