I spent this past weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland with my roommate Whitney. We arrived in Edinburgh at around 2 pm on Friday afternoon. We stayed at the Castle Rock Hostel, which was quite interesting to say the least! The hostel was decorated very tackily in a medieval theme, complete with mannequins in armour standing on the stairs! Each room had a theme; Whitney and I were in a room entitled "Mr. Men". Each bed also had a name, so Whitney was Mr. Tickle and I was Mr. Grumpy for the weekend. Ridiculous, but I can't complain for just $24 a night!! Also, the hostel was literally right across the street from the steps to Edinburgh Castle, so we had a great view each time we walked out the door!

We spent Friday afternoon touring Edinburgh Castle. The castle was built upon a huge bed of rock which was formed by volcanic activity. The castle is made of many buildings, some of which are not open to the visiting public. We were able to see the Scottish crown jewels, St. Margaret's Chapel, some of the dungeons, and the large cannons situated along the castle wall. The view from the castle was also amazing, since it is a fortress high above the city. It was a beautiful day, so we were able to take some great photos of the city. After touring the castle, we walked down the Royal Mile, which is a famous street in the city. It is filled with Scottish pubs and shops selling kilts and tartan fabrics. After some souvenir shopping, we ate some delicious dinner at a local pub.

Our first stop Saturday morning was St. Giles Cathedral, located just off the Royal Mile. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see much of the church since it was in the process of being restored. We then made our way to the City Art Centre, where we had seen an advertisement for an Ansel Adams exhibition. We decided to pay to see the exhibit, which was well worth our while. We browsed through three floors of Ansel Adams photographs, which was amazing!! Too bad my photos of Scotland didn't turn out looking like his! After the exhibit, we visited the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is the Queen's residence in Scotland. The palace was built in a rectangular shape, with an open courtyard in the center. The interior of the palace was beautiful and was similar in decor to Windsor Castle in England. We also had a tour of Holyrood Abbey, the church that existed on the grounds before the palace was built. Due to Henry VIII's attack on the abbey, all that remains are the walls. The palace is also situated beside Arthur's Seat, which is a huge mountain just outside the city. Many people climb the mountain for its spectacular views, but Whitney and I opted out of that one! However, we did climb Calton Hill to see the monuments dating back to the Napoleonic Era. It wasn't quite as high as Arthur's Seat, but we got a pretty good view of the city, the North Sea, and the mountains from Calton Hill. As it begin to rain on our way back down the hill, we decided to visit the Museum of Scotland to get out of the cold. We spent a few hours in the museum before eating dinner and returning to our hostel.

Sunday morning Whitney and I woke up to snow falling outside our window. Although the snow was beautiful, it was very cold! We decided to visit the National Gallery of Scotland so we could stay warm. Although it wasn't as impressive as the national gallery here in London, the museum still had some lovely paintings displayed. After the precipitation ceased, we took a riverside walk beside the Waterway of Leith, which eventually leads to the North Sea. We saw some beautiful views, although we were still pretty cold walking around outside! After eating a late lunch, we returned to our hostel to retrieve our bags and made our way to the airport. Luckily the snow did not affect our flight, so we made it back to London just fine!