On Saturday we got to experience Edinburgh! We started off early with a breakfast of bacon babs at Janet's (the Sorrells' hostess) house. We drove for a little over an hour and hopped on a train into the city. We did a little shopping first and then some of us enjoyed Starbucks! (The free wifi was a pretty big draw, too :) ) After Starbucks we did some more shopping and found some good Scottish souvenirs to take back home. It was so neat to walk around the city and take in the atmosphere - I (Katie) LOVED it; it was not too crowded and all the stone buildings were so pretty. In the afternoon, everyone except Kirstie and Emma went to tour the Edinburgh Castle. There was a huge line to get tickets, but it was fun to listen to all the different people around us and see some glimpses of the city. Once we got into the castle, we got to see even more beautiful overviews of the city and Mrs. Sorrell and I got lots of pictures! There was also a wedding going on so we got to see some handsome Scottish men in kilts ;) We were a little disappointed when we tried to see some of the exhibits as the halls were very narrow and there was such a crowd that you couldn't really stop to read or look at anything. However, I still enjoyed just being in a medieval castle and learning a little bit of the history behind it. Plus, the views almost made up for the crowds!
After the castle we headed back to meet up with Marxs and stopped to eat some ice cream on the way. We did even more shopping as we headed to the John Knox house. Inside the house we learned some about Knox and also James Mossman who had lived in the house as well. Upstairs, Colby, Caroline, and I dressed up and pretended to be Knox. (Pictures possibly to come :))
We had a little bit of time to kill before we met with someone for coffee so we decided to make a long hike over to Jamie Oliver's restaurant. On the way there, however, we got caught in a rainstorm. About half of us had chosen to not bring our rain jackets because "It won't possibly rain on this beautiful day!" So, we hid under a tree for a few minutes until the tree started raining on, then we huddled by the side of a building, then we decided to make a run for it back to where we were meeting for coffee, then we realized that making a run for it would get us soaked even more than we already were, so we stopped in a little store. However, that store happened to be closing in five minutes, so we soon headed back into the torrent of rain and raced up to an Italian restaurant. Of course, since it was raining, everyone else and their mother had the same idea as us so the restaurant was full. We eventually decided to eat either pizza or fish and chips. Those who ate pizza enjoyed it in the rain. I think the rain really gave the pizza a nice, waterlogged flavor ;)
After dinner we met with Andrew from the church in Leith. It was neat to hear how they are getting involved with the community over there through everyday things such as going to the gym or meeting for coffee.
On the way back to the train station we stopped at one more souvenir shop and got some Scottish rubber ducks :) After a quick train ride and a long car ride, we were back and ready for a good night's rest after a very long but very, very fun day :)
~Katie
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