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I’ve discovered now that it’s probably a good thing that I haven’t been eating purely Scottish cuisine for the entire trip, otherwise I think I would have gained about 20 pounds by now. There are some local eateries that will batter just about anything you give them. Battered fish, battered kebabs, battered sausage, even battered pizza (which is absolutely abhorrent). Eat just one of these delightful treats and it completely covers for your 2500 calorie a day diet. It’s certainly a much cheaper way to eat on a price per calorie basis, but it’s just not the diet for me. I have had a few dishes that have been quite good, though they’re still not very good for the heart. Haggis and black pudding are both quite tasty, but it’s probably best not knowing what's in them if you’re ever planning on trying either one.

I took a trip down to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, this past weekend which didn’t start off too well. Our bus broke down midway, so we had to wait for a replacement and we were then diverted from our main route due to a bridge closure and then got stuck in a traffic jam due to a bad accident. That turned the 3 ½ hr bus ride to 6 hrs of general craziness. Edinburgh is a fantastic city that definitely made up for the long trip down. A large castle is perched on a hill at the center of town and the hills throughout downtown remind me a lot of downtown San Francisco, only with building hundreds of years older and dozens of small alleyways and passageways that just beckon you to stray from the main streets. The town is a bit too touristy in a few areas, but there are its hidden gems. I discovered this nice pub near downtown that had several musicians fiddling and playing all sorts of Celtic music with almost everyone singing along in a place that couldn’t hold more than 25 people packed like sardines. Go Lonely Planet Guides for giving an extensive list of just about everything to do and see in Scotland!

The weekend before I participated in a highland folk danced known as a Ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) at the Aberdeen Music Hall where a folk band played and hundreds of people danced to all sorts of Scottish and Irish jigs and reels. It was so much fun! I was definitely one of the only guys that evening not dressed in a full kilt outfit with all the accessories (sadly the whole outfit would cost me at least $300)  I’ll have to find a way to possibly rent an outfit before I go.