Glasvegas and Edinbourgeois

First off, I just realized that I have no idea what people from Edinburgh are called. And according to the Internet, neither do the Edinburgh natives. Is someone from Edinburgh an Edinburger? An Edinburgian? An Edinbourgeois? While I'm only kidding about the Edinbourgeois nickname, it correctly plays on Edinburgh's classy reputation. Glasgow, on the other hand, has a reputation as being less pretty, but more fun. Therefore, for the sake of this blog post, let's call Edinburgh, "Edinbourgeois," and Glasgow, "Glasvegas." 

Edinburgh

Glasgow

I spent my saturday in Glasvegas and my Sunday back in Edinbourgeois. To sum up the two, Glasgow is better for shopping and nightlife, while Edinburgh is better for culture and history. In Glasgow, we headed to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, followed by a walk through the University of Glasgow and its Hunterian Art Gallery and Museum. Kelvingrove and Glasgow Uni are housed in beautiful buildings. Glasgow Uni reminded me of something out of Hogwarts and I couldn't help but feel very studious when wandering the courtyards. Next up, a walk through the Kelvingrove Park on the way to the Glasgow Cathedral. Next to the beautiful Cathedral is the Necropolis cemetery with ancient, towering tombstones. Finally, dinner at a cute, eclectic restaurant where we each ate an entire pizza after having walked for six hours straight.

Glasvegas was definitely worth seeing. I got to experience the thick Glasgow accent and friendly people that the city is famous for. Glasvegas is an appropriate title when considering the sheer amount of nightclubs, pubs, and bars we walked past to get from one place to the next. My roommate's friend, a Glasgow native, spent a good amount of time talking about the Glasgow nightlife, but we had to catch our bus back that night, so I didn't get to experience it. Maybe I'll have to stop by again - it's only an hour and twenty minute bus ride!

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

University of Glasgow

Not to say that the nightlife in Edinburgh isn't impressive. After some well-deserved relaxing on the couch, we headed to the Three Sisters Pub and Bar, Malone's Irish Pub, and finally, Espionage. Three Sisters was crowded and HOT. I have been missing the heat of Southern California, but this was the kind of heat from way too many sweaty people in one place. The employees wear kilts and I snapped a few photos to add to my collection of men wearing kilts. At Malone's, the band sang 500 Miles by The Proclaimers (so Scottish), and Espionage was a maze of multiple stories. I'm still not sure how I found my way out. The Scottish party hard, probably harder than Americans, and enjoy laughing, singing, and dancing like fools.

Kilts abound

Today, we headed to the Royal Botanic Gardens. We got a little lost on the way, but it was worth it because we came across a vantage point with a loch (the Scots never say lake) and a view of the entire city, including the castle and Arthur's Seat. After being lost, I was pretty thirsty once we made it to the gardens. We stopped off at the terrace cafe, and the great scenic views and heavily overpriced apple lemonade mango drink concoctions are exactly why Edinbourgeois is a rightful title. Dinner tonight was haggis, neeps, and tatties. I actually enjoyed this concoction of sheep's heart, liver, and lungs minced up with onions, spices, turnips, and mashed potatoes. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's definitely a must if you're visiting Scotland. After all, it's the national dish.

Haggis, neeps, and tatties

Views of the city

On to the third week of my internship. This week I'm going to start setting up interviews with NHS employees to put together a report on leadership, gender, and structural changes occurring in the NHS Lothian region. I'm looking forward to meeting new people and have definitely enjoyed how my internship has allowed me to talk to people from all over the world. Which reminds me, I've marked my calendar to go get hamburgers and french fries (not calling them chips this time around) on the Fourth of July. Can't wait for a little taste of home!