When in Rome...

If you talked to me at all before I left the States, you probably laughed when I told you that my basic itinerary for my Italian adventure was to consume as much gelato, pasta, and pizza as was humanly possible.

Joke's on you because that's exactly what I did.

Me, every day I was in Italy.

My trip to Italy began with a quiet train ride to Newark Airport and an astonishingly quick and painless jaunt through security. My spirits sagged a bit when I realized that I'd forgotten my snacks and would have to shell out for outrageously overpriced food in the airport to keep from getting hangry on my 8-hour flight. My mood was not improved by the airport fire alarm going off right as I was getting in line to board my flight.

Despite the inauspicious beginning of the flight, I did manage to grab a couple of hours of light sleep on the plane, but I was still a tad cranky in the passport control line the next day. The police officer who checked my passport must not have slept much the previous night either, because he didn't say a word to me, just stamped my passport and sent me on my way. But he stamped it, and that's what matters. One short train ride later, I was officially in Rome!

As soon as I arrived, I met up with my friend Lauren and checked into the hostel. I just dropped off my backpack before we headed right back out again; I'd booked on to a free walking tour for the evening in the hopes that an informative walk around the city would keep me from succumbing to the jet lag. When we arrived at the Spanish Steps at 4:55, however, we found that our 5:00 tour had left at 4:50.

Lauren and I chalked it up to divine intervention and set off in search of gelato.

We meandered aimlessly through the city with our cones until we found ourselves at the Tiber River. As we crossed a bridge, Lauren and I spotted some sort of festival setting up in tents along the water. Naturally, we had to check that out. We discovered that there were quite a few temporary restaurants with tables set up right on the water. So we parked ourselves at a table with a nice breeze and a pleasant view of what we decided was either a very rich person's house or a fancy hotel. (It turned out to be a hospital.)

At 6:30 in the evening, it was far too early for dinner by Roman standards, but most of the restaurants were serving drinks and appetizers. Lauren and I ordered some fried calamari and shrimp to go with our virgin cocktails (having decided that alcohol + jet-lag would be a bad combination), and lingered until the dinner crowd began to arrive.

We had a long walk back to our hostel, and decided upon our arrival that we had earned another gelato. Lauren took me to La Romana, a gelato place a couple of blocks from our hostel, where I ordered a chocolate-filled cone with dark chocolate and coffee flavored gelato. YUM. I also sampled Lauren's salted pistachio gelato, which opened up a whole new world for me. Double YUM.

After a solid 40 winks to shake off the jet-lag, it was time for attempt #2 of the Rome free walking tour. We arrived at the Spanish Steps, the meeting place for the start of the tour only to find that our tour guide was sick and that the tour would be delayed in leaving until a replacement tour guide arrived. We should've heeded this obvious sign from the universe, because the tour guide who turned up 45 minutes later delivered a rather snooze-worthy tour of about 5 square blocks of the city.

Way more excited for more gelato than for the walking tour.

The one thing that was kind of cool was realizing that a lot of Rome's history is literally buried underneath the city; Ancient Rome was about 20 feet lower than modern Rome. This is why Rome only has 2 subway lines...every time they try to make a new one, they run into something of archaeological/historical value and have to rework the route.

Near the end of the tour, we split off from the rest of the group (who were Vatican-bound), and made our way into Castel Sant Angelo, where we found spectacular views of the city and no crowds.

Photo-bombed by a seagull...sigh. 

We stopped by Vatican Square on our way to Trastevere neighborhood, just so we could say, "We went to the Vatican," and after a long and slightly sketchy walk along roads that were clearly not meant for pedestrians, let alone stupid American tourists like us--thanks, Google Maps--we stumbled upon the perfect place for a late lunch.

Fried artichoke appetizer

Seafood risotto (feat. Laruen's elbows as she Instagrams her food)

Lauren's shrimp and lemon linguine (feat. my elbows as I Instagram my food)

We meandered back in the general direction of our hostel, keeping our eyes peeled for a likely location to catch the World Cup semifinal game between France and Belgium. And (of course) we stopped for gelato along the way.

The next day, I took a day trip to see Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius. It was a three-ish hour bus ride from Rome, but I made friends with a fellow American elementary school teacher, which helped pass the time.

#teacherswhotravel

The ruins were super interesting, and way more extensive than I'd expected. Pompeii wasn't just some small town; it was a full-blown city, with restaurants and spas and crosswalks and everything...featuring a big ol' volcano as part of its skyline.

One of the famous Pompeiian frescoes.
Apparently, many of the frescoes from Pompeii are extremely erotic,
which is why the city was reburied after its original discovery in 1599.
The frescoes have been in and out of museum exhibits
since the city's rediscovery in the 18th century. 

Archaeologists are still at work excavating Pompeii, as they have been since the mid-1700s. 

Bet you thought I was joking about the crosswalks.
Well, when the streets double as sewers, you've got to get creative!

Fun fact: the arena in Pompeii has been a concert venue since 1972. (Obviously it was used for performances before Vesuvius blew its top, but you know what I mean.) The first band to perform there? Pink Floyd.

There's a documentary about it and everything.

After the tour of the ruins, it was time for lunch: pizza. The real deal.

oh HECK YES

The concept of putting things on bread has been around basically as long as there has been bread, but modern pizza was invented in Naples in the 1800s. Margherita pizza (tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil) was actually named after the Queen of Italy at the time.

Another fun fact for ya: Europeans thought that tomatoes were poisonous for a long time after the fruits (or are the vegetables? 😆) first made their way over from the Americas. It took someone very brave--or maybe just very very hungry--to be the first to eat one, proving that they were not in fact deadly.

Anywho, after enjoying the bejesus out of my real Italian pizza, I was sufficiently carboloaded for a trek up Mt. Vesuvius.

Mt. Vesuvius is still an active volcano; it erupted most recently in 1944. However, my tour guide assured me that Vesuvius was "probably not going to erupt today." Very comforting.

Being the dingus that I am, I was wearing sandals that day; luckily they were sporty sandals I'd bought from REI, and they were more than up for the job of conquering a volcano. I tripped a fair bit on the hike, but I don't blame my footwear; I chalk that up to looking at the scenery instead of watching my feet. Can you blame me?

The crater

Naples!

When I arrived back in Rome a few hours later, my feet were still covered in volcanic ash, which didn't stop me from meeting Lauren at Mercado Centrale for dinner, and to catch the Croatia-England game.

dirty feet dirty feet dirty feet

Having worked up quite an appetite conquering a volcano, I felt no shame in stuffing my face with risotto balls, pasta, cannolis, and tiramisu while I watched Croatia's comeback win.

Spaghetti with pecorino cheese and black pepper. Keep it simple. 👌

Tiramisu! 😍

The next day, it was time to say Arrivederci to Rome and to Lauren...I had to catch a train to Cinque Terre! 

Did you get as hungry reading this blog post as I did writing it? 

Me, when I see gelato. 

Veni, vidi, comedi. 

I came, I saw, I ate. 

Travel Tips from an Aspiring Expert

I will be the first to say that I am no travel expert. I have only begun to learn what it means to be a responsible and savvy traveler. That being said, I did travel around Europe for four and a half months, and I did manage to get home in one piece. And I think that there are at least a few little pieces of travel-related advice that I could throw out there for anyone who's interested.

For the sake of your sanity and mine, I'm going to attempt to categorize my advice so that it's not a total brain dump.

PACKING
--Use carry-on sized luggage. Kind of a duh one. The obvious benefits include avoiding luggage fees (I'm looking at you, RyanAir), not worrying about lost luggage (because you've got everything you need right there with you!), and portability (hauling 50 pounds of luggage on the Paris metro during rush hour is an experience that I would not wish upon my worst enemies). Plus, how much stuff do you really need? Answer: less than you think.
--Don't pack for the worst-case scenario. I was a Girl Scout all the way up through senior year of high school, and the "be prepared" mentality has really stuck with me. But there's a fine line between being reasonably prepared and carrying around the equivalent of an ambulance in your first-aid kit.
--Roll your clothes. Seriously. Saves so much luggage space. You can use compression bags for the bulkier stuff (like sweaters). I used these.
--Ziploc bags for organizing. Electronic accessories, hair ties, and travel-size toiletries (of course).
--Pick about three outfits, and stick with them. It's not worth the extra weight and space in your bag. It's only for a short time, and you'll be reunited with your full wardrobe before you know it. And for the love of Totino's Pizza Rolls, don't pack anything that needs to be ironed.

That was the only time I wore that shirt on my whole 4.5-month-long trip.

SECURITY CHECKS
--Always, always, always take off your boots at the airport. Sometimes they tell you not to worry about it. Take them off anyway, because you WILL get flagged by the metal detector or whatever it is and have to do the whole pat-down, take-off-your-shoes-and-run-them-through-the-x-ray-machine-while-everyone-in-line-behind-you-glares-because-you're-holding-up-the-line thing.
--Ten three-ounce (100ml) liquids in one quart-size (liter-size) Ziploc bag. And the bag has to zip shut, so don't even try it. Try buying products that have more than one use (3-in-1 body wash, shampoo, and conditioner) and solid toiletries (like bars of soap).

KEEPING TRACK OF YOUR STUFF/NOT GETTING PICKPOCKETED
--Zippered. Pockets. My Swiss mishaps taught me that. Although I learned the hard way that even zippered pockets aren't foolproof.
--Pack everything important in your daypack. I'm talking passport, credit cards, plane tickets, etc. Keep that stuff on you at all times.
--Consider a money belt, especially in places where pickpockets are common. You might feel like a dork wearing one, but honestly, sometimes it's just comforting to know that if your pockets do get picked, at least you won't lose your super important stuff. This is the one I used.
--Get a combination lock for your bag. (I used this one and this one.) Then you can wear your backpack on your back without worrying about someone digging around in it. The alternative is wearing your backpack on your front, which is like a blinking neon sign saying "I'm a tourist!"
--Make two copies of your travel documents. Keep one with you, in a separate place from the originals, and leave an extra copy at home. It'll be much easier to replace documents then if--God forbid--you lose them.
--Be super careful in crowds. Street performers can be entertaining, but sometimes they're simply a distraction.

If you go to the Eiffel Tower, prepare to be besieged by guys jangling mini Eiffel Towers and calling"One Euro, one Euro, one Euro!"

GOOD INVESTMENTS
--Set a budget, and at least try to stick to it. I know this isn't really an "investment," but do it anyway. I didn't, so I'm still paying for my travels now that I'm home. (So worth it, though.)
--Travel insurance. Thank the Universe I never had to use it, but it sure was nice knowing that if something really bad did actually happen, I was covered. Just make sure you read the fine print and pick a legit company. (I used World Nomads.)
--Collapsible water bottle. I bought this one, and honestly, it was so worth the $13 I paid for it. First of all, save money and the environment because it's reusable. Plus, stay hydrated! (Even if it's not hot outside.) Also, save space in your bag because it takes up next to no space when it's empty.

WASTE OF MONEY
--Sleep headphones. When I bought these right before my trip, they seemed like a great idea, considering that I was going to spend the next 4.5 months sharing rooms with a bunch of complete strangers making who-knows-how-much noise. But then I realized that I can't actually sleep with anything on my face. Besides, if I've spent my day right, I'm too tired for anything--noise, light, crappy pillows--to stop me from sleeping.
--Sleep mask. Ditto

I can sleep anywhere.

GETTING GOOD DEALS
--Use Kiwi.com for flights, and Rome2Rio to compare other travel options. 'Nuff said.
--Be flexible. You can get a way better deal by being flexible with dates and times. Also look into alternative airports/train stations/bus stations. The central one is usually the most expensive. It might be cheaper to arrive in the outskirts of town, and use public transportation from there.

ACCOMMODATIONS
--READ THE REVIEWS. Sometimes you can handle crappy Wi-Fi in the hostels, or rooms so small that you're practically sleeping on top of the stranger in the next bed. But isn't it better to know about those things ahead of time?
--Hostelworld is a ripoff. At the beginning of my trip, I used it constantly. It made it very easy to compare and book hostels. BUT, as I found out in the last month of my trip, they jack up the prices. So now I just use Hostelworld as a search engine for finding hostels (and reading those reviews!), and then get in touch with the hostel directly to book.

Hostelworld.com (They have an app, too.)

NAVIGATION
--Use HERE we go for offline navigation (walking or driving). Just download the maps you need ahead of time, so you can avoid using data (which is generally way more expensive internationally).
--Moovit is great for public transportation.
--When in doubt, follow the locals. (Of course, you can always ask one, too, if you know the language.) Where's the exit from this metro station? Just let yourself be swept along with the crowd.

MISCELLANEOUS
--Let your bank know when and where you're traveling. Otherwise you might end up unable to use your credit and debit cards. (It happened to me my first morning in London.) And make sure you have an emergency stash of cash (in the local currency), just in case.
--Make sure someone at home knows where you're planning to go each day. And check in with them regularly. If your plan changes, that's fine! Nothing wrong with being spontaneous. Just let them know. Don't make them worry about you.
--TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. I'm all for trying new things and stepping out of your comfort zone, but if something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. Don't stick around to find out.
--Make sure you're up-to-date on any vaccines you need for where you're going. And for the love of Old Bay, make sure you know whether it's safe to drink the water. You don't want to end up all alone in a hospital where you don't speak the language.

FUN ADVICE
--Buy souvenirs (but not too many!). I picked postcards for my own personal souvenirs because they were cheap, lightweight and easy to pack, plus I could find them anywhere I went. I did buy a few other souvenirs, of course, but I learned the hard way not to buy heavy/bulky ones.
--Take pictures! They're the best souvenirs.
--Keep a travel journal. When you get home, you won't remember the name of the beer you had that amazing restaurant, or who you played beer pong with in the hostel bar. Write all that stuff down at the end of each day so those details don't slip away.
--Step out of your comfort zone. Travel is all about broadening your horizons (as cliched as it is to say it, it's true), so try something new! Go grab food with someone you just met. Walk up and introduce yourself to people.
--Listen to your whims. Maybe you were planning to spend the whole day in the Lourve, but on the way there, you pass by a street market that catches your eye. Go check it out! The Lourve will still be there later.

I had a whim to jump in an Icelandic lake. And as soon as I was in it, I had a whim to get back in the hot springs.

I had more advice than I thought. Hopefully it's useful for at least some of you!

Did I miss anything?

Glasgow is Boring

Those of you with a short attention span will be pleased; this is going to be a short post.

Even though I'd loved every minute in Edinburgh, I was ready to move on to a new city. I guess I've gotten used to moving to a new place every few days, because my wandering foot starts to itch once I feel familiar with the city I'm in. I took advantage of the train's wi-fi to do some research about Glasgow; the scenery between Edinburgh and Glasgow couldn't compete with what I'd seen on the ride from York to Edinburgh, so I didn't feel too guilty about being plugged in.

After about twenty minutes of Googling, however, I was a bit apprehensive about my next destination. Apparently there aren't any free walking tours in Glasgow, which seemed a bad omen. The only other recommended attractions that I came across in my internetting were the cathedral, three museums, the library, and the graveyard.

I'm sorry, but if a graveyard is one of a city's top-rated attractions, it can't be a terribly exciting place. You might even say it's dead boring.

I know. Sorry.

So I wasn't feeling too optimistic when I arrived in the central train station in Glasgow. My spirits dropped even lower after my navigation app revealed that my hostel was a 45-minute hike from the city center, right next to the highway. Still, I didn't want to write the city off entirely--I'd only just arrived after all--so I cinched the waist strap on my backpack and strode off.

My evening only went downhill from there. Rather than detail every single thing that went wrong--I did promise a shorter read this time--I'll give a thirteen-word summary: sweaty walk, nonexistent wi-fi, mean staff, disgustingly dirty kitchen, and a broken adapter. Sounds like a great time, right?

At least the bed was decently comfortable, and after a fairly good night's sleep, I was ready to give Glasgow another chance.

But after visiting four of the six recommended attractions before noon, culminating with the Gallery of Modern Art, I arrived at two conclusions:
1. I don't get modern art. I just don't.
2. Glasgow is boring.

Admittedly, neither was a very original conclusion.

That afternoon, I hiked to the other side of town to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, which was actually fairly interesting. It had a mix of everything, from suits of armor to Impressionist paintings to a stuffed giraffe. However, it only took me two hours to explore the entire museum.

I spent the majority of the next three days holed up in the public library, reading The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling.

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

I also sampled that Scottish delicacy: haggis. According to Wikipedia: "Haggis is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck [whatever that is]; minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, traditionally encased in the animal's stomach." 

Luckily I didn't actually Google it until after I'd eaten it. Though honestly, I can't say I would have recommended it even before I knew what it was made of. 

The most exciting thing that I saw in the city was actually on my way out, when I spotted an old blue police box. My fellow Whovians will understand.

See you never, Glasgow!

Life in the 'burgh (Edinburgh)

Can I just start by saying how much I love traveling by train? It's faster and more comfortable than buses (or coaches or whatever the heck they're called), plus you get to see some amazing scenery. At least, that was the case on my trip from York to Edinburgh, which was mostly along the coastline. We're talking castle ruins, cliffs, and beautiful blue water. It was so gorgeous I wanted to throw up.

Well. That may have been motion-sickness, actually.

First order of business when I got to Edinburgh was finding my hostel, which proved to be surprisingly easy: I walked out of the train station, and there it was. I was glad to find that the mattress was far more comfortable than the one in York, but I was not so glad to see that I was on the middle bunk of a three bed stack. (Sure enough, in my four nights staying there I whacked my head, elbows, knees, you name it on the top bunk more times than I care to count.)

Anyway, after I checked in, I headed for the Christmas market, which I could see from the window of my hostel room.

I think I can safely say that Edinburgh's Christmas market is my favorite of all the Christmas markets that I saw this season. There was so much to do and see, and it was a good balance of food vendors, rides, and shopping. And their music playlist was on point. All in all, I was really feeling the Christmas spirit!

I decided to save some of the Christmas market to explore the next night with my friends from Switzerland. They were coming to Edinburgh the same weekend to check out the Christmas market, and we'd agreed to meet up at the market on Friday night. So I called it a night and headed back to my hostel.

The next morning, I got up pretty early, partially because I'd gone to bed fairly early and was refreshed and ready to get moving, but mostly because I was in a 12-bed female dorm in my hostel, and there was just the one bathroom. In this kind of scenario, you snooze, you really do lose. Half the day will be gone by the time it's your turn to shower unless you shake a leg. It's every woman for herself.

So I was up and moving through the streets of Edinburgh by 8:30am. I wanted to get some exploring in before my free walking tour started at 10:00am.

Some of my favorite facts from the tour included:
--The term "shit-faced" supposedly originated in Edinburgh, after a law was put in place to regulate when chamber pots could be emptied into the streets. The new times were 10:00am and 10:00pm. Now, 10:00pm was also closing time for the city's pubs. So if you were one to stick around from the end of the work day until last call, you were likely to be caught in a shit storm--as it were--when you headed home. Thus, when you arrived home, you were very likely to be "shit-faced." (Unless, of course, your drunken reflexes were superhuman.)
--The Scots were pioneers in home security: the older buildings in Edinburgh have staircases equipped with "Scottish burglar alarms."  These "alarms" consist of a single step in the staircase that is a different size from all of the other steps, designed to trip an intruder creeping around in the dark, as they wouldn't know where the trick step is. Of course, you can imagine that someone coming home shit-faced would be likely to set off the alarm, as well.
--Grave robbing was a major problem in Edinburgh back in the 19th century, though not for the reason you may think. The medical school in the city needed cadavers, and would pay a decent price for any bodies they could get their hands on. Many enterprising people took it upon themselves to meet the demand by digging up the recently deceased. Two men by the names of William Burke and William Hare, took it even farther, murdering people for the sole purpose of selling their bodies to the medical school. When they were caught and convicted, the men were hung and then dissected, with their skeletons placed on display at the Anatomical Museum of Edinburgh Medical School, where their remains remain to this day. 

In addition to this tasteful tales, my Australian tour guide shared information of interest to Potterheads in the audience: he pointed out the Elephant House café, where JK Rowling (an Edinburgher since 1993) wrote most of the first two books in the series. He also showed us Victoria Street, the inspiration for Diagon Alley:

The Original Diagon Alley!

And the two buildings that inspired Hogwarts: Edinburgh Castle and George Heriot's School (founded to educate orphaned boys).

Edinburgh Castle

The George Heriot School

After the tour, of course I had to check out the Elephant House café for myself.

I can see why she liked it. 

Apparently they've had so much Harry-Potter-related graffiti in the bathrooms in the café that they've given up trying to get rid of it:

"This way to the Ministry" LOL

After paying homage to the place where Harry Potter began, I headed to the National Museum of Scotland, where, among other things, I saw Dolly the sheep. That's right, the first critter to be successfully cloned has been taxidermied and is now on display in Edinburgh.

These Scots really have a knack for tasteful museum exhibits, don't they?

After that, it was time to meet my ex-pat friends at the Christmas market! We checked out every stall in the market, debated doing the Christmas tree maze (decided not to because £££), and scoped out the lights display a few streets away. Even though we'd gotten some munchies at the market, we were getting hungry for real food around that time, so we went to Nando's Peri-Peri for dinner.

I know what you're thinking. "I thought you swore off all American chains while in Europe. But you went to Nando's for dinner?" Well, joke's on you, because Nando's was founded in South Africa. So HA. 😝

After that, we wandered back into the Old Town in search of a pub, and ended up right next door to my hostel at the Doric, which was founded in the 17th century, which apparently makes it the oldest gastro pub in Edinburgh.

Casual.

I felt like I was obligated to try Scotch there; to drink anything else would be blasphemous. So I approached the bartender, who did his best to hide his incredulity when I confessed that I'd never had any sort of whisky before. He was kind enough to let me sample a few varieties, and patiently waited out my struggles to describe what I was tasting, until finally we landed on one that I could sip without coughing too much. Slàinte! (That means Cheers.) 

Whisky isn't my cup of tea.

The next day, I wandered down to the bottom of the Royal Mile (the main street in Old Town Edinburgh), where I saw Holyrood Palace, the Queen's official Scottish residence, and the Scottish Parliament. From that vantage point, I could also see Arthur's Seat, the mountain smack dab in the middle of Edinburgh. I wanted to climb it the moment I saw it, but thought better of it, considering that I didn't really have the best mountain-climbing footwear on. But I was determined to reach the summit when I was better dressed for it.

I thought that was the summit. LOL

So I headed back up the Royal Mile, stopping along the way to sample--and subsequently buy--some fudge and to check out a Christmas ornament shop. I also visited the Museum of Edinburgh, which featured a cool bird's-eye-view video showing how the city changed and grew over time, as well as many artifacts found within the city over the years, and silver and glass works created by Edinburgh's craftspeople through the centuries.

Continuing up the Royal Mile, I stopped in St. Giles' Cathedral to have a look around. Having already done a fair bit of walking by that point in the day, I took advantage of the opportunity to sit down for a few minutes while I admired the interior of the church. The pew was surprisingly comfortable, and of course it was pretty quiet in there, so before I knew it, I'd dozed off. I woke up pretty suddenly about ten minutes later when the priest started the noon service.

Oops.

A few "amens" later, I was free to go--good thing weekday services are short. It was pretty evident that I needed coffee, so I headed back to the Elephant House for a cappuccino and some lunch.

Re-energized, I decided to check out the Writer's Museum, which featured exhibits on some of Scotland's most famous writers: Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns, and Robert Louis Stevenson. They also had, of course, an exhibit about JK Rowling, the highlight of which was a copy of the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, annotated by JK Rowling herself. Not going to lie, I spent more time looking at that than I did at all the other exhibits combined. Though there was a Stevenson quote that I liked: "For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."

I spent the next hour wandering in search of a place for dinner. I wasn't really hungry yet, but knowing how long it usually takes me to make up my mind about what I want to eat, I wanted to get an early start and avoid getting hangry if at all possible.

I came across a Mexican place that seemed promising, which was both exciting and surprising. Generally, Europeans aren't big fans of spicy foods, or so I've noticed, so Mexican restaurants are pretty rare, and those that you do come across are generally not that great. But I could smell some spice as soon as I walked in the door, and it smelled good, so I was willing to take the chance.

Man, I almost cried when I took that first bite. Did I mention that I love Mexican food? Because I do.

Yum.

Double yum.

After dinner, I met my Switzerland friends for my first ghost tour. If you know me at all, you know how far outside of my comfort zone that kind of thing usually is. But my comfort zone has gotten a lot bigger on this trip, so I was willing to give it a shot. 

Plus it's not so scary if you go with friends. 

That being said, I was sufficiently spooked by the end of it, so when my friends headed off to their dinner reservation, I made a beeline for my hostel.

The next morning, I made an even earlier start than usual, because I was going on a day tour! Our kilt-wearing guide took us through the Scottish highlands to Glen Coe, one of the most famous and beautiful valleys in Scotland. 

Looks very mist-erious in this picture. 😜

The valley also has quite a sad and violent history: in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution and the Jacobite uprisings, a plan was hatched to make an example of the MacDonald clan, who had been the last to pledge their allegiance to the new English monarchs. On February 13th, 1692, there was a massacre. It began simultaneously at dawn in three villages throughout Glen Coe. Thirty-eight people were killed by the soldiers, who had been treated as guests by the MacDonalds. Another forty died of exposure and frostbite fleeing the valley after their homes were destroyed. 

Pretty grim stuff for so early in the morning. But the rest of the tour was much more cheerful.

We made a number of other stops on the tour, but the one I was most excited for was Loch Ness. I'm a big Nessie believer, so when we were offered the chance to go on a boat ride on the Loch, you can bet I was the first in line. 

Of course, you can't actually see into the water, I discovered when we were on board. It's literally pitch black; if you were to stick your hand in the water, you wouldn't be able to see it once it was about six inches under. The guide explained that, as the water runs off the surrounding mountains into the loch, it absorbs many of the nutrients from the peat, which gives the water is dark color. 

Even though Nessie didn't put in an appearance, it was still quite a nice cruise on the water. We had beautiful weather for it:

The rainbow was not photoshopped in, I promise. It was the real deal.

When we got back to Edinburgh that evening, I met my friends for a farewell drink at an alehouse called BrewDog, which serves only Scotland's BrewDog beer. A couple of pints later, food was in order, so we headed to a fish and chips place near the B and B my friends were staying in. I decided that I was feeling too adventurous for fish and chips, so I went for the deep-fried Mars bar with ice cream (apparently a local delicacy). 

As you can probably guess, it was a heart attack in every bite, and I regretted it several times over by the time I'd said goodbye to my Switzerland friends and made my way back to my hostel. Talk about going out with a bang. 

The next morning--my last in Edinburgh--I was craving some physical activity to make up for the previous evening's dietary disaster. So I laced up my sneakers and headed to Arthur's Seat.

Even though gusts of wind made me fear for my life at some points, I did make it to the summit, and was rewarded with spectacular views of Edinburgh in every direction. Unfortunately, the wind was even stronger at the summit, and I chose to sacrifice the quality of my photos in the interest of not falling off the mountain. But I got a few that should give you the gist:

Blurry.

Double blurry.

All in all, it was a good way to say goodbye to the city, before hopping on a train to Glasgow.

Of course, if I'd known how boring Glasgow was going to be, I would've stayed in Edinburgh. 

Stay tuned!