Shallow Pockets Brimming with Kilts and Lilts

Scotland. The uppermost end of this little island. I've been absolutely itching to get up there to see kilts in action and shocking red hair and tinkling bagpipes and yards and yards of tartan. I met Jonny at the Elmsy shoot a few weeks back and we got on the subject and he mentioned that he'd lived up there for three years with one of his troops. He wanted to go back and I wanted to go, period, so we did.

Even at night Edinburgh was a sight to behold. We dropped off our bags at one of the most beautiful hotels I've had the luxury of staying in and we headed off to the city's pub center. The first pub we dipped into had a lovely Scottish couple that was full of stories and drink-sharing. And then the live performer came on and I knew we'd chosen right. The first song that came off the cords of his guitar- SWEET HOME ALABAMA, please&thankyou! He continued to play classics all night and we continued to try to sing along.
[You can see our Scottish friends, Eddie and Julie, at the very end of this sloppy little video.]

The next day we finally got to see the 'view' the concierge told us about. We had a rooftop garden out the back door of our room and from it you could see the ruins of a once great structure on the nearby hills or, over a ledge, a view of the city all the way to water's edge. It was lovely. 

We wandered the city for the morning just taking in the sights, browsing the shops, and constantly on the look-out for kilts.

 

 

Music was all over the city. Lots of bagpipes. Lots of drums. Lots of dancing. Between the backpackers and the performers, energy abounds in Edinburgh.

Then Jonny surprised me. I thought we were just gallivanting around the city but he had something else in mind- to scare the ever-loving shite out of me. He took me to a place called The Dungeons.

They have them in five cities all over the UK. It looks like a haunted house- with actors painted up to look like plague victims. But in actuality it's like an interactive history lesson, with a few boos and frights thrown in. It was incredibly interesting hearing about the ancient tales of the strange things that happened in Edinburgh centuries and centuries ago.
Then we went boozing.

 

We went to the Whiskey Experience- but that's false. It was scotch. Scotch is not whiskey. I love whiskey. Scotch tastes like smoked carcass with a side of throat burn. Regardless, we did come away with free snifters. Fancy, fancy.

 [I love the woman's face in this picture, hahaha. She chose to get the tasting like Jonny, instead of the cocktail, like me and her friend. Bad choice- Scotch is gross. And that cocktail was heavenly- couldn't even taste the scotch!]

Later that night we went to see a real bonafide rugby match at Murrafield Stadium! I've been dying to see a legit match and it was so much fun! Edinburgh lost, unfortunately... but the concessions were good, even if the mascot was a jerk.

 

I was sad to leave Scotland. Everyone says Edinburgh is a city of castles but you just can't understand the gravity of it until you're there. I don't think I saw one structure younger than America the entire time I was gaping. It was a beautiful, beautiful city full of friendly folks with fantastic accents. I might have to look into the master's programs offered by the university...

Then I can make friends with anyone and everyone I catch in a kilt!