SCOTLAND

Scotland was our second stop on the trip. Edinburgh was my favorite place the entire trip. The city is old and has a great historical feel. We only spent like 36 hours of our entire trip here, so we had to make the most of it. I had to stop in Scotland because this is where my Grandma Helen is from. I want to go back and spend time in England and Scotlands' countryside when I have more time and $$$. We found the best hat shop. I wanted to buy the one I am wearing in the picture, but where would I wear it back home. We also found the Elephant House (by total luck). This is where J.K. Rowling started to write Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone. It was close to the castle, and I can just imagine the influence that Edinburgh Castle had on her book.

We spent hours at Edinburgh castle. It is bigger than you can imagine. They built it on a rocky hill overlooking the entire city. It is quite the fortress! When we walked in they were taking down a ton of bleachers from some event. The great hall totally reminded me of Harry Potter and the hat sorting scene, the floating candles and all the crazy food they eat in the dining hall at Hogwarts.

This was my favorite
hostel the entire trip because it was the nicest. And we had our own room, but it was at the top of the hostel. So like in Vietnam, we had to climb a ton of stairs and carry our heavy luggage. (Ashley has video of me doing this.) Our room was decorated and had Ikea sheets. There was also a common room that had a million couches from Ikea. The bathroom was the best part. We had to share with the "Gents" to shower and use the toilets, but it really wasn't that bad. Look at the door carefully, I didn't even realize it until the 2nd day.

We took a day trip out to see Rosslyn Chapel. I was so excited, did anyone see The Davinici Code or read the book? It turns out that Rosslyn Chapel has nothing to do with the Knights Templar, they just used it in the book/movie. The chapel has also had a tent cover over it since 1996. The stone has been so wet over the years that algae was growing on the inside of the roof. This tent is helping the stone dry out. So, in the movie they had to use a mini model for the aerial shots. I couldn't take pictures of the inside, but the symbloism and all the carved stone was incredible! (The Davinci Code also had me excited to see The Louvre in Paris!)