What an interesting morning we had. The group spent the night literally ten minutes away from the airport, yet the bus that came to transport us there was the biggest and nicest of any of the others we rode on. We had two floors and enough space for everyone to have 2+ seats to themselves. That’s definitely something I will include in my feedback to Cultural Connections, along with the fact that we could’ve drive to Edinburgh, Scotland in the amount of time it took us to get to and wait in the airport and then fly from Manchester to Edinburgh. Regardless of those minor irritations, the sight of Scotland upon arrival was worth all the hassle of the morning.
Our hotel was in the most convenient spot of all our previous hotels on this rip. It was located within walking distance of so many restaurants, attractions, pubs, shops, and much more. We didn’t have much time to rest there though because we headed to Edinburgh Castle for a self guided tour before meeting a tour guide for a walk of the Royal Mile. The castle was the perfect spot for pictures because the view was absolutely breathtaking. It has to be one of the top 5 best views I have ever witnessed in my life.
Walking through the castle was just as great because I got to see the Scottish Crown Jewels and make a mental comparison to that of the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London. I could’ve spent much more time exploring, but our guided tour quickly approached as we all met up again to meet Alan, our kilt-wearing tour guide.
It was obvious that he was an authentic Scottish man by his accent and pride for the country. His accent certainly made everything sound much more interesting than if it were relayed in a Pittsburgh accent, in my opinion. We were truly lucky because the weather was gorgeous this day, but it did make all those steps and steep hills seem a lot more tiresome. This also could have been partly do to the fact that we had all been walking tens of miles a day for the last week and a half, but who’s counting? His stories were entertaining, and it was definitely nice to walk the Mile the first time around with some background information on the stretch from a local expert.
After the tour concluded, our group separated briefly before meeting again for dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant named Oliverio. My entree was a margherita pizza that was bigger than my head, and I just knew that in a few days I would be looking back at pictures and wishing I had found a way to eat it all in that one sitting. This group dinner did not disappoint, that’s for sure.
Because of this large meal sitting on me, I decided to head back to the hotel for the night and make some calls to my family while I had the free time. One thing I have noticed is that I take my unlimited data for granted back home. It has been so challenging not being to text, call, or even Google directions without being connected to WiFi. Back home, I would be too skeptical to hop on an open network I didn’t know, but over here, I’ve joined just about every free one I can find. I don’t usually live on my phone when I am home, but it is really weird feeling like you have no connection to the world outside of your small space. Anyway, it was a much needed night in to prepare for an early start with the last two media visits the next day!