Edinburgh

(This trip was a month ago, and the post was written three weeks ago, but somehow it never went up! Here it is...Pictures to follow.)

The third portion of my British Isles tour (after London and Cardiff) was to Scotland. And what an adventurous trip it turned out to be. After an eight-hour overnight bus ride north, Gabe, Jennifer, and I emerge into the twilight of early morning Edinburgh, lost and disoriented, sleepy and hungry. We find a small cafe that has just opened, and over our toast and tea we plan out our day.

First stop: St Giles Cathedral. This cathedral is beautiful. The cupola is hollow and looks like one of those crowns that has the arches over the top of the head, and inside the arched ceilings are tastefully lit to give visitors a sense of how large and graceful the church actually is. Moments after we entered an elderly man began playing the organ, and the whole church reverberated with his hymns. In a small room off to the side, we saw an intricately carved wood ceiling over chairs graced with miserichords in every shape possible. Sadly, no photography allowed inside the cathedral.

Next stop, going up the Royal Mile: Edinburgh Castle. This is when we were grateful for our early arrival - very little waiting in line to buy our entrance tickets! From up here, at the highest point within the city, we could see in all directions - to the Firth of Forth, to the hills in the distance, to Arthur's Seat, and all around the city - which has a lovely skyline due to all the 17th century buildings. Inside the castle the Crown Jewels were on display. Though they were interesting to see, they did not live up to the hype.

We wandered through the Museum of Scotland for an hour or so before lunch and saw all manner of curiosities, including large collections of gold coins, blown glass perfume bottles, an Egyptian mummy, bits of statuary, an ancient Celtic harp, Saxon marking stones, an old chess set, model ships, and a mummified baby elephant. We took lunch at the Elephant House - showcase of model elephants, purveyor of delicious sandwiches, and birthplace of Harry Potter.

We spent the afternoon wandering up and down the Royal Mile before meeting Jeanne and Chris for a tour of Underground Edinburgh. The city is very hilly and has always been extremely crowded, which means that tall buildings were erected essentially on top of each other, creating a system of catacomb-like structures at or slightly below ground level, which at different points have been havens for criminals, homes for the homeless, and quarantines for those sick with the plague. Not pleasant places. Our tour, however, was more about the 'paranormal activity' supposedly present in the catacombs, without any evidence showing itself, and was not worth the fee, despite the whiskey and shortbread at the end.

After much trouble finding our hostel (roads change names just as much and with just as little warning in Edinburgh as they do in London) and checking in, we went out to see the city in a different light - to the pubs, much deserved after a solid twelve hours walking.

Next morning we crossed the city to climb Arthur's Seat, a large hill overlooking the city. Absolutely incredible views from the top, towards the castle and over the Royal Mile, out to Calton Hill (covered in monuments), over the Firth, and around the countryside. However, we did not expect the powerful winds and biting rain at the summit - almost too strong to allow us to stand upright. We jumped straight up in the air and came down at least a foot from where we began. This just added to our adventure.

We came down and crossed the city again, this time to the Royal Botanical Gardens, and finally found them after getting lost once again. The gardens boast all sorts of variety, from a rock garden to a Chinese garden which takes you through the vegetation present at different elevations on a mountainside, to carefully trimmed hedges and planned flowerbeds, to the glass Palm House full of tropical flowers and trees.

Then it was off to an Indian dinner and back on the bus to London! We arrived home at six in the morning, caught a 24-hour bus because the tube was still closed, and I at least got ready to go to class five hours later.

An exhausting weekend, but we all agreed that we need to return: Edinburgh is a beautiful, friendly city, with much to see and experience. Maybe a perfect place to live sometime? No one I know has anything bad to say about it.