Off to Edinburgh!

Today I left London via the tube and hopped at train to Edinburgh. The international train station at Kings Cross has a 9 and 3/4 platform. It's not where the rest of the platforms are but it is in the main corridor and there is a cute shop next to it filled with Harry Potter stuff. The station itself was easier to find than I would have imagined, as was the tube. Public transportation in Europe is incredibly easy in comparison to the Bay Area.     


 Once on the train I started to watch a movie mindlessly until the gentleman in the seat next to me boarded the train. He was really a really nice older gentleman named Cliff who still had a wicked sense of adventure. We talked the entire train ride about everything. He is from Tennessee (another American, I know) and has been to 49 states, 28 countries, and 3 continents. We talked about traveling and found that we have similar interests and opinions on sightseeing. We like to have a general outline of what we want to see but we give ourselves the liberty to scratch things off if they won't fit into the schedule. We like traveling in smaller groups in order to see what we want to without having to appease the group. We like to see the things that are more off the beaten path and intellectually stimulating rather than getting stuck in the tourist traps. He gave me some advice on places to see while I'm here since he had been to Edinburgh before. We even talked about the taboo topic of politics... US politics and religion. It was amazing to have a frank conversation like this without it being confrontational since we both hate the 2 major party candidates but we have differing opinions on what to do about it. It was a very constructive conversation between a man 2 generations ahead of me who has traveled the world and worked for the government, and me, a girl raised in the liberal Bay Area knowing practically nothing but my own backyard and theatre. He is, by far, the most interesting person I have interacted with on this trips as of yet. We watched the English and Scottish countryside as we ride by and we're pointing out the different sights we were seeing. I have never seen water as blue as the North Sea. It was completely stunning as was all the architecture we passed.       


 Now I am in the bar of the hostel in Edinburgh and it is WAY nicer than the one at Holland Park in London.  They serve beer in this bar, unlike in London, and I am enjoying myself a brew local to Glasgow. The lockers for my belongings are bigger. The beds are bigger. It is just a more comfortable place in general. In the London hostel I had a really messy lady who stayed in the bed under me, a man that would come in to the room at 11:30 at night and be complaining loudly about something while thinking it would be fine to turn the light on, oh and did I mention the simphany of snoring? Here there are only 8 beds in the room and there is a private bathroom. We will see about the location of this hostel tomorrow when I decide to venture out into the wold of Scotland. Hopefully I will meet people who I can venture out with in this hostel. At least for one day before I leave, I am here for 3 full days before I catch the train back to London. I mean because if I don't find anyone to go around Scotland with, I might be tempted to just stay at the hostel bar desperately flirting with the incredibly attractive bartender. If he is the only friend I make in Scotland... I would be completely okay with that. I think I'm just going to ogle him from afar until I'm ready for another beer or bar food... Or whatever...   

 From Scotland, with love.