Our trip to Edinburgh

From the 6th to the 10th of April, the students of the Bilingual Project in 1st Bachillerato at the IES José Mª Pereda, traveled to Scotland's capital.  

The days we spent preparing the trip were, themselves, an essential part of it. We worked, researched and shared all the information, historical as well as practical, with the class to make it useful during our stay there. Also, it increased even more our longing for the journey.

The flying schedules weren’t the best ones, but that didn’t put us down, and there we were at the airport, 10pm and luggage in hand, ready for the adventure to start. We arrived late at night, and Edinburgh welcomed us with its characteristic cold weather. Despite being so late, we still had some energy left to take our first picture on Scottish ground.

The next day started rather early and we made the most of it, walking Edinburgh’s medieval streets together with our guide and new friend, Alasdair.

            We visited The Royal Mile; the oldest and best known street, St. George’s street, Princes Street; and their monuments dedicated to Scotland’s most important people such as Adam Smith, David Hume or Arthur Conan Doyle, St. Gile’s Cathedral, its unique cemeteries, its most romantic landscapes, as it is Calton Hill, the castle, its mysterious closes and the stories they hid.

The days remaining, we spent them wandering around the alleys, visiting exotic and interesting museums, buying some souvenirs, tasting the delicious shortbread… Along with the distant sound of the bagpipes and their friendly players, dressed up in the traditional scottish kilts. At night, we went out looking for a pub to have dinner at, or simply stayed at the hostel chatting to each other and sharing our experiences of the day until we fell asleep.

             
             Our last morning was, for me, the most special one. We got on a bus up to the little village of Rosslyn, where we visited its fifteenth-century chapel. Rosslyn Chapel, well known for appearing in the movie The Da Vinci Code. It’s gothic style didn’t seem to show a single column, nor a single arch not covered by the extraordinary carvings.

            The borderline between night and dawn of that day was almost blurred away. We stayed up all night until the time to leave arrived, and said ‘goodbye’ to the city that had amazed us in such an unforgettable way.

Thank you, Blanca and Gonzalo, who have shared all these years with us, and agreed to share this moment as well, and to all my mates that made it so special.

Paula López