Em in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

I generally don't get hangovers after a night of drinking. I don't wake up with a pounding headache and nausea from the generous consumption of alcohol.

No, I get hangovers from lack of sleep.

Invariably, I have the same reaction to a big night out regardless of how much I've had to drink: I feel utterly destroyed. Headaches aren't uncommon. The most noticeable trait, however, is a vague grumpiness that I then have to spend the whole day trying to suppress. All I want to do is crawl back into bed.

But of course, that would be an unwise decision when you only have a day to spend in a brand new city. Naturally I wanted to explore Edinburgh, so I dragged myself out of my deliciously comfortable bed and made it onto a bus into town with the others just in time.

I tried to enjoy Edinburgh Castle. I really did. I mean, it was another castle, and castles are cool, right? I loved the one at Caerphilly, and I hoped this one would be more of the same, just bigger and better.

I should have realised something was up when the price of admission proved to be 16 pounds. (Caerphilly cost 3.60, in comparison.) I balked at the price and almost decided not to bother going in, but the other two people I was with were extremely keen, so I swallowed and handed over my cash.

It was almost the complete opposite of Caerphilly, which seemed ancient and sort of untouched and you could just explore wherever you wanted to go - and there was hardly anyone else there. Edinburgh Castle had been a little too well-restored, filled with modern exhibitions and museums in its halls and through the rooms, souvenir shops abounded, and the place was absolutely crawling with people. I felt it wasn't quite worth the 16 pounds. It had been changed too much to fit with tourist ideals and I was disappointed.

Afterwards we headed to the Elephant House cafe, famous for being "the birthplace of Harry Potter." JK Rowling used to frequent the place and worked on manuscripts there, so the cafe was filled not only with elephant figurines, but also with Rowling-related claims to fame. Every surface of the bathrooms was covered with Potter-themed graffiti: messages to the author, quotes from the book, or other statements of fandom. My personal favourite read "I may not be Luna, but I sure know how to Lovegood."

With the rest of our afternoon, we chose to explore some shops: first a few chain stores (in H&M, I fulfilled my mission to obtain thick jumpers for what I assumed would be a chilly few days ahead), then some cute boutiques with overpriced but very unique dresses inside.

And then, we caught the bus back to the hotel, and I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening alternating between napping, joining everyone else for dinner, and then a night of blissful sleep.