After the thaw...

It's green in Scotland!  This is the result of our most recent "heat wave," aka a marginal rise in temperature and lack of precipitation.  Is it spring already?

The scenery was perfect for another weekend of exploring Edinburgh.  It's still hitting me that I actually live here!  Every building seems to be a work of art, and the views are just stunning.  It all feels so familiar but completely foreign, if that makes any sense.  The small but giant differences are so puzzling to me, like just when I think I'm at home I find the eggs at the supermarket on the shelves at room temperature with the baking goods instead of in the chilled goods section...the list of things to get used to is growing!

Speaking of food, I tried my first complete Scottish breakfast this weekend.  I didn't take a picture of it, but it sure was...uh, tasty?  I'll have to give it another try and get back to you on that one.  Their black pudding has an interesting taste, and the haggis sausage wasn't uneatable.  Google both of those dishes and you can find out what those are made of.  I ate them, so I don't wish to describe in detail their contents :)

The rest of the weekend was spent wandering around the city, here's an "artsy" photo of Princes Street, the main road in New Town:

The flatmates and I also made it up to Edinburgh Castle, finally!  On the way, we ran into an old friend:

Yes, that's right.  Emily and I found William Wallace!  He kept yelling "THIS IS NOT SPARTA, THIS IS SCOTLAND!"  Haha.

Not far from Braveheart, we found the castle:

So royal and magnificent, huh?  I loved it.  I've decided I'm actually going to live in it one day...once I conquer Scotland and declare myself Queen.  Come to think of it, I'm well on my way since I've now infiltrated Scottish Parliament...:)

Me in front of the inner entrance

View of the city from atop the castle

One of the many cannons.  This one looks like it has a direct aim for the Scots Monument, which I thought was strange...

The Great Hall

And this is a great view of the castle from Grassmarket Street, an area of Old Town with tons of old pubs and bars.  We're actually planning on going on a literary pub tour next weekend in this area which should be fun, especially with Robert Burns Night quickly approaching.  Got that idea from Rick Steves, thanks Mom :)

Until then, cheers!