Edinburgh, Scotland!

Edinburgh Airport

Tailor Hall Hotel and the Three Sister's Pub on Cowgate

A portion of my background is Scottish (my great-grandmother came from Stevenson), so I knew that I would one day have to visit the country that makes up some of my ancestry.  When I, after keeping a close eye on flight deals,  found a round trip direct flight from Toronto to Edinburgh for $400, I grabbed opportunity by the horns, and once again found myself on a trans-Atlantic flight (the best kind of flight in my opinion!).  This time however, learning from my past mistake, I landed in day-light, and began my Scottish adventure soon after dropping my luggage in my hotel room.  A quick note on my accommodations - we stayed at the hotel attached to the Three Sisters Pub on Cowgate, which gave us a convenient location from which to set about town.  It is historically significant as it was built in 1621, and converted into a hotel in the late 1990's. 

Edinburgh Castle

                Edinburgh has a comforting, slower paced feel to it, which beckons you to wander about its hilly layout without an itinerary and simply experience each of the sights for what they are rather than rushing to the next.  The most prominent feature of the town is the impressive, grand Edinburgh Castle perched atop a cliff-like escarpment over-looking the town.  It offers a great vantage point from which you can see the acropolis on Calton Hill, the Salisbury Craigs, the Palace of Hollyroodhouse (the Queen's Scottish residence & recently the backdrop for Zara Phillip's wedding), the Princes Street gardens and monument, and on a clear day, the North Sea!  

The Royal Mile

Edinburgh Castle

St.Giles Cathedral

Palace of Hollyroodhouse

                 The Royal Mile (composed of Castlehill, High Street, and Canongate), is a treasure trove  of things to do, see, eat and purchase.   Starting at Edinburgh Castle and making your way down towards the Palace of Hollyroodhouse, you can find yourself watching looms fabricate wool  apparel, visit St.Giles Cathedral for a moment of reflection, spend some time perusing one of the many museums on the Royal Mile, or catching a meal in one of the many pubs and restaurants (World's End Pub does a delicious Fish and Chips, or dine on one of the Filling Station's economical but filling meals!  

A 'creepy' close at night

Due to the physical geography of Edinburgh, the city was composed of a number of 'closes' (narrow, straight, deep alleyways that are towered over by the imposing buildings built high on either side of them).  Many of the closes still exist today and are named for the families that resided there (e.g. Borthwick's Close), or for the products that one could acquire there (e.g. Fleshmarket Close) in days past.  Once such close has become synonymous with myth, legend and rumours of ghosts, murders and the plague - Mary King's Close.  Although this particular close was once closed to the public, it was re-opened in 2003 as a tourist attraction, where one is taken down for a tour of the dark depths of the close and regaled with the stories that have made it famous.  If you are brave enough, it might be an attraction you would enjoy (truth be told I spent a great deal of time with either my eyes closed, or my ears plugged thinking 'happy thoughts')!   If  you are even more bold, you may opt to take a toured ghost-walk about the city with one of the many tour groups that offer such late night jaunts. 

               

The Princes Street Gardens

Monument in Princes Street Gardens

 The "Old Town" (Royal Mile area), is separated from the "New Town", and accessed by crossing a number of bridges (The Mound, Waverly Bridge and North Bridge).  By crossing one of the bridges, you will find Waverly Station (which provides easy train transport to neighbouring cities, other parts of Scotland and England), the Princes Street gardens (with its famous Scott monument), and a great deal of shopping along Princes Street (Marks and Spencer, Gap, Princes Mall, etc.).   Interestingly, the valley that is now home to the Princes Street Gardens and Waverly Station was formerly a freshwater lake come open sewer (from all the 'waste' flowing down from the closes of "Old Town"), called the Nor Loch.  The Nor Loch was drained of its contents in the early 19th century - perhaps all those years of 'fertilizer' is what makes its greenery so lush?!  Calton Hill makes for a nice afternoon stroll, or perhaps even a picnic lunch after a morning of shopping, or browsing the art work in the National Gallery of Scotland. 

The National Gallery of Scotland

The Scottish Highlands in all their glory!

               Although I could have spent my entire trip meandering around Edinburgh, there were other ventures that found me on a bus, touring the Scottish Highlands, viewing reminders of some of the legends that brought Scotland to what it is today (e.g. the Well of Seven Heads).  Breathtaking views (of Ben Nevis),  and a moment of reverence was found at the Commando Memorial (erected in 1952 by the Queen Mother), which seemingly rose after driving in the 'middle of nowhere'.    Last but not least on my itinerary was my venture out on a boat gliding across the murky waters of Loch Ness (unfortunately it was not a day that Nessie felt like revealing herself)!   From the boat, we saw a different viewpoint of the remains of Urquhart Castle (a former stronghold of medieval Scotland).  

The Commando Memorial

The remains of Urquhart Castle from on Loch Ness

               
 If you have a stomach of steel, and are willing to go out on a limb, order a full Scottish breakfast before the end of your stay, complete with black pudding, tattie scones and haggis - if you dare!! 

 

London England!

                     After years of dreaming and researching, I was actually on a plane to London, England - the number one spot on my "places to visit in my lifetime" list!   Little did I know (due to my inexperience in trans-Atlantic flight), that I was going to arrive at my destination under the cover of darkness and was in for a sleepless night thanks to time zone changes!!  However, I did learn from this experience when planning future trips (always take an overnight flight to arrive in your country of choice during the morning hours according to the local time - it makes the infamous jet-lag a lot easier to overcome)!  It is also much easier to 'get your bearings' for the area during that first ride in, when your path is well lit! 

                Of course being that it was my first time "across the pond," everything was fresh, different and exciting in the most delightful way!   I remember the little flutter in my belly hearing those lovely British accents all around me, seeing cars driving on the 'opposite' side of the road, and buildings out of another era all around me!  It truly was a magical experience from the very beginning, and I couldn't wait to take everything in that London had to offer me (and attempt to pull off an accent too of course)! 

                Due to the time of night that we arrived in to Heathrow, we had pre-arranged for a private car to pick us up at the airport and drop us off at our hotel door purely for safety reasons - if arriving during daylight hours, I would recommend saving yourself the 50 or more pounds, and taking public transit - at most International airports there are airport transfer shuttles or trains for a fraction of the cost of a cab if you are adventurous and didn't pack too heavy of luggage!  For the remainder of our trip, I navigated the London Tube like a pro, and got us to all of our destinations by the underground and on foot!  The Tube is notorious for being a confusing maze of underground trains, but as I had studied the Tube maps online for months before, and had planned out routes, stops and accounted for line transfers and direction of transport,  I thought its hype of being a conundrum was over-exaggerated.   It was a cheap and convenient way to move about the city. 


Westminster Abbey



                 Being in a city with as much history as London literally blew my mind.  As someone who has always appreciated the subtleties of architecture and art, my head was constantly turning, my senses in overload attempting to take in everything around me whether we were walking down a small side street, or staring up at a famous landmark.  Of course there were many typical tourist destinations (and places of notoriety), that were on my list of non-negotiable spots to visit.   We visited Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace (and saw the Queen's royal procession), the Tate, the Tower of London, St.Paul's Cathedral, strolled through Hyde Park, took in the hustle and bustle of Piccadilly Circus, strolled down the high end shopping districts of Knightsbridge and Brompton Roads (not without a visit to Harrod's), ate lunch in a pub in the basement of Covent Market, and the list goes on and on.  A word for the wise:  a photograph of you in a British phone booth makes a great keepsake.  However, you'll want to take a deep breath in and plug your nose prior to getting in.  That phone booth was probably used as a 'pit stop' for lads going on a pub crawl the night before!    



Statue infront of Buckingham Palace





The Thames with the London Eye to the right

                Some may think it too much of a cliche, but I thoroughly enjoyed my trip on the London Eye.  It offered a very unique perspective over the city.  The que was long, and it was quite costly, but in my opinion, worth the wait and the price!!  It was such a unique experience to view the Parliament buildings and Big Ben, the Gherkin, the Tower of London, and all of the famous bridges of London, from high up in the sky!   There are a few other activities I highly recommend when in London.  First, if there is a play being offered, definitely take in a performance at the Globe Theatre (we were fortunate that Othello was playing during our visit)!  What a genuinely rare treat to experience one of Shakespeare's masterpieces in a replica of the theatres they would have originally be played in!  Secondly, London is famous for its theatrical pursuits, and there are often many Broadway (and off-Broadway), play bills offered.   A tip that we learned that can have your bottom in a seat enjoying world-class theatre for a fraction of the cost is this:  on the day you wish to attend the theatre, head to the main box-office in Trafalgar Square.  Ticket prices are slashed the day of a performance to help them sell un-purchased seats - we saw an amazing production of Chicago for half-price!


Cast of Othello at the Globe Theatre

               There are so many things to see and do in London that you cannot possibly see everything in a week's time.  However, you would be remiss to visit London and not take any excursions out of the city.  There are many bus companies that offer reasonable fares (do your homework to get the best deal), to nearby locations such as Windsor Castle, Oxford University, and of course, the famous and mystical and much speculated about Stonehenge.  Going to these places by bus was convenient, and economical (and less dangerous than renting a car and teaching yourself to drive all over again!). 

Stonehenge

                Last but not least, after all the walking you'll be doing, you must remember to reward yourself with an authentically British dinner of fish and chips wrapped in newspaper with a side of mushy peas!    If you're feeling decadent, a dessert of scones with clotted cream would round of the meal nicely!    

Changing of the Guard Ceremony at Windsor Castle