"There are two rules to drinking whisky. First never take whisky without water, and second never take water without whisky" Chic Murray, 1977

The title of this post came from a quote at the Whiskey Experience in Edinburgh. It was an experience to say the least. Imagine the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland but instead of going through a house you go through the process of making whiskey. At the end they explain the different regions of Scotland and how the taste of whiskey varies between them all. I learned a great deal about how to tell how good a whiskey is, but mostly I learned that I need a mixer with my whiskey and cannot drink it neat.

In life, everyone needs to visit Edinburgh, or just Scotland in general. First of all, it is amazingly beautiful. The Scots are super friendly and they know how to have a good time. Even the native food is delicious, never let anyone tell you haggis is gross. They are wrong. Haggis is so tasty. They serve it with 'neeps' and 'tatties' which are mashed turnips and potatoes. It is all served with a white sauce that must be mostly butter and cream because it is so delish.

While in Edinburgh we stayed with my friend Sarah from GT that I studied abroad with as an undergrad. She has lived in Edinburgh for two years and just married Rory MacDonald a native Scott. They have a lovely flat by Ocean Terminal in the neighborhood of Leith. Ocean Terminal is basically the port of Edinburgh. She had great views of the water and the crags on either side.

Sabina and I arrived Saturday afternoon and after dropping our bags with Sarah we headed out to explore the town. In case you were expecting a souvenir (family, this is you.) it was bought in Edinburgh. The shops were just full of amazingly hilarious Scottish knick knacks, basically everything you could ever want you could find in some tartan plaid print. I bought myself the CUTEST pair of wellies from a store named Ness. They are green and have wool plaid on the

calves.

We went to the Palace of Holyrood, which has been the home of Scotland's royals for hundreds of years. Mary Queen of Scotts spent her days here and you can still see her bed chambers. It is a working palace and closed the day after we took a tour because Prince Charles was coming to stay. The current royals stay on the third floor of the palace and the tour is open on the first and second floors.

Saturday morning Sabrina and I got up and hiked Arthur's Seat:

Which gave us amazing views of the city:

It was a really steep climb, but totally worth it. Following the climb we were near the Parliament so we went in to visit. Scottish Parliament was established in 1999 so the building is very modern, very much in juxtaposition of the Holyrood House which is just across the street.

Later in the day Melissa and Natalie joined us, and they ventured off to shop while Sabrina and I went on a mission to find authentic Scottish wool for my mom. After a small goose-chase we found it and got some good stuff (though pretty expensive.) After that we tried to find the museum of musical instruments at the University of Edinburgh, but it was closed when we arrived :(

Our final day the other girls wanted to sleep in, and we ended up just shopping at Ocean Terminal, which is where I got my new wellies (the stores from city center had called ahead to put them on hold.)

All in all Scotland = amazing. I'm so happy I had the chance to go and spend a long weekend there. Check out all the photos: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/111959594841121334369/Edinburgh#