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Published: January 9th 2006
Ed:
Well another trip another early start. We had planned for an early night in our one day of rest between Paris and Edinburgh, but Bec and Ben ended up coming over for dinner. And so after eating, chatting and a bottle of wine, that idea went out the window! I’m proud to say that we at least got all the laundry done amongst it all, even if it was a rush job to pack the suitcase yet again!
We’d bought a roast chicken to make chicken and mayo sandwiches for the long train trip the next day (must take advantage to make as many chicken and mayo sandwiches while Chris is too far away to throw them out while I’m not looking!), but by the time we finished packing we were too tired so the chicken sat in the fridge for another four days (don’t ask if we still ate it!).
So at 6:30am we left home to meet at Kings Cross Station by 7am. Once there it was like being back at home as there were so many Aussies (and New Zealanders) everywhere. Some of them had already started drinking - and we hadn’t even boarded
Matt & me
On the 'luxury' trainthe train yet!
Along for the adventure were Greer, Katherine, Kristin, Amanda, Michelle, Britt and Cam. The tour company had chartered a train, and it was obvious that this was no luxury tour. The train was like something out of the dying days of communist Russia. It was practically a steam engine and the carriages were so old the springs of some of the seats were popping out. The air conditioning only had two settings - cold or extremely hot! We didn’t care though; we were too excited for the trip that lay ahead.
The journey up was just over six hours, so we busied ourselves by looking at the snow covered fields, eating, drinking, gossiping, doing NW crosswords (care of Annette) and listening to our iPods.
We arrived at around 2pm, then had a short nap for about 2 hours and then went wondering around Edinburgh. The city has a small feel to it, and it’s overlooked by a looming Edinburgh Castle which sits at the top of a hill and it’s very imposing on the town. As we neared it, we noticed that a carnival with rides was set up right beside it. We saw
a bunch of people gathered near one particular spot so Matt (taking after his nan as he tell me) hurried to see what all the fuss was about. When we got to a spot high enough for me to see, we noticed that there was a marching band set up with about 50 bagpipe players and drummers all dressed in tartan kilts! Within minutes they started to play and they sounded fantastic - it was the perfect welcome to Scotland. You could feel the drums right through your body and the music reminded me of Dead Poets Society - it was bloody awesome! So we followed them for a while and then were joined by some men in costumes and stilts and before we knew it we were in the middle of a parade!
We then headed over the Ferris Wheel to get a better view of the town. It had gotten quite dark by then so all we could see was the lights around the town but it was all still pretty. After this we met up with Cam, Britt, Greer, Katherine and Kelly. Although Greer was a bit stressed at first about keeping everyone together we eventually
First Night Drinks
Cam, Britt, Greer, Matt & me convinced her that it was going to be impossible and so she just gave up!
After joining the parade again and having a Barn Dance in the street (yes, Barn dance - to live music!) we decided to grab some dinner. All the pubs were packed so we ended up settling for one that looked like it had decent food but we had to wait 45 minutes to get a table. In true holiday form we didn’t waste that time, and started having a few drinks… needless to say by the time it came to dinner we were all a bit tipsy. After the meals somebody suggested shots… Cam, Matt and I had one which had tequila, sambucca and Tabasco sauce (ouch!) and the girls had a few with strawberry liquor which was a lot easier to swallow! After a few more we headed back to the hotel… where we were told to “Get away from Santa!’ after we ‘accidentally’ deflated an inflatable santa prop on the street (well… some would say we violated the Santa, it’s all a matter of perception!). Britt also demonstrated her ‘rhythmic gymnastics’ techniques after she found a streamer on the street… and back
Oz New Years
You wouldn't know it was Edinburgh! at the hotel bar she proceeded with her Little Britain impersonations which had us on the floor in stitches… Computer says no!
The following morning we missed breakfast (who doesn’t serve breakfast after 11 on a weekend I say??)… So after a quick bite at the local pub we headed to The Cave, which was the pub the tour company had hired to celebrate Oz new year’s. We had to pace ourselves given we were going to be drinking until midnight… And Matt and I spent half the time there on the mobile with people back home and dancing the rest of the afternoon. I finally got to dance to Hung Up. Yay!
In the arvo we headed back to the hotel for a nap, and then got a call from Greer that she got a few drinks and pizza and to join her in her room.
One the girls was in a very friendly mood and decided to invite the rest of the people on the floor to Greer’s so before we knew it there were about 15 people in one tiny room. Never get 4 single girls and 6 strange guys in a room - for
Oz New Years
Matt and the girls! censorship reasons and to protect to guilty I cannot publish what went on, but for some idea, you can visit Greer’s blog (http://www.travelblog.org/bloggers/greery). After more drinking and chatting we decided to head out to the Hogmanay street party. This involved transferring all our drinks into water bottles as they don’t allow for glass, which also meant there was no way to measure how much we were drinking…
Once we got there we immediately lost all the single people (surprise surprise!). So Matt, Britt, Cam and me welcomed the New Year in together. There were so many people there - it was like being at one of those processions where everyone wants to catch sight of the pope, except there was no pope so people had no idea where they were headed - it was insane! At one point the crowd were directing which way we were going despite which way you in fact wanted to go. Matt and I just kept sipping on our wine and slowly getting drunker and drunker! At one stage Britt and I tried to brave the crowds to go to the loo - that wasn’t the best idea! People were ruthless, and a few
had obviously had more than their share of grog (I vaguely remember someone trying to take a punch at me and Cam coming to the rescue!). There were stages set up on both ends with live bands, including KT Tunstell and the Proclaimers. By the time midnight hit, we were in the perfect spot to watch the fireworks that exploded out of the castle, which were excellent except they were a bit brief compared to the Sydney Harbour ones.
The following day we managed to get up early enough for breakfast! Then we headed for a day tour of Stirling Castle and the Scottish Highlands. It was a great day which was made all the better as we finally got a sunny day. On the tour but we were entertained by stories from Greer and her friends about how they ‘welcomed’ 2006… Again, I cannot repeat! Ha ha.
Stirling Castle was huge, also on a hill top like Edinburgh castle overlooking the town. Stirling has the most blood-drenched history of any Scottish city (as anyone who’s seen Braveheart will know). There was a huge statue of Wallace which also stood above the eye level over the town. After
UK New Years
Those bottles are full of grog! we explored for an hour we headed out to a road side diner where matt yet again had haggis! The poor people serving didn’t look like they were prepared for a full tour group, so the service (and food) was less than ideal - but you get that.
After that the tour bus took us up the highlands which were incredible. It had been snowing most of the week there so the craggy peaks were all covered in snow and the drive up along the blue river was just gorgeous. I wanted to ask the driver to pull over to get some photos but the tour guide had earlier made a joke about the “happy snappy jappy’s” who kept taking too many photos and I didn’t want to be grouped! While I’m mentioning the tour guide - she was so funny. Not intentionally mind you, she just had the most infectious laugh, and she was completely un-pc - Net’s you would have loved her! At the top of the mountain we had a quick snow fight (which I won!).
That night we went out to dinner at an Indian restaurant at Royal Mile, which is an old cobble
UK New Years
Greer and me street in Edinburgh full of restaurants and pubs. Unfortunately everyone had the same idea as us so the only place we could get in was the indian place, which was actually pretty good. We then tried to join a ghost tour group but unfortunately it was all booked out. So we went with the guys to a bar called 3 Sisters and drank had more shots and danced the night away.
The following day we got up early to explore Edinburgh in a sober state! We went up to the Castle, climbed all the way up to St Margaret’s Chapel, which had excellent views of the city, did a bit of shopping and strolled around the park… it’s a really cute town with Georgian townhouses and old streets - we hope to come back for the Edinburgh Festival.
Then that evening we went back for the 7 hour train trip back home… which wasn’t as exciting as on the way up as we were headed back to work the following day after nearly 2 weeks off!
We want to wish everyone back home a happy new year and hope 2006 is full of fun and excitement!
Stirling Castle
Ain't it gorgeous!
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Elaine (mum)
non-member comment
Oh my Goddddddddddddddd
I am exhausted and need a holiday after reading all those adventures. Aunti Jan Jan we will have to go back cause we didn't do all those things. The highlight of my time was that dam dog womitting on my boot in Holy Park. (no only joking jan it was a laugh)