6 April 2023
Flight left Brisbane 2 hours late, which put pressure on us making our connection in Dubai. Luckily we were able to make the connection – lots of fast walking, catching a train between terminals, and a quick pitstop at the Emirates Lounge. Able to sleep on both flights, so arrived in Glasgow feeling very alert and rested.
Collected rental car and hit the M8 to drive through to Edinburgh. Lots of farm land and wind turbines on the way. Traffic was fine, once we were out of Glasgow. So interesting to see signs referring to placenames that I have only seen in Scottish records – suddenly it is feeling very real.
Staying in a hotel in Canongate St, just down along the Royal Mile towards the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
After a shower and clothing change, went for a walk up the Royal Mile up
to Edinburgh Castle. Very commercial/touristy. Lots of tartan, whisky, knitwear
shops. Popped into St Giles which has the most amazing stain glass windows. Dinner
in a pub at the bottom of the Royal Mile, then carried on walking down to
Holyroodhouse Palace which is unfortunately currently closed. The early evening
sun showed off the amazing colours of Arthurs Seat. Wandered back up past the
Canongate Kirkyard, where my 5th gt grandparents (John Anderson and Charlotte Menzies) are buried. Looking
forward to more exploring tomorrow.
7 April 2023 Good Friday
Woke up to a sunny but cold morning. Walked over to Princes Street and St James Quarter for breakfast at Café Nero. Rog had purchased a 48 hour pass for the Bright Bus Tours Hop On Hop Off bus. This company run a city tour and a Britannia tour. This morning we took the city tour bus for a full loop, then walked down Princes Street to Dean’s Village. Dean’s Village is a very picturesque village on the banks of the River Leith – you really do feel like you are in the country, not in the centre of Edinburgh. We followed the river path along the Leith and gradually walked our way back up to Princes Street, stopping for lunch in a pub. On the way back up to Princes Street, we discovered Rose Street, which is a long non-vehicle street full of pubs, restaurants and shops (but mainly pubs). This street has a colourful history dating back to when the New Town was first designed and built.
We then jumped back on the Hop on Hop off bus to take us around to Grassmarket.
We couldn’t believe how busy it was, with lots of characters both local and
tourists. Dogs are very welcome throughout Edinburgh, including in pubs, restaurants
and shopping centres, and we certainly saw lots of them as we sat at
Grassmarket listening to the buskers and watching the world go by. We then wandered
back up towards the castle via Victoria Street, which is a very colourful and
ancient street. It was so pretty. We then decided to go to the National Museum
of Scotland, which was huge and really overwhelming. There seemed to be no
pattern to it’s collections so it was quite exhausting trying to get our
bearings. It probably didn’t help that there were so many children running
around. After spending about an hour at the museum, we ventured back towards the
Royal Mile, visiting Greyfriars Bobby on the way. Bobby was a dog who would
visit his masters grave every day for (I think) 12 years. There is a lovely
little statue of him, with a very rubbed nose. We had a walk through the
Greyfriars Kirkyard which was full of very old and interesting graves – would have
loved to have had a bit more time to explore it. Rog had booked a whisky tour
at the Scotch Whisky Experience on the Royal Mile up near the castle. This was
90 minutes of learning about whisky and tasting five different whiskies. Whisky
is not really my thing but I actually learnt lots and really did enjoy the
tour. After the tour we walked back to Rose Street for dinner at a pub. Rog
tried haggis, neaps and tatties, which seems to be a popular dish around here.
It was very flavoursome and warming. I think we will sleep well tonight – it has
been a huge day (27000+ steps).
No comments:
Post a Comment