Carmen and I started our day by climbing the Scott Monument, which was made in 1840 by a man named George Meikle Kemp. It's 200 feet high, and has four observation levels. We climbed 287 steps, and got a certificate at the end!
It was a really beautiful view, and we met a lot of tourists (some from Canada! Others from US, Ireland). The steps were spiral, narrow, and only sometimes had a railing so we found ourselves clutching the walls climbing up and down (whimpering a little, I might add). Each floor had something new to offer. Some other pocket of Edinburgh to see. You could see a hill and water in every direction, and it was just so serene.
After that climb, we had a short ice cream break. Then Joyce took us over to Edinburgh Castle, so Carmen and I could explore that. (Had to walk up the steepest incline ever to get there!) It was much more costly than the Monument, but pretty worth it. We got to walk all around, look out on each side, people watch, and go into some rooms of the castle like the prisons of war, sword room, a great hall, a chapel, a monument for dead soldiers, etc. We were acting pretty goofy (probably because we were so tired at this point) and had a few funny times.
Once, I was sitting on a horse statue, and a worker came up to me yelling "please get down! this is a monument to the dead and you're being very disrespectful of the dead by sitting on it!" Woooops. *collar tug*
We also stopped some traffic being silly with jumping pictures, doors with eye windows in them, and laughing about audio tours.
By the time we got to the top, it was even more amazing than the monument. We just stood there and stared at the view for ages.
After that, we did some tourist shops for a bit, walked around, and found our way back to the Elephant House to meet Joyce. Then we went out for Chinese food at a place named Chop Chop.
The next day we went to Glasgow. We went for breakfast at the famous Willow Tea Rooms, then did some shopping (I got new ipod speakers for only 3 pounds!), and just walked around. My feet hurt too much from the day before.
Then Carmen and I hopped on a bus to Glasgow Aiport. We got there, realized we were way too early, and hung around looking at magazines. It wasn't until we asked someone where to check in that he said "oh, RyanAir doesn't fly out of here... that's Glasgow Prestwick Airport!" He laughed and said it happens all the time. Our stomachs fell. We rushed outside and caught a cab, and luckily we got the nicest driver ever who sped us there and let us pay what we had. But the best part was him, driving off into the fog, swirving enough for me to fall over in my seat and saying "BUCKLE UP, AND HOLD ON TO YOUR HOLLYHOGS!" We got there in time, thanks to the nice people of Scotland.
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