Alexa, play “Rather Be” by Clean Bandit.
I cannot express how excited I was that our free day was in Scotland. I never knew how much I wanted to go to Edinburgh until we were there and every sight was more breathtaking than the last.
A few members of the group went hiking to Arthur’s Seat in the morning, but naturally, Julia, Diego and I had a late start to the morning because we prefer to be night owls. Nonetheless, we got ready to hike and spend our last day outside in yet another day of shockingly beautiful Scottish sun.
Approaching Arthur’s Seat, it looks absolutely massive and menacing. There are numerous trails to take – you could climb the stairs, hike the rocky mountain side or walk up the back of the mountain through plush grass and gradual grades.
The three misfits decided to take the stairs. We all have videos of us climbing this mountainside – and you can clearly hear us panting. Besides a large amount of walking, this trip did not help out our gym routine too well, so we knew we were in for one hell of a leg day.
But let me say, it was absolutely worth it. I’ve said it maybe 20 times by now, but the view of Edinburgh from the top of that mountain was absolutely stunning, and I’m not sure if any future sight will ever measure up to that. We were literally on top of the world, and there was no place I’d rather be than the top of that mountain with these two people (Hence the name of this blog, and Julia played this song for background music in a video she took of the view.)
We walked around the peak for some time taking photos and admiring the view, and I remember just taking a moment to sit in a little grassy area with Julia and Diego as we decided to make the hike back down the mountain.
We were about to start walking down a path and Julia suggested we just sit and take in the view. We sat in a row, myself sandwiched between the two. Julia was a literal stranger two weeks prior to this moment, and Diego and I only hung out a handful of times outside of class before the trip. We sat, stared and just expressed our gratitude for this trip and the people we’ve met and made connections with. That short moment was packed with so much sentimental meaning – and sick sniffles as I have a photo of Julia passing me a tissue because our immune systems decided to fail us on the last day.
We hiked back down the mountain and onward to the hotel. We had a final farewell dinner with the group and one final meeting scheduled for that night, so we showered at the hotel and got ready for the night’s calm festivities. With a day full of traveling awaiting, we figured tonight wouldn’t be smart to experience the Edinburgh nightlife for a second time.
First was the group meeting – we discussed a few things we learned from the back half of the media visits including BBC, Fringe and Whitespace, and then we moved on to reflect what we will take away most from this trip – but I won’t get into that in this blog (stay tuned for Day 12). All I know is, I was not the only one who needed this trip and I loved hearing the thoughts of everyone else.
Our dinner was at Howie’s, a restaurant right around the corner from our hotel. Since we were in Scotland, I figured I should try at least one whiskey drink with the last meal, so I did.
Update: I still don’t like whiskey.
However, the food was pretty good for the last meal of the trip, and I wanted five more desserts. I love a good brownie with sorbet.
After dinner, our last excursion of the trip was a haunted tour of the city – now this was my cup of tea. I love everything creepy and horrifying.
Our guide, Jane, was very theatrical and I loved every second of it – especially when she whipped Diego and Craig.
We went in city closes and underground vaults while Jane told us of the history and spirits that roam the streets (and under the streets). She talked about torture tactics, sightings of these spirits and their habits. Little Jack apparently likes laced up leather shoes (which I was wearing and likes to tug on coats – my coat was tugged.
Lo and behold, it was just Craig.
With failing immune systems and about nine hours worth of flying the next day, mostly everyone retired to their rooms for the night after the haunted tour. Diego and I decided to go for one last walk around the city, and we somehow walked circles no matter what way we went and found our way back to the hotel. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very excited we didn’t get lost. It was just quite strange that we couldn’t seem to get lost even if we tried.
Almost wish I would’ve gotten lost enough that I’d be left in Scotland instead of going home to Pittsburgh.