Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

Sav: We woke up totally intent on having a true Scottish breakfast. Good plan!

We failed.

Somehow we ended up having what must be the most tasteless version of the thing ever at this (Italian?) restaurant in Grassmarket. At least the coffee was awesome.

We trekked up Victoria Street, the street that Diagon Alley in Harry Potter was partly based on. All colourful little shops, full to the ceiling with shelves and interesting wares. The first one we went in was an antique shop and this elderly man behind the register gives Meaghan and I a once over and goes “Have you met Paul?” Who was just another dude in the shop. Next shop! Moving on!

We perused some clothing stores, Harry Potter stores and cafés and ended up buying a few art prints. The sun was shining and we were ready for our next adventure. Guess what? WE WENT ON ANOTHER HIKE.

How does this keep happening. I mean this one was my idea but still. Damn.

Meag: I think I have now gotten all of the hikes out of Sav that I can for the rest of the year. It was good while it lasted! Apparently I have an issue going uphill at a ‘reasonable’ pace, so this time Sav insisted that we hike at a leisurely walk with a break or two on the way. The view from the top was so great – we could see out over the entire city and across the water too. It was quite windy which was necessary for how warm it was. Who knew I would need sunscreen in Scotland?!

When we were done with the hike we were so hot and really thirsty. Conveniently there was a wee ice cream truck at the bottom of the hill selling slushies. Now with blue tongues, we stumbled across the Scottish Parliament which was not what we expected! It is a very modern building with quotes about the country etched into it from famous Scots.

A good part of the afternoon was then spent sitting in an outside café enjoying the sun, watching the world go by and catching up on blogging.

A guy in our room, Curtis, suggested a place for really good burgers and beers called Cloisters. Sign me up! It was built in an old church so the inside was all high ceilings and dark wood. We tried one beer that tasted just like chocolate. Tragically the kitchen was closed and we were ready to eat our own arms so we downed our beers. Michael, our friend from home who is a great chef and used to live in Edinburgh, said we need to eat at Scran and Scallie. We Ubered our hungry selves over to the other side of town with an extremely nice driver – how is everyone is Scotland so nice.

More importantly – the restaurant. Wow. WOW. We had no idea what to expect but all we can say is THANK YOU, MICHAEL. The starter was a crab dish, followed by a fish pie for me and a ham, eggs and chips for Sav. Both were to die for and so unexpected. I don’t know the last time I had food this good. My tummy will be daydreaming about it for months.

Sav: the food was amazing! I did not know it was a Michelin Star restaurant though so my jeans and plaid didn’t quite fit in…

Our hostel was offering a pub quiz later in the evening and seeing as Meag loves pub quizzes and I’ve never tried one we decided to partake! We met up with Curtis and a girl from our room Maria, and were paired with two German guys Tobias and Korby, who ended up being hilariously entertaining the whole evening. Between the 6 of us we actually knew almost every question and finished the quiz in second place- to the tune of a 25£ bar tab. We grabbed another round of drinks and chatted for almost an hour before another hosteller suggested we go dancing. Why not? Monday’s are for parties right? We showed up at this dark club and danced the night away, even attempting to two-step (not my forté) and sing along with the band (also not my forté). We had a wonderful time with our new friends, and are hoping to spend more time with them tomorrow.

Also please check out Meaghan’s rendition of a Heilan Coo:

It’s gonna be worth millions.

S&M

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