View from the castle over Edinburgh towards Arthur's Seat
Full Cooked Scottish Breakfast:
Toast with butter
Sausage
Bacon
Blood Pudding
Haggis
Eggs
Tomato
Coffee
The Elephant House, where JK Rowling started to write Harry Potter
Sunrise from Greyfriar's cemetery, just across the street from my hostel
Loch Lomond
Cemetery at Stirling Castle
Cemetery at Stirling Castle
Traditional Scottish Folk Music
Sunrise from Arthur's Seat
Ben Lomond, home sweet home
Coming down from Arthur's Seat
Looking towards Calton Hill
Hog in a window. They were making sandwiches out of this guy. Yes I tried one. Yes it was delicious.
Edinburgh was my favorite British city. It has such a great mix of old and new, architecture and nature, churches and pubs; all within walking distance from each other.
I arrived on a Sunday afternoon in the midst of full fledged Christmas atmosphere. Stalls vending seasonal foods and trinkets lined the streets and boy did the families flock! I found a good hostel easy enough, dropped off my stuff and set out on foot. My first stop was the Museum of Scotland, chronicling Scotland from when it was a bunch of volcanoes up to the present. I dined that night on Haddock and Chips with Mushy Peas and two pints of Scotland's finest lager, Tennents. Think Budweiser for Scots...
Up early on Monday to be through the doors quickly, Edinburgh Castle took much longer than I had anticipated. Who knew that there are three different museums inside the castle, plus the National War Memorial? The views from the ramparts were captivating and I spent much time on the walls looking at rooftops and far away hills. After the castle I visited the National Gallery, Edinburgh's New Town, Calton Hill and North Bridge. That night I went on a "Ghost Tour" through the dark windy streets of Old Town and deep down into Victorian era vaults that are genuinely creepy.
On Tuesday I took a wonderful bus tour. We drove from Edinburgh to Glasgow, then Glasgow to Loch Lomond for a windy but well worthwhile boat ride. While on the boat I met eyes and shared a smile with two young girls who were also on my tour. From Loch Lomond we drove up into the Trossachs, the mini highlands where Rob Roy stole all those cows. After the Trossachs we journeyed down to Stirling and spent the rest of the afternoon at the castle and wandering around the beautiful compact town. Back at the hostel I took a short nap before going to the lobby with the intent of joining the pub crawl...and who should be there but the two young ladies from my tour. They were heading out to drink but weren't too keen on the pub crawl idea. So we set out together and came across some great live music and a very welcoming Scotsman named Ronald McDonald. He offered me a bit of advice that his father gave him before he left home. "If you want to live a drama free life...avoid cars and women!"
Wednesday Morning I was up before sunset to climb Arthur's Seat, a large hill towering over Edinburgh. It was cold, windy, I lost my hat, and got some major brain freeze, but watching the sun rise over Edinburgh on Christmas eve is one of the finest memories I have from my trip. I made my way back down to Edinburgh to the portrait gallery to pay tribute to my dad's best buddy Montrose. At Waverly Station I boarded my train a comfortable 10 minutes before it left, Sedbergh bound, smiling from the last three days.
A lone guitarist captures the mood of empty Edinburgh streets. A lively Scottish Folk band sets the pub atmosphere.
