This weekend was our first overnight trip. We went to the lovely city of Edinburgh. Everyone in my group can attest to the fact that I was bouncing off the walls about this weekend, not only because Edinburgh is a really cool city, but because I got to see my family! Friday night I spent with the group, but after visiting the Castle and Holyrood Palace, I met up with my family! It was so fun to see them, but it was also really strange. You know how, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the dementors come to Little Whinging and Aunt Petunia knows about Azkaban and Harry's like, "What's going on here?" Well, I felt some version of that. I've been so used to being in England on my own that seeing such strong reminders of home was odd—but odd in the best possible way. We celebrated Julia's birthday by having a delicious dinner (chicken risotto and lemon cloud pie) and playing Fishbowl, which is a hilariously fun game.
The next day—after a horrible night sleep due to drunken yells outside our window and some creep trying to break into our room—we went to Craigmillar Castle. This castle was a labyrinth of exploration! We explored all the rooms and passages. For lunch we went to the Mosque Kitchen, which was absolutely delicious (garlic naan!). After that, my family went to the Castle, so I met back up with my group until our train ride home (and I had the most delicious flapjack from Upper Crust—who woulda thought?).
I had to catch up on some sleep from this weekend, so I slept in this morning. It's Jessica's birthday today so we went out for lunch/ice cream and tonight we are taking her out to celebrate. This weekend has been a blast, and the best part is that it's far from over. My family is coming to York on Thursday along with Mike, and I can hardly contain myself. I'm pretty sure everyone this trip is sick and tired of me gloating about how my family gets to visit before Spring Break.
Finally, a big shout out to the lovely Julia Mason, who is turning 24 today! I love you thithter!
