A little trip to Edinburgh

A student on Erasmus, I left for a semester in Sunderland, a pretty little seaside town just an hour away from Newcastle on the tube. However, even though the town deserves making a nod towards, I am not going to tell you about Sunderland in this article. No... For the moment, I am going to tell you about the experience I had once having arrived and settled in because yes, you always catch the travel bug when you have an experience abroad! Anyway! I gave in to the adventure. Discussing on our 'International Students' Facebook group, a friend posted a link for an organisation (Eventbrite, which organises trips in different cities). Straight away interested, I went on the website and saw the number one trip I wanted to go on and that was on offer: namely, Edinburgh! I admit, the price was expensive at 25 euros but as a return and as a student travelling alone, it seemed attractive to me. Not to mention that travelling by bus, I could see the country! So I ordered my ticket and awaited D-day.

I confess to having had several doubts about the organisation... Images of a team of scam artists ran through my mind, which is understandable because it was my first time but it went very well in the end. The bus left very early at 7. 30am but the departing location was close to my student accommodation, so great! It meant I could see and appreciate the city of Edinburgh after just a few hours of travelling!

The bus dropped us off in front of the Holyrood palace which is where the queen meets the Scottish prime minister during her stay there. It's open to the public when the queen isn't there. The Scottish parliament is located opposite, with a singular and a original style as you can see in the photos. You can see the Holyrood park behind so if you have good walking shoes, I advise you to bring good walking shoes! My friend and I quickly found ourselves slightly overwhelmed by the town's beauty. There are so many places to visit and only one day to do it! The result: We took the touristic bus to explore the city. If you don't have much time or you don't want to walk, you can learn more about the city: the buildings, the history and so on. Well there, it's 15 pounds per adult and 13 pounds if you're a student and have your student card with you which is always attractive. I speak as a student who wanted to make the most out of a discount. If it's the beginning of the semester and you still don't have your student card, don't panic. They are generally very nice and will give you the discount even so. Thus we were on the first floor on the bus to make the most of the panorama on offer to us.

However beforehand, just a little detail before there are several possible itineraries: the city centre or the central gardens. Having gone on the trip in winter, we decided to choose the city but if you go there in summer, don't hesitate to choose to see the gardens and the greenery! So there we were on a bus tour and I have to say that out of all the expenses, this was the most pragmatic because not only were we able to rest our little feet, (because yes, Edinburgh is also little, bumpy streets pretty much everywhere) but you also learn more about the origins of the city, the buildings, the sculptures and the monuments we saw) and if you have any difficulties with English, you can always choose another language (your mother tongue or whichever suits you the best).

In my case for example, I didn't bother and chose my mother tongue (Russian). The ticket is valid all day and if you want to interrupt your tour to visit a particular place (because there are many stops where it stops), just signal distinctively at the driver for him to stop. In our case, we chose to go on a complete tour which took us two hours and afterwards, we went to stock up on souvenirs for our families!

Assessment: We were able to see everything in a short space of time whilst being in the dry and quietly sat down in our seats. So don't forget: Once you've arrived there, the first thing to do is to research the touristic bus. It's not complicated. Its location is indicated on the red stops - an excellent way of saving time and making the most of it!

(All the photos shown are my property and can't be copied).