March 26

We set out this morning to climb Arthur's Peak--an old, inactive volcano that hits high over Edinburgh that boasts 360 degrees of the city from its peak. It was a lovely hike over green Scottish grass that was just challenging enough to get my blood pumping to keep warm. At the peak, I had one of those "Wait, Caroline, don't forget for a second  you are in Scotland right now" check-ins with myself at the peak. What is it about views and water that universally brings people in?! I think we all enjoy the moments where we are forced to feel small every once in a while. We had a treat in mind for lunch: traditional afternoon tea at a girly restaurant called the Tigerlilly. It was a little pricey, but we decided that it was a "worth it" expense. I had English breakfast tea served with tiny portions of a raisin scone, a smidgin of carrot cake, a cupcake of sorts, a cherry tart, salmon sandwich, and egg salad sandwich. I was actually pretty disappointed in the food. I don't have much of a sweet tooth and I found everything a little too sweet, though the raisin scone was my favorite. It was a fun environment though and we had an awesome waitress from Australia! And it was exciting to have an excuse to do something fancy at 4pm. We headed back to the hostel and had a good time getting to know our roommates better. Alma was from Vienna, Austria and traveling by herself, a beautiful French girl (didn't catch her name) staying in Edinburgh long-term to learn English, and two girls from the University of Pittsburgh with huge personalities. We headed out all together to find a drink somewhere. Edinburgh was quiet, but man, some Scottish girls go all out for a Tuesday night. We saw a girl wearing a leotard...without pants. Modesty aside, it was below freezing, so I thought she was crazy. We set our alarms for 5:30am and got ready for an early morning.