Birthday Weekend!

Wow, sorry it has been so long! The past few weeks have been great- I'll try to recap. Two weekends ago a few of us did some obligatory touristy things- we went to see the Palace of Holyrood House and then the Scottish Parliament. The Palace is where the royalty has stayed whenever they come to Scotland, dating back hundreds of years. The Queen comes and stays there ever summer. It was beautiful and we got a great tour! What made it so interesting to me was that it is still in use. There were tons of original paintings and art work, and all the original royal furniture. Last year the Pope and the Queen exchanged gifts in one of the rooms we were in- pretty cool. Some drama also went down there- murders, etc. After that we walked across the street and took a tour of the Scottish Parliament building. Very interesting! The building is very modern and actually has a lot of controversy around it because most think that it is extremely ugly. I did too, but after hearing what the architect designed it to look like it made a little more sense!

The Palace

I'll fast forward through the week to my 21st birthday!!! Friday morning my friends Megan and Michelle who are studying in London got here! It was so nice to have friends from home with me over the birthday weekend! So Friday we walked around a bit, I showed them where I have classes and then some of the popular sights in Edinburgh. We sat for almost two hours in the Elephant House cafe (where JK Rowling wrote parts of Harry Potter), oh and Megan and Michelle are obsessed with Harry Potter, so they were in their glory! The cafe has an amazing view of the castle and is just a relaxing spot to have lunch and coffee. After that we did some more walking around, and ended up later in the night at a friend's apartment who was having an early Valentine's Day party.

Saturday- the big day! Can't believe I'm 21! I started off the morning by opening some wonderful presents, and then Megan, Michelle, Litta, Allison, and I went to breakfast at Elephants and Bagels- yes another Elephant place. So far its the only place in Edinburgh I've seen that has bagels- and we've all been craving them. These were not just any bagels- they were amazing! I had an everything bagel with cream cheese, pesto and tomato. Definitely will be making that in the States. Also had a delicious mocha to start the morning right. After lunch Megan, Michelle and I were adventurous and hiked up Arthur's Seat. It was so beautiful- I loved it because when we started it was cloudy and overcast, but as we made our way up it got clearer and clearer, and by the time we were at the top it was all sun and blue sky. It was so peaceful and relaxing, we loved it! Following our hike, Megan and Michelle went and did a tour of the castle, and I stayed back and skyped with my parents!

Great breakfast!

Some shots from Arthur's Seat hike

Megan and Michelle!

They got back later on and after we were all cleaned up we headed out for the night. First stop was dinner at a pub called the Greenmantle with Litta and Allison. We had a great dinner and made it classy with some nice glasses of wine! Next stop was a lounge/fancy bar called 56 North where the rest of the crew met us. Sunday was my friend Stephen's birthday, so we planned the night as a joint celebration. We were at 56 North for quite a while and had a great time! Litta Allison and I split a pitcher of a delicious drink- not sure exactly what was in it, but lots of fruit! A nice birthday cocktail! When we were done there, we went to Three Sisters. Its a huge pub that has tons of picnic benches, huge tv screens, and food outside. Inside is great- several bars, dance floors, and places to sit if you want.. great atmosphere! It was ridiculously crowded when we got there- part of the reason was that there was a rugby match between Scotland and Wales earlier and the day so tons of fans were there to celebrate. (Scotland lost..sad) We stayed for about 2 hours and danced with the occasional break outside to get some air! Final stop was to pick up a bunch of pizzas (seems to be our tradition) and headed back to Allison's flat. After we had been eating pizza for a while, everyone surprised Stephen and I with a cake each! So delicious and so nice to have everyone sing happy birthday! By that time it was about 2:30, so we finished the cake and then headed home. All in all a fabulous 21st birthday!

Long Valley in Scotland

Some Welch friends...

Our group

Cake!

Sunday we slept in pretty late and then did some last minute site seeing before Megan and Michelle got on their train. One of my best weekends here yet, it was so fun. This week has some events going on, but I'll update you on those in the next post!