Chapter 21: Edinburgh Is so Class
I let Devin handle most of this post, enjoy 🤝
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Bit of a change up this edition: I let Devin write (most of) it. Besides a few grammatical touch ups, all of my comments will be bold italicized.
Thursday, November 4th
I woke up to my own alarm for the first time since being over here, and boy was it refreshing.
We spent like 16 hours in planes and airports. Boy was it refreshing is right.
I took a quick shower and headed downstairs for breakfast. We ate an ungodly amount of eggs, beans, sausage, and bacon, and it was time to start the day. We had to get to King’s Cross Station in downtown London to catch a train to Edinburgh.
We took a bus to the airport station, and a train to King’s Cross to leave from there to Edinburgh. We had a 4-5 hour train ride, but it gave me some time to finish writing my notes…
Devin has been jotting travel notes over the course of this trip as well
…for the past couple of days and catch up on Sons of Anarchy (pretty fitting because a lot of scenes are from Aberdeen and other places in Scotland).
We checked into our AirBnb…
Nicest place I’ve stayed since we’ve been in Europe. Two bedroom, massive bathroom with a tub. Nice living room and kitchen. A bit pricy, but 100% worth it.
…and then went to the grocery store around the corner to buy some liquor. After having some very existential and deep alcohol-influenced convos with Jack, we decided to go out.
I feel like Devin and I got to know each other on a spiritual level. Existential convos are fantastic.
We went to a pub called Three Sisters, and I accidentally bought ciders instead of beer. We met a few British dudes who were chill (but of course our conversation started because they commented on my height) and they bought us a beer.
We headed out and ended up a bar/club(?) called Hive. Literally the cheapest drinks that exist on the planet. Facts. We got even more hammered for like 10 pounds This is Britain’s currency btw. Not talking body weight here. Jack ran into a girl that he matched with on Hinge who was insanely hot, but he had no shot with (she had 200+ notifications on Hinge lol).
“No shot” is bold considering we literally matched on Hinge. But yeah I really didn’t have a chance lol. I'm a 7 on my best day in good lighting. This girl was like a 9 on her worst.
We chatted with her for a while before she and her friend left. Afterwards, we hit the dance floor. Jack went to the bathroom, and I had another non-Devin moment. I approached a pair of girls by myself again and we were having a blast.
Europe turned Devin into an extrovert with the ladies. Or maybe it’s just because he hasn’t smoked in 8 days, idk.
They thought it was cool that I was from America (rare around these parts). Jack came back, and we went to the bar with them and took what looked like Pepto-Bismol shots.
Like liquid bubblegum.
We went back to the dance floor until 3 AM when the club closed. Jack and I bounced after that, and it was windy af. I literally thought I was gonna get blown away. Not a bad night one.
Friday, November 5th
I woke up hungover as sh*t (We DO NOT cuss in this blog smh) and went to the grocery store to buy some food to make for the next couple of days. We whipped up some much needed breakfast (eggs, sausage, toast, and baked beans) before hiking Arthur’s Seat. It was a beautiful view and only an hour or so hike.
Rough hike.
It took us awhile to make it back to our Airbnb, but we found a really cool outside food/drink area (market outside the train station) and hung out there for a bit.
We cooked burgers at the Airbnb before heading out. We went to some underground bar, and I hated it. The bar set up was horrible. There wasn’t enough room. The only open standing room was the area right in front of the bar. It was the worst layout possible for a bar. People kept bumping into me, but Jack didn’t notice because I was shielding him from stray elbows.
Honestly a super cool spot with good music. Devin whines too much.
We left there and went to Why Not, some place that Jack visited with Jason and Jordan. It was alright, but the place just felt too grungy.
Agreed 100%. Way less fun this time around, idk why.
I actually have a friend from high school, Kai, who lives in Edinburgh now. We met up with her and a bunch of her friends for a while. It was crazy seeing a girl from my high school in Scotland. After the bar closed, Jack and I headed home at 12:30ish. A block away from our place, we saw a piano bar called Rat Pack. We went down there, and the place gave me Johnny’s Hideaway vibes. We only stayed for like 15 minutes, but Jack was obsessed with this place.
Johnny’s x Macon Piano Bar. Obviously I was obsessed with it. They played Tiny Dancer.
Saturday, November 6th - I woke up and whipped up some eggs, sausage, and toast again, and Jack booked us a tour of the castle. We made it just in time (we were literally 20 minutes early) and started exploring. The castle had a very interesting war exhibit considering Europeans shit on Americans for having guns (true). We saw tons of interesting artifacts and buildings from the fortress.
The castle compound in Edinburgh really is one of the coolest places I’ve been. The war history museum was fantastic, and they had the crown jewels and a veteran memorial in the compound as well. Plus the views of the city are awesome. Highly recommend.
There was a massive gun set up next to the castle, and at 1:00 a soldier fired it. They used to fire it every day at 1:00 to let sailors in the bay know the time.
It had been raining while we were inside the museum, and we walked outside to see a full rainbow over the city. British people would say the view was pretty “class”.
We left the castle and stopped at a few souvenir shops on the way down the Royal Mile (Main Street of Edinburgh). I convinced Jack to buy a kilt (wearing it to St. Andrews golf course tomorrow. Probably going to be shot on sight), and I purchased a few things for family members.
We passed so many signs KFC signs that I said screw it, I’m going to get a little taste of America again (you’ve literally been here for like six days). Jack had to do some writing so I ventured out on my own to shop and visit an art gallery.
I met up with Jack again later that night, and naturally we went out again (it was Saturday, after all). This was the night of rejection. We’re not just talking women, but half the bars we tried to get into wouldn’t let us in.
Three Sisters pub was playing “Stacy’s Mom” at 12:00 AM. The place looked electric. As we were walking up to the bar, the bouncer halfway closed the gate. He said, “We’re not letting new people in.” I said, “Nine people walked out and two are trying to come in. You guys close at 3. What’s the issue?” He told us to leave. Stupid business model.
Who would’ve thought a Thursday night would be more eventful than Friday and Saturday. Somehow ended up with an exit sign (we saw it on the side of the road and Devin said to scoop it lol. We ended up going in one more bar with it tucked in my jacket) that I was convinced I was bringing back to America.
I threw it away when we left on Monday lol.
Sunday, November 7th - This was our sober day. I was only seven days into the bender, but this was Jack’s first day not getting hammered in months.
This is a gross overstatement. We literally flew all day on Wednesday and went straight bed at the hotel. Shut up Devin.
It’s understandable though, you can’t be a writer without being dependent on some sort of drugs. Or at least alcohol.
This part might be true, idk yet.
Jack slept in, and I woke up early to go see the Scottish Botanical Gardens. They were massive. I walked around for a couple of hours until Jack met me at a local market for lunch. We waited in line for about 30 minutes to get a chicken and vegetable stir fry (ask Jack what it was called) (paella), and it was completely worth it.
We ate our food by the river before exploring the north side of Edinburgh. We stopped at a red phone booth, and Jack realized that you could send emails from the phone.
I emailed Tucker for $0.20.
We stopped at another art gallery and saw an Andy Warhol painting. Pretty class. (Class indeed). Jack had to do some more writing, and I ventured out on my own again. I tried to go back to a jewelry store to buy a silver Celtic cross, but it was closed. Not class.
We met back at the apartment and headed to a pub to watch NFL Sunday. The place was packed, but a couple of Scottish guys let us sit with them. We left after the early games to go pack up. (We’re five hours ahead, so the games ended at like 10:00 London time). After watching an hour and a half of Lil Sas Twitter videos (he is so class), and completely wasting our time, we finally packed up.
Bye Edinburgh. It’s been fun.
See below for the previous and next chapter:
Chapter 20: Tallest Man in Europe | Backpackin'
https://www.backpackin.blog/p/chapter-20-tallest-man-europe
Chapter 22: Bike Capital of the World | Backpackin'
Golf at St. Andrews, passport misshap, and the coolest Christmas city ever
https://www.backpackin.blog/p/chapter-22-bike-capital-world-2