What We Did in Edinburgh: Day 2

Here's something you need to know about Edinburgh: it's COLD. As in I should have brought my parka in the middle of July cold. It is also overcast and rainy, a fact that I happen to love. If you don't like overcast and rainy, something is wrong with you. 

After Senior 1 & Senior 2 finally decided to wake up, we ventured on over to The Elephant House (the cafe J.K. Rowling wrote quite a bit of Harry Potter). I'm a huge Harry Potter fan - but not like these crazy people. I prefer to keep my enthusiam under the guise of normal (and sane) behavior. 

Also, I'm too much of a semi-germophobe to put my hand anywhere near a bathroom wall - let alone write on one. 

Breakfast was delicious, and I can totally see how the place would be the perfect place to write a book. We need an Elephant House in Boerne where I can write the book I'll probably never write. 

After breakfast, we walked over to Edinburgh Castle. And by walked, I mean we climbed up and down stairs every two feet. I should move to Edinburgh just to get in shape.  

I prebooked our tickets online that morning, which is a good thing because the ticket line was crazy long. Whoever created the internet is a genius. 

The people standing in line are not. 

While admission to the castle was kind of expensive (20 pounds a person), I'd recommend it. I mean, if you like castles and history and life and all. 

We could have easily spent all day in Edinburgh Castle. There was so much to take in. We were on a bit of a time crunch though, so we headed to lunch. At an AMERICAN pizza place because Kristen and Kalie have issues. Coincidentally, that will be the last Italian-related food we eat on this trip because we are sick of pizza. And pasta. And the Italians. 

Actually, not the Italians. We haven't even seen any of those. The UK apparently really likes its pizza though as you can find it virtually on every corner. I mean, where's all the bangers and mash people speak of?

Nowhere. That's where. 

After lunch we ventured down to Princes Street Gardens, which was - by the way - very disappointing. There were supposed to be flowers, but it was just a very green field. With the biggest tree (and circle of dirt), I've ever seen. Besides wanting to curl up with a book in that tree, it wasn't very exciting. 

We also went to Jenner's since it's supposed to be an institution in Edinburgh. Not a mental institution like Kristen thought when I mentioned it. Just - you know - popular. 

I'm still trying to figure out why it's so popular as it was quite unimpressive. Granted, shopping in general is limited in Edinburgh so I can see the appeal. 

I could never live in Scottland for this reason. Where would I get my cute, totally-not-appropriate-for-the-weather clothes? 

By this point it was time to head back to the hotel to pick up our bags and head to the train station. It conveniently started to rain on us and almost turned the ice cream we just got into water milkshakes. Which would have been disgusting. 

Another strange thing about Edinburgh: they have weird ice cream. They call it "whippy ice cream," and it pretty much tastes like Cool Whip. So if you're into that sort of thing, that's a plus. 

When we boarded the train, I was pretty sure we were sitting next to terrorists but it turns out one of them has seen Frozen so we were safe. It's common knowledge that terrorists don't go around singing Frozen songs. 

Once I learned that, I felt bad because apparently I am judgemental. 

And paranoid. 

Until tomorrow, 

The Americans Who Don't Want to Come Home

What We Did in Edinburgh: Day 1

Fun fact about Europe: the sun rises way before the buttcrack of dawn. When I woke up this morning to get ready to catch our 8 AM train, the sun was already fully alive and kickin' at 5 AM. I'm not sure why it took me four days to realize this - observant I am not.

We took the train at Kings Cross to make our journey to Edinburgh. I was a little disappointed that our train left from Platform 4 though because I had really high hopes of finding the elusive Platform 9 3/4. Next week before our train leaves for Oxford, we will be on the hunt. 

Another fun fact about London: they apparently do not believe in trash cans (or "litter bins" as they call the very few and far between around the city). We grabbed breakfast while we were waiting for our train, but could not find any litter bins. And believe me, we looked. 

You also have to pay for public restrooms (or "toilets"). Why anyone would actually want to pay to use a public restroom is beyond me. My change has stayed safe and sound in my wallet. 

Since it was my and Kalie's first time to ride a train, I spent a lot of time looking out the window. Kalie decided her time would be better utilized by watching Arrow on her iPad. 

Once we made it to Edinburgh, our 3 minute walk to the hotel quickly turned into 20 minutes as we walked up and down the same street looking for the hotel that Google said was right in front of us. Eventually a very nice gentleman took pity on us and walked up and down the street with us inspecting said Google maps. We eventually found the sign hiding next to a bar, and he walked up with us to make sure it really was said hotel. 

We checked in and then went looking for a place to eat lunch. Little did we know that in addition to the British Open there was also a Blues & Jazz festival. The streets were packed, music was pouring out of the sky, and people were even resorting to carrying their dogs to make sure they survived the crowds. 

After lunch we walked through the city to take in the sights and observe the commonfolk. There are a few things we noticed straight away: 1) The city is built on different levels, so avoiding stairs and/or hills is next to impossible and 2) the Scottish like their booze. Even at 2 PM in the afternoon. 

We made our way to Arthur's Seat, and I convinced Kalie and Kristen to hike up to the top. I conveniently left out the fact that it was a dormant volcano until after we were up there. By the time we got to the top, we'd ditched our jackets that were a necessity only 30 minutes before. Hiking is hard work, apparently. 

We could see the entire city of Edinburgh from the top. It was spectacular and almost made me want to adopt hiking as a hobby.

Almost. 

We made our way back down the mountain and popped by the Holyrood Palace. It was massive and I wanted to go in, but at 20 pounds a person we decided against it. I should have just walked over and demanded to be let in. Because I'm royalty and all. 

Obviously. 

We resumed our journey around the city and stopped by a fudge shop because who actually passes up fudge? 

After that we made our way back to the hotel because the old people (Kristen and Kalie) were tired. I stared out the window while they slept and observed the Scottish in their natural habit: the pub. 

When Senior 1 and Senior 2 finally woke up, we made our way to dinner. We tried to give the restaurant/pub a go since it was close and convenient for aforementioned Seniors, but when we walked in we quickly realized it wasn't our scene. 

And by that, I mean it was pretty much a club, and we probably shouldn't have even had Kalie in there. Which was confirmed later that night when we were trying to get back to our hotel and two security guards almost didn't let Kalie and I in. 

You know, because we're 12 and all. 

We finally found a real restaurant pub that actually had room to move, and I finally tried a British pie. I kind of cheated though and ordered the Chicken, Chardonnay and Pancetta one. Because it seemed less scary. The pie was delicious (if a little big). The mashed potatoes, on the otherhand, were not. But then again, I'm not really a huge mashed potatoes fan. 

We returned to the hotel where we were lulled to sleep by the peaceful sounds of the crowds chanting Little Jon's "Get Low" and The Proclaimers' "500 Miles"... among many other lullabies. 

Until later, 

The Americans Who Will Eventually Be Returning Home, But Reluctantly

What We Did in London: Day 3

We are currently traveling by train through the English countryside on our way to Edinburgh (pronounced Edin-borough, in case you were interested. No, it doesn't make sense). Yesterday was jam-packed and since we didn't get back to the hotel until 1 AM and had to wake up at 5:00, I'm just now getting around to this. Thank you Virgin Trains for your free wifi!

So here's a recap of Day 3, entitled: "I'm Just a Girl, Standing in Front of a Boy, Asking Him to Love Her." Yep, we did Nottinghill today. I have to admit, though, that I am super disappointed in my sister because she has apparently never seen the movie Nottinghill and therefore does not appreciate the awesomeness of this day. 

But I digress. 

By the time we were ready to head out to breakfast at Raoul's (the first place I found that served french toast - a food Kalie will actually eat), we were pretty hungry so I decided it would be a good idea to book an Uber. I set up the app, plugged in our route, and got an estimate. Seemed sensible enough. 

Then I started doubting the safety of Uber and decided that we should try to use Addision Lee, the car company that picked us up from the airport. 20 minutes later, the app still hadn't downloaded, so we decided to risk it and give Uber a go... until we plugged in our route again and were quoted triple the rate due to some kind of surcharge. We probably would have gotten the creepy driver, so it must have been fate. 

We ended up switching back to our original plan and took the Tube. 

After exiting at a rather sketch-looking Tube station, we walked through another rather sketch-looking neighborhood with a Google maps app that decided to function only when it felt like it. 10 minutes later, I was about to give up and scratch said breakfast place until we stumbled upon the street that led to it. We were so happy to see the restaurant, we almost ran in. But we didn't. We were totallly sensible and proper. 

After ording our breakfast, I was looking around the restuarant and noticed that the girl across the room looked a lot like Kate Hudson. Then I realized that it was Kate Hudson and told Kalie to look but not right now. Kalie spent the rest of breakfast stalking her in the window, and I kept trying to simultaneously take secret pictures and not look at her. 

I wanted to go over and ask her for directions to Nottinghill, but I thought it would be a little suspicious. Since she already caught us looking at her and all.

I wish I had had my video camera on the ready though because, at one point, she started singing (quite loud) to the song her son was listenening to on her phone. Complete with hand motions. 

Anywho, breakfast was delicious, and I'd highly recommend eating at Raoul's if you are in the Nottinghill area. I had a bowl on greek yogurt with honey, fruit and nuts the size of my head, and Kalie had the french toast (without powdered sugar, much to her disappointment. It apparently is not much of a thing here as the waitress had no idea what we were talking about). I also tried my first ever cappucino there, and I am now hooked for life. Where have cappucinos been hiding all of these years and why have I never thought to order one? 

After breakfast my Google Maps app decided to work again so we made our way down to Portobello Road for some shopping in Nottinghill (and to see the Nottinghill bookstore). You know, from the movie Kalie has never seen

We also grabbed a cookie at Biscuiteers (It was ok - I wouldn't recommend going out of your way for it) and cupcakes at Hummingbird Bakery because apparently our goal on this trip is to gain 30 pounds. The cupcakes, incidentally, were delicious and also great for crisis management (see later in day). 

After doing some serious damage to our wallets, we ate lunch at Jamie Oliver's restaurant in Nottinghill: Recipease. Jamie Oliver is one of my favorite chefs, so I had to eat in at least one of his many restaurants around the London area. I'm glad we ended up at this one because it was pretty awesome. Plus, they were able to accomodate Kalie and her kid's "pasta with butter and cheese only" which is more of a victory than you realize. 

We made our way back to the hotel to drop off our bags because I read (from muliple sources, including the Harrod's website) that Harrod's requires you to check your bags upon entry for 10 pounds each. Apparently, though, this is not enforced because we and all the other thousand people in Harrods had large (and sometimes multiple) bags and no one said anything.

Anyway, before we went to Harrods we were eating cupcakes and checking the balance on our Oyster (Tube) cards when a very strange alarm started to sound at our hotel. I wasn't really sure what it was (or what to do) until a very British voice came over the intercom telling us it was an emergency and to find the nearest escape route (avoiding the lifts). 

My overactive imagination immediately went to the unattended bag we had just passed in Leicester Square, so of course I was thinking bomb. You know, like an optimistic person. Plus, as Kalie so sweetly reminded me, it's happened before. 

So thanks, Kalie, for that mid-crisis encouragement. 

We grabbed the important things: my blanket and Kalie's meds (she also grabbed her iPad which tells me she clearly has issues). Then we ran down the hall pretty much freaking out and thinking we were going to get trapped on the top floor of the hotel. Except Kalie was laughing because that's apparently what she does in crisis situations and I was yelling at her because IT IS NOT FUNNY. 

After running through about a 1/2 mile of hallway (W - you should really rethink the fire exits on the 7th flood), we made it to the stairs with a very flustered gentleman and a very peeved lady with only half-finished nails that made the stairwell smell strongly of nail polish fumes. Halfway down the stairs, the very British man came back over the intercom to tell us that it was a false alarm. Which stunk for Mr. Flustered because his phone was now in pieces on the stairs due to his rush. 

After locking our important things in the (assumedly) fireproof safe just in case, we hopped back on the Tube and made our way over to Harrods. The place was massive, and I doubt we even saw half of it. It was fun to walk around, but it wasn't a place I would necessarily frequent if I lived there. Mainly because I couldn't afford it. 

They had some really pretty clothes, but once I realized that half of them didn't even have the price on the tag, I figured I should stop looking. Because that's just mean. 

We did manage to find the most important things though: the toy store and the Disney store. Because 25 and 17 year olds have priorities. I also managed to get my hands on these gems to further fuel my Duchess of Cambridge obsession: 

While we were in Harrods, we also stumbled across the cutest dog store in the history of ever: Mungo & Maud. Kalie bought Gracie some treats and according to the sales clerk (whose hair I wanted to steal), many of the owners also eat said treats.

 

I'm wasn't really sure what to make of that. 

I also traveled back in time and met the Queen. You know, Dr. Who powers and all because we're in London.

 

For dinner we grabbed some picnic supplies at Whole Foods and walked over to Grovesnor Square for an outdoor viewing of Breakfast at Tiffany's. If you know me, then you know that Audrey Hepburn is my favorite and Breakfast at Tiffany's is a movie I never tire of. It was better than I imagined it would be, and even though we didn't get back to the hotel until 1 AM, it was worth it. 

We also stumbled upon a Tiffany's on our walk to the square, so naturally I had to take a picture because it was Audrey Hepburn fate. 

Until tomorrow, 

The Americans Who Won't Be Coming Home

**Just kidding though - we'll be coming home. I miss my husband.