Climbing Arthur's Seat

This week has mostly been me doing boring things like adjusting to a new educational system, finding the nearest place to buy cheap housewares, and pressing the "boost" button on my room's heater every 30 minutes like clockwork. However, yesterday I was out the door at an ambitious 12:00 to embark on a slightly adventurous afternoon. First I went to the National Museum of Scotland, an eight-story architecturally stunning behemoth of Scottishness. Which is to say, I loved it. Actually, I only spent a little over an hour there and focused mainly on the sixth floor, an exhibit about 20th century changes in Scotland. But it was still very nice (and free!). After that I met up with a large group of international students who were climbing Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano which stands 822 feet just about a mile or two from the city center. From here you can see the city just to the northwest, and probably 15 miles in every direction. On a clear day like yesterday, the views are simply stunning. Unfortunately, being January, it was also very cold and very windy. I'll definitely climb it again, but maybe not until May, when it should be much warmer.
Anyway, now might be a good time to divulge my future travels outside of the UK; currently there are only two confirmed. 
April 8-12: Istanbul with Tiz
April 14-20: Belfast and Dublin with brother James
A trip to Sicily may be in the works, but has not been finalized. As always, comments are welcome!

The interior of the National Museum of Scotland (photo credit http://www.edinburgharchitecture.co.uk)

 I took some pictures from Arthur's Seat, but this one is better (photo credit news.bbc.co.uk)