Scotland The Brave

I got back this morning from a great short weekend in Edinburgh, where I was visiting my Burbank friend Maddie who's getting her Master's at the University of Edinburgh. I went last year with Kayla and had an amazing time (even if I did get stranded for an extra day), and I'm happy to say that my second trip to this city didn't disappoint, even though it was really cold and exceptionally windy.

I arrived on Friday too late to do much sightseeing, but I did have a really good time at the movie night (Gone with the Wind!) organized by Maddie's friend. It was a very international affair, with me and Maddie, her friend from Santa Clarita, an Irish friend, a Scottish friend, and a Swedish/Colombian friend. And too much chocolate.

On Saturday, Maddie and I walked down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace, which is the official residence of the Queen when she's in Scotland during the summer, and which used to be a residence of Mary Queen of Scots. I couldn't take any pictures inside, but it was really great and I recommend visiting!

Me and Maddie outside in the courtyard.

There's also an old ruined abbey attached to the palace which obviously was also really cool. 

After that, we went to the Museum of Scotland for a little, which was also really great, and is one of those museums where you simply can't visit everything. Maddie also took me to the poetry library, which is a public library dedicated entirely to poetry, which I thought was really cool. They even have a nice comfy children's room, filled with nothing but poetry books for kids. 

Me in the cemetery where Adam Smith is buried. 

At the Greyfriars Bobby statue! So cute. 

I really really like Edinburgh. For a lot of reasons (London's quirkier cousin?), but also because of the comfy cafe culture. I mean, Paris obviously has a million cafes, but Edinburgh has comfier ones (i.e. the kind I prefer). I had a LOT of coffee over the weekend, and in Edinburgh you get really good coffee drinks at a much better value than in Paris. And they're delicious and fancier. Maddie took me to one where the coffee was excellent, AND after 3PM all of the desserts are HALF OFF. That totally wouldn't happen in Paris.

We and I also ate a lot of soup...it was really nice having warm hearty food. Edinburgh is also much more affordable than Paris when it comes to eating, but I guess that's no surprise.

Chili baked potato and veggie haggis samosa at the Baked Potato Shoppe. 

 Delicious delicious cookie! I'm still thinking about it. 

Mmmm. 

Ever since I settled into Paris, I've acknowledged to myself that this stint abroad will be enough for me, and I'll be able to return home having satisfied my Europe craving. But after going to Edinburgh again this weekend, I'm pretty sure that I won't officially feel satisfied until I've gotten to live there at some point too. Ahhhhhhhhhh!