Jen and Rebecca Hit the High Points of Edinburgh

R: Jen and I donned our colorful new rain coats (both purchased for this trip) and dashed across the street to have scones and tea for breakfast at a lovely church cafe this morning. We're both very glad to have nice raincoats, though turns out Jen forgot to pack an umbrella. We later remedied that, but not til after the rain stopped and I had poked Jen in the eye a hundred times by walking too close to her.

The first high point we hit was everyone's Edinburgh must, Edinburgh Castle. The rain had mostly subsided by the time we hit the parapets, so we were able to enjoy all the old stone walls in relative dryness.

J: We wandered aimlessly for a bit around the walls and cannons and happened to run into a couple from my Denver to London flight. Unfortunately, they were stuck on the Manchester route and didn't make it to Edinburgh until 9:30 last night. Thank goodness the nice BA lady in Denver hooked me up! The castle was filled with kilts, swords, bagpipes, and other war memorabilia. Since we had a lot planned for the day, I got to hurry Rebecca thru a couple of the rooms.

R: It's true. The National War Museum was possibly my fastest English-language museum ever! The other castle highlight was the crown jewels, plus the lovely views from our perch on the hill overlooking the city and the firth. Next we headed down the Royal Mile. We were sidetracked by a few churches, lunch, and a tartan weaving mill, but made it to Holyroodhouse Palace at the end of the road to tour the Queen's official residence in Scotland. Good thing we aren't here next week when she'll be in residence greeting the Pope on his first official state visit to Scotland.

J: We spent some time in Holyrood exploring the State Rooms currently in use, as well as more historical sections once inhabited by Mary, Queen of Scots. She caused quite the scandals in her time...murder, intrigue, it was all there! Just outside of the house lay the remains of the Abbey - it provided much photographic entertainment, plus, Rebecca was spotted photographing Shaun by non-toy carrying tourists. She wandered off before being forced to explain herself. Once we had finished practicing our artistic photography skills, we decided to hike up to the top of Arthur's Seat - the highest point in Edinburgh. Unfortunately, we didn't read the park map and the trails aren't marked. So, we ended up climbing Radical Road (a trail built by unemployed laborers - so named because of their political beliefs) instead. It still provided us with some extraordinary views of the city though.

R: I've learned that the first path you see, despite how invitingly rocky and steep it is, isn't always the path you want to take. Ah well. We next headed Calton Hill, the third of the high hills in Edinburgh (a town that has a lot hillier streets than I'd imagined...). There Jen took my photo with the National Monument, which looked like it should have been Greece's national monument, much to the amusement of those looking on. We finished off the day with a tour of the underground Mary King's Close--I love my underground tourist sites! We learned about how filthy the streets were in the 16oos, how the street eventually got covered over to build a government building, and how Mary King and others still haunt the Close. Oooooo. Spooky.