Bagpipes Everywhere

After being sufficiently drenched on Friday we were all praying our hardest for nice weather on Saturday for our second trip into Edinburgh. We elected to get an early start on the day and hit the shops head on :) Our first stop was Starbucks, of course, where I actually remembered to keep my coffee collar for my collection this time. This whole "lets drink instant coffee every day and expect to function" thing is starting to wear on me. I would kill for a good cup of strong, freshly brewed coffee right now. After we all got our caffeine fix we started to make our way up the Royal Mile. The Royal Mile is actually a culmination of several streets that all stem down from the Edinburgh Castle. It is full of street performers, independent vendors, and souvenir shops galore. I really wanted a piece of jewelry that was made in Scotland, and there were many jewelry vendors lined up on the sidewalk. We found this one guy who made jewelry out of forks and spoons! It sounds strange, but there is quite a bit of history behind it. Apparently, the servants of large estates would steal their masters' silver wear and melt it down to make wedding rings for themselves since they were too poor to buy one. He had a collection of fork rings and bracelets, and a ton of spoon rings. He showed us all the calluses on his hands from heating and manipulating the silver, a true craftsman. After looking at other booths where the vendors confessed to buying their product from Asia, I decided to go back to the spoon rings and get one! I wanted something authentic, and there it was! A few other girls got one too, and we absolutely love them. It's such a unique piece of jewelry, I just love it.

After shopping for a bit we had lunch at another cute little tavern and then ventured up to the Edinburgh Castle. During our tour I was actually a little disappointed. I was expecting something more...medieval. The majority of the castle is still a functioning military base for Scotland, so a lot of the buildings were closed off to tourists. Other parts had been turned into a coffee shop, and whiskey shop. It was still beautiful, and the views from the top were amazing. Our tour guide was very entertaining and made it know to us that Scotland hates Mel Gibson and "Braveheart". He said to us that "Braveheart is to Scottish history as Harry Potter is to Science". I think that pretty much sums it up.

Speaking of Harry Potter, after our castle exploring we ventured over a few streets to The Elephant House. This is the coffee shop where JK Rowling wrote the first part of the Harry Potter series on napkins, while staring up at the Edinburgh Castle for inspiration. It was so neat to go there and get a cup of coffee, and to just know that literary genius was written in the very shop that we were in!

While walking around the Royal Mile we passed many street performers, but none quite as loud (or cute) as the bagpiper on Mound Street. He was seriously out there for the whole day, just bagpiping away! Everywhere you go in Edinburgh, I swear you can hear bagpipes being played. For a while, it's cute. You know, an authentic part of Scottish history. But then after hearing "Amazing Grace" for the tenth time that day, it starts to wear on you.

The next day, Sunday, was race day! We were able to have "a wee lay in" and left for the races around noon. Now, this is not your typically American race-track. First of all, we get there and find out that all the parking is in a field. This wouldn't be such a big deal if we weren't all dressed to the nines. All the girls had on dresses or heels (or for me, both) and were terrified of slipping in the wet grass. Hilary said something along the lines of, "In California we walk on asphalt to get to concrete at the races" where in Scotland you walk on wet grass to get to mud. The races were on a turf surface, and over brush fences. We were able to see a few races, and were very much swept up with the excitement of the whole thing. It was a lot of fun, and it was really neat to see another part of the Scottish culture.

Yesterday was a typical Monday, dragging ourselves out of bed and off to class! We learned about different lounging techniques and how they affect different muscles on the horse's body. Then more putting labels on horses to practice for our practical, and fitness planning in the afternoon. After class a few of us went over to the Equestrian Center to watch a jumping clinic that was being put on by Andrew Hamilton. We didn't really know much about him, but one of the riders that came out and let us evaluate his eventing horse's fitness was participating and we really wanted to see him jump. We hung around for a while and got to talk to Hamilton about our program and such. He even turned us into his jump crew for a bit. After dinner, Macki, Chelsea and I went back and wanted to watch his last two groups. He was talking to us at the rail for a while, then invited us into the middle of the arena with him. He would ask us questions about the horses that were participating, and invite us to share our feedback with him and the riders about what they could change to do better, or why they were getting the results that they were. It was an invaluable experience. Not many clinicians will let you get that involved with their clinic, especially when you are not paying for it! I learned so much just from listening to him coach and seeing how the little changes he told the riders to make really did have a big impact on their riding. It's hard when you're on a horse and your trainer tells you to "sit back", you do, and don't really feel anything different. However, getting to watch it from the ground and truly evaluate how the rider and horse work together really made everything click. It was such a great experience, and the three of us walked away so thankful for the opportunity that had just fallen into our laps.

I can't believe we only have a little less than two weeks left! I will be so sad to leave this beautiful country, but am determined to live up every last day I am here!