Day 89: St. Andrews & Edinburgh

We woke up at 8 and got ready. We paid for the hotel. We walked to the bus station and locked our bags in a locker. We went to the St. Andrews Castle.

As we went to pay, the lady informed us that because it was St. Andrews day that entry into the castle and the cathedral was free. Happy to get in for free, we skipped our way towards the castle. They were just the ruins of the castle that existed, but it still had some pretty cool things.. wells, dungeon, an unfinished mining tunnel. After the castle we headed towards the cathedral which was also ruins. We saw a part of the facade and some of the graves. We wandered around a few more streets and then went to the St. Andrews Museum. We saw some old clothing, weapons, coins, paintings, and statues. We then headed to the bus station. 

We grabbed our bags and took a taxi back to Leuchars. We then boarded the train to Waverley Station . The train was packed and we were forced to stand for most of it. I remember seeing this really sweet bridge as we crossed over a canal on the train. You'll see the pic. Upon arrival to Waverley we searched for lockers for our bags. The only option was to pay 6 pounds. Greg gave them his bag and I decided to haul mine around. Since mine was a backpack it wasn't as awkward to carry as Greg's duffle bag. We then ventured through the streets of Edinburgh. We saw that the festival was going on and for a brief moment considered going on the ferris wheel. We diverted our direction and attention though and walked the opposite way. We passed various stores and souvenir shops on the way before coming upon St. Gile's church. We entered and walked around (pass some drunk man cussing out the scottish people... every single one of them).  We walked up to the Edinburgh Castle (which was also free). We went through a museum that showed the Scottish weapons. We looked at the view on the city and then saw a prison that is connected to the complex. We also saw a jail, however the rooms didn't have cell bars so we couldn't imitate the prisoners. 

Next we walked around a bit and finally decided to go to a restaurant for lunch. We each got fish n' chips (we had to, you know... its cultural). The fish was good but the chips were sparse. After eating we walked through the crowds at the festival and saw the ferris wheel again (maybe it was a sign to see it again... perhaps we should ride it?). Nah. We headed to the station to get Greg's duffle bag and then took the bus to the airport. We got online at the airport to send out a couple emails and then checked in for our flight. We waited for about 40 minutes and then they allowed us to board. We sat in the exact same seat as the one I took to Edinburgh from Florence. Greg sat by the window and the two of us had 3 seats in total. We took off. We played some rummy and ordered a whiskey and coke. Not just any whiskey either, but rather whiskey in a pouch, similar to how some restaurants give their salad dressings in a pouch that you tear to open. It was severely strong. 

As we approached Pisa we started to experience some pretty intense turbulence. It started to storm and the lightning was pretty frequent. It seemed like a scene from a movie. Because it was so intense we had to bypass Pisa and land in Bologna. From there they kicked us off the plane so they could refuel. By the time we landed in Bologna we were already an hour behind schedule. Once we re-boarded and flew back towards Pisa (I fell asleep on this portion), we were 2 hours behind schedule. Before landing in Bologna I requested that we get a refund for the bus tickets that we had purchased. We were told to wait and have patience. They assured that the bus would wait for us and everything would be ok. When we went to board the bus, we quickly realized that the bus wasn't there. I tried asking someone for help but the language barrier restricted us from getting a clear answer. After about 30 minutes we realized that we had to find another mode of transportation. We found 3 other people and got a taxi. The cost for the ride was a ridiculous 175 euro. After trying to bargain and realizing that it wasn't going to work, we all gave in and realized that we had to do it. 

An hour later we arrived to Florence. We told him to take us to Santa Maria Novella train station. He ended up going the wrong way and then just stopped and pointed us in the direction of the station. So not only did we get ripped off, we had to go out of our way to walk around the construction that is going on, in the pouring rain, and then walk back to my apartment. We, at last, made it to my place at 4 am. We got online and told our people that we were back and safe. 

We slept.