Well everyone. I’m very behind on my entries...and will only fall back further and so I better get on, eh?
Two weekends ago, I headed up to Edinburgh on my own. I got a round trip bus ticket for £12.50 and three nights for the price of two at the best hostel in Edinburgh (The Globetrotter Inn) which ended up being less that £10 a night (around $17). So at that price, I couldn’t afford NOT to go to Scotland.
The ride up was horrendous. Well, I had leave Brighton for London at about 7 and then sit around for a couple of hours. Just before midnight, we rode a big travel bus that was actually two buses with the accordion connection in the middle and we made the 8hr trip to Glasgow. My dumb self sat just behind the bathroom on the left side. I couldn’t stretch the ONE knee that acts up if I can’t move it around a bit and it had already been bothering me because the day before, I’d spent a total of 8 hours on trains getting to Bristol and back for my class. So, on this bus over, the AC was on...but so was the heater set to like 80! I’m super skinny and I get cold easily, but I was going to DIE so I know everyone else was miserable. It was diabolically retarded! Why have on both the AC and the heat? How can that be cost effective, I mean I was spending £12.50 on this which was probably less than gas if I drove that far. We stopped around 3am for snacks. I watched a girl smoke a cigarette in the most peculiar way; I was fascinated! I’m upset that I never saw her light it, for that must have been a treat. Were I taking an acting class next semester, I would most certainly recreate her. Anyway, I must have slept or fainted, but I made it there okay. It was amazing to drive down Princes Street, site of the opening of Trainspotting (yes, I’m a movie nerd).
The hostel rocks. It’s quite far from the City Centre, but they run shuttles back and forth every hour. It’s back on the edge of the water and it has a kitchen, restaurant, grocery store and bar with a gorgeous view. Self-contained! And each bunk has it’s own reading light and curtain for privacy. Each room has a locker with a key they give you. The best I’ve been to. Great place.
After settling at the hostel, I returned to the city and shopped a bit...well, I browsed at clothes and ended up buying books at a music store...including that super heavy The Pythons by The Pythons (if you haven’t seen it, think The Beatles Anthology - the hardcover). Good idea of the century! I go to another music store and buy - guess what? More books. Actually, one was a novel written by Scottish actor Alan Cumming - Tony-winner Cabaret, Night Crawler in X2. I didn’t know he wrote and I doubt I could find it in the states. I went to a local bar and got a pint and a beef and mushroom pie with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The place was crowded and a group of 7 women came and shared the table with me. I think they weren’t from Edinburgh, but were meeting up before going to some event at half six (six-thirty I love the phrases here. Taking the piss is my other favorite). So...it was interesting... I was listening to them talk and the lady next to me sort of goes over their itinerary, something like we’ll eat and then we’ll all go...”All except the black girl!” Another woman says “Oh no, not the black girl...” I don’t think I was ...okay, I was sort of offended but not to the point that I would confront them, but I had definitely noticed the Orange-County-ness to the population of Scotland. You see the occasional Indian, but very few black people. I dunno, I’ve never been referred to as “the black girl” by someone sitting directly next to me. And I hated that I got all high-and-mighty as you can tell by their accents that they weren’t well-to-do. But...I didn’t hold it against them. I mean, if they didn’t like me they wouldn’t have sat there and they thanked me for letting them share my table with them. I dunno weird. Well, I got back the hostel and slept even though it was about 5.
The next day, I stayed in and studied. Sad but true, I had a presentation due the day after I returned and an essay and final PowerPoint presentation due the day after that. Not to mention, I still had one more interview to conduct and then type up. Bad time to travel but...whattayagonnado?
That evening, I got some takeaway sandwiches, crisps and got a pint and sat in the bar. I noticed a guy sitting near me drinking Corona and I was immediately fascinated. Someone in the UK drinking Corona?!? Why!?! Well, he and his buds were sitting and talking and I was eavesdropping as that’s my favorite thing to do there. The accents are priceless! I think they were joking and the other two guys sat next to him on the one couch and he got up and sat next to me, which was the perfect excuse for me to ask about the Corona. It’s like what people drink when they already had a lot but they still want alcohol. I met an Irish girl in Rome who told me the same thing. Though the Australians say Corona is ridiculously expensive there. ANYWAY. For the life of me, I can’t remember this guy’s name but he was from Liverpool with his mates for a stag party. We chatted a bit and then the group had to go debauch themselves. I was upset, I was having a nice chat. I think I ended up talking to an American for the rest of the night until I had to go sleep.
The next day I did the whole tourist thing with some UC girls on the same program I’m on at Sussex. Basically, I was on my own, but we caught the same bus to London and Glasgow. They stayed in Glasgow for a night, but I went straight to Edinburgh. They ended being in the same hostel as me on the same floor, like 3 doors away! I did get back sooner then they, as I had work to do. But, I spent the day with them. We went to Edinburgh castle, the Scotch Whisky Heritage Museum (any tour that starts “Come on over and get a whisky” is pretty awesome...especially when they guy has a thick Scottish accent). We went on this cemetery tour that takes us to this room that’s supposed to be the world’s best documented poltergeist. Nothing too amazing happened though a girl may or may not have ended up with scratches (they say people sometimes get scratches or bruises after going there). I know a guy who is most likely an inductor of supernatural activity and I’d only believe it if I went in with him. Anyway, we finished pretty late and ended up missing the last shuttle to the hostel - the ONLY thing that sucks about the hostel is the capacity and frequency of shuttles. We had to catch the bus and walk maybe a mile or two in the dark at midnight. By the way, since we were so far north, the sun didn’t completely set until after 11! We made it home okay, cursing the Globetrotter all the way.
The next day, I woke early to check out and catch the early shuttle the bus stop. I walked along the water (Forth of Firth, I believe). I was beautiful, people walking past said “‘Morning!” I took some nice pictures and took a shell, rock and tiny pine cone as my budget souvenirs from my stay there. I made it back to London okay. I got my final interview of an Indian male born and raised in Perth. It was just cool to hear this accent out of an Indian guy. When I asked him if he considered himself British or Scottish, he said “Indian.” Cool. I made it back and finished my work. Teacher dug both my presentations. One class down, next one to go...but only after my Roman Holiday...
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