st. andrews day

Hi. My name is Sarah Morris and I am an expert finder of free things to do in Edinburgh. Yesterday, I convinced Ali to become a tourist with me and go see the Bagpipes and Drums procession down the Royal Mile up to the Castle. There were 5 or 6 different groups of bagpipers and drummers that went up the Mile in waves, and after the last wave the whole crowd of onlookers followed the procession up to the Castle where all the groups ended with a rowdy rendition of Scotland the Brave. Mmmm I still haven’t gotten sick of that song yet. Then we perused the Christmas markets again… I think we should play a game to see who can find the tackiest hat. It’s obviously a game the Scots set up for us to play. Ali found this one. Any hat that looks like a monkey is eating your face is a must-have I think.

 St. Andrews Day did aid quite a bit as the free activity provider. It’s really the ideal holiday for students at university because we either don’t have class or can skip it and everyone else has to go to work/school while we go off and do free things all day. This morning, I made Ali wake up at the buttcrack of dawn (literally, sunrise is at 8:30 or something ridiculous like that) and she in turn made her flatmates wake up early as well and we all took the bus down to Edinburgh Zoo. ‘Cause it was free today!

 This is at the wolverine cage as we all looked for Hugh Jackman.

We did end up seeing some animals actually. Of course, the penguins…  always a crowd-pleaser. And hands down our favorite bit were the baboons. Look at the wee baby one!  

Later on, Ali and I kept the spirit of free going as we toured Edinburgh Castle. Normally, admission’s like £12, which is absolutley horrendous. We got there towards nightfall so it was really pretty with all the lights down below on Princes Street. We saw the Royal Crown Jewels of Scotland (ooohhh shiny things.), a really old chapel (like 12^th century old), and the room where King James VI of Scotland was born. Literally. This was the spot where Queen Mary popped him out of her uterus on June 19, 1566.  Well, we guess. There was a stain, we guessed that was the spot. 

Finally, we ended the night with a fireworks show from the castle. Uh-maze-zing. Waayyy better than those dinky Guy Fawkes Day fireworks.

Oh man, I am so ready for New Year’s Eve in Edinburgh…

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