You Take the High Road...I'll Take the Train

"O Scotia! my dear, my native soil! For whom my warmest wish to heaven is sent; Long may thy hardy sons of rustic toil Be blest with health, and peace, and sweet content."
--Robert Burns

We left Paris on the morning of the 15th after a quick breakfast at the station. We would later that day take lunch in London, and then supper in Edinburgh. The trip from Paris to London was lightning quick, as we took the Eurostar train through the chunnel. I slept most of the way, making the journey seem that much more brief. In London we took a moment to walk back out into King's Cross (we had become quite familiar with the area) in order to eat a quick meal and stop by a Tesco so I could stock up on HP Sauce to bring back to the states. We then boarded a train and bid a final farewell to London, and England all together.

The train up through the countryside was pleasant, and by the time we crossed into Scotland the scenery had become spectacular. However, the best bit of the whole affair was the free wifi that was pumping throughout the train. By the time we had reached Edinburgh, I was nearly caught up on my interneting...but only nearly.
Edinburgh is a grand city, and as one exits Waverly Station (named after the Walter Scott novel) the medieval walls and castles that still survive in Old Town jump out and announce themselves with quiet grandeur. The crown jewel of the city is of course Edinburgh Castle, which guards the city from on high from its untenable mount. We would eventually see the castle from all angles, and go up into it as far as we could for free. A seventeen pound fee is required to enter all the way, and we were warned ahead of time that the price of admission is not worth what you experience. That evening, after checking into a hostel for the night, we found a likely looking restaurant and sat down for our first helping of haggis, complete with mash and turnips (tatties and neeps as they say.) The haggis was the best I've had (though the Australians make a fine attempt) and I must say that I have grown immeasurably fond of turnips during this trip.
Our hostel was just off the Royal Mile which stretches from the garish Scottish Parliament building at one end (a point of national pride since it only came into existence in 1999 after the union of the with the English Parliament in 1702) all the way up to the Castle on the other end. In between are countless kilt shops, souvenirs stores (all selling the exact same merchandise), and pubs that are designed to lure tourists in for "traditional" Scottish fare. We spent the night in relative comfort, having to close to window at one point against the chill, and awoke with a plan to explore a bit and then meet with Hetty when she arrived at the train station that afternoon. She was coming fresh from a stay in Amsterdam at a Christian Mission Center, having taken an overnight ferry to London and then a train up to Waverly.

Yep, that's haggis, sausage, rashers, beans, and a tomato. Covered with plenty of brown sauce.

After an amazing traditional breakfast courtesy of the buffet in the cafe of our hostel, Chris and I spent the majority of the morning in the fascinating and jam-packed Scottish National Museum that was seven floors filled with artifacts, fossils, and history. The exhibits there on the Romans and Vikings were larger than most regular museums. An incredible amount of artifacts remain in existence dating all the way back to the pre-Christian Picts and Scots. As an added bonus, the entirely free museum allows visitors to access a platform on the roof to get a panoramic view of Edinburgh, with clear views all the way to the coast (which didn't seem that far away.)

Around 4:30 in the afternoon, we returned to the train station and within minutes had located the newly arrived Hetty and picked out the next train we would all be taking to her "cousins" farm in Linlithgow. What was to follow was the beginning of an extremely interesting and rewarding stay on a cattle/pig/sheep farm in the rolling Scottish countryside.