Sunday Morning saw John Darnell, the oh so lovely Colleen, and myself waking up at 9/9:30 for mass. The rest of our posse set out ahead of us for Rosslyn chapel and the countryside. Mass was supposed to be at 10. However, once we finally found the Church we also found a sign instructing us to go to a different Church at a different time for a mass of three churches combined. Alright, no big deal. Only thing is, we haven't the slightest idea where this other Church is. And that is where our day began.
Out from an effervescent could of shining white light stepped Hugh (insert last name I can't remember here), our (british) Sunday saviour (Javs, please note the lowercase s - I'm not equating Him to Jesus). Hugh also walked up to the Church only to discover mass had been moved. When he overheard ustalking he kindly informed us he was headed that way and would be happy to show us where this other Church was. In the interim, we invited him to breakfast (I had a simply heavenly almond croissant) and learned all about his life at boarding school and his current enrollment at University of Edinburgh. Once our stomachs were pleasantly full we set off for mass. The services in Edinburgh seemed to be exclusively anglican (at least the one's we found), so it was interesting to experience an Anglican Service. As it turns out they're quite similar to Catholicism. Well, with the exception of the priest being a married woman and mother of three, everyone standing around a huge table and passing around the bread and wine for communion and an old woman who left about a five minute pause after each intention.
Afterward, Hugh introduced us to his pastor and helped us find directions to the bus stop for Rosslynn Chapel. For those Dan Brown fans among you, you'll recognize the name of this chapel from DaVinci code. The chapel itself is absolutely gorgeous, the interior is essentially painted with carvings, and no two carvings are alike. The history behind the chapel was intriguing as well. I shan't relate it here though, if you want to know. Ask :) Or, I suppose you could look it up as well. Anyhoo, I digress, a long term preservation project accounted for some intense scaffolding circling the top of the chapel which we were allowed to climb. The woman who spoke about the chapel apologized for it, but I haven't the slightest idea why, climbing the chapel scaffolding gives visitors a breathtaking view of the surrounding countryside including Rosslyn Grove (inspiration for many famed poets and writers of Romanticism and Gothic repute) and some of those crazy old castle ruins I mentioned earlier. Apparently people thought that building castle ruins on their grounds made them look more beautiful and mysteriously Romantic? Who knows, not I. All I know is that between the breathtaking countryside, awe-inspiring chapel and our entertainingly authentic British friend, Hugh, I was pleased as punch.
After our countryside jaunt Hugh grabbed a bag of really interesting teriyaki flavored chips? They have some real gems in terms of chip (aka crisps) flavors here (Fish and Chips, Prawn and cocktail, cajun squirrel, chili-chocolate, Worcester Sauce, Onion Bhaji . . . yea, you get the idea, they don't really sporing for good old cheddar cheese and sour cream). Also, the only kinds of snacks people in London eat are apparently "crisps" and cookies. Real healthy people, eh?
I digress once again. Finally, following a lengthy discussion of rugby rules, we re-entered the city limits of Edinburgh at which point Hugh took us to one of his favorite pubs in the city hidden up a winding staircase near the trainstation. We sat with a nice Irish couple and discussed the SImpsons over some of THE most delicious bangers and mash (sausage and potatoes) I've ever had. To wrap up the trip in serious style, John, Colleen and I bid a hasty goodbye to our friend, sprinted to the train station, bought a box of Scottish shortbread and then proceeded to consume all 40+cookies in the 5 hour ride home while watching a beautiful scottish sunset. Sigh. Sunsets, shortbread and silliness. What more could a girl want.
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