I've been meaning to get to the next London blog, but I've been a little busy. What with work and job interviewing and trying to schedule surgery before my 26th birthday when I get ousted from my parents' health insurance and essentially become a charming street urchin from Oliver Twist. Yeah, it's been a little cray cray.
But anyway, back to day 8 of our British adventure!
Day 8 was going to be a pretty long day, due to the fact that we were going to Edinburgh, Scotland and back (a five hour train ride each way.) We booked our tour through Golden Tours, which I now realize was pretty pointless. You pay a buttload of money so they can book your train tickets for you, meet you at Kings Cross in the morning and then send you on your merry way, never to be seen again. The price of the day tour did include entrance to Edinburgh castle and a bus tour that we never used, but still. Next time I go, I'll def just book a train ticket on my own like Ann, Teresa, and Nancy did.
We got to Kings Cross at the butt crack of dawn. The Tube doesn't even run that early, so we booked an Addison Lee to get us to the station. Addison Lee is a cab company that's only a little more convenient than black cabs because you can book them for a specific time and place, whereas with a black cab, you just have to stand on the curb and hope one comes by. Oh, and Addison Lee has your credit card information in the phone app, so, like Uber, your fare is automatically paid. Yay!
At Kings Cross, Sarah and I took advantage of the fact that there was no line at Platform 9 and 3/4s. When we were at Kings Cross the first day we got to London, they had velvet ropes to organize the line of people waiting to take their picture there, as well as a peppy Asian photographer and a guy that would put a Gryffindor scarf on you and then toss the scarf when they took the picture so it looked like you were running through the wall. Lame. At 6:00 in the morning, however, no line, no Asian photographer, and no scarves, so Sarah and I took pictures for each other. I think they came out just fine.
By the time Teresa, Ann, and Nancy got there, we were meeting with the Golden Tours rando who gave us our packet with the train tickets and strict instructions to make sure we were in time to board our train home that afternoon. After that, we were on our own. Like I said, not sure why we paid so much money for that.
Though they booked their own tickets, Teresa and Ann were on the same train. We all boarded and were leaving the station I think before seven in the morning. It was a long, long train ride, but there was a little bit of novelty (at least on the way up) so I kind of enjoyed it. Of course, I didn't sleep though, because I'm Becky and I never nap when it's convenient to nap, like when I'm on a train for five hours.
The closer we got to Scotland, the prettier the scenery got. I'll admit, a fair bit of the English countryside just looks like farmland that I can see if I drive 20 minutes out of Kansas City in any direction. But towards the end of the journey, the railway passes right along the eastern coast, and it looks like something straight out of a Brontë novel. I took a few pictures of the coast, because it was so cloudy and misty out.
And I also took this picture of myself on the train, which I like because you can see my "M" necklace, which makes me feel like Mike was there in spirit.
When we got to Waverley Station in Edinburgh, it took me a few minutes to get my bearings. Granted, I know where the Royal Mile is in relation to the station, but when you pop out of the station and you're not sure which way is which, it can be a little disorienting at first.
So, we started the climb up from the station to High Street, which involves a lot of stair-climbing. And after that, a lot of hill-climbing to get to the castle. No one told me how hilly Edinburgh is. We didn't stop climbing the whole day, until we walked back to the train station.
We hiked up a narrow alley with a few pubs built into them, and then climbed a little bit more until we reached High Street. Dad, Sarah, and I stopped for lunch at The Filling Station, which is essentially TGI Friday's, but we were hungry and had just gotten off a train, so we didn't care. They had fish and chips, which was good enough for Sarah and Dad.
After lunch, we continued up the Royal Mile towards Edinburgh Castle, but our favorite destination of the day (and one of my favorites of the whole entire trip) was first.
Located on the Royal Mile, pretty much right before you get to Edinburgh Castle is The Scotch Whisky Experience, which I'd read about and then researched on Trip Advisor. If you don't have enough time in Scotland to go to an actual distillery, this is the next best thing. All the reviews said it was really fun and informative, but most of the people on the street barely seemed to notice it because when we went inside and bought our tickets, the tour group was tiny. Just us, one other dude, and one other family of three.
So, the first thing you should know about the Scotch Whisky Experience is that all the people who work there are so nice. They wear these little gold waistcoats and they all seem to know a ton about scotch, but they're not snooty or standoffish like just about everyone in London is. Our tour guide, Martin, had kind of an Irish accent, which is too bad because the Scottish accent is my absolute favorite, but he was super nice and knowledgeable, so I liked him.
When you start the tour, the first thing they do is load you into a giant rollercoaster cart that's shaped like a whisky barrel. The cart then starts rumbling down a track like a theme park ride, and you proceed through a number of darkened rooms where a crazy, ghost hologram tells you all about how scotch whisky is made. I have to say, I was so tickled by the whole thing, and I was laughing so hard, I can't remember a darn thing the hologram said. I only remember that as we rode from room to room, Sarah and I would look for him, and when he popped up to continue his lesson, we'd laugh like, "Oh, there he is!"
I think the hologram was supposed to be the ghost of...the guy who invented scotch? I honestly don't remember, but he was kooky and he made the whole ride totally hilarious. At the end, he mentioned something about the angels' share (the whisky in the barrel that evaporates) and then he goes, "I'm off to join the angels myself!" And by that time, I was dying of laughter, like, "Wait a second, does he die at the end?" And the employee who helped us out of the barrel was like, "I think he's supposed to be dead the whole time." It was so funny. I couldn't stop laughing.
We were then shown into the tasting room, where we waited for the other members of the tour to complete the barrel ride. There are several long tables in the tasting room, with color coordinated circles in front of each seat, and an empty Glencairn glass. While we waited for everyone else to arrive, the ghost hologram from the ride kept appearing on the screen at the front of the room, which only made me start laughing again. Then, when everyone had taken their seats in the tasting room, Martin came in and started a little video presentation where he told us about the four main kinds of scotch single malt whisky: Highlands, Lowlands, Speyside, and Islay. At each tasting station, we had a scratch and sniff card with the four colors for the four types of whisky, and we learned about what smells and tastes each different type tends to have. I thought I kept the scratch and sniff card, but I couldn't find it just now. Bummer.
After that, you're supposed to push your glass onto the colored circle that matches the scotch you want to try: Highlands, Lowlands, Speyside, or Islay. You can pay for more expensive tour tickets if you want more tastes of scotch, but we each got one (and I'm glad I did because I was pretty tingly by the time we left the tour.)
I chose Highlands, Sarah chose Lowlands, Dad chose Speyside, and none of us chose Islay because that one smells the strongest and smokiest. And I can barely handle scotch as it is. Martin poured everyone's scotch of choice and then he led us into the next room, where they house the largest scotch whisky collection in the world.
Guys, I wish I could adequately describe how cool the scotch room is. Even the pictures I took don't do it justice. I guess if you remember the hall of prophecies scene from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, where there's all those thousands of glowing glass globes -- do you remember what I'm talking about? It's essentially that but with glowing bottles of scotch. Rows and rows, shelves and shelves, so much scotch. Old bottles, new bottles, rare bottles, limited editions, special releases, bottles in every shape, size, and color. The room is so dimly lit, and it makes the shelves of scotch glow. It's really really cool. None of the bottles in the collection have ever been opened, and they won't even tell you how much the collection is worth.
We all gathered around a table in the scotch room and Martin told us how to taste our scotch. You swirl it around the glass to look for the legs, you stick your nose inside the glass and smell (with your mouth open) and then finally you taste.
I'm not the biggest scotch fan. I mean, I enjoy it every once in a while, in small doses. But I know enough about my own scotch preferences to know that the Highlands scotch I tried (I'm an idiot. I don't remember who made it) was really good. Dad and Sarah and I exchanged tastes of one another's scotches and meandered around the scotch room, drinking at our leisure and listening to Martin answer more questions about scotch. It was so much fun.
At the end of the tour, we all got to keep our Glencairn glasses, and then we were shown into the bar where we could order more scotches to taste if we wanted to. We passed through the gift shop on our way out where they have a ton of expensive scotch to buy. Sarah got us each matching keychains that have little scotch bottle charms and Glencairn glasses on them. And thus ended the Scotch Whisky Experience. If you're ever in Edinburgh, make sure you go. I'm absolutely going again next time I'm there.
We headed up to Edinburgh Castle after that, but I was kind of tired (and kind of buzzed) so I really just went inside to peek at the views before heading out and hitting the gift shop again. I bought an awesome Celtic ring, but of course I lost it before we even boarded the train back to London. Boo. But on the way out of the castle, I did get an ice cream cone with a flake.
Sarah headed down to the bottom of the Royal Mile to meet up with Teresa and Ann who were at the Holyrood Palace. Dad and I elected for a leisurely stroll back down High Street, where we saw all kinds of crowds, a guy dressed up like Braveheart, and a bagpiper in a kilt. We stopped at a few souvenir shops where I got a tartan collar for Ace, a lambswool scarf for Mom, and Dad got a Harris Tweed hat that he's always wanted. We took in some more of High Street and looked at the buskers and the crowds, and St. Gile's Cathedral... It really is a cool place.
When it was time, we walked back down the super steep street to Waverly Station and got some food to eat before we boarded our train. It was a long ride back to London and it was pretty darn late when we got back. Outside Kings Cross, we hailed a black cab and rode back to the flat.
Thanks for reading, everyone. I'll see you back here for day 9 of our London Trip, which includes perhaps the coolest place I've ever been.
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