Of Islands and Royals

We went back to Cramond. I believe I predicted that we would, although I didn't predict it would be on a day as equally windy and sunny as our first trip.  Background - we went to this amazing historic village on the outskirts of Edinburgh at the end of October, but didn't time it right so that we could walk across the tidal causeway to the Island.  We had a great time the first time, obviously, but what's an island if you can't walk out to it, amiright??

 
 

So, part II of why we decided to return to Cramond is because Alyssa's little sister, Adrianna, and her friend, Annalyssa are visiting from California and they requested a beach trip.  They were pretty pleased to be able to not only walk along the water, but actually walk across the water!  It took us about a half hour to walk the tidal causeway and I was quite glad that we'd seen it covered in water because it provided quite the contrast once the water was all gone!  The island had beautiful views of the Forth Railway Bridge and a few other small, nearby islands that had WWII bunkers on them.  The coolest thing about the island at this time of year was that everything was starting to bloom.  There was a vibrant, naturally occurring yellow on the rocks and the flowers were coming out here, there and everywhere!  We climbed to the top of two different hills to get views and then I lead everyone into the woods (INTO THE WOODS) to find...not Meryl Streep with blue hair. I wish...all of these amazing moss and vine covered crumbling buildings. You could see the outlines of windows and doors here and there and though I originally thought it was more stores or barracks from the WWII era, a quick google search says that the roots of the buildings in the forested area of Cramond are most likely pre-historic farmsteads!

Today we journeyed north!  It was my first time actually crossing the Firth of Forth and I was very excited to explore the Fife region, which is home to towns like Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes and St. Andrews.  And St. Andrews was our destination for the day!  We wanted to see the university where Prince William and the Duchess met as well as some of the beautiful landscapes of the area. People, let me tell you, we sure did get an eye-full!  We arrived in town around 11:30 and decided to do the exterior things first while the weather held (which turned out to be a great idea since it hailed while we were at lunch and snowed - the audacity! - on our bus ride home).  This lead us to the St. Andrews Castle and the St. Andrews Cathedral, both of which are only partially existent at this point. However, although the old buildings were beautiful, it was their position, precariously sitting on the edge of the Firth, that really swept us away!  For any of you who enjoy golf, we also visited their famous golf course, St. Andrews Links which also lies on the coast - though who among you enjoys golf I don't know, nor do I care to be informed. We all know golf is boring - although that course looked like it could hold my interest in an emergency. :)

Crawls, Chapels, and Cats

Hello again, adoring public!  So, it's been about a month since I last wrote to you all and a lot has been going on over here, as always.  Mostly, I've been slaving away over my papers and essays so that I can go on my epic trip in April, guilt-free.  Which is a boring story, but true nonetheless.  However, you all don't come here to hear me lament having to study (I mean, that is why I'm here). You come for the action! The adventure!  The quippy tone!  And I want to deliver for you guys.

 

 

So, to begin, my friend Marianthi had the most brilliant idea ever a couple of weeks ago and that idea was to go on a book shop crawl.  Edinburgh seems to have an endless supply of book stores and we were crying about the fact that we'd only been to a few.  In the usual style of intrepid explorers, we set out to right that truly heinous wrong. So, dear Marianthi made a map for us and we went on a truly awesome walking tour of the city along a learned, literary path!  We visited 7 book stores in the span of a few hours, and, for those of you who know me (and my obsession with books) the best, you'll know how hard it was for me to control myself and only buy 4.  Still, I think I made some pretty great choices!  After walking around for a few hours, we had a fever, and the only prescription was the coffee shop Chocolate Tree! (You thought I was going to say, "more cowbell", did you?)   People...this place...there are no words. It's SO tiny, there literally only have two tables there, but they serve the most amazing hot chocolate, and if the hot chocolate wasn't enough on it's own, they put gelatto in it!  You have not LIVED until you have had a milk chocolate hot cocoa with a mega scoop of salted caramel ice cream.  And now I have to stop talking about that, because I will drool into my keyboard and short-circuit it.

 

Now, what really got me writing today was a short jaunt to Rosslyn Chapel yesterday!  Yes, THE Rosslyn Chapel - the one from DaVinci Code, the one with all the Knights Templar biz, the one with the masonic roots!  It was everything and more.  You could feel such a sense of history being in there, and the fact that the entire church was carved from stone was really stunning.  The intricacy of these carvings, and the lack of continuity really threw you for a loop.  The tour guide told us about so many interesting tidbits - like the hidden crosses carved into the walls, the weirdly posed angels behind the altar, the crest of Scotland (side note: you all know that the national animal of Scotland is a unicorn, right?  A freaking UNICORN?  Are you kidding me?!), and the murder that occurred right in the middle of the chapel!  Plus, there was a seriously creepy crypt, and you could see the ruins of Rosslyn Castle from outside.  We didn't get to stay as long as we would've liked, but that was mostly due to our bus driver, who got us lost and drove us past the Royal (Dick) School of Edinburgh, like, five times. Our laughter is probably still echoing through their halls!

The reason we were in a rush, was because we had booked a table at the first ever Edinburgh Cat Cafe!  What is a Cat Cafe, you ask?  Exactly what it sounds like, I answer.  We had an hour to hang out with and pet a range of adorable kitties!  The cuteness cannot really be described, so I'll just let you enjoy the photos.