A trip to Scotland is never a trip to Scotland if you have not visited the capital, Edinburgh. We were just in time to get on a morning bus!
And in just one hour, we are already in Edinburgh! The station already looks better than the one in Glasgow!
It wasn't a particularly friendly sunny, but so long as it does not rain, the weather is not my enemy. With just a map, we wandered around the Old and New Town of Edinburgh.
Having only a few places in mind to visit, if we happen to pass by any interesting places, we would just stop and have a look! St. Giles' Cathedral is one such place.
This cathedral has been standing here for 900 years! It is said that this church is the mother church of Presbytherianism.
There is even a pipe organ here! Somebody was playing this while we were here! It was great!
The main attraction we were heading to was Edinburgh Castle! This is the second most visited place in Scotland, after Kevingrove Art Gallery and Museum!
The castle has been standing since the 12th century! It is the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh!
Edinburgh castle dominates the skyline of Edinburgh. We can see the whole city from the walls of the castle.
The castle seemed like a huge military base, from the olden days until now. It has several military museums and memorials for soldiers as well!
The medieval designs were so nice, that I was so tempted to bring one back!
The great hall where ancient soldiers meet before battle!
Even the cafe is ala military style!
Albeit a little pricey, the castle is still a great place to visit! It is even better if you are a historian, or is very interested in military stuff!
There are mixtures of old and new buildings in Edinburgh too! I think Edinburgh actually looks better than Glasgow; 100x better than Belfast!
The Parliament of Scotland has a very modern design to it! So it really stands out from the rest of Edinburgh!
Directly opposite the parliament is the Palace of Holyroodhouse! Founded in 1128, this has been a principal residence of Kings and Queens of Scotland since the 15th century!
The city seems to have a few levels, with bridges crossing over each other. It seemed quite cool, but can be really confusing at times!
This place is not what you think it is, alright?! It's a theatre!
We then climbed up Calton Hill. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the city. Behind me is the National Monument, a memorial to those who died in the Napoleonic Wars. It somehow reminds me of the Acropolis in Athens.
This is a tower, simply named Nelson's Monument, in memorial of Admiral Horatio Nelson. Familiar? That's because there's a monument for the same guy in Glasgow Green! He really must be someone really important!
The view from Calton Hill is slightly different. We could see more of the Old Town here. The highest point in the background is Edinburgh Castle.
After the descent from Calton Hill, we decided to check out the main streets of Edinburgh, which is Princes Street. There was a wee amusement park set on the East Princes Street Gardens for Christmas!
There is a ferris wheel here too, but nothing similar to the 'Eye Of-' versions. The huge black redundant tower is called the Scott Monument. Many would think it is named after Scotland, but it is actually in memory of a Scottish author, Sir Walter Scott!
There is a wee Christmas market at the garden as well! Christmas markets are like a huge hit in the UK. Pardon the jakun, as there is NEVER a Christmas market in Malaysia!
Other prominent streets are like George Street and Queen Street. This one is at the latter, where it is decorated with Christmas trees lining the whole stretch.
This medieval designed restaurant is actually called the Dome! It is still pretty!
We noticed we've walked for a bit too much, so we stopped for a brief rest bite at Starbucks! Starbucks is like 'cendawan selepas hujan' here! It is at every corner of every street! Practically difficult to miss them! It's just that when your friend asks you to meet at Starbucks, you might go to the wrong one on the same street!
Pretty soon, it is dark already! The day is really short in winter! The night view in Edinburgh is splendid as well, especially the skyline.
We had our dinner at Lloyd's Bar, which is another franchise of Weatherspoon. The mixed grill was fantastic!
Shops in UK close at 6pm. Therefore, after dinner, there was nothing left to do but to head back to Glasgow! And that ends the very fun trip to Edinburgh! I might just go there again!
The very next day was my last day in Scotland already! Time really flies! The day was just spent souvenir hunting and checking out places that I did not in my time here. The Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) is one such place!
Shopping in Glasgow is WAY better than in Belfast! There are so many more shops, and so many more shoppers as well! Glaswegians shop non-stop, rain or shine! The only thing that stops the shoppers is when the shops itself close!
The Christmas market wave hit Glasgow as well, on Argyle Street. The market is the only thing in which I thought was better in Belfast. Maybe I'm just referring to the food!
My final meal in Glasgow was at 78 St. Vincent Street. I guess they ran out of names, to name the restaurant after the door number of the restaurant itself! I had a 3 course meal. Starting with Haggis...
...and then the rib eye on Caesar salad...
...and a crumble for dessert!
I guess I can never lay my hands off food, because as we went over to The Counting House for drinks, we had a Chicago cheese cake!
It was a great night. I got to catch up with old friends, and meet new ones as well.
Thanks to JinWerne...
...and Joey and everyone for making everything so easy for me in Glasgow! I had a wonderful time! Hope to visit there again some other time! XD
And before I forget, I was supposed to differentiate the different types of Haggis! This was the one I had in The Counting House! Compare this to the one at 78 St. Vincent Street (high class) and the one on Scotland Part 1 (low class).So, according to Jay's Theory of Haggis Classification, the main difference, which divides them into high, medium and low class is - the amount of Haggis served! The more the Haggis, the lower the class! ;P It's still a theory...
That pretty much sums up my whole trip to Scotland, in 3 parts. I might visit Scotland again some other time, because there are some major things I have not done yet, like wearing a kilt and blowing a bagpipe! 
So, until then, it is back to my mundane life of a Medical Student! I cannot wait for my Christmas holiday! The whole world is having their holidays this week, and I have to be in the 'lucky' year that has one more week of class! 
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