Edinburgh

On Thursday, after a two day delay due to my brothers sickness, we finally headed out to Scotland. The first leg of our journey took us to Durham, where we explored the historic cathedral and monastery (They filmed part of the Harry Potter movies in the monastery!!!!!) My parents also visited an exhibit of illuminated manuscripts known as the Durham Gospels.
We continued to a little town called Sea houses where we ate fish and chips on the beach. (A side note on British fish and chips: the fish part is much better than American, but the Chips part are seriously lacking in crispiness and flavor, they're sort of just potatoes, which may be the point, but isn't very tasty.) Eating on the beach is one of those things that sounds very picturesque, but is actually very impractical...
Our motel was in the town of Berwick Upon Tweed on the Scottish Border. Berwick Upon Tweed is an excellent example of one of the main charms of British towns: the bridges. Many-arched or singular, cobblestone or wood, old bridges are so pretty! Berwick had a very nice spot where you would drive over an old bridge and see an even older bridge in the distance.
We left relatively early the next morning for the train station where we caught a train to Edinburgh. The train ride was really lovely. At the beginning it snaked along the coastline offering amazing views of the bright blue water contrasted with the green hills. Unfortunately, I had just bought a new book in Durham so my attention was decidedly divided. After about an hour we pulled into the Waverley Station, Edinburgh.
Things About Edinburgh I Noticed:

• Edinburgh is a city divided. The first thing we did when we arrived was hop onto a tour bus (not our usual thing, because it seems a bit..well touristy. But with our limited amount of time, it seemed like a good idea to get an overview of the city) The tour bus took us first through Old Town, and then New Town. You see, in the 18th century the city of Edinburgh was crowded, unhygienic and in danger of loosing its position as capitol of Scotland. So, they opened up a contest for the designing of a fashionable New Town where all the rich people would live. The architect that won was young and virtually unheard of, his plan was simple, grid like, spacious and totally different than the medieval old town with its winding streets and narrow alleys (they don't call alleys alleys in England, they call them backs or the more humorous, snippets) The houses in New Town are large and Georgian, that is, symmetrical and elegant.
• There are a lot of dogs around Edinburgh. Statues of dog, restaurants called Dogs (where we ate dinner), and also real dogs...
• Every time we visit a new garden my father declares that it 'has to be the most amazing garden he had ever been to!' First, the statue garden in Yorkshire, then the botanical garden in Edinburgh. Edinburgh was also a city filled with gardens, well, the new town, anyhow. There was tons of green space put into the plan. 
• During the Georgian Era, many 'wealthy' families were drowning in personal debt in order to keep up their extravagant lifestyles. This wasn't helped by the luxury taxes imposed on things like wig wax and windows. Most gentlemen refused to get rid of things like horse and carriages and expensive foods, and just payed the taxes, putting them deeper in debt, however, they did stop wearing wigs. The tax on windows had to be revoked after it was revealed to be a health risk. (these are just a few of the fascinating things I learned in the Georgian House Museum)
• Lots of famous authors are from Edinburgh! Arthur Conan Doyle, JM Barrie, and Robert Louis Stevenson are just a few. My dad and I were wandering through Old Town looking for a vintage clothing shop (we did eventually find an amazing one) when I noticed a coffee shop on the other side of the street called the Elephant Room. The name sounded familiar to me and I realized that it was the bookshop where JK Rowling finished the first Harry Potter book. My father had to have his picture taken in front of the Sir Walter Scott memorial.