We decided to do the pub crawl on Thursday night because we were told there would be so many people on it on Friday that we would have trouble being served. On our pub crawl we met some Germans, Brazilians, Canadians, and Americans. For 11 pounds we got a free drink or shot at every bar, and free admission to the club at the end.
On Friday, we showered and were out of the hostel by 11am. We ate lunch at a somewhat American restaurant and then went to the meeting place for the free walking tour. It was really cold, and I hadn't packed for the weather so during the tour we got some tea at Starbucks and I bought a sweatshirt at a souvenir store. After about 15 mins of the tour, we decided to part from the group and conduct our own "free walking tour." We saw the main sights - the castle, the royal mile, some old buildings.....a mirror museum, vintage stores, and cute gift shops.... We were pretty cold and tired so we rested back at the hostel, cleaned up and got ready for our "ghosts and ghouls tour" - but not before a some delicious curry at "Bay of Bengal." On the ghost tour we visited a cometary where we were told some pretty convincing ghost stories, and walked up to an open plateau overlooking the city (although the views were pretty foggy that night).
Saturday was a travel day - plus it was rainy, so any more touring around town was over ruled by shopping at an indoor mall. In my opinion, shopping in the UK is better than anywhere else in Europe. I thought the same thing when I went to London, and seeing the stores in Edinburgh just confirmed it for me. Annie was heading back to Geneva, and I to London, so we took the airport shuttle together and said goodbye at security. I had some sushi at "Sushi Express" to get me in the Taiwan mood for seeing Lynne, my good friend I was visiting on the second leg of my trip. We originally met in Taiwan while working for Hess. Lynne lives about 45 minutes outside of London in Clacton by the Sea so I took a bus and train to get to her town. It was about 10pm by the time I finally got to her house. She made me a sandwich and tea and we caught up a little before she showed me to my cute little room (which was formerly a walk in closet!). Her house, in general, was so quaint...everything was retro, reused, refurbished and put together so tastefully.
It was really nice to sleep in - on Easter - especially after two nights in an uncomfortable, stuffy hostel room. Lynne lives with her childhood best friend, Cathy and her dog, Frankie. After breakfast in their "garden" (backyard patio), we walked to the beach - about 10 minutes past more cute, cookie cutter houses. It reminded me of small town America; much different from the scenery in France and Switzerland. The unseasonably warm weather made up for the cold, rainy days in Edinburgh. There were lots of people out, enjoying their Easter on the beach or in their beach huts. We stopped for ice cream, and as we walked back to her house, we relived our Taiwan days, discussing many details which I'd already begun to forget. Back at the house, Cathy and Frankie were sitting outside on a red tartan blanket soaking up the sun. We joined them and toasted to Easter with some wine, as our roast dinner was cooking inside. We were soon joined by Lynne's best friend from University, Bexy who lives in London. Around 5pm we sat down for dinner, followed by Easter chocolate, vodka shots, and a walk to the pier to enjoy a fireworks show. I left by taxi at 5:15 the next day and was back in Geneva by 10.
