The final stop of our ten day trip through Europe was
Scotland. Amanda and I treated ourselves and upgraded to first class for the
six hour train trip to Glasgow. Boy, was it worth it! Food and drinks were
constantly available, and the seats were much nicer-a welcome relief after
travelling for so long. The views throughout the ride were spectacular,
especially around sunset. We arrived in Glasgow pretty late, and were content
with staying in at our nice hostel (which included putting the sheets on our
beds in a really dark room-thanks people for going to bed at 9pm on a
Saturday!).
The next
morning (Easter) we set off for Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. There were
some interesting natural history displays, as well as numerous modern and
historic art pieces. Afterwards we walked through the Glasgow University
campus, which was really cool to see. Our last sight in the city was the People’s
Palace and Gardens. Located in the middle of a large park, this museum
contained a very nice exhibition on the history of Glasgow, including its role
in World War II and its evolving culture. The garden was a simple greenhouse
attached to a café, but it was well-kept and even contained some cacti
(Arizona!). We had a great time at the museums (made even better because they
were free), and left Glasgow very happy.
Our hostel in Edinburgh was in a
great spot, at about the halfway point of the Royal Mile. The Royal Mile is
probably the city’s most famous street, with Edinburgh Castle at one end and
Holyrood House at the other. After checking in (where we were given a room with
a name on it-Little Miss-and bed/locker names-Bossy and Shy-who was who?!), we
went out for drinks at some neighboring pubs. Here we had our first good meal
of the trip (I had a good old fashioned cheeseburger!), were treated to some
nice live music, and sampled the house brew at McGregor’s (oh Ewan!).
The following
day we joined a hop-on, hop-off bus tour. We were given a great, informative
tour of the entire city before deciding to disembark at Holyrood House. The palace
for the royal family whenever they visit Scotland, Holyrood House has been in
operation for hundreds of years. While Amanda viewed its art gallery, I walked
around the palace itself with an audio tour. It was very interesting to see, as
all the rooms were kept more or less as they were when the royals visited. The palace
grounds also included the ruins of an abbey and gardens (which I skipped
because it was pouring). Next we wandered around town some more before meeting
up with our ghost tour group that night!
Doing a
ghost tour had been at the top of my list for Edinburgh. One of my family’s
favorite shows, Ghost Adventures, had taped an episode investigating the
Edinburgh vaults and had captured some pretty compelling evidence. But first,
some backstory for you. A certain street in Edinburgh is actually not a street
at all, but a bridge (South Bridge) that only appears to be a normal street. Beneath
the bridge are several levels containing man vaults. Designed as storage areas
for the businesses above, the vaults were quickly abandoned due to poor design.
This is when the criminals, prostitutes, and impoverished (mostly Irish) moved
in. crime and death were a constant, thus creating an extremely haunted area
(apparently the most haunted in the UK, according to the BBC). Back to the
present now, the vaults were the second part of our ghost tour (the first being
a history on torture practices used in Edinburgh-very disturbing). We were lead
down creepy closes (alley ways), that the Royal Mile has many of, to the
entrance of the vaults. Once inside, we were taken through several rooms and
shown what everyday life in the vaults must have been like (terrible!). Finally,
we were given drinks and told a few more eerie stories by our wonderful tour
guide. Overall it was a very creepy and cool experience, even though I didn’t
experience or capture any ghostly presences (sorry you weren’t there, sis!).
Our last
day in Scotland was spent at Edinburgh Castle. It was raining pretty hard, and
there was even snow on the mountains in the distance! Since the castle is at
the top of the Royal Mile, it offers wonderful views of the city and
surrounding area in every direction. Within the castle was the Scottish
National War Museum, a dog cemetery, a great hall, the Scottish Crown Jewels,
the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Regimental Museum, and numerous canon batteries.
We were also able to go into the infamous Mary Queen of Scots’ rooms. Finally,
there was a reconstruction room of where prisoners of war (including from the
American Revolution) were kept for the past few hundreds of years. It was quite
an impressive castle overall and I would highly recommend visiting!
That wraps
up our big trip! Amazing and unforgettable, the incredible sights we saw and
cities we experienced will always put a smile on my face. Thanks for reading!!
Click here for pictures from Glasgow
Click here for pictures from Edinburgh
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