In the North...and London!

Last Tuesday morning we said goodbye to our Scarborough hosts and headed north to Scotland! Dana and I both wanted to visit Scotland and figured, why not go to Edinburgh? We enjoyed our train ride there, especially when the track took us beside the sea. It was so beautiful! 

Once we arrived, we knew that Edinburgh would be nothing like any of the other cities we'd already experienced! It is a medieval city with a dark history of public punishment and executions. However, the city offers wonderful architecture, views of the North Sea, and great street performers. Additionally, we had the pleasure of seeing a wonderful friend for the first time in almost 18 months! My good friend, Sonia, flew to Edinburgh to meet us! It was so lovely to see her and to have another travel partner!

While in Edinburgh we enjoyed time just chilling in the Princes Street Gardens, views of the Castle, and even an art gallery. We frequented one of our favorite supermarkets, Lidl, and Dana prepared a delicious meal back at our hostel. Sonia and I used the time to catch up, and did the washing up after the meal!

Wednesday morning we went for an early morning run to watch the sunrise over the sea. Sonia never thought she would be watching the sun come up with me as before the trip I would've told you that I didn't need to see the sun rise, but just trusted that it would!

In classic our style, we attended a free walking tour to learn more about the city. Did you know that Sherlock Holmes and Jekyll and Hyde were inspired by real people who lived in Edinburgh? Or that J.K. Rowling  wandered a cemetery in the city and used names from it in Harry Potter? How about that there was a dog named Bobby who had a key to the city and voting rights before women? I really enjoyed the Harry Potter connections on the tour!

J.K. Rowling's hand print! 

Dana and I then had the distinct pleasure of sharing a Cream Tea with Sonia and introducing her to this fantastic English tradition. It was a lovely time!

The land that Edinburgh sits upon was once a very volcanic area. The land has shifted over time to create small mountains around the city, like the one the castle sits upon. We were able to climb another one which has what is called Arthur's Seat at the summit. There were incredible views of the city and the sea from the top! The climb was so worth it.

When we asked others about Edinburgh, we were instructed to try some haggis with 'neeps and tatties.' We found a nice pub and ordered up a haggis tower. Haggis is a Scottish specialty made from sheep stomach and other offal. It is served with turnips and potatoes. Our consensus was that it is delicious! Since we were in Scotland, we thought we should have the full experience and ordered a whiskey as well. That we could have done without!

Dana and I said "See you later" to Sonia and boarded a night bus to London. We discovered that Sonia was flying to London so we made plans to meet up with her there. Since we didn't have a ton of time at the Science Museum the first time, that was our first destination. We also took a nap in Kensington Park and saw the Kensington Palace thanks to Sonia's knowledge! We also had lunch in the Victoria and Albert Museum courtyard and enjoyed a walk past Buckingham Palace at dusk. We enjoyed that London was slightly less busy later in the year than our first visit!

Kensington Palace

Sonia and I imagined that this was the lamp post in Narnia!

After saying goodbye to Sonia, Dana and I boarded another night bus - Destination: Poole!

We had a brilliant time in Edinburgh and London. It was so lovely to have Sonia join us for a few days as well! What an adventure every day can be!?!