A day in Edinburgh

Now that I've recovered from the lack of sleep from the bus ride, I'd say it's time to update you on my day trip to Edinburgh.  Jake and I left on Thursday night at 11PM and arrived in Edinburgh around 9:30AM because of weather delays.  We decided to go just for the day since it would be much cheaper and would still give us a chance to see another country.

We first passed by the Scott Monument on our way into the Old Town.  This monument was erected in honor of Sir Walter Scott, who is often regarded as the most important contributor to Scottish literature.  The monument was built between 1840 and 1844.  Visitors can now climb to the top for great views but we thought being with the wind it might be too cold.  Not to mention Jake wouldn't have gone to the top with me even if I had begged. 

We first walked a few blocks to the Royal Mile which is a road that stretches from the Edinburgh Castle to Hollyrood Palace and park.  It has a lot of souvenir shops, pubs, and cafes. 

We had an early lunch when we got there at a little pub on the Royal Mile.  Jake and I both had bowls of Cullen Skink which is a traditional Scottish soup consisting of smoked haddock, potatoes and cream.  We both thought it was delicious!  Then Jake ordered a burger which I had a few bites of.  It was a different consistency though.  It felt more like sausage than ground beef but the waiter said it was British beef.

After lunch we went into St. Giles Cathedral along the Royal Mile.  St. Giles is the patron saint of Edinburgh as well as the saint of cripples and lepers.  We weren't able to take pictures inside but I found a panorama online of the interior.  Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island and John Knox, a Protestant Reformer are buried in this church. 

We went into a few shops along the Royal Mile on our way up to the Edinburgh Castle.  A wedding was taking place in the castle that day so we didn't get to take a tour.  We actually saw the bride get out of an old fashioned car and enter the church through this archway.  From the hilltop we were able to see great views of the city which allowed for great pictures.

After walking around the castle grounds we went to warm up with a coffee in The Elephant House.  J.K. Rowling put this quaint cafe on the map after writing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone here.  I expected to see a plaque by the table but she changed her seat almost every time.  However, I do know that she sat in the back room at a table by the window looking out towards the Edinburgh castle.  She also got several names for characters in the books from Greyfriars cemetery in Edinburgh but we didn't have a chance to get there. 

Our next stop was Grassmarket, another little shopping area in Edinburgh.  We popped in and out of a few shops but just looked.

On our way back to the Royal Mile we passed by the Bank of Scotland Headquarters. 

At this point it was beginning to get dark but we decided to head towards the other end of the Royal Mile to Hollyrood Palace and the park.  We walked around Hollyrood Palace but by this time it was closed.  This is one of the Queen's places for the summer.  It was probably for the best that we didn't try to go up to the top of Hollyrood park during the day because it was completely covered in snow.  I've heard it's a nice hike when the weather is good but since both of us had only sneakers on we thought it could be potentially disastrous. 

Here is the Scottish Parliament.  It was very modern looking making it very different from the Houses of Parliament in London. This was also down by Hollyrood Palace and the park.

For dinner we ate at a pub we passed earlier called World's End.  I had a brie, cranberry and mixed greens panini with fries and salad while Jake had a steak pie with mashed potatoes and vegetables.  For dessert we split sticky toffee pudding with ice cream.

Since it was dark and getting late we decided to go into a local pub that was having live music that night.  We only got to see him set up since we had to leave for the bus station before he began to play.  It was nice to get a taste of the local nightlife though. We left for London around 10:30PM and got in around 7:30AM.  It was a short trip but nice to experience one more country.