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Published: April 4th 2010
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Globtrotter hostel
Our home for the week Spring Break in Scotland!!!! SOOOO I will attempt to catch up... so here we go *deep breath and dive*
We left campus later than planned, but good thing we had decided to meet very early at the bus stop Sunday morning. It was annoying because we waited over half an hour for a bus and it never came and we know it runs because Anne and I pick it up every Sunday afternoon after church in the city center. So at around 11:10 we decided to suck it up and call a cab- we did who came promptly and was very nice in taking us to the bus station and we got there but missed the 1130 bus to the airport. So we waited about an hour for the 1230 one and got to the airport around 115 and boarded without incident at 3ish and arrived in drizzly Edinburgh at around 430. We picked up a bus to the city center and then walked in rather drizzly weather to the shuttle pick up for our hostel. Thankfully, we were able to stand under a waiting area of a bus stop and the shuttle came and we arrived at our hostel-
Photo 3
The view from the third story cold, tired, and wet around 530- LONG day of traveling, ugh. We had planned to take the shuttle back into the city center, but we were far too tired and thankfully the hostel had a little shop (convenient store like) inside it and so we grabbed some microwavable pizza pockets (we tried not to think about what we were eating) and some ice cream bars for dessert and headed for bed.
Since we didn't do too much on our arrival day, I'll describe the hostel a bit.
First of all it was HUGE- it was more like a resident hall or a "res" according to my Canadian companions who went to school together in high school and now in college and are roomies here in Limerick- Jackie and Anne. We had signed up for a 4 mixed ensuite which meant we could end up with a 4th person boy/girl and a stranger. We did get an ensuite bathroom- which means- awesomeness. No sharing with 100 other girls which there were about that many, not even playing. We banked on not ever having a new single person with us so we made ourselves pretty comfy the first night.
We did have lockers which we used despite the lack of strangers. And the beds were bunked and had little curtains and individual lamps inside each bed- LOVED this feature because we could each have our private time reading, watching/listening to something, sleeping and didn't disturb anyone! I loved it. And the heater worked great- a little too well actually the first night.
We were provided with a duvet and fresh coverings at reception when we checked in all in plastic and freshly washed/dried- they were still warm! So we knew it was all clean and legit. However, because of the efficiency of the heater I slept on top of everything but enjoyed a bed and sleep after a long day.
Other features that made this feel more like a student dorm was the fact we were issued a card key which we had to use to get past the reception/lobby area. We also had to put money on it to shop in the little store they had. There was also an ATM and postal service in the reception area- crazy.
After you use the card key to get through the main doors, you have a few
options- stairs, three hall ways and an elevator. Down the right is the kitchen, dining hall, and store, the left is one wing of dorm rooms and community bathrooms, the stairs lead to the next 2 floors of rooms and the elevator the same thing and next to the elevator the "adult lounge" where a mini bar and arcade are and you have to have an ID to get in.
We were on the third floor were private rooms (2 person rooms/ensuites) were and 4 ensuites and then I think a few 10-14 person dorm rooms.
The kitchen was pretty big- there were 3 different groups cooking at one time- including us. It was nice being able to cook/fix meals, there were even about 10 large fridges people could put food in and after we finished cooking we could even leave the dishes at this main counter near a "staff only" area and the staff would wash the dishes for us! AMAZING :D The dining hall was nice, there were about 10 large picnic tables that could sit about 10-12 comfortably. It's always open.
They also included a free continental breakfast every morning from 630-930 which was
toast, cereals, coffee, tea, and OJ- all of this I took advantage of- oh yes I did lol.
The mini-store was great- super cheap- i got medicine for my cold that had lingered that whole week and I had hoped to have had it gone by the time I left for SB, but it persisted, but I got some meds and they helped me get through the night.
So that was the first day and a bit about our hostel. Pretty decent living just a LOT of people.
Day 1
The next day we woke up around 8:30 a.m. and headed to our free continental breakfast of toast and cereal. We headed out to the shuttle and went to the city center and hopped onto a tour bus and rode around the city and noting the highlights. After about an hour and a half we went to the National Gallery which was nice. We spent a couple of hours leisurely taking in the art and afterwards we went to the nearest grocer and bought some food for the week. It was a lousy day as far as weather. It was rainy and cold and we
honestly were still tired and were anxious for some hot food and our beds. It was a nice day none-the-less and after a frustrating time at the grocer due to a store the size of an ice cream truck and about the amount of people found in a Super-Walmart on Black Friday- we were kindly told by a woman in a line wrapped 4 lines back that there was a self-service line that was suspiciously empty. I have no idea what is wrong with people in Scotland that they’d rather stand in a 40 min line than self-check out which took us less than 5 minutes. We made spaghetti and Jackie made lasagna. Afterwards we went to bed pretty early because our next day would start at 6:45 a.m.
It really was a lazy day mostly because of the rain and cold, but it was a beautiful city through the weather. It felt like we had a good grasp of the city. Ready for Loch Ness the next day!
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