Haunting Spirits

They say you can experience all seasons in Scotland in a day : you can wake up to a morning rain, followed by hail, and end the day with a brisk wind under a sunny sky.

And such was the case this Monday. We knew we wanted to visit a scotch whisky distillery, and partake in one of those “scary ghost tours” we kept seeing everywhere. And so, under the cover of rain, we climbed the cobbled steps of the inner city once again and entered the first of our stops: The Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh.

After a brief introduction on how whisky is made (spoiler alert: water, barley and heat), we learned about the 5 principal scotch whisky production areas in Scotland: the Lowlands, the Highlands, Speyside, Campbeltown and Islay. Each has its own distinctive speciality and aromas it infuses into its scotch whisky, and we had the chance to try one of these out.

We were then brought out into a large room holding Scotland’s largest unopened collection of scotch whiskys, where we admired all the alcohol before us.

Our second adventure took us below the street, underneath the various government buildings of Edinburgh, to Mary King’s Close. This old street resides beneath the current Royal Mile of Edinburgh, and has since been covered by the construction of various other buildings. From the middle ages to the early 20th century, this narrow street was an integral part of the city where the middle-class and lower class would conduct business, live, eat, sleep, and eventually die. From Mary, Queen of Scots to the last Black Death plague, this part of of city would be visited by many peculiar and deadly guests, where it would forever change the course of the city and its residents.

Sadly, no pictures were allowed, but I’m told there were ghosts down there anyways, and I wouldn’t want to scare away our young readers.

Because this entire close now resides underground where it used to lie open to the bare sky above, it was quite dark and damp. So upon climbing back up to the surface, my vampire skin wasn’t prepared to witness the full might of the blazing sun that welcomed us with its open teeth. I guess the weather had changed again.

It was a quick day from then on. We boarded the train to Glasgow station, played a few rounds of card games and got off at Partick station 70 minutes later…

… where we immediately reboarded the next train to Glasgow station because Partick station sounded like the wrong place to end up in in the evening.

But of course, Edinburgh hadn’t bothered calling Glasgow to announce it that ” Hey, the weather’s changed, maybe you should update your status to ‘Feeling Cute in the Sun’ instead of ‘Gloomy and Wet: An Introspection'”

So I had to buy a poncho and ate a spicy fried haggis in peace and quiet while contemplating life under a blanket of rain.

Tomorrow will be a picture-heavy chapter! Stay tuned for colorful pastures and rolling hills!