Edinburgh, Scotland: Day One

Destination: Edinburgh, Scotland. This weekend was my first time actually outside of England. I figured I’ll start out small and work my way around to the bigger cities in Europe while I’m here. I found out before I was leaving that two other girls were also going to Edinburgh, I was even more excited to know that I would have company along the way.


I took a coach from London to Edinburgh on Thursday night, arriving in there on Friday morning. I made my way to the hostel, and I have to admit I was a little nervous. I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived at the Castle Rock Hostel, which was located at the bottom of Edinburgh Castle. I checked in and went to go meet up with Kara and Anna, who are both from Richmond too. The town was covered in plaid. The seats on the buses were all plaid, a number of men were walking around in traditional kilt suits, and every store was selling plaid clothing; it was exactly how you would hope Scotland would be. We decided to go on a free walking tour of Edinburgh, since we knew there was a lot to see.

We learned a lot about the history of Scotland, from when the English came were in power to when William Wallace (yes, Mel Gibson played him in Braveheart) lead the first of many fights for freedom. After about an hour or so the cold finally got to us and we decided to explore Edinburgh Castle. The view was incredible; you could see the entire city from the highest point in the Castle. I was surprised to find out that they had built the castle on top of an extinct volcano. By the time we realized it, it was already 4:00, and we didn’t get a chance to go inside Parliament.

Anna and Kara decided to walk down there, but I decided to go to the “Heritage of Scotch Whisky Experience.” This was one of the most interesting parts of my time in Edinburgh, Dada you would have really enjoyed this! I got to learn about the famous drink of the region, and how it was made, which is quite a long process! I never knew that much actually went into making what to me seemed like such a simple thing to make. The oldest distillery in Scotland is Glenturret, which was founded in 1775.

After learning about how it’s made, one of the guides explained that there are four different regions of Scotland that produce Scotch whisky. We go to see just how different each region was by having an exaggerated small of what each smelled like. They ranged from vanilla to fruity to peat, the smoke used to dry the malt. We were then able to select a sample of which ever region. But even before we could try it, we were led into the room where Master Blender, Diageo Claive Vidiz which is indescribable, bottles which were served at the Queen’s Jubilee, or were made special for the sail of Titanic. The one thing that our guide told us to remember was, “Never listen to anyone who tells you to drink a particular scotch or tells you how to drink it. Scotch should be enjoyed to your taste” We were able to keep a glass that was designed specifically for tasting and drinking Scotch whisky. While I don’t particular car for the taste, I consider myself a connoisseur on Scotch whisky.

After that enlightening day of learning about Scotland, I headed back to my hostel to get settled in. I met up with Kara and Anna for dinner at a small pub. A tip for travelers: the best and least expensive food can be found at any local pub. After dinner we explored the night life of Scotland, were we didn’t meet a single person from Scotland, but people from Brazil, Australia, England, and Germany! By the end of the night we were exhausted and headed to bed, we had a very exciting day planned for tomorrow.

Pictures: Edinburgh Day 1