Scotland: Edinburgh

We had made it!  Our first night in Scotland was a mix of sort of sleeping and lying wide awake with excitement only to fall asleep until 9AM!  It was wonderful and we woke up to a cloudy, rainy Scotland. Perfection.

We donned all of our coats and rain gear and hit the town.  Coffee in the Grass Market to star.

Edinburgh is so much fun. This city was where JK Rowling found Harry Potter. Point in fact we walked by the coffee shop that she had the idea spark.  Her youngest daughter still attends school there AND much of the Harry Potter world was modeled after the buildings and closes.  

There is a wealth of history in Edinburgh and we walked miles and miles in search of it.  This little statue of Bobby is a well known spot.  It's a cute story about a very loyal dog and his unwillingness to leave the side of his owner.  I had to touch his nose...of course.

Bob and I found our way to the History Museum of Scotland.  It was a nice break from the rain and we had a great time searching its halls.  I was anxious to get my mind on much of the Jacobite history surrounding the area since I am of course a die hard Outlander Fan!

Bob found the Lipstick rocket and science area.

And of course some golf history too!

Then we got to the Jacobite area where we began our education of what lead the Bonnie Prince Charlie to lead the clans to utter destruction at Culloden.

It rained all day on us as we traversed the City and made our way around to the Royal Mile.  The Royal Mile is the main road that leads right into the Edinburgh Castle.  Its like the backbone and the streets and closes are the ribs.  Pretty Cool.

So about that Outlander thing I mentioned.  Diana Gabaldon started this story years ago about a WWI nurse who, during a visit with her husband to Scotland, touches a standing stone and falls back in time to 1743.  She of course meets a dashing, strong Highlander (who Bob likes to point out is very feminist for the time) and they begin this whirlwind beautiful romance and marriage spanning 250 years, wars, and history.  It gained so much popularity that it has become a show on STARZ oh and Netflix.  Bob and I love the show and I have fully immersed myself in the books.  This in itself is a feat given that there are 8 books (so far) 9 on the way, and each of them are on average 900 pages.  But guys, ITS SO GOOD!!!

The thing that Bob and I enjoy the most is that the relationship between Jamie and Claire spans the test of time.  Sure its fantasy, but their relationship is the kind of relationship Bob and I have and its refreshing to see a couple emulated on TV that loves each other through all phases, drama, hardships, and pain of life.  But I digress......

The entire show is filmed in Scotland so OF COURSE I built our itinerary around history in the books and places in the show.

Edinburgh had the Bakehouse Close aka Alexander Malcom's Print Shop (for fellow Sassenachs)

EEEEE, such a fun spot to stop at.

Even with the winding streets and nothing being on a 90 degree angle its very hard to get lost.  Everything leads to everything.  After the Bakehouse Close we made our way down Cochburn Street which was the inspiration for Diagon Alley (for all fellow Potterheads).  It feels like time travelling to be in an old city like this one.  Its magical and transformative, something America simply doesn't have.  After walking through Edinburgh, America is still such a baby!

This monument is dedicated to Sir Walter Scott an Author whose writings really influenced Edinburgh development and culture.

The Green Domed Government building. (Mary King's Close was under that......)

And arriving at Edinburgh Castle!

The castle has so much history especially for Mary Queen of Scots (man that woman got the raw deal), and the Stuarts (Scottish royalty who made the final attempt at reclaiming power at that fated Culloden Moor....spoiler alert.....they really didn't win).  Right now the castle remains a military outpost for that other palace Holyrood, that sits at the other end of the Royal Mile.  Holyrood is Queen Elizabeth's abode while in Edinburgh.  So much blood has run in the streets between British rule and Scottish rule.  I feel a bit like United Kingdom is an oxymoron.

At the top of the Edinburgh Castle grounds lies a tiny (so tiny) chapel that served Mary, James, and many of the Stuart royalty.  The door to enter was barely tall enough for me and was built circa 1300.  Man they knew how to build things to last.

After 6 hours, and 7 miles in the rain we were saturated and officially cold.  So we headed back to our flat to put on all the layers before finding our dinner spot.

We had so much great food in Scotland and thoroughly enjoyed trying a little Indian food spot on the Royal Mile.

That first night we absolutely had to find ourselves a whiskey spot and we nailed the location, Ensign Ewart it was called.  A little bar run by two very redheaded, very big, burly Scots.  One of the guys sat with us and taught us all about whiskey and the different regions of Scotland.

We drank so much whiskey and Bob had to pretty much carry me home.  So great.

On our tipsy walk home we decided to stop at this little bar right by our flat. It was opened by one of the actors in Star Wars so we couldn't NOT stop.  And because after all that alcohol, we wanted more.

So we topped it off with a cider and a Guiness and poured ourselves into our bed!

We were up at 8am the next day ready to press on to more adventure. (thank God we are still young enough to drink like that and have only minor headaches.)

Just a 1.5 mile walk from our flat is Arthur's Seat which is a gorgeous hike to the top of a mountain right in the center of Edinburgh.  The sun came out all day long and the weather was amazing!  So were the views.

In Scotland everything is straight up from the parking lot and Arthur's seat was no different.  In addition to that logic there are very few established trails and you can quite literally walk anywhere you want at your own risk.  There are no warning signs, there is just respect and adventure.  You walk anywhere you want and don't be a jerk. Whole Scottish philosophy.

I have finally gotten comfortable enough with my handstands to throw them up pretty much anywhere (that and my instagram boyfriend is amazing).  I couldn't wait to get some handstand pictures all throughout Scotland!

The Sky was showing off for us.

The Crags we discovered on the backside of Arthurs seat. Spectacular!

We popped down from the mountain and found ourselves in the Edinburgh University campus.  It was lovely and we walked home through a public park complete with food truck and Sausage Rolls.  Bob was in heaven.  We bought one, walked about 200 yards before turning back for another.

We got cleaned up and headed back up to the Royal Mile to explore some more!  With the sun out, the Bagpipers were out too.  So amazing. I love bagpipes and all three of the pipers we saw did not disappoint!

We visited St. Giles Cathedral, a gorgeous chapel right on the mile.

We found this little magical gem called the Writer's Museum.  Oh I just love it!

We also stopped and took the tour of Mary King's Close.  They didn't allow photography, but its an undergound close (the government building was built over it) that remains as it was back in the 13 century.  You see how the poorest lived and it was eye opening and disturbing.  Especially when the guide starts talking about the sanitary conditions during the plagues (both pneumonic and bubonic).  Oh it would have been horrible to be alive then.  Visiting this experience gave me new perspective and made me very grateful for the privilege I have especially during our own pandemic.

We had a delicious dinner of Highland Pie and Cullen Skink soup (delicious) and headed back to our little flat for our final night in Edinburgh.  What a City.  

Edinburgh was a wonderful first stop and a gorgeous place to start!  Now off to Stirling!