Hayley, Erica, Emily and I took the train up on the 27th Dec. Em and I stayed at St Christopher's, which I would recommend for anyone visiting Edinburgh, great location, central and right next to the train station. On our first day there Em and I headed out on a 3 hour free walking tour (tipping system) which was great. We were shown around the 'old town' and given a lot of history of the town. We quickly found Edinburgh is full of pubs, so at the end of the tour we went for a drink at Maggie Dicksons pub on the grass market. We hung there for a bit then got in touch with Erica and Hayley to meet for dinner.
For dinner we went to a restaurant on the High Mile called 'Angels with Bagpipes'. It was really nice. We tried the whiskey (ouch!) and the Haggis which was surprisingly nice.
The next day we checked out the 'new town' and went for a bit of a shop! Emily bought some bagpipes :) I got a new coat from topshop. After shopping we went to the cafe where JK Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books, The Elephant House.
Hayley and Erica got their nails done and we ended up having big chats with the beauticians who recommended a place for dinner in the Leith area, so that night we caught a cab out to a tapas restaurant (called Tapa) and had a delicious and very filling dinner.
The next day was the last day that Hayley and Erica would be in Scotland. We decided to do the underground tour- The Real Mary Kings Close. It was pretty cool to go down and see what remains of old Edinburgh below the surfaces! Not too scary luckily.
We then went up to the castle, the weather was getting terrible at this point so didn't spend long there and didn't go in. Soon enough it was time to say goodbye to Erica and Hayley so we hung out with them until they caught their train back to London.
That night Em and I headed out on a night ghost tour...we are so brave! We went into a graveyard and into a crypt. It was scary because it was a full moon so lots of creepy shadows around! The tour was really good though, we also went to the top of a really big hill that overlooks Edinburgh and had some great views looking back over the city.
On the 30th Em and I headed out on a Highlands Tour. This was a full day tour that took us all the way to Loch Ness. It was snowing in the highlands!! But we didn't get a chance to play in it. When we got to Loch Ness we went on an hour boat cruise over the huge lake. Didn't see Nessy, but from the stories who knows what's living in those lakes!
We got back to Edinburgh just in time for the Hogmanay Torchlight Procession (the start of the new year celebrations). Basically everyone is given a huge flaming stick and you all march from the town centre to the top of the hill to burn a boat....crazy! Em and I grabbed some torches that some ppl were putting out and joined the procession. There were so many people all with huge flames, it's a surprise no one got hurt. Even kids were holding them! We only got to the bottom of the hill but they had a big screen everyone could watch, and they lit the boat and played fireworks to the song 'Light Up' by Snow Patrol...it was awesome!! Great vibe in the crowd.
The next day was New Year's Eve! We spend the day chilling in Edinburgh, went to the Museum of Scotland which was really good, and then shopping in the old town. For New Year's Eve we got tickets to the street party but headed to a pub called 'the last drop' first. It's the pub that prisoners used to be taken to to have their last drop of alcohol before being hung! We went for our last drop of 2012 :) Stayed there til about 11 then braved the cold to head to the street party. It was huge! So many people partying in the streets. We got a good spot with a view of the castle and at midnight they had an incredible firework show off the castle...awesome! Another great NYE.
Looking back on the year I have had, it has been absolutely incredible, so many adventures and opportunities. I'm so glad I made the choice to move overseas - as much as I do miss my family and friends (was great having Em fly over to celebrate Xmas and NYE!). I haven't made any New Years resolutions besides to keep enjoying life, making the most of it, and aiming to have a year as good as the last one :)
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