The second I arrived in Edinburgh, I immediately regretted not having more time there. It has a very different vibe then all the previous cities I have been to… the architecture, stone work, green grass and store fronts are unreal. I took more pictures in my 26 hours in Edinburgh than I have in most countries I spent 4-6 days in. 

The people (though difficult to understand… really, is this English?) were incredibly kind and helpful every where I went. I felt at home. This is one of the few places I have visited that I really, really cannot wait to visit again (or maybe I should never leave?!). It was hard to get used to cars on the left side of the road again (and remembering to stay to the left while walking, I just kept getting in everyone’s way and almost got hit a few times) but it was so nice to see advertisement, signs and menus in English after 2 1/2 months!

I have 13 days left of this adventure, which I have mixed feelings about. Work is more stressful than ever (I am now the sole production manager of my company ) so that has been weighing on me a lot. It will be nice to not have to make the most out of every single second in the day to balance full time work and traveling, but I’m not sure what I’ll do with all my free time (probably go crazy)! I’ll be happy to see friends and family, but I’m nervous about returning after four months of traveling on my own. This adventure has required an entirely different mindset and truthfully, it has changed me. How can I figure out what my next steps are? What will make me happy? What will allow me to balance my need to lay roots down with my desire to blow with the wind? I’m doing my best to concentrate on the moment and not what will happen or where I will live when I get back to the States but it is a constant drain of energy to refocus my thinking. Welcome to the brain of an OCD, over-thinking Virgo!

Moments in Edinburgh:
-I walked up and down the Royal Mile, passing the Saint Giles Cathedral and absolutely incredible buildings and cute stores.
-I spent two hours in Edinburgh Castle which was built on a 700 million year old extinct volcano, parts of the castle itself have existed since the 12th century though people have inhabited the rock since 850 BC. There are so many museums (including a war museum with a beautiful photo exhibit of Scottish soldiers in Afghanistan during the last decade) and areas to explore here with breath taking views of Edinburgh.
-I thought San Francisco had finicky weather, but when I walked to the castle I was warm in a t-shirt then freezing and being hailed on within an hour!
-At the recommendation of the bartender, I enjoyed a pint of hard cider at the Jolly Judge while I let my phone charge.
-I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a themed bar when I walked by a huge statue of Frankenstein so I decided to go in for dinner and as a true testament to my own luck, they happened to have karaoke voted ‘the best in Edinburgh’ on Sunday nights. The bar itself was pretty awesome, they even have a Frankenstein Lager locally brewed just for them which was quite tasty. At one point, Frankenstein was lowered from the ceiling and ‘came to life’. It was kitschy and trashy… right up my alley! I found a group of friends that can only be described as ‘my kind of people’ and we sang and danced until I had to leave for my ghost tour (I actually stayed later than anticipated because I had originally wanted to check out some live Scottish music that was happening but I was having too much fun).
-Testing my nerves on the City of the Dead tour as we explored the Underground City, the part of the South Bridge Vaults known as Damnation Alley, Greyfriar’s Graveyard and the Covenanter’s prison. We learned a ‘wee bit‘ of history and heard ghost stories of the South Bridge Entity and the Mackenzie Poltergeist. I luckily had made friends with two ladies from Chicago so I had a hand to squeeze in the darkness!
-I brought my new friends back to the Frankenstein bar… the bartenders and KJ had asked where I went and were happy to have my back… 6 hours in Edinburgh and I was already a regular at a karaoke bar! We had some scotch and beer, dancing and singing some more. After, we had a nightcap at a bar nearby followed by some ridiculously expensive pizza before I walked home around 4am.
–Observations: The lyrics in all 3 songs I sang were different in Scotland than when I have sung them in the states. I have no idea why. Isn’t that strange?? Also, every single bathroom I went in to had a condom dispensing machine… not sure what to make of that either!

Food Highlights:
–Scotch. That’s a food group, right?

Language Highlights:
-Instead of saying ’little’, I noticed the Scots say ‘wee bit’… As I’m ‘I’m just a wee bit knockered’ (I’m only slightly drunk).

AIRPORTS: 21
FLIGHTS: 20
TRAINS: 14
BUSES: 3
STATES: 7
COUNTRIES: 13
CONTINENTS: 3
DAYS TRAVELING: 142
CURRENCIES: 7