Upon arriving at our hotel, we had a nap to ready ourselves for tonight, as we weren't going to make it to midnight otherwise. We woke up around five, and got ready to head into the city centre, which had already been shut down in preparation. A quick bus ride, then we were there in the midst of the thousands of people there to celebrate Hogmanay! We found a lovely little pub on Rose street, grabbed a table next to a lovely couple from Bristol, and whiled away a couple of hours getting to know our new friends, and enjoying tasty food a drinks. We made our way to the street party just before ten, in time for the ten o'clock fireworks (there's fireworks every hour from nine). It was freezing, but luckily there was no rain, so we squished along into the Christmas market for some hot drinks.
Nicely warmed up, we headed to the second stage where Craig Charles (Lister from Red Dwarf) was DJ-ing a set from eleven onwards. It was brilliant, we were able to get reasonably close to the stage, and we stayed for a good portion of the set before making our way slowly back towards the view of the castle, from which the fireworks take place. We were able to get a perfect spot that took in the whole view, and then it was a short wait until the midnight countdown. The castle was lit up, then it went dark, the countdown was over, and the best fireworks I've ever seen began. There was music, and of course we had to sing Auld Lang Syne, and it was time to escape the cold and get back to our hotel.
The city was running free busses, but we ended up waiting over forty minutes for one, as we were at the wrong stop, along with over forty other people. We had a mad dash to a bus in the distance, and finally got home around one thirty in the morning. I was so unbelievably cold, I couldn't feel my feet, but it was a brilliant way to ring in the new year. Time for a sleep, tomorrow we have some exploring to do. We hope everyone had a delightful New Years and best wishes to all of you!
- Jess
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