Portebello and Rosslyn Chapel

Yesterday Andrew, Jess, Kasia and I all went to the shore in part of the city called Portebello. Jess and Kasia live in the flat below us and Jess is from California and Kasia is from Poland. Portebello is a part of Edinburgh that is by the shore. Portebello had a walkway that went all the way across the shore. There were lots a people walking there dogs and running along the path. Even though the beach was not as nice as North Carolina beaches it was cool place to be. There were no waves but it was nice to be next to the water and walking around a unknown place in Edinburgh. Along the path it had many fish and chips stores and seafood restaurants. We happened to stop and get fish and chips which were very tasty and this time they served the fish with tarter sauce which I really enjoyed. They still had brown sauce on the chips which I am starting to now like. Portebello was a nice change from the busy city center.
Also about 8 miles south of Edinburgh is the town of Roslin. It is famous for the Rosslyn Chapel which has started to be a popular destination for tourist because of the Da Vinci Code. Andrew, Jess, Kasia, Catlin (from New York) and I all went there today. It was really ironic going there because the day before I had just finished the Da Vinci code and near the end of the book they go to Rosslyn Chapel in search for the Holy Grail. It was cool to be at the place that I had just read about and was fresh in my mind. The church was very old and small and had many carving of religious symbols and beliefs. I liked visiting the chapel a lot because there was so much history incorporated into its building.  Also near the Rosslyn Chapel was the Roselin Castle which was mostly ruins but a cool spot in the middle of the Scottish Country side. I really enjoyed Portebello and Roselin because it gave us a chance to escape the city and see other parts of Scotland.

Getting to know Edinburgh

View from my flat

My flat with the golf tavern on the right

This week has been the first week of classes for me. I have successfully found all of them as it was a challenge because Napier University has four separate campuses all across the city. I have two classes in  Sighthill Campus which is the furthest campus from our apartments. It is the newest of all the campuses and is pretty nice, but the bus ride there is dreadful. Then I have one class (Scottish Culture and Society) in Craiglockhart campus. It is a cool looking campus because one of the buildings looks like a huge eye from ( I will post a picture once I learn how). I only have three classes and they are all on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday so it leaves me with a four day weekend and time to do some sight seeing. I have gotten a bus pass which allows me to travel all over the city and to my classes easily. I have gotten use to the bus system and how to find which bus I need and when to get it.
In the center of he city is the Edinburgh Castle which is quite cool and is next to Edinburgh main street, Prince's Street. On Prince's street there are all shops which makes the street really busy but makes it a good atmosphere. Right behind Prince's Street is Rose Street. This a little cobble stone road which no cars go on and is sandwiched in between small pubs and restaurants. It is a very lively street as well because there are lots of people pouncing from pub to pub or restaurant. Behind Rose street there is George street which is the location of many pubs and clubs. It is a popular street to go to at night for drinks. All of these is in the city center which is considered New Town. There is also a section in Edinburgh called Old Town. In Old Town there are many small roads like Rose street which makes it a very enjoyable walk and makes you feel like you have gone back in history to old Edinburgh. All the building are stone/cobble stone and all the roads are cobble stone as well. In old own there is the Royal Mile which are a collection of streets that go through this part of town. In the part of Edinburgh there are also a lot of pubs, restaurants, and coffee shop. One of the coffee houses, The Elephant House, was the location where J.K. Rowling would get tea and right the first Harry Potter novel.  Also in the old town is a part called The Grassmarket which is a wide street lined with pubs.  Not in any of these sections is our apartment, even though we are close to old town and a ten minute walk to the city center. Our apartment is located to a massive park called the Meadows and in the backround is the massive Holyrood hill (Arthur's seat). It is nice because there are always people playing sports in the park, walking there dogs, and jogging around the park. Right next to our apartment is a pub called the Golf Tavern. It is called the golf tavern because the part of the Meadow's right next to us has a small golf course with 10 yard long holes, basically like chipping holes. The Golf Tavern is a really cool pub and is are usual destination for a couple of pints. They also play sports so we go down and watch football matches and the American football playoffs.  About 50 yards from us is a Kebab place called Efes. This makes for a bad combination of pints then kebabs.
This is most of Edinburgh which makes it a easy town to travel around, especially now I have my bus pass. 


P.S. Ill try to figure out to put some pictures up

First Couple of Weeks

Hello to my many followers (Jessica and Mom and Dad),

The first week and a half in Edinburgh has been great. The first week I stayed with Craig and his family who showed me around the town and what typical Scottish culture was like. His Mom cooked me mince and tatties which were delicious. I also went out with Craig and his friends a lot which was a good way to meet new people and see the town at night. The town itself is really nice because its all old stone buildings with the castle in the middle of everything. The weather is not as bad it is mad out to be. I was only really cold when I was playing soccer with Craig's friends (i got destroyed). I have had fish and chips as well which was really filling. They put "brown sauce" on all there fries which is a bit weird because it is a vinegar sauce but I have started to like it. I moved into my apartment last Friday which went well and I got a chance to meet all my roommates. It is a pretty diverse flat. Andrew is from Cali, Mikal is from Poland, Ricardo is from Puerile Rico, and Jorge is from Portugal. There is already an xbox and tv in our common area and also a lot of dirty dishes so it reminds me of my old apartment.
Edinburgh is a very walkable city and I have walked most everywhere you can go. Prince's street is in the middle of the city with castle next to you. I tried haggis the other day and I actually liked it a lot, even though it looked like mush. So far we have just been walking around the city and getting our bearing. Yesterday we went to Arther's seat which has an amazing view of the whole city. It was extremal windy at the top almost to a point where it was hard to keep your balance. It is located in Holyrood park which is a nice place to walk around. I plan to do many other things around Edinburgh and Ill keep you posted