Fringe!

The Tattoo started, so the castle is all lit up, like
the Disney castle!

This past weekend I had another lovely surprise - my cousin Chris flew up from Paris where he has been staying for the past view weeks! This past Friday marked the official start to the famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival, so he chose a good week to come. In just a few hours, the peaceful city I have grown to adore over the last few months was utterly transformed. As they say here, it was absolutely heaving. But not in a bad way.

I think the locals here have a love/hate relationship with festival season. On one hand, the influx of people from all over the world bolsters the economy as well as infuses the arts on a larger scale through the capital city. However, the relatively quiet streets become completely packed with tourists and performers, and traffic becomes a nightmare as well. The Royal Mile took so long to get down, with crowds of spectators gathering around the street performers, and artists stopping you every few feet to hand you a flyer to an upcoming show. It is hard to recognize many of the streets, courtyards and old architecture, as they have been covered in Fringe advertisements or have been transformed into venues! It is such a contrast to the town I first found myself in a few months ago.

But I don't mean this in a negative way - everyone was in good spirits (probably because many had some spirits in them), and the overall energy of the scene was positive. Chris and I had a fantastic time wandering around the high street, stopping to view some incredible street performers or make conversation with people handing out circulars. I spent one night, Saturday, in the town with Chris, at Edinburgh campus dorms. It is located about a 20 minute walk or so away from the Mile, down by Holyrood Park.

I'm pretty sure the dorms were nicer than most rooms I've seen at home. I'm not sure if this is true, but it seems that they transformed the usual 1 bedroom rooms into a double room for the summer guests. I only wonder this because there was only one desk and one chair!

Predator

I'm so sad my phone ran out of memory space while I was recording, but the puppeteer actually made the puppet climb up me and put his face right on my phone. After that, I'm pretty sure I saw the birth of a phobia. Every time someone would try to put money in the collection hat, the puppet would block it somehow. A little boy went up to give a donation, and after being blocked by the puppet a few times, he burst out in to tears and ran away as the puppet chased him. Poor kid.

An amazing guitarist. I could have listened to this all day!

Chris and I, both being fans of Doctor Who, decided to take advantage of the opportunity to see a Doctor Who themed musical! It was really cute and fun. I've had a couple of the songs stuck in my head since then!

After the show, we headed to a pub to grab something to eat. I was really hungry (or so I thought) at this point, so I ordered a vegetarian haggis burger! Sounded interesting, and it was! But the size was not particularly friendly for those of us who do not have the jaw flexibility of a snake, and I ended up eating all I could with a fork. 

After that, we headed east down Holyrood to the base of Arthur's Seat. Some people say that this was once the location of the legendary Camelot, and thus, the reference to King Arthur. Arthur's Seat is actually a dormant volcano. I imagine people have always been fascinated by this strangely shaped formation. 

After another collecting my belongings from the room, and yet another cappuccino, it was time for me to head back. I really wish I could have stayed, but as this is my last week at my internship and my supervisor is back from holiday, it was important for me to return to my responsibilities. I had a great time though! I feel so blessed I have had the opportunity to stay connected with my family, even while halfway around the world!