Trip Re-cap: Edinburgh

[mala_14]

First off, the train ride from London to Edinburgh is gorgeous! A lot of it goes along the coat and I got some decent shots of seaside towns. However, taking pictures from a moving train is not so easy, so I also got a lot of bad shots of the scenery. :-p

One of my favourite things to see was the baby animals. Lambs and calves were running around all over the place. So cute!

Edinburgh is a beautiful and highly picturesque place. I wanted to take pictures of everything. Even though the weather was a bit uneven, it still looked wonderful. We got in about the middle of the afternoon, so had time for lots of walking around.

I got a picture with the famous Greyfriars Bobby, a dog that kept watch over his master's grave at Greyfriars for 14 years. There are all sorts of great stories about Greyfriars Bobby, like that he used to go to Edinburgh castle to hear the one o'clock gun everyday and would then run down for dinner. (That white plastic bag I'm holding contains fabric! More on that later.)

The cemetery behind Greyfriars Kirk is gorgeous. It is terraced (Edinburgh is super hilly) with paths and trees all through the old gravestones.

Greyfriars Kirk is the yellow-ish building on the left.

St. Giles Cathedral was the only cathedral we were actually able to get into on this trip. It has a stunning vaulted ceiling and beautiful stained glass windows.


Edinburgh is even beautiful at night after a supper of a tasty haggis burger and sticky toffee pudding for dessert. (Haggis was something that I really wanted to try while in Scotland and a breaded and fried patty of it as a burger was a nice, non-threatening way to try it for the first time.)

The next day, after a small bit of shopping and some meat pies for lunch, we headed to Edinburgh Castle. It is quite imposing when approaching it from the road.

It is made up of buildings from medieval times to the last century. Quite a mix! St. Margaret's Chapel is the oldest part. It dates from the 12th century. The Victorians didn't know it was there and were planning on tearing that part down and rebuilding until someone discovered it.

I also saw the room where Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to James the VI and I, as well as the Scottish Crown Jewels. The Great Hall and other Stuart buildings were pretty fabulous.

However, one of the best things about Edinburgh Castle is the view. It was sunny by the time we left and wonderfully clear.

Apparently the views from Arthur's Seat (big hill seen from Edinburgh Castle) are also fantastic. We meant to climb it, but were too tired and footsore by the time we reached the foot of it.

We walked from one end of Edinburgh to the other, taking the Royal Mile which leads from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse (where the Queen stays).

The Royal Mile is filled with shops which are, in turn, filled with goods made from wool and cashmere. I wanted to touch and buy Everything. I settled for a plaid, lambswool scarf. Unfortunately, the pure cashmere ones were a bit out of my budget. It was a lovely walk, though long. And the end is also the bottom of Arthur's Seat.

After Edinburgh, it was back to London.

Comments

[girliegirl32786.livejournal.com]

Lovely photos! And sheep! I really think that was one of my favorite parts of visiting England. They seemed to be everywhere and with the green fields in the background, so quintessentially English!

[mala-14.livejournal.com]

Thanks! The sheep reminded me so much of the Emma Thompson Sense and Sensibility. They are everywhere in that movie!