Miles of Irish Smiles for Golden Happy Hours: They may take our lives, but they'll never take our FREEDOMMMMM!!!!

So this weekend we were off to Edinburgh, Scotland! After a 3 hour bus ride to Dublin and a plane delay for Mary Jo, all four of us made it to Edinburgh! From the minute we stepped outside the airport, I was in love. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something about this city that makes it feel like it could easily be your home.

Hmmmm maybe the large sign saying 'This is home' has something to do with it.... I'm not sure. But I can say that this is the one city I've been to so far that I could actually see myself living in! We arrived in Edinburgh fairly late on Thursday, so we headed to our hostel. Maybe we were just in an amorous mood, but we quickly fell for our hostel too! The atmosphere at the Caledonian was fantastic - a bit of a hipster haven actually. The hostel had it's own bar, a chill out room, and a 'bean bag cinema.' And a first for our hostels.... the beds were SO COMFORTABLE! We didn't do too much exploring that first night as we were all shattered - it takes quite a bit of effort to get to anywhere from Limerick.

But Friday morning we were up and ready to go! We found the closest stop for a hop on hop off tour bus (after Dublin this seems to be our favorite mode of transport and exploration).

We hopped off on Royal Mile and commenced with our favorite activity - popping in and out of all the little shops! Of course, we did this while making our way up to famous Edinburgh Castle!

And of course, when we saw these we couldn't help but be the corny tourists we are:

After taking in the amazing views of the city from the hill we wandered down to Waverly Bridge for some cheap lunch and then back to the hostel for a quick rest before wandering out for a Ghost Tour of the underground vaults!

Jacqui & Mary Jo preparing themselves for a fright night:

Of course, the tour was not nearly as scary as we were expecting and we all made it out alive with no paranormal experiences!

Saturday morning rolled around and again we were up and ready to get on our lovely hop on hop off bus! We started out with a visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens! We were all happy to finally see some lovely fall leaves as the trees in Limerick don't seem to turn like the ones at home.

After the Gardens we were off for lunch by the sea and a quick look at the Brittania Yacht. Then a quick stop off to see the royal family's palace in Edinburgh. We were all pretty beat at this point, so we made our way back to our hostel and enjoyed a quick film in the bean bag cinema before heading out for dinner and drinks!

We attempted to call it an early night - our flight did leave at 9am after all and we still had to pack up and get to the airport in time to board. However, it seems that when all 4 of us are in a room together, that's not an option! Just like in Galway we all lay in bed reduced to fits of laughter and talking about the oddest things. We even got a lovely preview of Mary Jo and Jacqui's Australian accents - a noise I'm sure made Caitlin want to cover her ears and cry for her country.

We woke up in the morning all bitter at having to leave Edinburgh so soon! I'm not sure what it is about this city, but it is definitely my favorite city so far. Maybe it's the history, the wonderful views when the sun is going down, maybe it's just the accents :) Who knows? All I know is that I cannot wait to make my way back to Edinburgh someday!