Travel

It’s time for a bus ride. I decided to realise the anticipated trip to Eyam on August 20, 2009. Why was it an anticipated trip? I have been here in Britain for nearly a year, studying about dead bodies, and the topic of Black Death appeared quite a lot in papers and articles I read, in class, and discussions. I kept putting off the date of departure because schoolwork is killing me. I am in the middle of typing up my thesis, which I hope to complete by early September. A trip to Eyam, away from all those books and bones would be advantageous. Change of scenery, people said.

Easter is almost here. I booked my flight home to spend the Easter break in Indonesia and today I decided to join the girls and their beaus to hop on a train towards York. On this April Fools’ Day 2009, we got on to the morning train past Barnsley and Derby and arrived in York around 8 am. This wasn’t my first visit to York. I’m quite familiar with where to go from the station towards the Minster and the old part of town. Was it cold, you ask? Are you kidding? When is North Yorkshire ever not cold? But it was so lovely to be able to cross River Ouse again on that morning. I saw some flowers started to bloom reluctantly to welcome springtime.

The second leg of the day was Scarborough, a city located 37 minutes drive north of Whitby. This will be a stupid idea to go north in this cold. But it’s in the programme, so I’d better make use of it. We didn’t visit many attractions in Scarborough as we were exhausted after spending the first half of the day at Whitby. It seemed like I’ve spent all of my excitement there too. Getting off the bus at Scarborough, we took a walk to Phoenix Court, looking over the North Bay of Scarborough.

We departed from Bar One in Glossop Road at 6:30 am. A bus was ready waiting for all participants to hop on. There were only a few of us joining this Give It A Go trip to Whitby & Scarborough. We were given half a day sightseeing at Whitby and the other half at Scarborough. I know what I wanted to see when in Whitby but I don’t know what to do when I’m in Scarborough. This is where the learning curve happens.

At first, I didn’t know what the hey is Boxing Day—a day of boxing as a sport? Well, I couldn’t be more wrong. It has nothing to do with sports whatsoever, but it has everything to do with your wallet. Anne and I started a little bit early on Boxing Day cause we had a thought perhaps we could spend half a day visiting Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian and spend the other half participating in the tradition that is Boxing Day. But… the bus never came.

Our late lunch-slash-dinner was terrific. Mrs Rendezvous really did open the restaurant, and we see quite some number of people dining in. We splurged, as I said, and good God, the meals were delectable! That woman is responsible for the well-being of Anne and me, indeed. I wouldn’t know how we would survive without her. I keep praising the owner, haven’t you noticed? Cause the foods were delicious. Anyway. After a hot shower and lying supine for a while to rest the meals in the tummy, Anne and I decided to get out again against the cold wintry weather. This time, we went another way towards Mercat Cross through Cowgate. Seriously, nobody was on the street. It felt like a privilege to have Edinburgh to ourselves tonight.

Christmas in Edinburgh was something that never crossed my mind. Neither Anne nor I celebrate Christmas, but it’s still an interesting occasion to observe. I expected to have lights, candies, goodies, and Santa! I already know what Christmas in my country looks like. Now, I want to know what’s going on in Edinburgh during Christmas.

Post #5 This is the second part of 24 December 2008 for Anne and me, and this part will focus on our day one of Edinburgh’s museums walk: Day 1. Our destinations ended up to be Camera Obscura and World of Illusion and The Writers’ Museum. Museum 1: Camera Obscura & World of Illusions We spent the first half of the day in Edinburgh Castle and because we’re not tired yet, we decided to head towards Camera Obscura & World of Illusion not too far …

Post #4 Edinburgh Castle was one of the points on my bucket list, and now I get to cross it off because I was there! It was such an amazing experience although there were more wars and conflicts than I could handle for one day. Read below for the complete story of our visit. First Gaze of the Castle We are visiting Edinburgh Castle today.

Post #3 The Bodysnatchers Murders is the second topic we were introduced to in The Witchery Tour. I think everybody knows about Burke and Hare, but this was my first time face-to-face with their stories. The Bodysnatchers Drawings of Burke & Hare Photo courtesy of Historic UK Leaving behind the witches of Edinburgh, our walking tour continued to another notorious event that happened in Edinburgh in the 17th century.

The Witchery Tour became our first Edinburgh experience. We decided to participate in this tour to get a taste of what Edinburgh has to offer us for the next two weeks. The tour was remarkably interesting and this post only talks about one topic: witches and witch hunts in Edinburgh.

Anne and I hopped on a train to Edinburgh to begin our fourteen-day holiday in Scotland. There were so much to write and so many pictures to choose from. I decided to make a Scotland Series out of our trip, and it starts with when we arrived in Edinburgh.