Hogmanay - Ringing in the new year in the streets of Edinburgh

New Year's Eve was a night to remember. Mel and I got into Edinburgh that morning with very little sleep, as we had to pretty much sleep upright in the back of the packed overnight bus. We took a tour that day that went around the city; we heard about the history of Edinburgh, saw the coffee shop where JK Rawlings wrote the first Harry Potter book, and learned that one out of every 18 people has a third nipple. The tour guide told us so it has to be right...right? That night we went to Hogmanay, the street fesitval of Edinburgh. All the streets and buildings were lit up and I started calling every building a castle cause they all looked so old and beautiful. I was like, "that castle looks so beautiful tonight!" and a guy we were with was like, "that's not a castle"...whatever, he can't ruin my idealized perception of European cities. Anyways, the street party was awesome...there were tons of people, people dressed up in costumes, men in kilts, great music, fireworks, and a beautiful castle as a backdrop. Groove Armada was playing in the gardens and we didn't have tickets, but we decided that wasn't a good enough reason not to go. So we snuck past a guard, jumped over a hedge, and ended up being front row for the concert! It was aaaaaamazing!
After dancing the night away, we headed back to the hostel. Oh what a night...New Years in Edinburgh was a success.