Callie Ann the Librarian: Cellophane Flowers Of Yellow And Green Towering Over Your Head...

It’s been a busy few days. Geez, Louise. Where to begin…

First off, jet lag is no friend of mine. The first night I woke up around 1:00 am and rolled around for three hours before finally going back to sleep. Last night, I just did the laying around first and finally fell asleep somewhere around 2:00 am. Moving on…

Yesterday, Bonnie and I took advantage of one of those hop on/hop off double deckers with the open top. It took us around the city to show all the scenes and fancy buildings and whatnot.

We stopped at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which I think might be the Queen’s summer home or something… I didn’t catch that part… I was listening! I promise! We walked from the Palace up The Royal Mile for a little while, hitting up the souvenir shops.

We hopped back onto the Majestic Tour bus and rode through the city to the Royal Botanic Garden, or as I like to call it, Fifty Shades Of Green. It was never-ending and beautiful. It was more trees and less flowers than I expected, but I loved it. There was a demonstration garden with vegetables and whatnot. There were green houses galore, a glasshouse full of palm trees, a lily pond, a Chinese garden. I could keep going.

I’ve been playing Pick-Out-The-Americans-In-A-Crowd, and at the bus stop leaving the Garden, I noticed a girl with a North Face jacket and a dad with a Titlist hat. I asked where they were from: Birmingham, Alabama. We all struck up a conversation that lasted the entire bus ride. We talked about our adventures in Scotland, but also about our jobs and school and such back home. The son, who’d just turned 16 asked me about the University of Alabama and what life was like in Tuscaloosa. We did the friendly “I’ll take your picture if you take mine” thing and hopped off the bus.

Happy travels to the Mays family of Birmingham, AL.

Bonnie and I went to a restaurant in the shopping centre nearby, thanks to a recommendation of a nice jewelry saleslady, which turned out was a really good idea. Zizzi. It was Italian. And delicious. Honestly, that was one of the most fantastic meals I’ve ever had. Seriously, the Scottish know how to do Italian.

After making our next-day plans and doing a little Facebook chatting with my dad (and a few other lucky ones), we went to bed. Bonnie slept. Did I mention that I hate jet lag?

Sidenote: It’s somewhere in the 50s, lower 60s here and almost always cloudy. It rains at least twice, if not three times a day. Don’t get me wrong. This is not a complaint. It’s mostly so everyone in the burning hot southern summer back home can be jealous.

Today’s agenda included the National Museum of Scotland, The Elephant House, and Edinburgh Castle.

We rode the bus into the city and found our way to the National Museum of Scotland. I wanted to go here mostly for two reasons: 1. It was free. 2. I have some friends at school who are going into archives and museum work. Therefore I’ve had a recent spark of interest in museums.

And guess what? It was great! I really loved it and took lots of pictures. I honestly didn’t know I could actually enjoy a museum, but now that I have a better understanding of what goes on behind the scenes, it makes the whole experience a lot cooler.

You’re welcome, Jamie and Becky.

Next stop today was The Elephant House. For anyone asking what The Elephant House is, it was one (and possibly the most popular) of the cafés where J.K. Rowling spent much of her time writing the first Harry Potter books. In fact, even the t-shirts they sell claim to be the “birthplace” of Harry Potter.

Being a big HP fan and an even bigger JK fan, I was really excited to get a mocha and a piece of shortbread and just relax and know that this was a place of inspiration for her. If it hadn’t been so blasted hot in the place, I would’ve enjoyed it a little more. Nevertheless, it was a very cozy joint. Not to mention, the mocha and the shortbread were both fantastic.

Next, we walked the few blocks back to The Royal Mile and up toward Edinburgh Castle. We bit the bullet and paid the pounds to get in (my favorite things in life are free), and it was worth it. We explored the castle grounds for a few hours, wandering through some of the oldest buildings in Edinburgh, seeing exhibits and memorials, and gazing upon the Scottish Crown Jewels. Oh, and you can see all of Edinburgh from the castle.

We left the castle and did a little more shopping before deciding to find a bus and head back to the hotel. Once again, we made friends at the bus stop. Today, it was a nice couple from St. Louis who happen to be staying at our hotel. We talked about St. Louis and how I’m currently dreaming of moving there. (Oh yeah, if you’re reading this and didn’t know it yet, I’m currently dreaming of moving to St. Louis.) They were great and we swapped stories of our travels here and St. Louis stories before exiting the bus and heading toward dinner.

Now, I’m sitting in the lobby of the hotel, the only room with free internet. Everyone else at the hotel is in the lobby, too, only they’re here to watch Euro2012.

Here are a few pictures from the Big Adventure: