Land of the Brodie Clan

Written 7/21

July 19

I got into Edinburgh at 8am and walked 10 minutes to the hostel. Check-in wasn't until 3. I planned to go on the 11am free walking tour. But first, I needed to vent about my bus trip so I had internet time. During internet time I booked my bus back to London and my hostels for the next two cities and called my parents. I got breakfast from the restaurant in the hostel but by that time I ended up missing the 11am tour. It was raining anyway. I planned to take the 1pm tour and follow my dad's advice and take a nap. But at 12:30, my nap was going so well that I decided to take the 3pm walking tour. It was still raining anyway. I actually made tour at 3. I woke up around 2 and asked if I could check in a little early. Luckily, the cleaning ladies JUST finished cleaning and I could go ahead to my room. I settled in a bit and went to meet the tour. The tour guide, still not Alex, was good and I enjoyed my tour, intermittent rain and all (I liked it a lot more than the London one. In fact, she said that she heard the London tour was hit or miss herself.) As customary, after the tour we went to a pub. I ordered haggis, a traditional Scottish dish made with all sorts of sheep parts that you'd rather not think about while you're eating it. It actually wasn't bad at all. It was so spicy that you couldn't taste much aside from pepper. I sat with a lady I met on the tour and we decided to go on the pub crawl. So we left dinner and hurried back to our hostels to do a quick change since the crawl started in about an hour.

This time I actually met my party partner and we pub crawled through the night. Edinburgh on a Monday night is not the most happening scene but it was fun nonetheless. We also met a couple of Aussie's that were really nice. One of them even went with me to find deep fried pizza when I was feeling snackish. (It was quite the adventure and we ended up missing Frankenstein fall from the ceiling of the bar. You read that right. The pizza wasn't what I had imagined at all. I will need to go to TX to get the real thing.)

Around 1 we left and the Aussies walked us back to our respective hostels.

July 20

All I had planned for this day was shopping. Shopping and walking around and getting a shepherds pie. It was a really nice day. Sun and no rain. Great for all the walking around. I went from shop to shop checking out the Brodie gear. Yes, that's right, Brodie gear. I have always used the fact that "Brodie" is Celtic as an excuse to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but for some reason, I didn't put two and two together that I was going to Scotland, the home of Brodie. It clicked as the tour went by Deacon Brodie's Tavern. The tour guide told me that the stores would have various trinkets with the Clan Brodie crest on it. And most of the day, I was in and out of shops purchasing Brodie paraphernalia.

I had a late lunch in the Grassmarket at Molly Dikerson's. Steak and Ale pie. Not shepherds but it was yummy. After food, I decided to go up to the castle. I walked around a bit, stumbled into a weaving factory, learned about kilts and Scottish garb throughout the centuries and eventually made my way to Princes Gardens. I hung out here for a while and then walked around new town for a bit. I was tiring of all the walking about and decided to go back to the hostel, even though I had about four hours until my bus. But nothing kills time like the internet. Gchat, facebook, skype, and blog time easily filled that three hours and before I knew it, I was back on the bus heading to London.

July 21

I had a better sleep since I was by the window but I am still a bit weary. I got back to London at 7am, tubed to the hostel, washed up a bit and took to catching up my blog as I wait for attractions to open. I plan on going to the Transport Museum, British Library, and British Museum. It will be a long day.