This is a fairly famous bar in Edinburgh because maybe the most famous writer in Scotland today, Ian Rankin, has a character in his book (Rebus the detective) that frequents local drinking establishments with Cambridge bar being on the top of his list. We did not see Rebus, but I will keep on looking.
mom and dad at cambridge bar
Sarah and Justin got into town a day later and my friend Laura, who is in the MBA class with me, let them use her flat so a big thanks to Laura. It helped a lot. Again a little bit tired, the day was filled with some napping, walking around, and then a dinner at a nice restaurant on George Street (in the New Town area of Edinburgh, a cool spot) called Browns.
dinner at browns
Friday night my friend Ana, also an in my course and from Mexico City, was celebrating her birthday so Justin and Sarah got to meet some of my friends and we all sipped some tequila (some quicker than others) in honor of her birthday.
Saturday was see the Edinburgh Castle / Royal Mile / Scottish Parliament / walk around and look at scarves and each fudge day. All of those things were accomplished as well. For someone coming into town, the Edinburgh Castle is fairly cool and it provides some nice views of the city. There is a road that is about a mile long stretching from the Castle at the top of the hill to the Scottish Parliament at the bottom (also, there is a famous place called Holyrood Palace that is at the bottom, and I would put more about it, but I don't know anything other than it is famous and Royal). This mile long stretch has shops, pubs, restaurants, and all things Scottish.
family at the castle
castle from a distance
the royal mile
mom eyeing fudge
sarah eyeing scarves
the fantastic debate room in the scottish parliament
Sunday was the trip to St. Andrews. St. Andrews is not only a famous place for golf, but it is also a quaint little town located about an hour north-east of Edinburgh. On Sundays, the Old Course (the most famous in town, and maybe the world) is closed for play and they let people walk it. That's right, we got to go on the greens, fairways, tee boxes and rough of where some of the most famous golf moments have occurred. It was fantastic. The weather was decidedly Scottish in being a bit cold, windy, and off and on rainy. It was quite a scene to see people walking their dogs on the "Road Hole" and see the clubhouse where golf started. It was a nice time to be sure in St. Andrews.
wandering around the 17th
dad on #18 green
view from the 17th tee box - a blind shot on the road hole
view of the course and the city
justin and sarah on the 18th bridge
The night was capped off by a wonderful dinner at Daniel's Bistro in an area of Edinburgh known as Leith. This is right on the water and the food, service, and atmosphere were great. Also, I have not mentioned how much we have eaten to this point. As most of you can guess that know either me or my family, meals are never far from the mind or mouth, so we stopped to eat, have a pint, or just a snack early and often.
Monday was shopping day for the family and get-your-essay done day for me. While the girls shopped, the boys wandered and saw some more of the town. Justin got to see some great views from the top of a hill called Arthur's Seat that many people climb and I believe that my dad got some sights on the Water of Leith walk.
That night, Sarah, Justin and I all went, with my flatmate and friend Hamutal, to a concert by the band called The Magic Numbers. They have quickly become my favorite band. Sarah chatted up the T-shirt guy, as you do, and it ended up scoring us VIP seats in the balcony of the venue. Good work num. The night was capped off with a few drinks at the Villager bar near my place.
Sarah and Justin were off on Monday morning (goodbye!) but Mom and Dad stayed for an extra day. More shopping and eating commenced and we capped off their time here by having dinner with Alisdair and Fiona Seale and their family. The Seale's are friends of family friends in Salem (Jerry and Meredith Craig) and when they found out I was heading to Edinburgh, they contacted the Seales and they graciously took me in as one of their own for my first bit in Edinburgh. I am very grateful to them for all they have done for me and was happy that my parents could see the first friends that I made in Edinburgh and share a meal and a chat with them.
Mom and Dad were off on Tuesday and it was back to work and school for me.
I have finals coming up in a few weeks, need to finalize my dissertation, get my arrangements sorted for my upcoming exchange in Copenhagen, and still need to find that pesky internship for the summer. I'm looking forward to all of it!
I know that probably a rule of thumb with blogs is that the shorter and more concise the better and more readable, and I will probably try to follow that rule in the future, but I wanted to document as much as I could with my family in town. It was great to have them and I am looking forward to when we can spend time together again.
This week = reading, basketball (more on this later), and a party on Saturday by my friend Shadi (the party queen).
Until next time, here are a few more pictures from their trip
family picture
view from mom and dad's B & B
dad keeping the ladies laughing
pigeon hunting at the train station
in my wee room
mom and dad and cool scottish hats
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