Days 12,13 - Edinburgh

Edinbra! Aye, dat's a city werrth vezitin'.

And much more so with the Festivals going on. If yerr pockets are loaded, for sure you can't get bored at the Edinburgh Fringe. I'd love my pockets to be loaded, but as of now, I've had to be satisfied with just watching the street performances. I would have shelled out the average £11 a couple of times for a couple of comedy shows, but I just didn't have the time.

And scenery-wise, Edinburgh is by far the most interesting city in the UK, from what I've seen, and I've seen quite a bit. Impressive architecture and wonderful views give it a very special character, quite unlike anything else to the south. The city center is just stunning, especially if you take a walk through the lower streets and look up at the blackened buildings on the hills, towering above you.

With the idea of keeping a consistent public image, I did what you'd expect from me and climbed to the highest point available: Arthur's Seat. Right by the middle of the city, a wonderful vantage point, and yet surprisingly accessible.

The locals use to just run up and down it for fun, no matter the weather. Several of them were happily running, in sport shorts and covered in sweat. I watched them as I stood on the top, covered in all the layers of insulation available, shivering like a mobile phone, and quietly wondered what is wrong with these people.

The sunset was gorgeous, though only visible as a band over the horizon with the red rays piercing the clouds, and the sun melting behind the Weastern hills. The first time I see the Sun in a while.

I also took a stroll through the city center, and saw what there was to see.

When the evening turned to night and cool turned to cold, I went back to the hostel and took profit of the free internet access to upload pictures, blog and send mails.

I stayed there until 3 AM, when, dead tired and freezing cold, I went back to my room and forgot my 2 Gb memory card on the table, thereby losing it and, most importantly, 440mb worth of photos from the trip. What a damn, damn dumbass I can sometimes be.

I realized this in the morning, too late to do anything about it. I left a paper on the wall, offering a Reward, dead or alive, but I don't expect "great success". So I lost the pics from the first 3 days, but fortunately I have a selection of the nicest ones on Flickr. Lower quality, but still. The ones I really regret losing are the ones with Paula in Brighton and Curt at Land's End. Sorry guys, your photos are gone, can't send them anymore.

Oh, and now I don't have the Wikipedia with me anymore. I already miss it. And the dictionaries. And the MP3s. And the books. And... ok, enough. Shit happens.

Yet, interestingly enough, this hasn't spoiled my impression of Edinburgh, probably because of the gorgeous sunny day I walked into.

I watched some more street entertainers doing their thing and quickly visited the art gallery. Visiting the castle was also part of the plan, but I felt I would better spend my time and money going somewhere else.

I was even prepared to spend the £11 necessary to gain access to the castle grounds, but I realized that if I wanted good views, there's an important building you can't see from Edinburgh Castle, and that is Edinburgh Castle.

So I went up Calton Hill, and yes, that's a good place for sightseeing.