Scotland Day 8 (22 June 2018)

We saw a lot of really great sites today!  We started out the morning by driving in to the city and parking at the base of the castle again today. 

After walking up the hill towards the castle, we started at St Giles’ Cathedral. This the National Cathedral for Scotland (like Westminster for England) and has a really interesting mix of decor. The four main pillars stand proudly in the middle of the church and date from 1120 a.d.!  The church spire was completed in 1495. Can you imagine?  Three years after Columbus sailed the ocean blue, they were putting the final touches on the church. Whoa.

John Knox, who was the founder of Scottish Presbyterianism also preached here in 1559. He was all about the people being able to read God’s word, and also helped with educating the people. He seems like he would be an interesting dinner guest!  

After the Cathedral, we walked outside to see the spot where the gallows were, and former entrance to a prison. Legend has it that if you spit in the middle of it, it brings good luck. I figured why not?  Everyone needs a little luck now and then. 

We had tickets for Mary King’s Close right after the cathedral. Mary King’s Close shows how people in Edinburgh lived in the 17th century. It was fascinating to walk through the areas that were all connected. We weren’t able to take photos of the warren, but the stories were fascinating. 

As you can imagine, the Black Plague really affected those who lived there. There was a room that was slightly larger than my living room. The guide told us 12 people would share the space, with a chamber pot in the corner.

The youngest person’s job was to empty the chamber pot twice a day. Before they emptied it, they would yell, ‘Gardyloo!’ It comes from the French phrase, ‘Prenez garde à l’eau’ (beware of the water). If you were walking by, you could yell back ‘Hold you hand’ to keep from being splashed by the ‘water.’  So, guess where the expression ‘loo’ came from?!?

After the Close tour, we had a tasty lunch at their delightful little café!

We then headed down to find the hop on/hop off double decker busses above the train station. It cost £20 for a 24 hour pass, on any of the three lines (green, blue, and red), which was worth the money!  The green Line has a live commentator who tells you about everything, as well as answers any questions you may have as you pass various sites.  You can choose to sit in the bottom/top of the bus, or covered/enclosed part.   What a great way to orient you to the city!  Oh my heavens, we saw some delightful sites!  Everywhere you look, you feel like history is screaming for you to pay attention to it. 

It was so pleasant to ride around while someone else shuttled us to where we wanted to go. 

The Balmoral Hotel is right above the train station. It’s a pretty impressive hotel.  What was interesting to note was that JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter while she was in the hotel. So, Edinburgh both started and ended her writing Harry Potter. 💕

We went up to Calton Hill for the panoramic views of the city. It’s also called the Athens of the North. 

After hopping back on the bus, we got off at the Palace of Holyroodhouse (Rood means ‘cross.’). This is the official residence of the Kings and Queens of Scots forhundreds  of years. The Queen will be hosting a garden party here next week!  If only we were in town...

We decided to use the restroom and have some light refreshment before making our way back towards the Royal Mile. So, we were able to have tea (kind of) at Holyrood Palace!  (The Irn Bru is a soda that tastes kind of like orange baby aspirin and a dreamsicle combined).  

As we were on the bus, we heard about this gentleman who was in his house, when it collapsed. They were looking for him, and he yelled out, ‘I’m not dead yet.’  It started the process for the crazy close areas (which were on average 6-8 stories high) to start to be razed and new structures to be built instead. 

We then wound our way back up the Royal Mile (it is made up of five different roads winding through town) towards the castle. 

We were able to hear the story about Deacon Brodie, who was a key maker by trade. He inspired the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  He would make copies of keys during the day for people (legitimate) and himself (not legitimate) and then go in to people’s houses and steal their valuables (also highly illegal). 

On our way down to the Princes Street Gardens, we saw a wedding party stop at the street bagpipe player. It was interesting to see the tartan pattern on a tux and kilt in the same party!  

We were able to see so many amazing things. I finally got to go in the cemetery you could see from the parking garage!

As we ate dinner in the shadow of the castle, we were able to enjoy the warm sun too!

I did find some haggis chips that I halfheartedly wanted to try. I knew I wasn’t intentionally going to order haggis for dinner, but I wouldn’t mind trying it in Scotland. However, I did find haggis chips that I tried after my fish and chips. 

It kind of tasted like a really earthy BBQ flavor that was burnt. Honestly, it wasn’t my favorite. Especially since after eating the chip, I had some chocolate, then tasted the combination of the two the whole way home. 😐

When we arrived home, we were getting everything wrapped up for the evening. We left the windows open, in hopes that the laundry would finally dry. (It’s still not dry). However, we were cold and sat under the comforter in the apartment while the wind blew through the apartment. 

It was another fantastic day where I had so many things that I was trying to soak in that I took a zillion pictures. We have been having loads of fun experiences in Edinburgh!  It’s a really cool town!