Exploring Edinburgh, Part I.

Yesterday was QUITE the hectic day of travel. Started off by departing from our homes in Luxembourg City with all of our things, going to school in Differdange, and then taking the train BACK to Lux City to catch our 1:11PM train to Paris. Now we feel like old pros at this train (it's the one we took to Paris for my birthday weekend, and will be taking again in 5 weeks to meet my parents). 

I packed a lunch but Alex decided to be the first to test out the train food! He went with "la formula," which allowed you to choose from a selection of drinks, sandwiches, and cookies for a 3-part meal. (He shared his cookie, it wasn't bad.)

Like our cigarette packages in the United States, the French have warnings on their food packages in regards to your health. I thought that was pretty cool.

"For your health, avoid eating foods that are too fatty, sugary, or salty."

We then had to navigate the Metro to get to Charles de Gaulle Airport. This was tricky. In the end, it all worked out and we made our 5:40PM flight, which actually took off behind schedule.

The flight was an hour and twenty minutes, and we actually gained an hour when we got to Edinburgh. 

We had a 1 hour bus ride to our hostel, so the first thing to do was to change our currency so we had appropriate bus fair.

I brought a salad for dinner but was PARCHED after the flight so when we saw a frozen yogurt shop (just like the ones in Ohio like Orange Leaf and Menchies!) that sold one of my favorite drinks (bubble tea) we ran right in there.

Just like Orange Leaf!

I had my classic mango bubble tea but instead of unhealthy tapioca I had slightly less unhealthy bursting bubbles (like the orange and pink ones they have at Orange Leaf, if you're familiar). I don't usually drink anything other than water and sometimes coffee but this was a perfect refresher after 8 hours of non-stop travel.

We finally got to the hostel, which was a VERY nice upgrade from last weeks bed bugs situation. It seems very clean and our only complaint is that it's chilly at night but I don't really feel like I can complain about anything as long as we have a roof over our head's and no bed bugs.

When we woke up we headed back to a supermarket and Starbucks that we'd seen on the way from the bus last night. 

After a stressful week I felt entitled to a fancy coffee and biscuit for bfast. (Note: One would think that if this cost $5.50 in the US it would be 5 pounds here. Nope! 3.50! So it converted to a similar price in the end. The pound is worth 1.80 USD right now...it's awful.)

Next we went to the super market to stalk up on food for Alex. This is the first thing I saw...

I got my typical daily banana and then spotted THIS amazing combo (KitKat and PB) and decided to take it for a special treat later on. Peanut butter + my favorite candy bar is a double win. (Also that kind of KitKat is called "chunky - that's not referring to the pb. Creamy all the way!).

Alex found an apple blueberry tart...a mixture of all his favorite things! I also lost count of how many pains aux chocolats he had. He was in heaven in that market.

Next we went to Arthur's Seat and hiked up it. This place is said to be the site of Camelot and was created by a volcano. It was about 1 mile from our hostel and we strolled over after our super market expedition.

It took maybe an hour to walk up this thing. I fell in the mud 3 times. In a row. I didn't care that I was all muddy because I was so excited to be here! But I was a bit sad when I got back and remembered that I only brought 1 pair of pants for a 1.5-week trip! Luckily I brought some skirts and things for museums and theater but I have to find a way to make my pants less muddy in the mean time.

The view from the top...AMAZING.

This afternoon/evening it got sunny and we decided to run around the park that's by University of Edinburgh. There were SO many people out...cyclists, babies, moms, runners, walkers, old, young, etc. The university is right down the street from our hostel (our location is GREAT in my opinion; so close to everything we wanted to see).

I've been running by myself a bit this week but it was GREAT to finish it off with 5-5.5 miles with the best running buddy of all :)

We ran past the dorms for the university and they were very fancy.

Now we're off to Elephant House for dinner and then a ghost tour...stay tuned!

Favorite Things Friday: Lux Edition!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I really like Valentine's Day. I think it's a sweet concept - not necessarily something limited to romantic partners but a day that I like to share the love with friends&family too!

My Frenchified Valentine to you all :)

Finally, a FTF after quite awhile without any!

1. When my mom sends me delicious recipes!

Like THIS!

and THIS more Luxembourg-friendly one...

I definitely want to try my hand at that pudding when we're back from Carnaval!

2. The idea of doing this during my Pelatonia training!!! 

Just kidding! (Maybe.)

3. The ideas that PB Fingers shared for nice v-day gifts! Good for gifts to friends or to a special someone... very cute!

4. Planning travel for each weekend...and taking full advantage of being able to take off and visit totally new lands every week or two!

5. Fruits & veggies! This banana might look a little brown but that's how I like to eat them. Shopping for myself has been an adjustment but I've been loving picking out my own produce at the supermarché and making new combinations in my salads every day!

6. My chocolate collection from Belgium :)

(and the bits from my sweet roommate :)

7. Celebrating HRG's special birthday from afar :)

8. THESE funny running-related Valentines....

9. Traveling all over with this silly guy!

10. Having a family that sends cards like this!

11...and getting to live in the beauty that is Luxembourg.

Why Scotland?!

This weekend, we are headed to Scotland. I've been wanting to travel there for quite a long time. I've grown up being reminded of my Scottish heritage (my mother actually seems to have 100% Scottish heritage) and listening to CDs of bagpipes and even spending a few years as a Scottish Highland dancer (NOT like the Irish dancing that so many people are familiar with). 

To this day, the wretched screech of a bagpipe actually calms me, and I know a Fling from a Seann Trribhus. I know a whole dance over an unsheathed sword and I own a kilt with our McRae family tartan on it. Do you know what ghillies are? My sister and I spent hours wearing them and practicing for competitions. And yes, we have a real sword in our basement, which was also once used for hours of practice.

I guess that's a little bit of a "fun fact" about me. I guess I do have a few party tricks after all!

For more information on Highland Dancing read this article - I actually read through it just now and learned a lot of cool stuff that I didn't know when I was young.  

So I guess that's why it's always been important to me to go to Scotland. While planning for the trip, I realized that there's much more to do there than I would've originally thought!

While we're there, we are hoping to do some hiking, running, visit the universities and Royal Mile, ghost tour, and wander around. I'm also hoping to do a "Harry Potter tour," which would be lead by a Potter Scholar. Yes - there are people who are getting their PhDs on Harry Potter! I think all things Potter are very cool, so don't make fun!

I'm also hoping to stop by "Elephant House," the cafe where JKR wrote the beginning of HP.

JK Rowling is a genius. If you can find a way to be that successful and become richer than the Queen  from writing a (phenomenal) series, you are a genius. Also, her quality of writing has been unmatched in any other series. Which is not only my opinion - also a fact proven by her fortune. I really believe that Harry Potter is something you have to be acquainted with - just like how we all have to (...or sometimes choose to) read Dickens, Austen, and Brontë. It makes sense that there are already Potter Scholars... HP will be a big thing for a longgg time.

Anyways, I will post more details about Scotland later on, and will talk about specifics when we're there! We should have some down time, and a nice, bug-free weekend! WAHOO!

The scenery/landscape in Scotland is famously beautiful. I'm hoping we can hike up "Arthur's Seat," which is a volcano. It'll be rainy and muddy but I still think it could be very breath-taking. Plus when else will I hike up a volcano in Scotland???

This is still just a "maybe," because we're not sure we'll fit it in.

{Source}

See you all tomorrow!