First the bad news, I have yet to find a computer that will let me upload my pictures,  so those will be coming soon. If every internet cafe in Edinburgh hadn’t gone out of business sometime before I arrived, that would probably be less of an issue.

PC access aside, Edinburgh is a really beautiful city. The architecture and the green spaces on the main stretches really compliment each other nicely. And a nap in the middle of West Princes Street Garden was a really scenic way to break up the afternoon. However, a walk down Princes Street, my retail budget considerably lower than usual, was a really great way to break up my heart.

Of course I went to Edinburgh Castle. The views there are wonderful and it’s hard to believe how old it is considering its condition. I think what I found most interesting was the Prisons of War Museum at the castle. One of the historical highlights is that Americans were kept prisoner there during the Revolutionary War. Down below, where they’ve recreated what the prisons would have been like, there were many audio recordings of what prisoners of the day might have said. One of them was a very arrogent sounding Yankee delcaring, “You’ll soon find out what Americans are made of!”

Was it wrong of me to start chanting quietly, “U-S-A, U-S-A”? There may have been a fist pump.

After napping and spying a pair of shoes I may buy later this week, I decided to have afternoon tea – a tradition not to be missed, I’d heard. I’m remiss not to have the pictures now because the view was incredible. As were the scones, fresh jam and butter, all made that morning.  Just when I was remarking to myself that there are few perfect moments in life, but that this might be one of them, music swelled in the background. The street musicians across the way began to play the theme from “The Last of the Mohicans”…

I can’t even make that up. The moment had gone from unreal to surreal, but I had a good laugh anyway.

Oh, and also, walking with my backpack from the bus stop to the hotel made me realize something: despite my efforts at the gym, I am in terrible shape. Well, that’s not altogether true, so let’s say instead at the end of this trip I will be in amazing shape. And maybe my dad was right about practicing walking around with all that weight on my back.

Maybe.