Hello from Scotland!

newark airport

Edinburgh was delightful and now, after staying in York for a week, I realize that I like the city even more than I initially thought. We walked a ton and I even did a fine job of helping my small group of girls navigate our way back to the campus of the University of Edinburgh, where we stayed. The weather was rather chilly, but a welcomed change from the drought heat of Kansas. It was fun to wear my favorite ruffled “trench” coat and sport colorful scarves again, but I will miss the shorts and sandals of summer. The wetness of the Scottish landscape keeps everything green and the flowers magnificent (at least at this time of year). There was a big hillside that we hiked on our first morning in the city in an attempt to beat the inevitable jetlag. We were told this view was a good representation of what the Highlands of northern Scotland look like.

The first evening, we ate dinner at The Dome. It was a fancy, white tablecloth restaurant with a bursting bar in the restaurant’s center decorated in gold and large, green plants (think of the one in the Peabody lobby) and fabulous, ornate window dressings and ceiling detail. The lighting was dim with a tint of red. I was glad I threw on my nice, red dress and wedges for the evening! Brenna, Emily, and I celebrated our first night in Europe with a bottle of the house chardonnay, and were quite pleased with ourselves for accidentally choosing a wine that paired nicely with our meal – salmon (which I, despite generally hating all fish, ate!). Nearly all sixty of us topped off the night with a trip downtown to club and pub central…but pretty much the whole group ended up a the same bar, Three Sisters. It was big and had dancing inside (featuring plenty of Michael Jackson) and a more laidback patio bar outside. We were advised by a few Irish guys not to trust the men of Scotland and to be especially wary of the English. We were, of course, thankful for the advice.

a morning hike

view of the city

ceiling shot of the dome

three sisters