Isle of Skye and London

So, last weekend I traveled up to the Isle of Skye in western Scotland and it was ahh-mazing! Go here to see 50 or so of my pictures (I took 290 including videos). The first two days were solid sunshine, though a wee bit windy, and the third was pouring rain the entire way back to the 'burgh. That was alright by all of us, however, because we were exhausted from the first two days of the Skye trip. While on Skye I hiked around lighthouses, 16th century houses and brochs, sampled the local ales and whisky, and generally got to know everyone on the minicoach. If you're ever in Scotland, I very highly suggest you take a trip with Rabbie's Trail Burners; they are fantastic!

Tomorrow morning I head down to London for a weekend full of museums, theatre and sightseeing! I had to splurge a little and get a plane ticket because the rail workers in Scotland are on strike and the trains are barely running at all. So, that means that I can be in London in an hour and a half after leaving Edinburgh and get started on my adventures. The hostel I'm staying at near King's Cross Station supposedly has internet access so I'll see if I can post from there.

Hope y'all are having a great start to the month of March!

Zoo Review

Yesterday, Sunday, I decided to go to the Edinburgh Zoo for a few hours since I had the ASVA pass (Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions) that gets me in free to most of the museums/galleries/zoos/guided tours/castles/distilleries/etc. in Scotland. The zoo here is located on a hill and so I ended up getting quite the workout! They had a lot of animals, some I hadn't seen before, some I hadn't heard of before, some I was suprised to see. For example, they had a skunk. Yes, a skunk in a zoo! It was in a little hutch when I was there so I didn't see it, but I smelled it for sure. Some of the more unique animals I saw were the Painted Hunting Dogs, the Maned Wolves, the Southern Cassowary, the Eastern Bongo, the Capybara, the Cotton-Top Tamarins, and the Steller Sea Eagle. (I'll post pictures to my picture site soon!) And here's a video of the Oriental Small-clawed Otters! They were so tiny!

The trip to and from the zoo was also a very musical one. On the walk to the bus stop I listened to The Shins, my favorite walking music. On the bus I listened to Seu Jorge and Four Tet. At the zoo I listened to the Glenn Miller Orchestra (and Bill Bailey for the Zebra song). On the bus ride home I listened to Belle & Sebastian and Cities of Foam. Walking back to the flat I listened to Frou Frou. Huzzah for musical diversity!

Today I have the day off and I think I'll hang out at home for a little longer and then do touristy stuff. I was thinking of going to Mary King's Close and then buying tickets for my trip to the Isle of Skye. I might stop by the library as well. Hope y'all have a fab week!