Edinburgh

Hello all! Greetings again from Scotland!

What an amazing country. So many buildings are so old. We went on a day trip to Edinburgh yesterday (Friday), and the tour guide told us about a law in Scotland prohibiting the destruction of old/historical buildings. And so Edinburgh has the largest collection of Georgian buildings in the world. It is hard to find a building much more modern than the 1800s.

Evening in Edinburgh

Some of the main attractions included two royal palaces. One of them is still in use, and houses the Queen when she stays in Scotland once a year in July. This castle was also the home of Mary Queen of Scots, where she was known to bathe in wine. She was kind enough to allow the servants to drink the leftovers. The other is the original castle which was more of a military stronghold because it was so close to the border between Scotland and England, and so often changed hands between the English and the Scots. As often as the castle changed hands, so too did the rest of Scotland.

Original Castle

Mary's Bathhouse

Also on the list of future trips was Arthur's Seat, a now-extinct volcano that looms high above the city. We look forward to taking a picnic up there when the weather clears, and getting some amazing views of the city after the long hike up. Hopefully we can catch it before the tourists get too thick. Edinburgh is much more of a tourist city than Glasgow.

Arthur's Seat

On a related note, while in Edinburgh, I think we found the kilt I'll be buying. There were so many kilt shops there, probably to appease all the tourists. We did some shopping around, and have a good price range to look for. Now I'm just debating what color and pattern I want to get. Rest assured that there will be pictures of me in full kilt-attire once I have one. Look for them in the coming weeks.

Amidst all these old, traditional buildings, culture, accents, food, and whatnot, it is also exciting to note that yesterday was our official one-week-iversary. One week of married life, and all is new to us. It is good to keep these two things in mind, juxtaposed together to help inform our life and thought. Tradition and Innovation, as the honors folks from Regis will appreciate (or groan at, as the case may be).

Thanks for reading, everyone. Stay thirsty, my friends.
~Jacob

P.S.
We found this little gem in Edinburgh. I thought some of you might enjoy it.

Random Cow Butt