Thankfully Jen had her phase 10 cards with her so we had something to occupy our time. After about an hour and a half the bus returns and we head on our way only to get stuck sitting in traffic. After more traffic and 2 more stops we finally arrive at our hostel 5 hours past our original scheduled arrival (we were scheduled to arrive around 530 and didnt arrive till 1030) So our "8 hour" bus ride turned into a 12 hour bus ride! Here are some photos of our "5 star" hostel. 
Yes! This is what a 5 star hostel looks like. There were 4 bunk beds for 8 of us, all of whom were on the trip, it was me, Jen, Elyssa, Angela, and 4 other girls. The room also had an ensuite shower and toilet. After we quickly freshened up, a group of us went looking for a pub, and we found a tiny one called "The black bull" Of course we had to try the local drinks, I stuck with Tennants 
and had sips of some locally brewed ones, there was one that tasted like coffee; it was deeeeliccciiioussss!!! We were only in the pub for about an hour because it closed at 1a. So after the pub we went back to the hostel and passed out, plus we were waking up at 8 to start our day on Saturday. Saturday was an extremely LONG day as well, we left our hostel at about 930a and didn't return until after midnight! We started off with almost everyone from the trip going to the castle [which allowed each of us to save £1.20 with the group rate], and the walk was treacherous but there were some beautiful photo ops along the way.
After the castle we all split up and did our own thing. Jen, Elyssa, Angela, Trevor, and myself went to go check out two free museums, some of the local shops, and the cathedral. We also signed up for a historical/ghost tour of Queen Mary's close at 8:40p which is the underground city where people actually lived (Sorry I don't have any photos of it because we were not allowed to take any) But it was very cool & creepy knowing people lived there. Before the underground tour we went looking for haggis and a refreshing pint. We found a pub called "The Advocate" that had sign displays outside saying they served Haggis but when we tried ordering it they said they didn't serve it anymore (they even had 3 more signs inside mentioning it! Talk about false advertising). So after dinner and the tour we went looking for a bar/club called "Opium" which a bartender from "The Advocate" recommended. It was a rock club but was very chill and definitely the perfect place to end the night. Sunday we woke up and already had our day planned, thankfully! Edinburgh looks like a big city but it is actually not that bad you can basically walk to all the attractions. We started our day at Calton Hill which was only a few blocks from our hostel, but a horrendous hill to climb up! After Calton Hill we headed to the Whiskey Distillery for our Whiskey Tour. The tour was 50 minutes and included a whiskey glass and a whiskey tasting. At the start of the tour you go on a 10 minute ride in a barrel (you can kind of see it in the photo). I learned from the tour how whiskey is made and most importantly that I do NOT like whiskey. But it was still a great experience! After the whiskey tour we went looking for "The Elephant House" which is were J.K. Rowling wrote some of Harry Potter and got inspiration for the story, including the school that inspired the 4 houses at Hogwarts. We ended up not eating lunch there but at Bobby's Bar (wikipedia it) and that is where I had Haggis, neeps, and tatties for the first time. It is basically meat, turnips, and potatoes. Apparently everyone serves it differently but I was very impressed even though some people warned me against it.
After all of that it was time to head back to the hostel and be on our way back to Guildford. After another long bus ride we arrived back to campus around 3a where I passed out immediately!These past few days have been pretty chill. Last night, a few of us went to a piano bar in town called "The tickled ivory." Similar to Howl at the Moon but not as wild. I had a mojito which was delicious but definitely waaay to much ice. Today me, Jen, and Chris went to go watch Jen's roommate in his final home Football game. There was about 10 spectators all together, no bleachers, and it was absolutely freezing! One of the coaches was wearing a Gator sweater and a Tampa Bay Bucs hat! The great news is that we kicked the other teams butt and beat them 18-6. Plans for tonight including heading to the club Citrus at Rubix on campus and then for the rest of the week just school and homework because my first paper is due Monday. Then next week is Ireland and I can't wait!
Sorry for the extremely long post, hope you enjoyed it though.
oxo
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