Scotland! Pt 1

Sunday morning Kev drove me to Washington DC where my flight left out of Regan. I've flown out of Dullas before, but never Regan. I was in and at the gate in something like 20 minutes, and that was even with an international flight. I flew from there to Newark where my plane left at 8:10pm.

I flew United and I have to say, not really a fan. The gate people aren't the nicest. We're actually flying them again next month to Germany. Please don't suck.... 

The flight from DC to Newark was delayed leaving and again on the runway waiting to leave. When we arrived in Newark I had to actually run to get to the shuttle and again to the gate. My flight was almost finished boarding when I got there. Not cool. 

The flight was overnight and we were set to arrive in Edinburgh at 8am. There's a 5 hour time difference so yeah, 3am our time. The one thing that seemed odd to me on the flight was the sheer amount of food and beverage they gave us. I swear, they were always coming around with something. We took off, then it was time for dinner, a choice of ravioli or turkey meatloaf (really). Then beverages, then ice cream dessert, then clean up. Finally we go a few hours break, but 1.5 hours before we arrived, it was breakfast time. A croissant and coffee, or a 2am snack.I think I got about an hour and a half of sleep on the plane. 

Really though, the flight was uneventful and we landed safely in Edinburgh at 815am. I made it through customs and took a cab to my hotel which was about 25 minutes from the airport. I was really, really thankful that when I got to the hotel at 930am my room was ready because I totally took a 3 hour nap. 

After I was showered and relatively coherent, I wandered over to the office which was a short walk away. When I stepped out of the hotel, this is what I saw.

Yes, the Edinburgh Castle right up the hill from my hotel. How flipping awesome is that??

I went into the office for a few hours to make sure everything was set up and ready for my training the next three days. When  I got in, the CEO was there too. Awesome. Hey Walt. 

Even the strip clubs are classy AF in Scotland, 

After a few hours of work, I needed to find some dinner. I was on a mission to find decent fish and chips on my trip. I'd been really, really wanting some and this was my first. Note the tiny pot of peas. Gross.

After my dinner, I stumbled back to my hotel and went to sleep.

The next morning it was time for some training, I wasn't up early enough for the hotel breakfast so I stopped and grabbed something on the way. I went with the bacon roll which was literally, a piece of bacon on a bun. Scottish people love their sandwiches, let me tell you. Can't find a salad anywhere.

Off for a full day of training, before I move on, I'd like to briefly chat about the sheer quantity of gummy candy they ate during class. Bags and bags and bags of Haribo. In their defense, the Haribo of the UK is FAR superior to US gummy candy. It just is.

Soon enough, it was time to do some exploring! Fun Lara fact, my undergrad degree is in the History of Art and Architecture (then I got my MBA because I wanted to be able to eat). What that means is my heart skips a beat when I see amazing architecture.

It was SOOOOO QUAINT! It's really the best word I could use. Everything was all old and quaint and historical. I loved it. 

That particular day I wandered around and found myself at the Greyfriars Kirkyard. It's the cemetery that overlooks the restaurant where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter. I'll chat more about the cemetery later because I went on a haunted tour that included it on Friday night.

But here are some daytime pics of the place because when I went later, it was definitely darker. 

(Not as impressive on the inside)

There were some spooky stories about this place

And even more spooky behind the locked gate. The tour I went on actually got you behind the gate into a place that's regularly has a lot of haunted activity. 

More wandering, LOOK AT THAT VIEW!

And this one which is crooked for some reason. But that sky, and those buildings!

I saw this sign and didn't ask what Haggis Poo was. I figured it was for the best. 

Then I saw this!! A cat cafe!

It was 7 pounds for an hour with the cats. This trip was my break from having cats crawling all over me and having to pet them. I passed but I LOVE that it exists!

Pretty much everywhere you go, there's the castle. So pretty.

By that point I was pretty hungry and I found a pub.

He he he..

I got a giant cider and it was good. I also made friends with 2 airline attendants who were there on a layover. We drank cider and chatted about how fricking quaint everything was.

Apparently there are ghosts at the pub, but there are ghosts everywhere in Edinburgh and it's not that big of a deal.

More pretty streets.

and amazing views

And the church! Ahhh look at it!!! I'll chat more about it later, I ended up over there on Saturday and was inside where it's even better than on the outside.

That was part one and my first 2 days in Scotland! Part 2 and maybe 3 coming soon! 

Enjoy!

Linking up with Meet at the Barre!