Weekend in Edinburgh: Expectations and Reality

This weekend I spent the weekend in Edinburgh with Charlotte, her (twin) sister Freya, Sarah, Miriam, Heather, and Alix--a French student doing her dissertation her at St Andrews. Before going to Edinburgh, I had some expectations as to what our weekend out would be like. Unfortunately, these expectations didn't exactly match reality. (Yes, I am copying 500 Days of Summer here. I really like that film.)

Expectations:

1. We would arrive in Edinburgh at 5:30, having left St Andrews sometime around 3:00
2. We'd have a nice dinner
3. Maybe do a little shopping
4. Go out to The Hive, a cool club with interesting music--generally a trendy young people scene
5. Walk up Arthur's Seat 
6. Have a nice lunch
7. Get back on the bus to St Andrews

Reality:

1. We arrived in Edinburgh sometime close to 7:00, because the bus we took went a totally different route than the bus that I'm used to taking, so it took a lot longer to get to Edinburgh
2. After walking to Miriam's friend's flat (which was not exactly a pleasant 1.5 mile walk, because my overnight bag was quite heavy and I lost the over-the-shoulder strap, so I had to use the handles as the over-the-shoulder strap...in any case I worry that I now have some nerve damage to my left arm...), we spent forever (as usual) trying to figure out where we could get food as cheaply as possible. We ended up getting Pizza Hut delivery, using their 3 9" pizzas for £15 deal to get 9 pizzas for all over us to share. But ordering the pizza itself was a hassle. The website was totally non-cooperative, and then after we finally placed our order via telephone, the pizza guy had to make two trips to get all 9 of our pizzas to us, which I thought was kind of silly. Although to be fair, he was on a little mo-ped. But still! At this point is was sometime around 9:00! And the pizzas turned out to be horrible! Pizza Hut over here is definitely not the same. 
3. There was no shopping, whatsoever. Everyone was broke or too cheap to do any shopping. 
4. The Hive, it turns out, is only marginally better than The Lizard. It is still just a dark/badly lit, jam packed room with an incredibly loud and annoying bass stereo system. The only thing that was better about The Hive was the music. They had some songs that I remember listening to as a kid, like Mambo No. 5, Macarena, and That One Song from Space Jam (I don't really know its name). 
5. Walking up Arthur's Seat, which is basically just a big hill, after walking around yesterday with my bag, and being at The Hive the night before until 2 AM was just not happening. I went back with Miriam, Alix and Sarah while Charlotte, Freya and Heather somehow felt up to the challenge. 
6. Lunch didn't really happen either. We just got some snacks and then got on the bus back to St Andrews.

Now, as much I complain about this weekend, I did actually have a good time. I enjoy going to Edinburgh, even if it's not as glamourous as I would like. I also enjoy spending time with my friends. And it's always nice to get out of St Andrews and remember what bigger, more authentically Scottish places are like. 

That's all for now...I have to recuperate. 

--Rachael 

St Andrews Pier and Sunshine

Hello again,

It is the start of my second semester here at St Andrews and I can't believe that I am nearly finished with one year of uni (college) already! Surprisingly, the weather here has been relatively mild compared to the rest of the UK, and indeed to the rest of Europe. Hooray! In light of this, my friends and I have been spending time outside, enjoying this rarity. On Sunday, some of them even partook in the strange tradition that is the Pier Jump. Basically, you jump off the pier into the North Sea. Which is COLD. It's mental. I can't even attempt to comprehend why anyone would do this. But I went anyway to enjoy the view and wear my gown, because I don't get to wear it all that often and it was expensive. Today, we camped out on the front lawn to get some work done and eat chocolate fingers and drink lemonade/Irn-Bru. It was a good afternoon.

The photos of both the view from the pier and today's sunshine are here, on flickr.

I hope spring comes just as soon for the rest of you.

Love,
--Rachael