Lazy Day (May 14th)

Today followed a somewhat similar path as yesterday.

I spent the morning just lounging around Kaylie and Sam's flat. It's nice to just be able to relax and not be forced to do anything. Too many hostels require you to be out of the hostel by 10 so they can clean or have to get up for breakfast on time.

Nope, today was a very lazy day and it was much needed.

I went and tried to snap some photos of places I saw on yesterday's tour, still trying to work out the problems I was having with Sam's camera. I managed to get a few good shots though, which is really all I needed.

I had a traditional Scottish lunch of rare foods found only in this neck of the woods. My burger and fries was quite good as I polished it off with a cold "coke", I think it was called.

The sun was just finally starting to shine when I got done so I decided to head back to St. Princes green, where I layed down and enjoyed the spectacular view of the castle once again. It fit my lazy and relaxing theme of the day.

I find that Scotland is very much like it's neighbors to the south, the Brits. The pubs and food choices are very similar to one another. And as I've hung out with Sam, who has acted as my English tour guide on many occasions, I oftentimes forget that I'm not in England...a blasphemy that I'm sure many Scotsman wouldn't be happy to hear.

But at the same time, this is very much Scotland. There are men dressed up in kilts and playing bagpipes on street corners for spare change. The pubs are often filled with performers playing traditional Scottish folk tunes, where a lot of the patrons clap and sing along with the singer.

Kaylie and I grabbed a coffee at the restaurant that she works at, Harvey Nichols. There are some really great views from up there. And the sun was shining which was nice, however, by the time we got done we each had half a sunburned face, which was not nice. Probably should've switched sides on the table about half way through.

For dinner, Sam's friend, Luke, joined us for steak night at one of the local pubs. It was an insanely good deal where we got a steak, chips, and a beer for a little over 4 pounds each. Granted, the exchange rate makes that not as good of a deal, but for Scotland it was phenomenal. I had a tuna steak, which I had never had before, which was absolutely fantastic. I decided not to get the sirloin as I'll be home in a few weeks and have my fill of it the first night I am back.

We hopped around to a few different pubs after that and enjoyed some cheap beer....again, damn exchange rate not making it as good of a deal! But it was a good night and it's just so nice to be staying with someone who doesn't confuse Iowa with Idaho or Ohio.

It was a good end to my lazy and relaxing day.