Greetings from Edinburgh, Scotland! (Day 1 - GToE)

First let me say this: to all you people who have the ability to sleep on an airplane, I hate you! :-) In my entire life, I have never, ever been able to sleep on a plane. It doesn't matter how long or short the flight is, sleep is not happening. As of this posting, I have been awake for over 30 hours straight. For an old insomniac pro like me, this loss of sleep isn't usually an issue, except that I've been a little busy running around like a maniac over the past 24 hours or so. Ah well, such is the life of a world traveler.

Here's where my Grand Tour of Europe begins:

Monday, Oct 20, 6:06pm: British Airways flight from Philadelphia International Airport to Edinburgh (with a connection through London) departed. It was a mostly uneventful flight, with the lone exception of the passenger who sat next to me with his arms akimbo and legs spread - invading my personal space. ARGH. Otherwise, a smidgeon of turbulence and a lot of reading (14 chapters). 

The flight arrived in London on Oct 21 at 5:20 am -- 50 minutes early, so I had plenty of time to get through security before I boarded my flight to Edinburgh. The flight was scheduled to depart London at 8:00am and was only delayed by 5 minutes -- arriving in Edinburgh by 9:20am. After grabbing my checked luggage, I traveled via bus to my hostel in Center City. By the way, the people of Edinburgh are incredibly nice and helpful!! 

I arrived at my hostel around 10:15am and was told that my room was available immediately, which is a rarity but I grabbed the key and climbed the 5 flights of stairs (ARGH!) to Penthouse 4. It's not nearly as glamorous as it sounds, but it's a single room to myself, so I'll take the exhaustive climb. I was told by reception that there was a free 2.5 hour walking tour of Edinburgh starting at 11:00 am and if I hurry, I could make it. So despite the lack of sleep, I immediately ran up the block in order to take this lovely walking tour. The tour guide, Ben, was amazing and really gave some incredibly interesting information. In fact, he was so great, that I signed up for the 2pm walking tour of Edinburgh Castle which he was guiding. Yeah, I'm a whack job, but I kept getting a second wind and pressing on. You can see all my photos on my Grand Tour of Europe photo site.

Some highlights: I saw the exterior of the tea/coffee shop (The Elephant House) where JK Rowling penned the first of the Harry Potter novels (to be visited sometime in the next couple of days), the school that inspired Hogwarts, the exterior of the cathedrals of Edinburgh (to be visited), the site of the last public execution, the Writer's Museum, and so much more.

There was a bit of weirdness at Edinburgh Castle which I did not expect. There were a couple of exhibits that had a Disney World feel to them, similar to going on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride - very bizarre. Oh, did I mention the cold temperatures and high winds thanks to a hurricane? Yeah, it was chilly out -- very brisk. Actually I didn't think it was any worse than a breezy New England day, but some people were miserable. 

I finished up my day early - 4:30 dinner at a local pub where I dined on ... ready? ... HAGGIS!! If you are unaware of haggis, I will inform you. Haggis is "a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a sausage casing rather than an actual stomach" (Wikipedia). I know it sounds nasty and gross, but believe me, it is delicious. I actually had "Haggis, Neeps & Tatties", which is one layer each of haggis, mashed turnips, and mashed potatoes drizzled with a whiskey cream sauce (see photo). Oh sweet dinner, where have you been all my life? 

As for the rest of my night - a shower, a movie, and bed. I doubt I'll even finish the movie. I also have to figure out what I'm going to do tomorrow because the tourist stuff that I had planned for tomorrow, I did today.

As for the rest of the Grand Tour of Europe, I am uncertain if I will be able to post every night the activities of the day, but I will do my best.