Across the Pond: Edinburgh, Day 2.

Gabbi and I made a deal from the beginning that we would sleep in. Luckily for both of us...that meant about 8 o'clock. We found a little cafe called Pep and Fodder right near our hotel, and ended up going there every day for breakfast.

Yes, that is Abraham Lincoln. In the middle of a Scottish cemetery and right next to David Hume's mausoleum. Kind of amazing and also absolutely ridiculous. Strange.

We walked up "the mound" for a view of the city, and ended up people watching a hoard of school children speaking Spanish and wielding selfie sticks. The view was actually quite amazing. I'm refraining from posting about 12 panorama shots.

 On the way down from the mound, I saw my first bagpiper. And I kinda fell in love. Also, the gorgeous Gabbi and the view from our hotel room window.

We stopped for a hot chocolate and then to St. Giles Cathedral.

 It was stunning. There was a choir singing, and I sat for a while to just listen. The architecture was incredible. It was amazing to walk through something out of my art history textbooks, and I found myself smiling as I walked through the space. I lit a candle and said a prayer.

From there, we headed to the National Museum to meet up with a friend...that neither of us had actually met. Gabbi knows a boy from London, and his sister is a student in Edinburgh. We met up with her for lunch and then walked to her apartment for tea (water) and conversation. It was actually kind of amazing. The whole time, I couldn't help but think, "am I really going to a stranger's house in a foreign country?" Yep, I did. And loved it. Her friends were a RIOT. So much fun and so many crazy personalities. Also, a fair amount of slang that I didn't understand. But overall, a really pleasant evening and I smiled the whole time.

That night, it poured. We got so soaked on the walk back, that eventually we gave up and hailed a taxi. It didn't matter (remember, we had that glorious shower).

We fell into bed exhausted, but very happy.