Edinburgh Days 2 and 3

 So I've come to the conclusion that posting daily is just not realistic. I will post as often as I can when I can. I've been a lot more active on Facebook than I expected (ease of access), but this will still be my primary and most detailed for those of you interested... Also, I'll post ALL my picutres here. 

Day #2: I slept in a smidge (like 9:15-- a real rebel), got dressed, and had breakfast here at the hostel. After that, I decided the first thing on the list was The National Museum of Scotland. Short and simple: It was fine. Long answer: in general I don't care for museums. Yeah, they have lots of neat stuff but I just don't care to learn about half of it. So I typically walk around and briefly look at stuff. If something catches my eye I'll read about it. Unless it's technology, science, or animals... I'm a slut nerd for those.

After the museum, I mostly just wandered around a bit. I made my way back to a cemetery I had been at earlier (before the museum whilst I waited for it to open). I spent a little more time looking at all the old headstones and tombs. Then I ran into two nice Canadian ladies. They asked if I had seen the "Potter Grave" yet. I was really confused and they filled me in. If you're on my Facebook you saw this. If you're not: Apparently, it's rumored that JK wrote a lot at a cafe (which is now burnt down). Since it's situated near the graveyard it's very likely that she went in. All of this is speculation but there are lots of hints. 1) She lives in Edinburgh 2) A lot of the names she used in the books can also be found on tombstones in this cemetery. Now, most of them are only last names, but I believe James Potter was one of them exactly. So I went on a journey to find them all. Thankfully they make a map and I found a copy online.

At this point, I still have some time to kill before my ticket for the Edinburgh Castle was valid. So what do you do when you have time to kill? You go to a pub! I walked around and found a pub I liked (not too small, not to busy, and close to the castle). I had myself a Strongbow. Then, I asked the bartenders if they knew a place I could get a small portion of haggis. They suggested the White Hart, apparently the oldest pub in Edinburgh (I don't care enough to fact-check them). I walked myself over there and ordered a passion fruit cider and "A Taste of Ireland". To my surprise, it wasn't so bad. I really couldn't taste the offal (liver, stomach, etc... the organ meat, not the muscles). 

Once I hurried up and finished I quickly ran up to the castle. I made it just in time. Let me just say this: the castle was awesome. I think we often forget how old the rest of the world is, as Americans. It was cool to see something older than the oldest (American, post indigenous people) thing in our country. I took lots of pictures, go check them out! Sort of like museums, I kind of quickly went through but I paid for the audio tour so I didn't super rush. I think I spent about 2 hours in there. 

The final thing of the night was the Double Dead tour by City of The Dead Tours. It was super cool! We go to go inside of a bridge where they used to store things or have actual stores. However, that only lasted a few years as the bridge is made of limestone and it's a soft rock that is water-permeable. So once they were closed for that reason the homeless moved in. At the time it was illegal to be homeless, but the city turned a blind eye as it kept them off the streets. Our tour guide told us about the living conditions and they were quite horrid. In another chamber, he told us about two ghosts: one was Jack, a little boy who will tug at your clothing, and just do snotty little boy things. He apparently means no harm but just wants to find his mother. The other was Elizabeth. Her story isn't too clear. He had two options for us a) she died in the great fire. The women and children of the town sheltered in the bridge which is made of stone, so they all cooked to death. b) which was his favorite because it made more sense. There was a woman named Elizebeth who would go into the bridge and teach the homeless kids. Once she had earned their trust she asked the parents if she could give them a better life on the surface. Since the average life span down there was only ten months most of them said yes. WELL! Turns out she was "body farming". She was killing these children and selling them to Edinburgh College. They knew full well what she was doing but since child bodies were very rare they just turned a blind eye. So she haunts the place looking for kids to take home. The final stop on the tour was the same graveyard from earlier. He took us back to where the "Mackenzie Poltergeist is. I'll be honest, I'm tired. SO here's the link to their site, go look it up! Click here ya fool!

Day #3: I'll keep this one short as I really don't have much to say, and my energy is fading... Maybe I'll update later (doubt it). In short: I did a FUCK ton of walking. About 14 miles when all is said and done. I walked down to Leith and tried to see some sights on the docks. I couldn't find the public entrance so I said screw it and went to the beach. After sunbathing for a bit I headed back towards my part of Edinburgh to go to Holyrood Park. There I saw some ruins and such. But the main reason I was there was Arthur's Seat. It's a big ol' hill, lots of rocks, and a bitch to climb. BUT I DID IT! Granted my feet felt like I had walked on hot coals and were about to melt off the bone like a good brisket (Which is not something you want your feet doing). BUT I DID IT!. I then found a nice dinner and once my photos upload, it's off to bed. I thought about going down to the hostel game night, but I'm far too tired for that shit.