Edinburgh

Hey all,

So, Edinburgh and Scotland in general are absolutely gorgeous. Please check out my online photo album for true descriptions of the beauty because I really can't even begin to describe how beautiful it is up there.

I went to visit my friend, Caroline, who's at the University of Edinburgh. Our friend Claire who's at Trinity, Dublin was also there visiting - I cannot tell you how good it was to see familiar faces! The two of them were the perfect pair to celebrate my birthday with and Caroline was my tour-guide extraordinaire and showed me all over the city!! We saw:

Roslin Chapel - this is where "The Da Vinci Code" ends... I am definitely re-reading the book during my April travels. There is a vault underneath the Chapel that hasn't been excavated yet... I asked them to put down my number for when they get down there so I can come along... sadly they weren't putting pen to paper as I gave them the number.

Arthur's Seat - this is the hill that overlooks the city and Caroline and I hiked it with her friend Leslie (on a side note, I loved Caroline's friends! They were all so welcoming!). Great view from the top and quite the adventure what with the snow!

Holyrood Castle - reminded me a lot of Windsor Castle. There's a really neat Abbey attached to it which is in ruins and has lost its roof, which actually was a pretty cool effect.

The Royal Mile - beautiful classical architecture with lots of touristy shops with bagpipe music. Awesome.

St. Giles Cathedral - breathtaking architecture. I snuck a few photos inside even though I wasn't supposed to since I didn't invest in a photography permit for the church.

Edinburgh Castle - we only saw the outside, but it has a great view of the rest of the city!

Grayfriars Church and Cemetary - there are ghosts there. It's also really pretty.

Overall, a spectacular weekend with great friends and a beautiful city! Up next, Venice and Bologna with Siena!!