I'm recounting my recent trip to Scotland, England, and beyond! Come along, won't you?
Previously: Part 1: Glasgow
June 21st
I needed to leave my Glasgow hotel by 7:20am to make my train to Edinburgh, but I certainly had enough time to get ready -- I woke up at 4am! Seems like the jet lag was still getting to me.
I checked out of the hotel and took the subway to the train station. My train got me to Edinburgh about 9:15. I dropped off the heavier of my two backpacks at a luggage storage place inside the train station (cost: £15.)
My first stop in Edinburgh was the LEGO Store. I got some Edinburgh stamps in my LEGO passport and bought some minifigs. There was no Scotland-specific merchandise here, but they did have a cool mural...
Now what? I had about 6 or 7 interesting locations bookmarked in my map app. On that morning, the one that I decided to visit first was The People's Story. It's a free museum focusing on social history in Edinburgh.
Oh hey, Abe Lincoln!
I jest.
I can't seem to get away from these mannequins!
Although the place was neat and clean and looked up-to-date, if you read some of the signs closely, you'd realize that some of the information hadn't been updated since approximately 1987...
"Today, one of the main outlets of the [stationery manufacturing] industry is 'CONTINUOUS STATIONERY' producing perforated paper for use with computers."
I know you can still buy this kind of paper, but... huh.
This was also one of those museums where some of the exhibits have audio continually playing. That's really distracting for me, and will usually shorten my time at a place. On the plus side, the museum did have free restrooms, but they were one hundred percent not accessible.
After spending a little under an hour at the museum, I proceeded to a nearby graveyard...
Then I grabbed some lunch and walked around a bit.
I visited a book shop...
This is a v. good name for a law firm...
I then found this cat cafe, one of the places I'd bookmarked.
I looked at the cats in the window...
Annnd I immediately booked a 2:00 slot for the cafe.
More wandering, while I waited for my turn with the kitties...
Can you spot the panda? In several cities I saw people in bear costumes looking for people to take photos with them/give them money. What's up with all the bears?
Edinburgh's city centre has buildings on different levels, which can be a bit confusing for a person on foot. At one point I was trying to get to the library, and it turned out it was above me, basically... but to get there I had to walk a few blocks, scale a ramp, cross a bridge, etc.
Soon it was time for my visit with the cats.
I had been to
one other cat cafe, in Paris, but that was basically an ordinary cafe with cats in residence. This one was more monetized. I paid for my time slot ($16pp), and whatever food I ordered was extra. I think both approaches are nice in their own way.
It was clear the cats here were well-cared for and loved.
It did seem to be naptime for them (okay, they're cats, when isn't it naptime?) but they allowed visitors to pet them.
With (up to) 16 people allowed in at once, and 8 cats, we all had to share...
After my hour at the cafe was up, I knew I needed to walk straight to the train station to make my 3:30 train. (Before I left home, I booked most of my train tickets in advance. It's cheaper that way. Also, I did not get a Eurail Card this trip.)
At the station, I watched the sign boards, waiting for my train to arrive. At about 3:23 I had the sudden realization that I hadn't picked up my checked bag yet! I ran around like a pinball for the next five minutes, looking for the luggage storage place. Thankfully there was no line when I got there. I retrieved my bag, paid, and power walked to my train. I made it with 2-3 minutes to spare.
Train to Aberdeen...
The train ride was about 2.5 hours, so I made it to Aberdeen just after six o'clock. I took a bus to the place I was going to stay, the Arkaig Guest House, which operated just like a B&B.
I had a neat little one-person room with an attached bath.
I was pretty tired by this point, but I was also a little hungry, so I decided to walk to a nearby grocery store. I got to the store and realized I'd left my wallet back at the hotel! So I ended up just going back to the room and eating the snacks I already had. Between that and my luggage storage scare, I knew my brain needed a good nights' rest.
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