And Finally, Scotland
Aug 13th, 2009, 07:36 AM
#21
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Thanks again, Sheila. We had quite a multi-national group over a fairly wide age range. It was full, I believe, so 16 people. And I think my son, the talkative woman, her husband (probably in their 60s) and I were the only Americans. I mentioned the Finnish family, there were 5 of them (parents and three young boys). There were Bulgarians in front of us, I think two men (40s or 50s) and a woman (a bit younger). I'm pretty sure the people behind us were also Eastern European but I don't remember really seeing them. There was a youngish guy sitting in the row of single seats but I don't remember much about him. And I'm drawing a blank on the rest. I'll try to remember to ask my son about it as I think he noticed more about the rest of the group than I did.
And thank you again, GreenDragon! I just saw on another thread that you stayed in an apartment in the Grassmarket. That must have been great! Such a good location!
SuzieQQ, I can't tell you how grateful I am for your input on my day trip thread!
Which, I think, answers your question, rileypenny. It was through helpful posters like SuzieQQ that I found the Rabbie's tour! I posted a link for that specific tour. Here's the general one:
http://www.rabbies.com/flavours_of_scotland.asp
When I talked about the train ride from York to Edinburgh, I meant to mention that between what we saw then and what I read in your report, rileypenny, I'm developing a real desire to spend some time in that part of England. One more thing to add to my "someday" list!
And thank you again, GreenDragon! I just saw on another thread that you stayed in an apartment in the Grassmarket. That must have been great! Such a good location!
SuzieQQ, I can't tell you how grateful I am for your input on my day trip thread!
Which, I think, answers your question, rileypenny. It was through helpful posters like SuzieQQ that I found the Rabbie's tour! I posted a link for that specific tour. Here's the general one:
http://www.rabbies.com/flavours_of_scotland.asp
When I talked about the train ride from York to Edinburgh, I meant to mention that between what we saw then and what I read in your report, rileypenny, I'm developing a real desire to spend some time in that part of England. One more thing to add to my "someday" list!
Aug 13th, 2009, 07:42 AM
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Hi, mms. I must have been working on my response while you were posting.
Corned beef hash is really not a bad comparison, very similar texture. Though I have to admit that I like corned beef hash better! DS liked the haggis well enough to have it again the second day. But not the third!
Out of curiousity, when you ate at Deacon Brodie's in February, do you think there were more locals? Or do you think it was still mostly tourists?
Corned beef hash is really not a bad comparison, very similar texture. Though I have to admit that I like corned beef hash better! DS liked the haggis well enough to have it again the second day. But not the third!
Out of curiousity, when you ate at Deacon Brodie's in February, do you think there were more locals? Or do you think it was still mostly tourists?
Aug 13th, 2009, 02:04 PM
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<b>June 19th: The Castle and the Palace</b>
Another great breakfast, without the haggis for me!
The plan for the day was to "do" the Royal Mile. And, following the good advice I've seen given here by janisj and others, we started at the top. We'd walked around that area on Wednesday and had noticed a huge amount of seating erected at the top of the hill, not far from the Castle entrance. When we asked about it, we were told that it was mainly for the Tattoo in August but that there was to be a smaller one on Friday as part of a ceremony to install a new governor of the Castle. We were concerned that it would interfere with our being able to tour the Castle on Friday. They assured us it wouldn't, that the ceremony was in the evening. They then went on to tell us that a small group of the public would be admitted. So we'd kept that in mind ever since and asked about it again as we approached the Castle that morning. The young people working in that area told us we should be able to get seats if we arrived about half an hour before the start of the ceremony. They said the event hadn't been very well publicized.
Edinburgh Castle was quite crowded. I think that was the largest group of tourists we encountered in any one place during our time in Scotland. But we still enjoyed it very, very much. The crowds didn't keep us from seeing everything and taking lots of pictures. We were blessed with a really lovely morning which also helped to make it more enjoyable.
When we took the London Walks tour of Westminster Abbey, in the course of telling us about the Stone of Scone, the tour guide said that if we wanted to see crown jewels, we should go the Tower rather than seeing the Scottish ones at Edinburgh Castle. Well, we did both. And, while I have to agree that there are a lot <i>more</i> jewels in the Tower of London, I think the exhibit itself is much nicer at Edinburgh Castle!
One thing I learned on this trip is that, should I be fortunate enough to travel with my son again, I need to try to figure out how many memory cards he'll use and then buy twice that many! During our three week trip he took 3900 pictures! Which meant he used not only all of <i>his</i> memory cards but <i>mine</i> as well. And while we were at the Castle, the one in my camera ran out. The gift shop didn't carry them but we were directed to a shop a short distance down the Royal Mile.
I was totally oblivious to it but I guess when we walked in the camera shop a gentleman held the door. My son thanked him (I'd like to think that, on autopilot, I did too but really have no memory of it at all) but apparently the gentleman didn't hear him because he said, "Don't you have something to say?" His son told him that DS had said thank you and the gentleman just walked out. This incident really upset my son. And, of course, me too as soon as I heard about it. It's probably a good thing we didn't run into these people again because, if we had, I'd have had no qualms about going up to the guy and saying, "Don't you have something you wish to say to my son?" After all, turn about is fair play. If you expect courtesy from others, you should be willing to give it and an apology was certainly called for in this situation.
But, you know, this incident and one in the airport at Barcelona are the only times during our entire three week journey that I recall encountering any rudeness. And I think that's pretty amazing!
We really weren't planning to do any shopping that day. There were things we wanted to pick up but had figured we'd do it on Saturday. However, I couldn't help noticing that we were passing the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre. I wanted to get my husband some really nice Scotch. He's a big fan of smokey, peaty, single malts. And, not only had he encouraged us to spend the time in the UK, we were going to be arriving home on Father's Day. I wanted to get him something he wasn't likely to have tried before and I don't know enough about Scotch to know which ones are smokey and peaty. I'd read about this place and it sounded like somewhere I'd be able to ask for help. Since we were right there, it seemed silly to have to make a special trip back the next day.
The people in their shop were indeed very helpful. I was able to pick up some things that my husband really enjoyed. Unfortunately, when we got farther down the Mile and went in Royal Mile Whiskies, I realized that they too were very helpful and that I could've gotten the same things there for a few pounds less. But, hey, something to keep in mind when/if I get back there!
Once we got started, we realized we may as well just take care of our gift lists while we were there amongst the shops. But a couple of hours into buying tartan scarves, key chains, odds and ends from the Writers Museum gift shop, etc., we realized that we were going to have to make a trip back to the B&B. There was no way we could carry this stuff around the rest of the day. Whisky is heavy!
But we already knew that we wanted to have lunch at Wannaburger and, by that time, we had worked ourselves far enough down the Mile to be pretty close. So we had lunch first:
http://www.wannaburger.com/
Frankly, we were curious to try another country's burger chain. I'd read about Wannaburger online and thought it'd be a good choice. It didn't sound like it served the deep fried burgers I'd read about in scotlib's TR and elsewhere. And its Royal Mile location made it very convenient.
It was good! I had the blue burger, DS had the M.O.S. We both had fries, garlic mayo and a Coke. Along with the bill for £18.70, the waitress brought a small cup/bowl of peanut M&Ms. The time stamp on the bill is 13:54 and, as I recall, it took a little while for her to come get our credit card and get it back to us.
By the time we schlepped our bags back to the B&B, got back on the Royal Mile and made our way to Holyroodhouse, it was late, probably around 4:30. Once again, it was a good thing we had those Heritage Passes. If we hadn't, considering that it closes at 6:00, we probably wouldn't have gone in. And I'm so glad that we did. Oh, we might have come back the next day. But I doubt the timing would have worked out so well for us. It was pretty much the opposite of what we'd experienced at the Castle. In fact, there were times when we were the only ones in a room.
Though he didn't say anything at the time, DS later told me that he wasn't really all that enthusiastic about going in Holyroodhouse. So he was all the more amazed at just how much he liked it. The audio guide, included in the admission, is very good. And, of course, not having to fight a crowd really helped too. We were able to very peacefully enjoy the palace, the abbey ruins and the garden.
I'm going to break this here. For one thing, it's getting long and I still have a bit of ground to cover. But, more to the point, I'm running out of time for today. If I don't get this posted now, I probably won't be able to do it until tomorrow. And I really need to finish this report soon because I'm going to be out of town part of next week.
Another great breakfast, without the haggis for me!
The plan for the day was to "do" the Royal Mile. And, following the good advice I've seen given here by janisj and others, we started at the top. We'd walked around that area on Wednesday and had noticed a huge amount of seating erected at the top of the hill, not far from the Castle entrance. When we asked about it, we were told that it was mainly for the Tattoo in August but that there was to be a smaller one on Friday as part of a ceremony to install a new governor of the Castle. We were concerned that it would interfere with our being able to tour the Castle on Friday. They assured us it wouldn't, that the ceremony was in the evening. They then went on to tell us that a small group of the public would be admitted. So we'd kept that in mind ever since and asked about it again as we approached the Castle that morning. The young people working in that area told us we should be able to get seats if we arrived about half an hour before the start of the ceremony. They said the event hadn't been very well publicized.
Edinburgh Castle was quite crowded. I think that was the largest group of tourists we encountered in any one place during our time in Scotland. But we still enjoyed it very, very much. The crowds didn't keep us from seeing everything and taking lots of pictures. We were blessed with a really lovely morning which also helped to make it more enjoyable.
When we took the London Walks tour of Westminster Abbey, in the course of telling us about the Stone of Scone, the tour guide said that if we wanted to see crown jewels, we should go the Tower rather than seeing the Scottish ones at Edinburgh Castle. Well, we did both. And, while I have to agree that there are a lot <i>more</i> jewels in the Tower of London, I think the exhibit itself is much nicer at Edinburgh Castle!
One thing I learned on this trip is that, should I be fortunate enough to travel with my son again, I need to try to figure out how many memory cards he'll use and then buy twice that many! During our three week trip he took 3900 pictures! Which meant he used not only all of <i>his</i> memory cards but <i>mine</i> as well. And while we were at the Castle, the one in my camera ran out. The gift shop didn't carry them but we were directed to a shop a short distance down the Royal Mile.
I was totally oblivious to it but I guess when we walked in the camera shop a gentleman held the door. My son thanked him (I'd like to think that, on autopilot, I did too but really have no memory of it at all) but apparently the gentleman didn't hear him because he said, "Don't you have something to say?" His son told him that DS had said thank you and the gentleman just walked out. This incident really upset my son. And, of course, me too as soon as I heard about it. It's probably a good thing we didn't run into these people again because, if we had, I'd have had no qualms about going up to the guy and saying, "Don't you have something you wish to say to my son?" After all, turn about is fair play. If you expect courtesy from others, you should be willing to give it and an apology was certainly called for in this situation.
But, you know, this incident and one in the airport at Barcelona are the only times during our entire three week journey that I recall encountering any rudeness. And I think that's pretty amazing!
We really weren't planning to do any shopping that day. There were things we wanted to pick up but had figured we'd do it on Saturday. However, I couldn't help noticing that we were passing the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre. I wanted to get my husband some really nice Scotch. He's a big fan of smokey, peaty, single malts. And, not only had he encouraged us to spend the time in the UK, we were going to be arriving home on Father's Day. I wanted to get him something he wasn't likely to have tried before and I don't know enough about Scotch to know which ones are smokey and peaty. I'd read about this place and it sounded like somewhere I'd be able to ask for help. Since we were right there, it seemed silly to have to make a special trip back the next day.
The people in their shop were indeed very helpful. I was able to pick up some things that my husband really enjoyed. Unfortunately, when we got farther down the Mile and went in Royal Mile Whiskies, I realized that they too were very helpful and that I could've gotten the same things there for a few pounds less. But, hey, something to keep in mind when/if I get back there!
Once we got started, we realized we may as well just take care of our gift lists while we were there amongst the shops. But a couple of hours into buying tartan scarves, key chains, odds and ends from the Writers Museum gift shop, etc., we realized that we were going to have to make a trip back to the B&B. There was no way we could carry this stuff around the rest of the day. Whisky is heavy!
But we already knew that we wanted to have lunch at Wannaburger and, by that time, we had worked ourselves far enough down the Mile to be pretty close. So we had lunch first:
http://www.wannaburger.com/
Frankly, we were curious to try another country's burger chain. I'd read about Wannaburger online and thought it'd be a good choice. It didn't sound like it served the deep fried burgers I'd read about in scotlib's TR and elsewhere. And its Royal Mile location made it very convenient.
It was good! I had the blue burger, DS had the M.O.S. We both had fries, garlic mayo and a Coke. Along with the bill for £18.70, the waitress brought a small cup/bowl of peanut M&Ms. The time stamp on the bill is 13:54 and, as I recall, it took a little while for her to come get our credit card and get it back to us.
By the time we schlepped our bags back to the B&B, got back on the Royal Mile and made our way to Holyroodhouse, it was late, probably around 4:30. Once again, it was a good thing we had those Heritage Passes. If we hadn't, considering that it closes at 6:00, we probably wouldn't have gone in. And I'm so glad that we did. Oh, we might have come back the next day. But I doubt the timing would have worked out so well for us. It was pretty much the opposite of what we'd experienced at the Castle. In fact, there were times when we were the only ones in a room.
Though he didn't say anything at the time, DS later told me that he wasn't really all that enthusiastic about going in Holyroodhouse. So he was all the more amazed at just how much he liked it. The audio guide, included in the admission, is very good. And, of course, not having to fight a crowd really helped too. We were able to very peacefully enjoy the palace, the abbey ruins and the garden.
I'm going to break this here. For one thing, it's getting long and I still have a bit of ground to cover. But, more to the point, I'm running out of time for today. If I don't get this posted now, I probably won't be able to do it until tomorrow. And I really need to finish this report soon because I'm going to be out of town part of next week.
Aug 13th, 2009, 03:06 PM
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I spent my childhood (well, 5 years of it) in Edinburgh, and I am enjoying reading about CAPH52's trip. I was last in Edinburgh in April of 2007, and while some things had changed, it was remarkable to me how much of the city's character was as it had been 30 years previously.
Aug 13th, 2009, 03:39 PM
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Caph--I think we were the only tourists in town, lol! Seriously, people were looking at us like we were nuts to be vacationing at that time of year. At Deacon Brodies I am pretty sure we were the only nonlocals there. Everyone else was in groups, with people sort of coming and going. We stayed at the Jury's Inn which was off of a close right off of the Royal Mile. Loved the location and being able to go up and down the street and shop, lol! The castle was amazing, and I loved reading about it again. Did you see the dog cemetary there? Did you climb Arthur's Seat? We did that and about froze on our way up, lol!
Aug 13th, 2009, 04:53 PM
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My mom also lived in Edinburgh a while ago - 40 years ago, to be exact (it was a couple months before I was born, so I was sort of there, too). She was only there for about six months, but she remembered it well. She said it had changed a lot and not at all... both at the same time. The first time she was there, she said she smelled the drambuie on the air every morning...
Aug 13th, 2009, 05:13 PM
#28
It sounds like you and your DS travel really well together. One melt down hardly matters - If you saw my trip report you'd know about incompatible travel companions 
. . .
"<i>We were there from June 17th until the 20th, so it got light very early. I woke early and often, in a panic, thinking I must have overslept</i>"
Rule #1 when traveling to Scotland in June -- <B>eye shades!</B>
I've stayed just west of Aberfoyle on the shores of Loch Ard probably a total of 7 weeks over the years and have had a drink or a meal in the Forth Inn at least a dozen times.
I am actually surprised the tour didn't take you to the Scottish Wool Centre for lunch. It's nice they let you go where you wanted
. . ."<i>We were there from June 17th until the 20th, so it got light very early. I woke early and often, in a panic, thinking I must have overslept</i>"
Rule #1 when traveling to Scotland in June -- <B>eye shades!</B>
I've stayed just west of Aberfoyle on the shores of Loch Ard probably a total of 7 weeks over the years and have had a drink or a meal in the Forth Inn at least a dozen times.
I am actually surprised the tour didn't take you to the Scottish Wool Centre for lunch. It's nice they let you go where you wanted
Aug 14th, 2009, 08:18 AM
#30
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We missed the dog cemetery, mms! I'll bet it <i>was</i> cold climbing Arthur's Seat in February!
I noticed on stw's TR that you're going out of town today. Hope you have a good time!
"it was a couple months before I was born, so I was sort of there, too"
I know what you mean, GreenDragon. My parents lived in Springfield, IL (in fact, they met there) for several years. They moved just a month or two before I was born. So, even though I never lived there, I feel a definite connection.
I also know what your mother means about a place changing a lot and not at all. The small town where I grew up is like that.
Fortunately, we do travel well together, Janis. I think in large part 'cause we don't have to worry about the niceties. We pretty much say what we think!
I've got to find your trip report again. By the time I saw it, there were already well over a hundred responses. I started reading and was really enjoying it. But I felt so guilty knowing I needed to be working on my own! As soon as I'm finished with this, I'm going to start again. I've got to get to the meltdown part!
Eye shades! Such a simple solution and it never crossed my mind. But I'll remember next time! Thanks!
That must be a beautiful place to stay, Janis!
I noticed on stw's TR that you're going out of town today. Hope you have a good time!
"it was a couple months before I was born, so I was sort of there, too"
I know what you mean, GreenDragon. My parents lived in Springfield, IL (in fact, they met there) for several years. They moved just a month or two before I was born. So, even though I never lived there, I feel a definite connection.
I also know what your mother means about a place changing a lot and not at all. The small town where I grew up is like that.
Fortunately, we do travel well together, Janis. I think in large part 'cause we don't have to worry about the niceties. We pretty much say what we think!
I've got to find your trip report again. By the time I saw it, there were already well over a hundred responses. I started reading and was really enjoying it. But I felt so guilty knowing I needed to be working on my own! As soon as I'm finished with this, I'm going to start again. I've got to get to the meltdown part!
Eye shades! Such a simple solution and it never crossed my mind. But I'll remember next time! Thanks!
That must be a beautiful place to stay, Janis!
Aug 14th, 2009, 08:38 AM
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<b>Evening of June 19th: A Mini Tattoo</b>
Remember my saying that we followed the good advice to start at the top of the Royal Mile that morning? Well, here we were, at the very bottom, needing to get to the very top for the ceremony to install the new governor of the Castle!
I guess we could have taken a taxi. But we hoofed it, my bad leg and all, all the way back up. Fortunately, thanks to having a break from walking the previous day and the two nights of soaking, my leg had been somewhat better that morning. After all the walking that day, not so much! But we made it.
The ceremony started at 7:45. We must've gotten there before 7:00. We stood in line for a while before they started seating people, which I think was around 7:15. It's a good thing we did get there early because, well publicized or not, there were certainly plenty of people interested in seeing it! And, despite the large number of seats, they only allotted one or two sections for the general public. In fact, they only used part of one side total, including the seating for dignitaries and invited guests. But, geez, are those seats crammed in there! I'm only 5'2" and barely had room to sit without gouging my legs into the gentleman in front of me.
It was a nice evening, but whenever the sun went behind the clouds it was downright cold! The wind really whips up on that hill! We really wished for heavier jackets and gloves. But in spite of the cramped seating and the cold, we were <i>so</i> happy to be there! We felt really privileged to have the chance to see such an impressive ceremony. According to the paper that was handed out, the Military Band was the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Pipes and Drums were from The Royal Scots Borderers Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland. They were amazing! And the actual installation was very interesting. Much pomp and circumstance!
After the approximately 45 minute ceremony, stiff from the cold and the lack of space, we made our way out of the stands and off the hill. And were astonished at how much warmer it felt down there! However, before we got back near our B&B, it began to rain. Thank goodness it held off until then!
Every time we walked to or from the B&B, near the end of the road, we passed an Indian restaurant called Iman's. DS really wanted to try it and tonight would be our last chance. Knowing that it was BYOB, we stopped along the way for me to pick up a couple of cans of Boddingtons. The restaurant was busy but we were able to get a table.
We were much happier with the food here than we had been at Masala Zone in London. In a response on my London TR, flanneruk commented that the waiters at Masala Zone aren't even Indian. Well, now that I think of it, the waiters at Iman's definitely were! DS's eyes were a bit bigger than his stomach that night and we ordered more than we could really comfortably eat. We started with samosas. Then we each had chicken tikka masala, DS ordered a side of paneer and, I think, spinach. We shared some sort of rice and an order of naan. DS also had a mango lassi. It was all very good! And, compared to our favorite local Indian restaurant, we felt it was pretty reasonable at £30.00 The service was very good too.
After the restaurant, we headed back to the grocery store to get a can of beer for my nightly soak in the tub. Only to find we were too late! We must've returned to the B&B earlier the other nights because this was the first we'd learned that most food stores have liquor licenses which require them to stop selling at 10:00.
On the way back we ducked in Bennet's Bar with the thought of having a pint. But there weren't any open tables, so we headed back to our room. And I ended the evening with a soak in the tub and a glass of water!
Remember my saying that we followed the good advice to start at the top of the Royal Mile that morning? Well, here we were, at the very bottom, needing to get to the very top for the ceremony to install the new governor of the Castle!
I guess we could have taken a taxi. But we hoofed it, my bad leg and all, all the way back up. Fortunately, thanks to having a break from walking the previous day and the two nights of soaking, my leg had been somewhat better that morning. After all the walking that day, not so much! But we made it.
The ceremony started at 7:45. We must've gotten there before 7:00. We stood in line for a while before they started seating people, which I think was around 7:15. It's a good thing we did get there early because, well publicized or not, there were certainly plenty of people interested in seeing it! And, despite the large number of seats, they only allotted one or two sections for the general public. In fact, they only used part of one side total, including the seating for dignitaries and invited guests. But, geez, are those seats crammed in there! I'm only 5'2" and barely had room to sit without gouging my legs into the gentleman in front of me.
It was a nice evening, but whenever the sun went behind the clouds it was downright cold! The wind really whips up on that hill! We really wished for heavier jackets and gloves. But in spite of the cramped seating and the cold, we were <i>so</i> happy to be there! We felt really privileged to have the chance to see such an impressive ceremony. According to the paper that was handed out, the Military Band was the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Pipes and Drums were from The Royal Scots Borderers Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland. They were amazing! And the actual installation was very interesting. Much pomp and circumstance!
After the approximately 45 minute ceremony, stiff from the cold and the lack of space, we made our way out of the stands and off the hill. And were astonished at how much warmer it felt down there! However, before we got back near our B&B, it began to rain. Thank goodness it held off until then!
Every time we walked to or from the B&B, near the end of the road, we passed an Indian restaurant called Iman's. DS really wanted to try it and tonight would be our last chance. Knowing that it was BYOB, we stopped along the way for me to pick up a couple of cans of Boddingtons. The restaurant was busy but we were able to get a table.
We were much happier with the food here than we had been at Masala Zone in London. In a response on my London TR, flanneruk commented that the waiters at Masala Zone aren't even Indian. Well, now that I think of it, the waiters at Iman's definitely were! DS's eyes were a bit bigger than his stomach that night and we ordered more than we could really comfortably eat. We started with samosas. Then we each had chicken tikka masala, DS ordered a side of paneer and, I think, spinach. We shared some sort of rice and an order of naan. DS also had a mango lassi. It was all very good! And, compared to our favorite local Indian restaurant, we felt it was pretty reasonable at £30.00 The service was very good too.
After the restaurant, we headed back to the grocery store to get a can of beer for my nightly soak in the tub. Only to find we were too late! We must've returned to the B&B earlier the other nights because this was the first we'd learned that most food stores have liquor licenses which require them to stop selling at 10:00.
On the way back we ducked in Bennet's Bar with the thought of having a pint. But there weren't any open tables, so we headed back to our room. And I ended the evening with a soak in the tub and a glass of water!
Aug 14th, 2009, 12:22 PM
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<b>June 20th: A Lagniappe</b>
We saw this last day in Edinburgh as a gift. We'd originally thought we'd have to leave that day and fly back to Dublin in order to catch our flight home the following day. Which would have been fine. We wouldn't have minded the time in Dublin. But we knew most of the day would be spent in transit. At most we'd probably manage dinner and maybe some music in a pub. And we'd have to get back and forth from the airport. So when we realized that we could take an early flight out of Edinburgh on Sunday morning, we decided to go for it.
It was slightly risky in that we knew missing that early morning flight would mean missing our flight home. But they were both Aer Lingus flights so they assured us that if the delay was <i>their</i> fault -- mechanical, weather, etc.-- they'd get us on the next flight home. We just had to make damn sure that we didn't miss it through any fault of our own! Which is why we felt moving to an airport hotel was a good idea. We made a prepaid reservation at the Hilton for £88 for a twin room.
Over the months we discussed many different options for filling this extra day. There were several ideas we liked, such as taking a bus to Rosslyn Chapel, walking around Leith, taking a boat ride on the Forth, etc. But we never did settle on anything definite. And by the day before, we'd pretty much decided to just wing it. By this time, we were very tired and we knew the next day would be a long one. So we felt that rather than running around trying to cram in one more place, it made more sense to just relax and enjoy being in Edinburgh.
I called the Hilton and learned that, whether our room was available or not, we could check in and leave our luggage. They also told me that the airport bus from Waverly Station stops at the Hilton. So at first we thought we'd take a taxi to Waverly to catch the bus and talked to Roddy about calling a taxi for us. But the more we thought about having to transfer our luggage from the taxi to the bus, the more we thought that it probably wouldn't be that much more expensive (and a lot easier!) to just take the taxi all the way to the Hilton. And the funny thing was, when we talked to Roddy about it, he said he'd been thinking exactly the same thing. In fact, he said that the taxi fare to Waverly plus the bus fare came out to pretty much the same amount as taxi fare to the Hilton.
After our final Scottish breakfast, by this time sans haggis for DS too, we got our things together and were ready to go when the taxi arrived at 9:30. We were very lucky in that our room at the Hilton was already available. The woman at the desk showed me where to catch the bus back to Edinburgh and told us that we could get a return ticket for £6 each.
The first thing we did when we got back into town was head over to the Royal Mile to start looking for a place for lunch. I'm not sure why we were already hungry that early. It wasn't even 11:30. But it didn't much matter as we learned that most places don't start serving lunch until noon. So we headed down the Mile, looking at menus and stopping in a few shops.
Right around noon we stopped in the Canon's Gait pub/restaurant. It was a pleasant atmosphere and the food was good. I finally had a chance to try Cullen Skink (a thick fish chowder) which I really enjoyed. But the service was incredibly slow! We wound up being there for over an hour. And, while there were other diners, they weren't <i>that</i> busy. DS had a steak sandwich and fries, I also had fries and we both had Cokes. The bill was £16.05. While I know it was out of their control, I was not very happy that their credit card machine was down (or so they said at least). We were beginning to run low on cash and didn't want to withdraw any more this late in the trip, so I'd been counting on paying with plastic. Fortunately, we had enough pounds left to cover it.
After lunch we continued on down the Royal Mile. We both wanted to get another look at the Scottish Parliament Building and DS wanted to try climbing Arthur's Seat. I saw that as the perfect opportunity for a rest and some people watching in the park between the two.
What followed was another example of the changeability of Scottish weather. When he left me, the sun was shining brightly. There were kids splashing in the fountain and lots of people playing with dogs or just strolling in the park. During the hour or so he was gone, the sky clouded over, it began to sprinkle and eventually to rain quite hard. At which time I found myself all alone in the park! Eventually it worked its way back to full sunshine!
We never have figured out for sure whether it was Arthur's Seat he climbed. Are there two hills there? Or two peaks on Arthur's Seat? Whatever it was, it afforded him some great views, as you can see on his pictures.
He was also interested in climbing The Scott Memorial so we started our very leisurely walk in that direction, with a bathroom break at Waverly. While we were there we went in a coffee shop where I had a very good cup of hot chocolate and DS had juice.
By the time we got to The Scott Memorial, it was a beautiful sunny day. This was another opportunity for me to rest on a park bench while he climbed. And the people watching was much better here. (Not that it didn't start out well earlier!) He got a real kick out of climbing the memorial. And the certificate they gave him! As you can again see from his pictures, the views were really nice.
Continuing at our leisurely pace, we then went back over to the Royal Mile. We never did get in St. Giles and I guess it must have been too late by the time we got there that day. But we sat outside for a while and watched to see how many people would spit on the heart-shaped design in the cobblestones that marks the spot where criminals used to be executed. Quite a few did!
Our next stop was Greyfriars Cemetery. I'd read enough about it to be curious and DS was interested in learning more about Greyfriars Bobby. We saw his grave and walked around a bit. It was interesting that the only shop we saw in the cemetery is devoted to the occult. I've heard really good things about the ghost tour there but I think it'd be a bit too intense for me.
By then it was time to start thinking about finding a place for an early dinner and heading back to the hotel. We knew we had to have an early night. A pub called Greyfriars Bobby was right there and we figured fish and chips in a pub was a very fitting last meal in Scotland. The fish we had there was hake which I was afraid might be a tad strong tasting. But it was very good. DS ordered curry sauce to go with his and we each had a beer. I can't find the receipt but the credit card statement shows $35.15.
On the way back to Waverly, we passed The Elephant House Cafe where J.K Rowling wrote much of Harry Potter. Of course, I had to take a picture. I might have missed the London Walks Harry Potter tour and platform 9 3/4 but at least I got to see that!
Before catching the bus, we ran in Waverly to make one last Marks & Spencer stop. We meant to get curry sauce but completely forgot. When we remembered later that evening, we thought, oh well, SIL would have taken some back. Turns out he bought it, but forgot to take it. I'm guessing his parents will have some with them when they visit at the end of September! We did pick up a couple of other things and ran in another shop for a can of cider and a can of beer for the hotel.
On the ride into town, we'd been relieved to hear the driver announcing all of the stops and noticed that he seemed to be stopping at them. But, on the ride back, we began to realize that this guy wasn't making any announcements at all! And wasn't making very many stops. (Not that the airport bus stops a lot, but I'm not sure he stopped at all.) So when we thought it looked like we were getting close to the hotel, we went up and stood in the aisle near the front of the bus. I know he saw us! But he announced the Hilton stop as he was actually passing it! When I asked him whether he was going to stop, he said, "You didn't ring the buzzer". I know it was probably stupid of me, but I didn't know there <i>was</i> a buzzer! No one else had rung it coming or going. I know that city buses have buzzers. But this wasn't a regular city bus. Fortunately, it wound up not being too much of a hassle. The airport was the next stop. Though we had to wait a few minutes there, he did make sure to drop us on the return trip! And you better believe we rang that darn buzzer!
After we got settled in back at the hotel, DS wanted to go down and find out about getting internet. I can't remember exactly what the cost was, but it wasn't cheap. However, I agreed because we needed to send a couple of emails. But while I was standing at the desk getting ready to pay, DS was sitting in the lounge picking up their wireless. The woman said she didn't know how long it would last but to just go ahead and use it while we could. So I got a Boddingtons from the bar and we sat in the lounge for a while.
Fortunately, the Hilton had a very nice bathtub so once again I had a soak and a glass of beer!
When we settled down for the night around 11:00, I looked out the window and, while the sky wasn't exactly light, neither was it really dark. Almost depressing when I realized that when we got home the next day, even though it was the longest day of the year, it'd be dark by 9:00.
We saw this last day in Edinburgh as a gift. We'd originally thought we'd have to leave that day and fly back to Dublin in order to catch our flight home the following day. Which would have been fine. We wouldn't have minded the time in Dublin. But we knew most of the day would be spent in transit. At most we'd probably manage dinner and maybe some music in a pub. And we'd have to get back and forth from the airport. So when we realized that we could take an early flight out of Edinburgh on Sunday morning, we decided to go for it.
It was slightly risky in that we knew missing that early morning flight would mean missing our flight home. But they were both Aer Lingus flights so they assured us that if the delay was <i>their</i> fault -- mechanical, weather, etc.-- they'd get us on the next flight home. We just had to make damn sure that we didn't miss it through any fault of our own! Which is why we felt moving to an airport hotel was a good idea. We made a prepaid reservation at the Hilton for £88 for a twin room.
Over the months we discussed many different options for filling this extra day. There were several ideas we liked, such as taking a bus to Rosslyn Chapel, walking around Leith, taking a boat ride on the Forth, etc. But we never did settle on anything definite. And by the day before, we'd pretty much decided to just wing it. By this time, we were very tired and we knew the next day would be a long one. So we felt that rather than running around trying to cram in one more place, it made more sense to just relax and enjoy being in Edinburgh.
I called the Hilton and learned that, whether our room was available or not, we could check in and leave our luggage. They also told me that the airport bus from Waverly Station stops at the Hilton. So at first we thought we'd take a taxi to Waverly to catch the bus and talked to Roddy about calling a taxi for us. But the more we thought about having to transfer our luggage from the taxi to the bus, the more we thought that it probably wouldn't be that much more expensive (and a lot easier!) to just take the taxi all the way to the Hilton. And the funny thing was, when we talked to Roddy about it, he said he'd been thinking exactly the same thing. In fact, he said that the taxi fare to Waverly plus the bus fare came out to pretty much the same amount as taxi fare to the Hilton.
After our final Scottish breakfast, by this time sans haggis for DS too, we got our things together and were ready to go when the taxi arrived at 9:30. We were very lucky in that our room at the Hilton was already available. The woman at the desk showed me where to catch the bus back to Edinburgh and told us that we could get a return ticket for £6 each.
The first thing we did when we got back into town was head over to the Royal Mile to start looking for a place for lunch. I'm not sure why we were already hungry that early. It wasn't even 11:30. But it didn't much matter as we learned that most places don't start serving lunch until noon. So we headed down the Mile, looking at menus and stopping in a few shops.
Right around noon we stopped in the Canon's Gait pub/restaurant. It was a pleasant atmosphere and the food was good. I finally had a chance to try Cullen Skink (a thick fish chowder) which I really enjoyed. But the service was incredibly slow! We wound up being there for over an hour. And, while there were other diners, they weren't <i>that</i> busy. DS had a steak sandwich and fries, I also had fries and we both had Cokes. The bill was £16.05. While I know it was out of their control, I was not very happy that their credit card machine was down (or so they said at least). We were beginning to run low on cash and didn't want to withdraw any more this late in the trip, so I'd been counting on paying with plastic. Fortunately, we had enough pounds left to cover it.
After lunch we continued on down the Royal Mile. We both wanted to get another look at the Scottish Parliament Building and DS wanted to try climbing Arthur's Seat. I saw that as the perfect opportunity for a rest and some people watching in the park between the two.
What followed was another example of the changeability of Scottish weather. When he left me, the sun was shining brightly. There were kids splashing in the fountain and lots of people playing with dogs or just strolling in the park. During the hour or so he was gone, the sky clouded over, it began to sprinkle and eventually to rain quite hard. At which time I found myself all alone in the park! Eventually it worked its way back to full sunshine!
We never have figured out for sure whether it was Arthur's Seat he climbed. Are there two hills there? Or two peaks on Arthur's Seat? Whatever it was, it afforded him some great views, as you can see on his pictures.
He was also interested in climbing The Scott Memorial so we started our very leisurely walk in that direction, with a bathroom break at Waverly. While we were there we went in a coffee shop where I had a very good cup of hot chocolate and DS had juice.
By the time we got to The Scott Memorial, it was a beautiful sunny day. This was another opportunity for me to rest on a park bench while he climbed. And the people watching was much better here. (Not that it didn't start out well earlier!) He got a real kick out of climbing the memorial. And the certificate they gave him! As you can again see from his pictures, the views were really nice.
Continuing at our leisurely pace, we then went back over to the Royal Mile. We never did get in St. Giles and I guess it must have been too late by the time we got there that day. But we sat outside for a while and watched to see how many people would spit on the heart-shaped design in the cobblestones that marks the spot where criminals used to be executed. Quite a few did!
Our next stop was Greyfriars Cemetery. I'd read enough about it to be curious and DS was interested in learning more about Greyfriars Bobby. We saw his grave and walked around a bit. It was interesting that the only shop we saw in the cemetery is devoted to the occult. I've heard really good things about the ghost tour there but I think it'd be a bit too intense for me.
By then it was time to start thinking about finding a place for an early dinner and heading back to the hotel. We knew we had to have an early night. A pub called Greyfriars Bobby was right there and we figured fish and chips in a pub was a very fitting last meal in Scotland. The fish we had there was hake which I was afraid might be a tad strong tasting. But it was very good. DS ordered curry sauce to go with his and we each had a beer. I can't find the receipt but the credit card statement shows $35.15.
On the way back to Waverly, we passed The Elephant House Cafe where J.K Rowling wrote much of Harry Potter. Of course, I had to take a picture. I might have missed the London Walks Harry Potter tour and platform 9 3/4 but at least I got to see that!
Before catching the bus, we ran in Waverly to make one last Marks & Spencer stop. We meant to get curry sauce but completely forgot. When we remembered later that evening, we thought, oh well, SIL would have taken some back. Turns out he bought it, but forgot to take it. I'm guessing his parents will have some with them when they visit at the end of September! We did pick up a couple of other things and ran in another shop for a can of cider and a can of beer for the hotel.
On the ride into town, we'd been relieved to hear the driver announcing all of the stops and noticed that he seemed to be stopping at them. But, on the ride back, we began to realize that this guy wasn't making any announcements at all! And wasn't making very many stops. (Not that the airport bus stops a lot, but I'm not sure he stopped at all.) So when we thought it looked like we were getting close to the hotel, we went up and stood in the aisle near the front of the bus. I know he saw us! But he announced the Hilton stop as he was actually passing it! When I asked him whether he was going to stop, he said, "You didn't ring the buzzer". I know it was probably stupid of me, but I didn't know there <i>was</i> a buzzer! No one else had rung it coming or going. I know that city buses have buzzers. But this wasn't a regular city bus. Fortunately, it wound up not being too much of a hassle. The airport was the next stop. Though we had to wait a few minutes there, he did make sure to drop us on the return trip! And you better believe we rang that darn buzzer!
After we got settled in back at the hotel, DS wanted to go down and find out about getting internet. I can't remember exactly what the cost was, but it wasn't cheap. However, I agreed because we needed to send a couple of emails. But while I was standing at the desk getting ready to pay, DS was sitting in the lounge picking up their wireless. The woman said she didn't know how long it would last but to just go ahead and use it while we could. So I got a Boddingtons from the bar and we sat in the lounge for a while.
Fortunately, the Hilton had a very nice bathtub so once again I had a soak and a glass of beer!
When we settled down for the night around 11:00, I looked out the window and, while the sky wasn't exactly light, neither was it really dark. Almost depressing when I realized that when we got home the next day, even though it was the longest day of the year, it'd be dark by 9:00.
Aug 14th, 2009, 12:51 PM
#35
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<b>June 21st: The End of a Wonderful Journey</b>
With the aid of an alarm clock, the wake function in the TV and the alarm in my son's phone, we managed to get up at 5:30. We were very pleased with the Hilton's free airport shuttle. It was there, waiting, when we walked out of the hotel. The driver was very pleasant and loaded our luggage for us. There were just two other passengers. Not only did we make it on time, we were at the airport before Aer Lingus was open for check in!
Because we left from Ireland, I wrote about the rest of the trip in that report. Including the problems we had checking in for our flight in Edinburgh. If you're interested, it's at the end:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...m#last-comment
Thank you so much to those of you who've read these reports, giving me a chance to relive this amazing trip. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself now! I spent from January to the end of May planning, from May 31st until June 21st traveling and from June 27th until today writing about it! In a way, it's a relief to be finished with the reports. But in another, it's going to leave a big hole!
Oh well, I guess I have no choice but to get up out of this chair and get busy getting ready for the school year to start for me and getting DS ready to move into his apartment at school.
Boy, is it going to be hard to drop him at school after spending so much time with him this summer! I sure am grateful for the memories we've made.
With the aid of an alarm clock, the wake function in the TV and the alarm in my son's phone, we managed to get up at 5:30. We were very pleased with the Hilton's free airport shuttle. It was there, waiting, when we walked out of the hotel. The driver was very pleasant and loaded our luggage for us. There were just two other passengers. Not only did we make it on time, we were at the airport before Aer Lingus was open for check in!
Because we left from Ireland, I wrote about the rest of the trip in that report. Including the problems we had checking in for our flight in Edinburgh. If you're interested, it's at the end:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...m#last-comment
Thank you so much to those of you who've read these reports, giving me a chance to relive this amazing trip. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself now! I spent from January to the end of May planning, from May 31st until June 21st traveling and from June 27th until today writing about it! In a way, it's a relief to be finished with the reports. But in another, it's going to leave a big hole!
Oh well, I guess I have no choice but to get up out of this chair and get busy getting ready for the school year to start for me and getting DS ready to move into his apartment at school.
Boy, is it going to be hard to drop him at school after spending so much time with him this summer! I sure am grateful for the memories we've made.
Aug 14th, 2009, 12:54 PM
#36
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CAPH52, thank you again for sharing your wonderful journey with us. It only took 6 weeks to write all 4 segments of your trip report!
It is really wonderful you got to spend this time with your son. I'm sure he'll cherish it as much as you do.
It is really wonderful you got to spend this time with your son. I'm sure he'll cherish it as much as you do.
Great report, thank you so much for taking us along!
Aug 14th, 2009, 02:18 PM
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Great reports, all, CAPH52!
Any next trip plans? ;-)
I don't think I saw if you made the Edinburgh Museum or People's Story? The former has a Greyfriar's Bobby display. I discovered that fortunately and now tell anyone interested!
Any next trip plans? ;-)
I don't think I saw if you made the Edinburgh Museum or People's Story? The former has a Greyfriar's Bobby display. I discovered that fortunately and now tell anyone interested!
