Where in the World is Chelsea Gibbs?: Edinburgh, The Highlands, and Loch Ness

We've been in Scotland the last two nights. We're staying in Edinburgh, and we took a bus tour through the Highlands today all the way up to Loch Ness. I think Scotland is really gorgeous. The weather we've had couldn't have been more perfect. It hasn't even rained! The temperature has been around 70 during the day, and it's been perfectly sunny and beautiful. We've been very blessed.

Our first night in Edinburgh we were worn out from traveling, so we decided to eat in the restaurant that's next to the hotel and go to bed at a reasonable time. I ordered chicken and it had bacon on it and something called haggis that I'd never heard of. I asked our waitress what it was and she said a traditional Scottish dish that is "quite nice" so I decided to try it. It came on my chicken, looking like ground beef. I took one bite and decided it wasn't for me. Later, I found out what haggis really is: sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, salt and cooked in animal intestines. Gag. My dad feeds suet, one of the ingredients, to the birds in our backyard. Never again will I try something without knowing what it is. I can't believe that went in my mouth.

Yesterday, Friday the 11th, we went and walked around in Edinburgh. They're having the Fringe festival, which is a theater festival. It's all free, and they have live improv shows, music, stand up comedy, and all kinds of venders and other stuff. It lasts all month. We ended up starting off by climbing the Scott Monument, which is a big Gothic looking tower in town that has panoramic views of Edinburgh. It was a tight squeeze in some spots, but well worth going up. We walked through some of the venders after that, and then we decided we wanted to climb Arthur's seat, which is the highest (I think) peak of the "hills" in Hollyrood (not Hollywood) park, in Edinburgh. We had to walk all through town to get out there, and the town is just so unique and pretty. All of the buildings are so different looking that anything we've seen yet. They were so in character to what I would think a Scottish town should look like. They all had stone facades and the streets were stone too.

We finally made it to the bottom of where we were supposed to hike, and it might be called a "hill" but it was definitely a hike all the way to the top, and this girl did it in skinny jeans and flats. That's what I had on, and I wouldn't have had any better options anyway because my clothing selections are pretty limited right now. So, I don't recommend hiking in skinny jeans and flats, but it was really, really beautiful on the way up and at the top, so it was well worth the effort. You could see all the way to the water, and all of Edinburgh from the top. It was really stunning all the way around. I'm really glad we were able to do that, it was definitely one of the coolest and most scenic things we've done. After that, we stopped in a pub and caught a free stand up comedy show, which was part of the Fringe festival. It was actually pretty good. The guy's name was Ionni, he was Australian, and we got some good laughs. When that was over we got some dinner. No more haggis. I kept it safe with fish and chips, and then we called it a day.

Today, Saturday, we went on a bus tour to the highlands. It was another gorgeous day. The drive up there was stunning. Several times I would see a little cabin, sitting in the middle of the mountains, next to a loch, looking so isolated. It made me want to go stay there for about a week and escape and explore. It was so beautiful there. Mom got motion sick in the bus, but I felt fine, just bad for her that she felt sick. We stopped at several places along the way, but our main destination was Loch Ness, home of the Loch Ness monster, Nessie! Loch Ness is part of the Great Glen, and our stop on Loch Ness was Fort Augustus. It was really beautiful there. We went on a boat ride on the loch. It had sonar, in case Nessie decided to make an appearance. I looked and looked, but I never saw her. I have a feeling she only shows up on foggy, dark, or rainy days, when she can be mysterious. The water in Scotland is a brownish color, because the peat runs off from the mountains when it rains. It's sort of odd looking and it makes the visibility low. Another good way for Nessie to hide. It was still a really beautiful one hour boat ride. Fort Augustus would be a pretty town to stay in.

I've really enjoyed our time in Scotland. I think it's a really beautiful place and it has a lot to offer. The people have been really, really nice. If you ask someone on the street for help, they are more than happy to oblige, and give you a smile to go with it. It's always good to be around nice people, especially people that speak your language. It makes you feel much less isolated. Tomorrow we head to Wales to spend the night before we catch a ferry in Holyhead to Dublin on Monday. I've heard Wales is beautiful, so I'm excited to check it out, even if it's only for the day!

Best things about today: The views from the tour were unbelievable. Awesome sights!
Worst things about today: I feel sorry that mom felt bad.