Day 3 (25/05)
Was up pretty early with the rest of the lads in the room, (no) thanks to Victor and his alarm, which woke everyone up but himself. After a quick shower, breakfast ensured, complimentary of the hostel. Then headed out with the same bunch of people again, this time to do a proper touristy tour of Edinburgh. First up was the Edinburgh Castle. Made our way up the flight of stairs and to my horror they've put up stuff (seatings perhaps for the military tattoo in Aug) on the esplanade of the castle, effectively blocking off the view from the left and right side. We only got glimpses of the beautiful view, very unfortunate indeed. Proceeded to pose and take photos with the rest before joining the queue for tickets.
At this point Oink and I convinced ourselves that the castle looks nicer on the outside than the inside, typical of other European castles that we have seen. So in a bid to save 11 pounds each for things that matter more (food, drinks and more drinks) we broke away temporarily from the rest onto the Royal Mile. We checked out the tartan weaving mill and moved on to Camera Obscura and World of Illusions which basically is filled with optical illusions, holograms and other visually amusing stuff. Spent a good while admiring the things on sale in the souvenir shop and got hungry. After a quick lunch in a pub down the road, we returned to Camera Obscura and bought tickets for entry. Up the flight of stairs we went all the way for a cool rooftop view of the city and then the Camera Obscura show started. Saw a 360 degrees live view of Edinburgh city by means of an ancient camera accompanied by informative commentaries in a dark room which was pretty impressive. Then we worked our way through the exhibits on display, floor after floor, down the building. Everything was so colourful and shiny. Oink needless to say, was very excited.
A good few hours later we were done with the place. More walking and window shopping down the cobblestoned Royal Mile followed. Typical of any touristy area, the place was hustling and bustling with people of all colours and shapes. The story of Deacon Brodie, which supposedly inspired R.L. Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Oink was painted on the wall of one the bar's; interesting I thought. Oink bought some tartan scarves and then we chanced upon this fudge shop. Sampled some of the toffee flavoured one, tasted good. Bought a slice of the cappuccino flavoured one for almost 5 pounds only to regret it. Felt a little queasy afterwards from the sugar overload.
Remembered the text David sent about a class gathering for an early dinner at 4 pm. Made our way there which was half way between Princes St and the hostel. Roma was the name and a classy Italian restaurant it was. The whole battalion of third meds awaited us and I ended up eating some kinda seafood pasta, which was delicious but pricey (by Scotland's standard and not Cork's). Then back to the hostel for some chillin' before another night out. Played a few games of pool while some of the others took a quick nap. The plan for the night was either to go out for some drinking and clubbing or to join the ghost tour and then go drinking and clubbing. Finished a bottle of Rose' with David and saved a Chardonnay for later before reluctantly heading out for the ghost tour later that night. I was never a big fan of such poppycock but decided to join anyway because of the company.
I was pleasantly suprised by the outcome of the tour, as it didn't quite turn out as I had imagined. The guide was brilliant at story telling; very dramatic, like an actor. The tour started off with a story of ancient war and death and off to the graveyard we went. The night was cold and stories told were just as chilling. But it was funny at the same time, owing to the guide's sense of humour. The highlight of it all was when we were packed into this dark chamber apparently haunted by a ghost. Then while the guide was talking, his ghost-masked accomplice barges into the chamber from nowhere and catches most people (me not included) by suprise before disappearing into the dark again. Loud screams were heard at that moment; it was hilarious I must say. Then the tour concluded but the anticipated drinking and clubbing plan didn't quite materialise for us.
Walked back to the hostel with the gang and stopped at a chip shop for some late night snack. *Suprise, suprise*...we found battered Mars Bars and deep fried pizza. *yummy*
Later that night we finished up the Chardonnay and some serious 'talking cock' took place in the room between David, Victor, Peter, Martin, Warren and myself. Then one by one we ZZZzzzz....
As before, the others apppeared much later and were considerably noisier this time. Some of the girls wandered into the room waking some of us up. Peter resorted to politely telling them to shut up while Warren bluntly told them to f*ck off to mark the end of another great day for me.
Day 4 (26/05)
We caught the early train to Glasgow, then to Prestwick Airport and finally got on the flight to Cork. Was a good trip overall and was nice to see so many people, both Irish and non-Irish tagging along. Kudos to Peter Barrett the class rep for organising it. After touch down, we all wished each other a good summer break before going separate ways. *sob sob*
At this point Oink and I convinced ourselves that the castle looks nicer on the outside than the inside, typical of other European castles that we have seen. So in a bid to save 11 pounds each for things that matter more (food, drinks and more drinks) we broke away temporarily from the rest onto the Royal Mile. We checked out the tartan weaving mill and moved on to Camera Obscura and World of Illusions which basically is filled with optical illusions, holograms and other visually amusing stuff. Spent a good while admiring the things on sale in the souvenir shop and got hungry. After a quick lunch in a pub down the road, we returned to Camera Obscura and bought tickets for entry. Up the flight of stairs we went all the way for a cool rooftop view of the city and then the Camera Obscura show started. Saw a 360 degrees live view of Edinburgh city by means of an ancient camera accompanied by informative commentaries in a dark room which was pretty impressive. Then we worked our way through the exhibits on display, floor after floor, down the building. Everything was so colourful and shiny. Oink needless to say, was very excited.
A good few hours later we were done with the place. More walking and window shopping down the cobblestoned Royal Mile followed. Typical of any touristy area, the place was hustling and bustling with people of all colours and shapes. The story of Deacon Brodie, which supposedly inspired R.L. Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Oink was painted on the wall of one the bar's; interesting I thought. Oink bought some tartan scarves and then we chanced upon this fudge shop. Sampled some of the toffee flavoured one, tasted good. Bought a slice of the cappuccino flavoured one for almost 5 pounds only to regret it. Felt a little queasy afterwards from the sugar overload.
Remembered the text David sent about a class gathering for an early dinner at 4 pm. Made our way there which was half way between Princes St and the hostel. Roma was the name and a classy Italian restaurant it was. The whole battalion of third meds awaited us and I ended up eating some kinda seafood pasta, which was delicious but pricey (by Scotland's standard and not Cork's). Then back to the hostel for some chillin' before another night out. Played a few games of pool while some of the others took a quick nap. The plan for the night was either to go out for some drinking and clubbing or to join the ghost tour and then go drinking and clubbing. Finished a bottle of Rose' with David and saved a Chardonnay for later before reluctantly heading out for the ghost tour later that night. I was never a big fan of such poppycock but decided to join anyway because of the company.
I was pleasantly suprised by the outcome of the tour, as it didn't quite turn out as I had imagined. The guide was brilliant at story telling; very dramatic, like an actor. The tour started off with a story of ancient war and death and off to the graveyard we went. The night was cold and stories told were just as chilling. But it was funny at the same time, owing to the guide's sense of humour. The highlight of it all was when we were packed into this dark chamber apparently haunted by a ghost. Then while the guide was talking, his ghost-masked accomplice barges into the chamber from nowhere and catches most people (me not included) by suprise before disappearing into the dark again. Loud screams were heard at that moment; it was hilarious I must say. Then the tour concluded but the anticipated drinking and clubbing plan didn't quite materialise for us.
Walked back to the hostel with the gang and stopped at a chip shop for some late night snack. *Suprise, suprise*...we found battered Mars Bars and deep fried pizza. *yummy*
Later that night we finished up the Chardonnay and some serious 'talking cock' took place in the room between David, Victor, Peter, Martin, Warren and myself. Then one by one we ZZZzzzz....
As before, the others apppeared much later and were considerably noisier this time. Some of the girls wandered into the room waking some of us up. Peter resorted to politely telling them to shut up while Warren bluntly told them to f*ck off to mark the end of another great day for me.
Day 4 (26/05)
We caught the early train to Glasgow, then to Prestwick Airport and finally got on the flight to Cork. Was a good trip overall and was nice to see so many people, both Irish and non-Irish tagging along. Kudos to Peter Barrett the class rep for organising it. After touch down, we all wished each other a good summer break before going separate ways. *sob sob*
No comments:
Post a Comment