Across the Pond: Edinburgh, Day 1

I spent last week in Edinburgh, Scotland for spring break. BEST. TRIP. EVER.

It was my first experience in Europe, and I was in heaven. As the blog functions for me like a journal in a lot of ways (you know, mixed in with a whole lot of enthusiasm), I'm excited to share my trip.

I went with my friend Gabbi, and we'd been planning the trip since December. In the days leading up to it, I got increasingly nervous. I've always been pretty type A and the prospect of doing something I'd never done was pretty daunting. The first glitch happened in the airport, when our flight was delayed and we had to make some changes, flying through London instead of through Newark (no complaints here, thank you). The flight was essentially empty, so I stretched out and slept the whole way.

By the time we reached Edinburgh, it was about 11 in the morning and I was still pretty exhausted. We caught the train into town and checked into our hotel with the help of a very attractive Scottish man.

The first thing we did: take a nap.

We stayed at the Balmoral, and let me tell you that hotel is glorious. The softest pillows. The comfiest beds. The heated tiles in the bathroom. The heated towel rack. The shower. THE SHOWER. Even the stationary was beautiful. We didn't realize it until the last night, but the suite directly above our room was the JK ROWLING SUITE. Like, where she stayed when she finished the last book!!!

Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Image found here. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of my own! This is what the room looked like...minus the gold pillows.

Alright, back to complete sentences.

After our little nap, it was still early in the afternoon, so we walked down to the National Gallery. I should tell you that Gabbles and I can spend a lot of time in a museum, and this was no exception. Cue an excessive amount of artwork.

A lobster, Lord Dunmore, Rembrandt's self portrait, and a genre painting

Constable, Rodin, Dyce, and Courbet.

The piece on the bottom left is William Dyce's Man of Sorrows. It's one of my very favorite pieces. When I was in my 19th century art class at BYU, I wrote my final paper on that piece. Stumbling upon it in the Scottish art section was a really special moment for me. It felt like a friend, just waiting to say hello.

After the museum, we walked to find a place for dinner, when I snapped this shot. It's one of my favorites. The building with the clock is our hotel.

It's kinda crazy, because as soon as we were there, all of my fears went away, and I was at ease. It took less than a day, and I was completely obsessed with this city.