Edinburgh!

Jumped on a plane to Edinburgh this weekend. You will not see any pics of me (nice change of pace huh?) as I went by myself........which was a hugely rewarding learning experience.



Edinburgh is an amazing city, as soon as I stepped off the bus there was all kinds of activity going on. The bus system in Scotland is ultra efficient.



This was the view of the Edinburgh Castle from my hotel room. Each morning I spent an hour drinking coffee on a chair in front of this window. I opened the window and heard bagpipes in the distance..........goosebumps.



Front view of the Castle; this thing was massive!



As I was coming back down the Royal Mile, I heard bagpipes. I turned the corner and saw this scene playing out: bagpipes, statue of Scottish philosopher David Hume, Scottish flags, and a massive church in the background. Amazing.



I don't know what it is about the bagpipes, but those sounds send shivers through me. I have no Scottish heritage running through my veins, but I want bagpipes to play at my funeral.



The Scottish/British Natural Museum, set against a skyline backdrop.



There was this amazing park with all of these archaic monuments about 500 yards away from my hotel. David Hume is buried in a cemetery across the street.



The different colored washes of light make Edinburgh look spectacular at night



The Castle from afar at night.



The William Wallace (BraveHeart) Monument on the left side of the hill. The field below is where he and his army fought their final battle against the English.



I backpacked all the way up through Northern Scotland (Inverness), back down through Loch Ness, and finally back into Edinburgh. The Scottish country side is truly breathtaking.



Went out on a boat and sailed across the Loch Ness. I was looking for the Loch Ness Monster (Nessy) the entire time....no luck though



This is the house of Aleister Crowley. It was owned by the one and only Jimmy Page during the 1970s. Rumor has it that Stairway to Heaven and much of the 4th album was written here: fuck yeah!



A castle in ruins just off the coast of Loch Ness



Absolutely beautiful. There was definitely something special about this country that resonated really loudly with me.



Then again, that could have just been the Scotch talking. Hallelujah!!! I took a "Scotch Experience Tour", which was well worth it.



Now, I'm no Ansel Adams, but I was particularly proud of how cool this pic turned out. This kid was a G



View from on top of the castle. I have a feeling I'll be back to this country many times over the course of my lifetime.