Finishing up the Term

I didn’t have much time to do anything except write papers the first week we got back. On the bright side after I turned in my last paper on April 24^th I was completely done with the term! School wise anyway, I still had 2 whole months to wait before seeing my family and more than that before going home so it didn’t feel finished. My friends were still doing work so in order to keep the peace I decided I would cook for them. Every couple of days I made something new. The list consisted of stuffed bread, lasagne, pasta, quesadillas, and cookie dough. They were able to take some time off to visit the Globe Theatre. None of us had seen it and it became the time of year when it is warm enough to open so we decided to attend a concert at the Globe to celebrate William Shakespeare’s birthday. The ‘concert’ called The Birthday Bash consisted of two musical performances by Johnny Flynn and the Magic Numbers, two magic acts, and a comedian who did a few bits between acts and introduced everyone (she was my favourite part of the show!). Being in the Globe Theatre is a unique experience. The stage protrudes out into a circular open room with coverings over it and the seats. But if it rains during a show, the groundlings, that’s what the people standing in the middle are called, will get wet.

Liz was the next of our friend group to finish her finals and neither of us had been to Edinburgh so we decided to take a trip on a whim. We bought the plane tickets on Sunday for Wednesday and off we went! We had what was a lovely then became strange conversation on the plane with the man sitting next to us. We learned all about his wife and young children. Originally from Africa but moved to Edinburgh with his family. He thought Liz and I had strong resemblance to one another and that we were sisters, but we don’t really look much alike… Then he asked for our emails and that’s when it got a bit weird. We did not give them to him.

I was glad for the nice weather when we got to the city because it took us 2 hours to find the hostel! Liz’s phone didn’t know exactly where it was. We were a bit tired but met up with one of Liz’s friends, Madeline, who was studying abroad there at the time. She showed us some good places to eat and get afternoon tea and gave us some tips about what to do and see while there.

The next morning we got up and found coffee and headed to climb Arthur’s Seat. (It’s just the name of the mountain; there is not actually a seat up there). So we found it and headed up what we thought was Arthur’s Seat. We found out that it was not actually where we wanted to be so we had to go across a ridge to the actual ‘mountain’ and then climb up further to the top. It took us much longer than we bargained for and neither of us was wearing the right shoes for this endeavour, me in converse, and Liz in fashionable boots. But we made it without falling or injuring ourselves. The view from the top was amazing.

What we thought was Arthur's Seat 

Our view from the top!

The climb down was time consuming but not as harrowing. We sure did work up an appetite, though and headed to Madeline’s favourite tea room for afternoon tea. We’d heard it was more like a meal, and it really was! For just £8 we got tea, a scone, a sandwich, and a piece of pie or cake.  It was really a lot of food, and a lot less expensive than London would have been.

The next day we walked the Royal Mile, which we actually did every day because our hostel was right on it. But this time we hopped in and out of shops looking for gifts. We meandered to the end of the street where the Edinburgh Castle is located. It was a bit expensive, as there are no student discounts, but we hadn’t done any other touristy things so we decided to go for it. The castle was beautiful and there was a lot more to it than we realized. We got to see the crowned jewels of Scotland!

The Royal Mile 

The Edinburgh Castle 

We were not in Edinburgh very long because we had to get back for a football match. To my American readers that means soccer game. It was on Saturday so Friday evening we boarded another plane and got back in London to go see it.

Have a wonderfully marvellous day, cheers! ~Laura