A Castle, A Cathedral and A Palace

Highlights of Monday Night
My tour guide and group are awesome. The welcome dinner had slightly stilted conversation but going to the pub afterwards allowed the conversation to flow.

Tuesday:
It was a sunny, gorgeous, warm perfect day for walking. Highlights of the walking tour included the story of half-hanged Maggie (she lived!!!!!) and was allowed to live even though she was supposed to have been hanged to death. The stories of Burke and Hare and the dastardly ways they procured bodies for the Medical School. They were caught when certain medical students recognized the formerly healthy prostitutes they had spent some time with only the night before (naughty doctors). So basically, they killed people and made money by selling the bodies to the medical school. We also learned about Deacon Brodie who inspired the story of Jekyll and Hyde, the irony being he designed the new and improved apparatus that was used to hang him. He was a respectable cabinet maker/locksmith by day and used his knowledge to break in and rob people in the evening.We also got to stand in the spot where he was hanged.
Random Stuff: I love the beauty of the very old, very green and very mossy graveyards in Edinburgh. Is this creepy?
Merlot goes very well with haggis. I love haggis.
St. Giles Cathedral is beautiful. I also loved finding the hidden bagpiping cherub located in the woodwork of the side chapel.
There are conflicting views of the dirty limestone buildings of Edinburgh. Many believe that the soot protects the vulnerable limestone. In the past, the cleaning solution used to restore the limestone actually contributed to its disintegration.
I loved hearing about James Heriot, the local boy who made good by becoming jeweller to James I (of England) aka James VI of Scotland in the 1600s. He left his fortune to establish a school for fatherless children. It is now a very well regarded private school for the children of the rich and famous (J.K. Rowling's children go there). Fatherless children still go there for free- my guide is a widow and her children went there.
Speaking of JK Rowling, we saw the graves where she supposedly got the names for some of her characters. We walked by the cafe where she supposedly wrote the first Harry Potter. I also later learned that a really sweet, older couple on the tour met JK Rowling by accident the night before the tour started. They asked the front desk people where to go to dinner and the restaurant they recommended had just been newly opened and I guess the chef was J.K Rowling's friend. She was eating at the restaurant that night, the older couple didn't know what the fuss was about. They apparently had never heard of her!!!!!!
We also learned of Greyfriar's Bobby, a skye terrier that was famous for keeping guard over his owner's grave for 14 years. We visited the statue of the dog. It was sweet.

The Scottish Museum rooftop has awesome views of Edinburgh. I could have stayed up there all day.
Edinburgh Castle was built atop an ancient volcanic plug. It's a very forbidding place (dark and gloomy). I enjoyed the walk up to the castle and it was interesting to see the room in which James VI and I was born.
Lunch at the outdoor cafe at the castle with Sandy (tour mate) and a random Swedish lady was hilarious, especially when the Swedish lady fell asleep, while we were talking to her. I said goodbye to both and walked all the way down the Royal Mile. My goal was to hike to the top of Arthur's Seat but I was too pooped. I went to Holyrood Palace instead which is the official residence of Queen Elizabeth when she is in Scotland. This was the perfect place for me. The dining room was so beautiful that I was nearly in tears, pale green walls with fancy plaster work ( no photos allowed). The room looked like a Wedgewood plate. I loved viewing the apartment of Mary, Queen of Scots and seeing where her husband and his gang murdered her Italian secretary. They also had some of her embroidery on display, she was extremely talented! The best bit was walking in the grounds where the ruins of a Catholic Abbey were located. It was very peaceful.
I met up with half of the group and guide for a charming walk along the Leith for dinner at a pub. We held our own in a pub quiz with the locals. It was hilarious! We were a competitive bunch! I have the Yanks in my group fooled. They think that I am smart. The Cliffette Claven of Chatham strikes again! I was so glad to be in Scotland during the summer. It was Tuesday. It was especially long and hot! Ha Ha!Leggi altro