September 25, marked the first year of our marriage. I can barely believe that an entire year has gone by already. Where did it go? What happened to those 365 DAYS!?
We celebrated our anniversary in Edinburgh, and I'm not sure if we could have chosen a more beautiful city. Granted, I am not the most well traveled individual (I'm working on it, dammit!), but Edinburgh may be the city I've most enjoyed visiting.
We stayed at the Glasshouse hotel, located in the New Town district of Edinburgh. But don't let the name fool you, there were still plenty of historic buildings in New Town. The Glasshouse was a five-star treat for us (remember, our one-year anniversary!), and we were impressed by the decorating, linens, heated bathroom floor tiles, bottles of distilled water, and swanky classical music when we entered the room. But our first night at the Glasshouse was not great. The bed had a giant dip in the middle, which made for a restless sleep. The thermostat didn't work, so the heat from the tiles in the bathroom made the room sweltering. And our room was located next to a nightclub. Since it was Saturday night, there was music and people out in the street until 2-3am, so opening the window wasn't the best option.
The exterior of the Glasshouse Hotel.
The next morning we asked for a new room, and the hotel staff was able to accommodate us. The thermostat worked in the new room, and the bed did not have a saggy mattress, so our second night was much improved.
Due to bad planning, we had one day to see Edinburgh.
We started by checking out the Art on display in the National Gallery.
Along the way, it was hard to miss the giant Scott Monument, a Victorian Gothic structure for the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott.
Scott Monument.
Then we headed to Edinburgh Castle, situated at the top of an extinct volcano. We took a quick guided tour through the castle, and spent the afternoon learning how the castles has evolved through the centuries. A few interesting facts! 1) The castle has been used on several occasions to house prisoners of war. 2) There is a dog cemetery for soldier's dogs. 3) The One O'Clock Gun has been fired every day at one o'clock (except on Sundays) since 1861.
Gargoyles on the Scottish War Memorial in Edinburgh Castle.
View of Edinburgh down the barrel of a cannon.
From the castle we headed down the Royal Mile, a street of shops and souvenirs. We watched a sword swallower and browsed through a huge selection of whiskey.
Finally, we hiked to the top of Arthur's Seat for an uninterrupted view of Edinburgh.
Me, grumpily leading the way up the path.
View of Edinburgh Castle from Arthur's Seat.
It was really windy.
On our way down from the summit I decided to finish of the bag of chips I bought at lunch for a boost of energy. It was so freaking windy! The wind tore the bag out of my hand, and I wailed as the chips fell into the grass at the side of the path. I admit it... I picked most of them up and ate them anyway.
After a whole day on our feet, we went back to the hotel for a much needed rest, and delicious meal.
By far, our most ambitious day of sight-seeing!
More to come!
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