Getting to Know the World

If you have ever been to Canada, or even if you just look at it on a map, you can pretty that it is a pretty big country (second largest in the world actually, right behind Russia).  So growing up there you learn pretty quickly that travelling out of the country take a lot of effort.  Sure you could go down to the United States pretty quickly, but that's not too different from staying in Canada.  My favourite thing to tell people about travelling out of Canada is that you could fly from the West Coast for six hours, and still be in Canada.
That being said it's pretty obvious that one of the reasons I was so excited about coming to study in England is that I could travel to so many different places and not have to be on a plane for nine hours.

Last week was my reading break from UEA and I was determined to get out and see someplace new, even if it was only for a few days. 

My flatmate and I decided on Edinburgh, Scotland because it was close enough that we could just go for the weekend, and because I love a good Scottish accent.  The train from Norwich took about five hours, and we only had to change trains once in Peterborough.  We booked through Trainline, if you're interested, and it was actually a lot easier to get there than we thought it would be.  I'll be honest, I had some pretty high expectations for how stereotypically Scottish I hoped Scotland would be, and I wasn't disappointed.  The first thing we saw when we got off the train was a group of men coming down an escalator sporting some very dashing kilts.

We happened to be there over Remembrance Day weekend, which if you don't know is a holiday in the Commonwealth, including Canada, where we honour soldiers who have died in the line of duty since World War One (if you want more information on Remembrance Day, click here!).  This meant that there were lots of ceremonies being held all across the city and a parade on Sunday with pipe bands, it was amazing.

Other than the Remembrance Day events, we went to the Edinburgh Castle, the Scottish National Gallery, the Palace of Holyrood House, and the Holyrood Abbey.  They were all beautiful and if you're ever in Edinburgh, I would definitely check them out.

To get to all of these places we either walked, or took the bus, which was £1.60 for a single ticket anywhere around the city. (Norwich single tickets are £2.70, so it was a pretty good deal.)

Got left Edinburgh on Sunday afternoon and were home with plenty of time to get a good sleep before the start of a new school week. It was a great place to get away for the weekend, and to learn about a country I have been interested in for so long.

-Sarah