Day 66

We made it to Scotland! We took our quiz right at 9, and then left right after to catch a bus down to the Tube to make it to King's Cross on time. We literally just made it at 10:45, but luckily our platform number wasn't up yet. This trip was packed, and the annoying rich girl from Poland is on it as well as some other faces I remember from Poland. There's this really annoying guy who sat behind us on the train and he would not stop screaming and playing music and I was getting really mad because Emelia and I were trying to read and take notes for our class on Monday. It was about a 5 hour train ride, and luckily I had packed rice cakes and peanut butter in my container to have for lunch. We managed to finish our homework and the countryside looked so pretty as we passed so the hours flew by.  We got to Edinburgh at about 4:30, and our hostel was only about a mile away. Emelia, the rich girl, and another girl I knew from Poland, and I are all in the same room, and we were lucky to get the only four person room. The rest of them are in two 6-person co-ed rooms, so we have it good. I also get a top bunk, which always makes me happy for some reason. The bathrooms are in our suites, so it feels more like a hotel. We also get free breakfast in the morning. After dropping our backpacks off in the hostel, Emelia and I subtly ditched the rich girl and headed to find food. The rest of them were either going to the pub crawl or a ghost tour, but we decided to just explore. The food options were rather scarce, and we didn't really feel like having a sitdown meal and waste a couple of hours, so yes, we ended up at Subway. Honestly, I missed Subway so much that it was worth it. There's no real Scottish foods that I know of, except haggis, and no one could pay me to eat that. After supper we explored, wandering through shops and streets. Cashmere is really big here, but unfortunately I will not be bringing that back as a souvenir to anyone. Eventually we found our way to the Edinburgh Castle. How we managed to find it without having a map, directions, or without getting lost, I have no idea. The Castle was obviously closed, but we walked right up to the main entrance where there was some type of event going on. It was all lit up and there was a huge lot in front of the castle where we could stand. Today is also Guy Fawkes' Day, so it was a celebration in the UK. Fireworks were going off all around town, so Emelia and I stood for some time in front of the castle watching fireworks go off in all directions. It was one of the best moments. We then wandered back to our hostel (without getting lost). Tomorrow we have an early day as we are going to the Highlands and away from Edinburgh.