Howdy, readers! Today we entered the beautiful country of Scotland via sleeper train! We boarded about 10:30 PM, left at 11:45, and woke up in Scotland at 7 AM. Immediately, we noticed the temperature drop, which we were very thankful for after a sweaty 2 days in London. We got breakfast delivered to our rooms, which included free drinks, and options between bacon muffins, blueberry pancakes, a continental breakfast, and a traditional Scottish breakfast. Included is the picture of the continental breakfast.
Stepping off the train, we ordered Ubers and rode over to our dorm, Unite Students, located in Edinburgh. We dropped our bags off and took a few minutes to refresh ourselves and watch the Olympics before meeting our tour guide in a beautiful centerpoint of the city. Our tour guide, Brian, was perhaps the only thing that made another walk around a city bearable. While our feet ached, we paid no mind because of Brian’s extraordinary storytelling abilities and historical anecdotes. We strolled down the streets that inspired Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley, we visited John Knox’s burial site that has now become a parking lot with a small memorial, and we met Bobby Greyfriars! We learned more about JK Rowling’s inspiration for her characters by visiting a graveyard she used to overlook while drinking a coffee at the now burned down Elephant House. Allegedly, the only chair and table that survived the fire that burned Elephant House were Rowling’s favorites. Brian also took us to a delightful coffee shop where we able to recuperate and finish the rest of the walking tour. We ended the tour in front of the Stadium and Castle where the Military Tattoo will be hosted this weekend. Brian also revealed that not only did he help inspire the author of Braveheart, but also wrote the biography for Mel Gibson.
After our tour, the group split up to get lunch at various restaurants in the busy city of Edinburgh before regrouping at Holyrood Distillery, where we enjoyed a whiskey tasting tour! While the assorted whiskeys and gins tested our taste pallets, we learned a lot about the manufacturing of whiskey (spelled whisky in the UK), including how to produce, what materials are needed, and the explanation of the machines required. Interestingly, this distillery stands out because of their innovative methods and creative products, as our tour leader described how Holyrood incorporated beer brewing qualities into whisky distillation. Holyrood actually has a specific method for whisky distillation, which requires (by Scottish law) that the whiskey sit in a barrel for a minimum of 3 years before being bottled and sold, or else it will not be labeled an official whisky. Despite only opening 5 years ago, they distilled their own whisky 3 years into the 5, but immediately sold out once the bottles hit the shelves. We mutually all enjoyed an elderberry-infused whisky cocktail, as well as the bar upstairs and gift shop below!
We finished mid-afternoon, checked into our dorms, and look forward to a rejuvenating evening to rest before a 6 AM wake up call tomorrow!
Thanks for reading!
-Ben Stringfellow & Legend Vasquez
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