We took the train up on Friday evening. We actually got in a bit of trouble because we had apparently gotten on the wrong train. The man who checked our tickets was not too pleased with this and gave us a lecture because we should actually be paying more. Whoops!
We emerged from the train station to cold, damp air. The buildings are all stone, with narrow cobblestone streets, and bars were glowing in the fog. We found our hotel after climbing what seemed like a million stairs, and settled in for the evening. We looked up things we wanted to do Saturday, starting with breakfast. We read really great reviews about a place called the Edinburgh Larder, so that's where we started our Saturday morning with a full Scottish Breakfast. A full breakfast is fried eggs, toast, mushrooms, beans, and in this case vegetarian haggis. Vegetarian haggis, you're wondering? Yes, in fact it was the only haggis on offer. It's seasoned the same, but mostly made up of lentils. It was delicious and I was seriously full all day.
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| The Edinburgh Larder uses locally sourced products |
Afterwards we spent the day walking up and down the Royal Mile to the castle at one end, and Hollyrood Palace at the other.
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| Royal Mile Street | Edinburgh Castle | Hollyrood Palace - the Queen's Scottish home |
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| Looking out over the city | Standing guard at the castle | Walking down Victoria Street to the Grass Market |
As we walked up and down the Royal Mile we passed some men who work with a wild animal refuge. I was able to hold this lovely little owl, Tee. She is really sweet and her feathers are very soft. She was there with another bird, a falcon. He looked interesting - but a bit intimidating to hold. And really, when you're in a place that makes you feel like you're at Hogwarts, why not hold an owl?! Cheesy, I know.
Some other photos...
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| View of the castle from Princes Street | View of the city from the castle |
The city is quite small, which was surprising. We saw most of the major things in one day. The weather was calling for some sun on Sunday so we decided to save a walk up Arthur's Seat for then. When we needed a break from the cold and some coffee we stopped in The Elephant House, which is most known for being the place where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book.
To finish off Saturday we took an underground ghost tour. It was really interesting! The tour guide went through much of the history of the city and the people which always puts things you're touring into a better context. He talked a lot about the relationship with the English and the development of the city. We went under the South Bridge which has 18 vaults. They've been built up around by shops and restaurants, but long ago they were a neighbourhood for undesirables. Sometimes 100+ people could be living in one vault, and they really aren't that big. They're also dark, made out of limestone, very damp, and very little ventilation. Funny enough, I listen to these tours and all I hear are public health problems now... tight spaces, unsanitary conditions, disease, etcetera.
After our ghost tour Lauren and I got dressed up and went out for a night in Edinburgh. We searched for good cocktail bars in Edinburgh, and also asked one of the hotel staff where he suggested. We settled on a bar called Tigerlily. It was very posh with lovely decorations and hand-crafted cocktails. It was pretty busy when we arrived, so we staked a spot at the bar and then observed for an open table. A group of women got up to leave, a group of gentlemen had been lurking near by also. Lauren takes the opportunity and happens to get to the seat first. Since there were only two of us and it was quite a large table we told the gentlemen to feel free to use the rest of the space. One of the men asked us what we were doing in the city, where we were staying, and where we were going after Tigerlily. He mentioned there was a club downstairs and if we wanted to go he could pull some strings. To which my response was, do you own it? And he did. He owned the club, the bar we were in, and the hotel above it. He and his friends talked with us the rest of the evening about our travels and the countries we are from. We were the last people in the bar when it closed, at which point the owner took us to the bouncer of the club and asked to have us escorted into the VIP section. Needless to say we were a bit starstruck. Nothing like that ever happens to us! Those are just stories you hear about!
The next morning, after having far too much fun the night before, we dragged ourselves out of bed in time for check out. Unfortunately, our sunny weather did not appear and actually the weather turned out to be worse on Sunday. The fog was so heavy you could hardly see the tops of buildings. We decided not to climb Arthur's Seat because we wouldn't be able to experience the view. I guess I'll just have to go back! Instead we did the Edinburgh Dungeons. The Edinburgh one is supposed to be the most frightening, luckily I have done the London Dungeons so I knew better what to expect this time around. It was certainly still unsettling, especially for a jumpy person like myself, but I didn't want to have an anxiety attack like when I did the London Dungeons. The Dungeons are more of a tourist attraction, but also goes through a great deal of history from cannibalism to fires to the disease outbreaks to English invasions and William Wallace.
To show how heavy the fog was on Sunday
I would like to go back in the summer and do the Highlands and the Isle of Skye, both of which I've heard are very beautiful and could be a very different experience to Edinburgh.
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| To sum up the trip in one word: stairs. |
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