Lovely, rainy, crazy Edinburgh I

My trip to Edinburgh a few weeks ago with my best friend Rara was my original summer holiday before Slovenia was even a twinkle in an eye. We wanted to go somewhere cheapish* that we hadn't been before, but that had plenty to do-and Edinburgh did not disappoint!
It all began on Monday the 1st August at stupid o clock in the morning. That's no exaggeration-our train was at 5.30am! After a horrifically cold shower, and a lot of grumbling we were ready for the off. Thankfully my new Sheffield house is only a twenty minute walk from the train station, so it wasn't too much hassle getting there. After changing trains at Doncaster we slept for most of the journey, thankfully! I did wake up in time to see the Angel of the North, and work out where we were crossing the Scottish border though, and our holiday had finally begun!
The minute we emerged blinking from the train station, (once we had actually found an exit that wasn't closed and was actually an exit!) we saw a traditional style topless bus pull up opposite us. As my mum had given us some money specifically to spend on "Going topless in Edinburgh**" we decided that's what we would do for the morning-see the city and decide where we wanted to visit. So we toured, we took photos, and we absorbed the beauty of the place we were to call home for the next few days. We ate our lunch in front of the Royal Yacht Britannia, just because we could.

That's it there. Yes, it appears to be in a cage.

By the time we had gotten the bus back into the town centre, we were definitely starting to flag due to lack of sleep, so we headed to our Travelodge, checked in, and HAD A NAP! We are so very rock and roll! We woke up a good two hours later, and with rumbly tumblies went foraging for food. We found it in the form of an all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant near the station and boy did we take them up on that offer! Stuffed and happy, we headed back to the hotel for crap tele and sleeps.

The next day dawned bright and...chucking it down with rain. After all-we were in Scotland! This did little to dampen our spirits though (just for you, Mr. Matt), and we spent the morning perusing all the shops along the Royal Mileandabit, which were in turns very tacky and very expensive-but it was a nice relaxed way to pass the time.

Rara bought an AWESOME hat!

That afternoon, after soggy sandwiches in a shop doorway, we went to the Camera Obscura , which was pretty awesome as far as I am concerned! The Camera Obscura itself is a 160-year old lens which looks down at the people of Edinburgh walking past and used to freak Victorian ladies out, which is still pretty damn cool. The rest of the 'museum' is full of optical illusions and magic tricks and general fun stuff/stuff that makes you look generally unattractive.

A me and Rara hybrid. Voldemort nose anyone?

After the Camera Obscura, we headed up to the castle, decided not to pay the £15 entry fee, and went to that most important of places-the gift shop***!
On our way back to the hotel that evening, we bought ourselves a Scottish delicacy from the seediest chip shop in the world-a deep fried Mars Bar. If you didn't let yourself think about what you were eating, it wasn't entirely all that unpleasant. I don't think I will be buying one again in a hurry though, put it that way.
That evening, we ate at an awesome pub called The Jekyll and Hyde, which was decorated with all manner of interesting bottles and diagrams and pictures. Plus the toilets were hidden away in a sufficiently mad scientist-horror movie sort of way, so it was quite a fun eating experience all told. And for 2 meals for £8, it was pretty tasty food too!

So that was our first two days in the lovely Edinburgh...the rest to follow shortly.

Hope you have all had fun holidays!





*It was cheap to book at under £100 for 4 days, 3 nights. But NOT cheap to holiday there. I am not sure I even mind.
**Yes, that is exactly how she phrased it. She's filth my mother.
***Can't visit a museum and not the gift shop. It's the rules (Graham).

A Little Jolly To Europe.

So. A few weeks ago one of my favourite people rang me up to invite me on a random holiday across Europe. I rang my mum to check it was OK and then started planning.
17ish days later, on Sunday 12th June 2011, it all began with a bus journey. The bus took me to the train station, where I met with three of my favourite people; Amycakes, Gman and Mr. Matt,and boarded a train from Sheffield to Birmingham New Street. Another train and a weird tram-monorail thing and we were finally at the airport and ready to board the plane! But the public transport was not over yet, even as we arrived in Italy and were hit instantly by a wave of heat. The original plan was to take another two buses and end up in Slovenia, but the best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry and all. We ended up at Trieste bus station peering at the time table, only to discover that the bus we had intended to be on left over an hour earlier. After some walking and grumbling, and frantic texts and phone calls, we finally had a place to stay for the evening* - a lovely apartment near the city centre.

Mine and Mr. Matt's room-heaven after all that public transport!

With our rucksacks off our backs and a weight off our minds, we went out into the night to find some food-and even though this was Italy at 10pm on a Sunday, we found a quaint little restaurant that sold delicious (proper Italian) Pizza/Lasagne and a Gelato parlour selling amazing ice-creamy goodness. To say that we weren't even in the country where we were supposed to be, it could have been a LOT more of an unpleasant evening.

The next morning after buying (and eating) brunch at the best Spar shop you will ever visit, wandering the streets and playing a few games of outdoor Uno**, we boarded the bus to Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. I spent the bus journey becoming acquainted with Mr. Matt's music collection and 'trying to use my boobs as a pillow but failing'. I woke up somewhere in the countryside of Slovenia with about half an hour of journey left to go. And oh my, it's such a pretty country! We were all a little awestruck just walking from the bus to the hostel, which was also a pretty decent little room! Had everything we wanted (except for a dehumidifier, but that's no big complaint.) and was all cosy.

What you can't see is the gorgeous brick ceiling...or the terrifyingly saggy bunk bed...

We spent that first night just being in Slovenia, laughing at the humorous foodstuffs*** and just enjoying being genuinely properly relaxed since leaving. Me and Amycakes managed to cook a truly revolting meal, but the evening was none the worse for it.

The next day dawned bright and...not exceptionally early, although we awoke to my second favourite alarm clock ever..."Umm...Chaps...It's 10 past 10..." Today was our day of being proper tourists, so we headed out and up towards Ljubljana Castle. We managed to avoid the tiny smattering of rain as we looked around every crook and nanny, before heading up the (many-staired!!) staircase to the top of the tower. I complained all the way up, but by 'eck the view from the top was SO worth it! You could see for miles!

Beautiful, Beautiful Slovenia!

That afternoon we went on a boat trip down the Ljubljana River+ which was the most relaxing thing ever. As a bit of a history nerd, it was nice to learn a bit about the old buildings and bridges, and just being on the water was so tranquil and peaceful. I would have happily stayed on that boat forever. During our afternoon wanderings we were accosted by crazy Slovenian clown people. We had NO idea what was going on, and I am not sure the actual Slovenians did either, but they did leave us with a confused expression and the most catchy-get-in-your-head melody, to be sung for the rest of the holiday.  The evening meal was a much more successful affair than the night before, as it's hard to get a baked potato wrong even in Slovenian.

The final day of our stay in this beautiful city was spent wandering in the sunshine through the town, with my shoulders getting gradually burned in a stupid stripy pattern, eating the most gorgeous lemon sorbet I have ever tasted and generally just enjoying our last day in a lazy sort of fashion. My best memory from that day was this:

Forever Friends.

In Ljubljana, there is a (fairly new) tradition whereby couples purchase a padlock, write their initials on it, and lock it to the Butcher's Bridge, running through (near enough) the centre of the city. They then throw the keys in the river, to symbolise their ever-lasting love. We all thought this was a fairly beautiful metaphor++, and after much searching (and possibly being mistaken for lesbians!) Amy and I found and purchased a padlock. That photo was taken just after we attached it to the bridge-you can see it in the middle of the group. It's my favourite memory because it is such a feeling of hope and friendship, and it summed up a wonderful (albeit at times incredibly bizarre) trip. I have made some memories and friends to last me a lifetime. Would I go back? In a heartbeat.
We dined that evening at a traditional Slovenian restaurant-seated at tables in the centre of the street, followed by what might have been the nicest ice-cream I have ever eaten in my life. I can't even describe what flavour it was, but it was GOOD!

The next day we sadly bade goodbye to Ljubljana, and hopped on a bus back to Trieste, where we spent our time dangling our feet in the Mediterranean and revisiting the awesome DeSpar for supplies. Then it was a short hop back to the airport, and a slightly longer one back to Blighty. And no matter how awesome the trip, I still got that lovely feeling of being home the minute we stepped off the plane. What can I say, I just love this rainy little isle.

So my first adventure draws to a close. And as they go, it was pretty amazing.

Until next time then,
Jenni x x



*Thankyou Mr. Matt's missus Becky, and the lovely Italian lady who came to help us out
**You know we're friggin cool
*** "The lady at the front desk wants to know if you would like some free Cocaine?" (It's an energy drink, but still)
+Not very imaginative with their nomenclature these Slovenians. But you can't hold it against them really.
++ Except Amy; "It's like marriage...but with padlocks!"