Sir Walter Scott(ie)

Today was our last class with Dr. Facinelli! I had to fight off the sleep. But we finished up the semester (for now)! So it's just time to soak up Scotland!

Well, not entirely. We still have to make a mandatory trip to Edinburgh Castle and Hollyrood Palace at some point! So we decided Edinburgh Castle was the trip for the day!

We got a little sidetracked, however, and we were back at my crepe stand.

Such a nice day, though!

So we lost a little time eating the precious crepes, and by the time we made it to the Royal Mile, we were definitely not going to have enough time to see what we wanted to see! So plans abruptly changed. We hadn't made it to the new side of town yet, so we began our walk. We had to stop for some shirts, however.

I'm... Considering going back and getting one.

That mission accomplished, continued on our journey. The group split up for photo-ops, and we agreed to meet up at a specific store called Pimark.

Scotty spotting!

Pimark turned out to be a dangerous store. I just needed to buy a few essentials to get me through the last days (spent £5, like a champ), but some of the other girls in my group shelled out the cash! Imagine H&M and Forever 21 on steroids. And multi-leveled.

It would do so well in America

After we emerged from the glorious Pimark that I can never go back to, Olivia noticed that people were at the very highest level of the Sir Walter Scott Memorial across the street. Curious, we headed over.

So tall!

We found out that you could make it to the top! For £3 pounds, you could brave the 287 steps and see 360º views of Edinburgh! So we decided to give it a go. The steps were cramped because they were in spiral staircase form, and it took us a while to figure out the right strategies to use in squeezing into the tiny corridors. But we made it! Gorgeous.

The beginning

Let's go!

Stained glass halfway up

Our view from the top!

We made it!

...now back down.

Got a certificate and everything

It was a wonderful experience. It was cool being inside a national monument, first of all, but seeing the city all the way around was so exciting! We could even see Pollock Halls from up there! Loved it. And I'm sure my calves loved all those stairs.

We concluded our day with some ice cream and a long walk back. Tomorrow will be a "royal day" and we decided to fit in Hollyrood Palace and Edinburgh Castle! It's getting down to the wire!