* just for the record, we didn't actually call it that... i just thought of it then and thought it was funny... i'm pretty cool, i know.
ANYWAY. first thing first, sorry that this is ridiculously late, but, to be honest, since iona isn't here to remind me to do important things like the blog anymore, i pretty much just forget... clearly i am very organised.
SO, to the real story now. after saying a very sad goodbye to iona's lovely family, iona and i jetted off to edinburgh, and managed to arrive at a reasonable hour, somewhat unlike our last entry into scotland. for those who don't remember - good one - we managed to arrive in glasgow at the lovely time of 3am. thank you easyjet.
Edinburgh was absolutely gorgeous as far as big cities go - lots of old buildings and a really cool castle with a working cannon that fires every day. we were suitably impressed with the city already, especially when we discovered that we had managed to score a 6 bed dorm, empty except for ourselves! this might not exactly sound like cause for celebration, but it was a chance to spread our stuff around, and generally take up as many beds as it was possible for 2 people to occupy (all of them, as it turned out), which, after almost 5 months of sharing with people who are not always those we would have chosen, was very exciting indeed. and that was a very long sentence. sorry.
the day after we arrived, we split up for the morning so that i could sort out my compulsory (obviously) visa for brazil and iona could check out the sights of the city on a walking tour. this seemed like it would be a reasonably straightforward, extremely productive morning, but do not be fooled, dear readers, because:
a) iona discovered that her tour group was full of slow walkers, which, in the freezing scotland weather, rendered her so cold she had to concede defeat and go back to the hostel and;
b) i trailed around edinburgh for a few hours, looking for the brazilian consulate, which, i later discovered, did not exist. cool.
so, all in all, the morning was a pretty epic failure.
that afternoon we went for a wander, our super speedy walking pace (ha) a bit easier to cope with as far as the weather was concerned, and made use of posibly the 2 most useful things iona had learnt that morning - a shortcut between our hostel and the royal mile, and the suggestion that we try a deep fried mars bar. it was, as expected, disgusting and delicious at the same time, and probably would have killed us both courtesy of a heart attack had we not taken the sensible option and shared one. we also killed a few hours in topshop, obviously not shopping, but playing what will forevermore be known as 'the topshop game'. it can't really be fully described in words, but for an idea please just look at the following picture.
and that evening we caught up with one of iona's lovely cousins, helen, who goes to uni in edinburgh, for a drink and to marvel at the amazing student accommodation in scotland. i have seen student houses in sydney, and i have never ever seen one as nice as helen's!
the next day we went up to edinburgh castle, where we saw the cannon up close, learnt a bit of history and saw some of the crown jewels.
and then came the moment we'd been expecting, but also not quite expecting would actually come - saying goodbye to each other (only for a month, but still). iona headed off towards the airport and paris, and i stomped off to buy an enormous bag of lollies to cheer myself up, and work out what on earth to do now...
but that, as they say, is another story, so you'll probably have to wait until iona reminds me to do it to hear then next installment of WT09 (vivienne version).
BUT now that i have actually managed to complete this blog, iona can tell you all about her exciting adventures in paris... get excited!
much much love
vivienne (and iona)
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
