This morning I decided to join the free 'Edinburgh Guided Tour' which starts at 10.30am. It's only 8.30am after I had the free continental breakfast provided by the hostel, so I thought I'll just go for a short exploration walk of my own and also check out the University of Edinburgh. Later, I stumbled upon the famous & spooky Grefriars Kirkyard, situated in the middle of the old town, just off the end of George IV Bridge and near to the Museum of Scotland. This cemetery is famous for 2 things but for most people, the graveyard is associated primarily with Greyfriars Bobby, the loyal dog who guarded his master's grave for fourteen years until his own death in 1872. It is also the resting place of the "famous" Scots poet William McGonagall - known as the worst poet in British history! But perhaps its greatest claim to fame is that it is said to be one of the most haunted areas of Edinburgh. Later, I wandered into the Princes Street Garden to find a huge fountain, the 'Ross Fountain' from the mid-19th Century. Figures depicted on the fountain include mermaids and four females depicting science, the arts, poetry and industry. A final female figure stands at the apex of the fountain. It's very nice as you can have the Edinburgh Castle in the background. I didn't stay long in this huge yet beautiful garden as it's almost time for the tour. I was actually a little lost by then and so I had to ask for direction back to my hostel :p 
There were quite a number of hostelers waiting at the lobby for the tour guide. About 10.35am, the guide appeared in his red t-shirt and we waited another 10 minutes before proceeding to another meeting point near Starbucks to meet with other tourists from other hostels. There again, we waited for another 15minutes before the guides divided us into 3 groups, one group for Spanish speaking tourist and another 2 for English speaking tourists and finally we are off on the tour. My group was guided by a Canadian guy whom 'has come to Edinburgh and fell in love with this city' hence wanted to share his love of this city with the rest of the tourists. The whole walking tour lasted for about 3+ hours and covered all of the main sights of the Old City of Edinburgh. We were fed stories after stories that had happened in the past. With a city so old, there are bound to be lots... and our guide is quite informative and funny. We finally adjourn in the Princes Street Garden around 2.30pm. The guide do not draw any fixed salary but survived solely on tips from the tourists.
Earlier on while waiting at the hostel, I met this girl from New Zealand who is also staying in the same hostel. After the guided tour, both of us decided to visit the Calton Hill to get a better view of the Edinburgh city. Calton Hill is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, just to the east of the New Town. Up on this hill, not only can you get a great view of the Edinburgh City, but there is also several iconic monuments i.e. The National Monument, which is actually pretty huge. Its not easy to climb up there but still many made the effort to climb up for a photo shot. After Calton Hill, we decided to climb yet another hill, the Arthur's Seat which is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, a remarkably wild piece of highland landscape in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. The hill rises above the city to a height of 251 m (823 feet), provides excellent panoramic views of the city, is quite easy to climb, and is a popular walk.
From afar, it doesn't seem as easy so we (basically it's mostly me cause the NZ gal is very fit and I'm the one constantly left behind and need to stop for breaks, but luckily she is very patient and accommodating and didn't mind waiting for me) hike up the hill next to the Arthur's Seat instead. Upon reaching the top and after some rest, we thought it wasn't too bad after all and hence proceed on to Arthur's Seat. This is definitely the highest hill among the 3 we climbed today as it is so much windier and colder here. We rested a while and proceed down as the sky is again turning dark and we feared it'll rain soon. 
We then slowly make our way back to the Royal Mile again while detouring to some tourist spots along the way. Both of us decided to go back and rest. I sat at the bar, ordered a cold beer and surfed the net while she went up to her room. Later that night, I went out for a stroll and to capture some photos of the night scenes.
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