Edinburgh....finally learned how to pronounce it

Finally got to a computer today! It's been pretty hectic the past couple days (which isn't a bad thing) and a different experience from London all together! I took a 9 1/2 hour bus ride (ugh) to Edinburgh, Scotland on Tuesday and got a see a lot of the English countryside...nothing but farms really, nothing too exciting. Although, when we crossed over into Scotland it was awesome because the North Sea basically slaps you in the face and you're driving on the side of cliffs. Extremely pretty AND it was sunset, so what more could you ask for?

It's soooo cold in Edinburgh and getting there at night didn't help! This was the first place I've tried couchsurfing. Brian picked me up at the bus station and I stayed at his apartment Tuesday and Wednesday night. He was really nice and has hosted a lot of couchsurfers over the past couple years. I had a mixture of feelings when I got to Scotland though...I guess it's because at this point, I was really on my own. Even though I didn't know Lolo in London, she seemed like instant family because she was associated with it! So it was strange staying with a person I didn't know from a hole in the wall but it turned out to be great. He is big into Tango dancing (still don't know how I feel about a guy doing this) and took me to his Tango class with him. Well, it was more like a place where everyone who knows how to dance can go and dance with various partners. It felt like a high school dance with chairs along the walls and guys and girls waiting to be asked to dance! Really entertaining. I definitely didn't dance (these people were really good) so just sat and watched...but it was an interesting experience.
Brian showed me around Edinburgh all day yesterday...we walked the entire city and geez it is hilly like San Fran in certain parts! My legs were killing me by the end of the day but it felt great. We went up to highest point of the city and you can see forever!! The sea, mountains, and the entire Edinburgh skyline...pictures came out great. We also hit up a couple museums and basically he just showed me every area of the city. I bought a ticket to see Shout, the 60's musical, last night at the Edinburgh playhouse and it was really good. Besides sitting next to a creepy guy who was talking to himself the entire time, I had a great time! Lots of great music and costumes...too bad I missed the theater in London, I'm sure it would put Edinburgh to shame. Oh well!

Since I only told Brian I was staying with him for 2 nights (didn't want to wear out my welcome) I checked into a hostel this morning called Budget Backpackers. It's such a cool place...run by Australians and everyone is so friendly. I'm in Edinburgh until Saturday so I'll stay here 2 nights. I'm not sure if I'm going to get to Glasgow or not...not really feeling another big city before Dublin so I'm going to try and get to the outskirts of Edinburgh tomorrow, see some coastal places. But we'll see...I'll see what I get accomplished today and figure it out from there. Think I'm going to check out the Botanical Gardens today and more of the city :) Anyways, I'll have internet access for these 2 days at least so I'll keep in touch.
Xoxo