Today was our last day exploring this great city. Tomorrow we head into the Highlands and Wednesday we fly to London.
Things don't always go according to plan and if you're not flexible and react quickly to changing circumstances I fear traveling abroad might be difficult for you. We had plans to visit a famous distillery in the morning to see and savor the whiskey making process. No such luck! I guess that's just one more reason to return ;)
We headed to the East part of the city to the famous Nelson Monument. This hill, and the monument itself, boasts some of the famous views for which Edinburgh is known for. Particularly of the castle, Princes Street and the gardens. We spotted a rather interesting cemetery near by which was surrounded by a large wall. After taking lots of pictures (and Anna doing what Anna is known for - climbing things she shouldn't) we headed down to the graveyard.
The cemetery was rather mysterious and I think partly it was because half of it lay in ruins. Empty tombs and discarded headstones lined the outer walls. Some were covered in flowering vines. Proof that even amongst so much stone and death life springs forth.
We strolled in quiet reading epitaphs. On occasion the clouds would roll in and engulf the cemetery in a momentary darkness. The gloom was unsettling.
It gave you unexpected chills.
Leaving the cemetery we walked the short path to the Royal Mile. Our destination was John Knox's home. For those of you who do not know, John Knox was responsible for bringing the reformation to Scotland. It is said the Mary the Queen of Scott's was more afraid of his prayers than all the assembled armies of Europe for he prayed that the Lord either save or kill her. John Knox was the pastor of St. Giles Church which is located near the castle. His congregation wanted to bury him inside the church a a sign of appreciation however, Knox was appalled and refused. He said that the church is the house of God and only God, and those coming to worship Him, should be there. Instead, he was buried outside the church with his congregation. Today, the church cemetery is a parking lot and only a small, plain gold plaque in parking spot #23 marks his grave.
We continued down the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyrood which is the official residence of the Queen and royal family in Edinburgh. They spend every July there. I guess when you own several castles you can do that. We took a tour of the palace and the royal apartments, however it was the Abbey that lay in ruins that caught our fancy! The Palace offered a tour which we gladly took! So much violence and turmoil at such beautiful location! We finished our time there touring the gorgeous grounds and gardens. One thing we did notice were the size of the beds! Are all the English this short? I swear even we would not fit in them let alone our giant younger brothers!
Now to head back into the chaos! While Pastor Briggs did mention that the city would have a lot of people because of the Tattoo he seemed to forget to mention the 3 week Fringe Festival that takes place every August. Sheer and utter madness! The upper part of the Royal Mile is blocked off from traffic and is teeming with street vendors and performers! Everything from the odd and absurd to musicians, actors and everything else in between that you could possibly imagine! There were a few good bands though. A few. Okay - maybe one. Everything else was just plain weird. Including a rather creepy ventriloquist dummy, a man walking around in a giant diaper, and a one-woman show that included juggling torches while staying balanced atop of a ladder. I was kind of hoping for rain to make them all scurry back to where they came from ;)
We headed up to meet our afternoon tour "Secrets of the Royal Mile". Highly recommend it! The tour gives you a good amount of history, charm, humor and secrets! I won't divulge them, instead, you'll have to go and hear them for yourself ;) Anna, being the history nerd that she is, was taking notes on her iPhone. And here I thought she was texting someone important ;)
By the end of the tour we were famished so we popped into a local Mediterranean restaurant (Turkish I believe) for dinner. Falafels and chicken kabobs! So delicious! Some coffee and desert and we felt we could do anything...
Including climbing to the very top of Athur's Seat!
Arthur's seat is the highest point in Edinburgh - it is 823ft above the city with 360 degree views! While there are several mounds we decided that of we flew all the way here we won't settle for anything but the top! We decided that we'll take the most direct and steepest trail. It was quite steep and at one point we even did a bit of rock climbing through a craig (not a good idea if wearing Toms and Coach sneakers!) Our legs were burning and we were out of breath when we reached the top but the challenge and the spectacular views made it all worth it! Sadly the photos do not due them justice! After resting we headed down the mountain. I should note that in her attempt to bring home a Thistle blossom (the flower of Scotland) Anna managed to kill and entire Thistle plant. Poor thing. It never stood a chance...
There end our many adventures in the City of Edinburgh.
We did find out what "Auld Rieke" means though! Apparently the nickname of this "Athens of the North" was 'Old Stinky' haha they now have plumbing but the name stuck =)
Looks like you're having a blast:-) living vicariously through your blog lol:-)
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