A couple of anecdotes first . . .
My taxi driver from the Rutland Hotel to the train station picked up on my Yank's accent in no time. He had been to the States several times and especially loved Florida. In fact, he wanted to move to Florida. The paperwork, though, is prohibitive, he told me; the wait for it to be approved is even worse. He had tried twice to get approval and failed each time. The closest to living in the States he would get was the Ford Mustang he had bought several years back. He absolutely loved that Mustang. I asked him if he still had it--no, was the answer. He had sold it to finance his latest trip to the States, which was some three years prior.
Now you have to understand that Ford doesn't make Mustangs with the steering wheel on the right-hand side, so they can be somewhat difficult to drive in the U.K. When I brought up that point, he waved his hand as if he were brushing off a fly. Didn't matter, he said. It only made the drive more exciting!
Right before he let me off at the station, he told me to be grateful that I lived in the States. If he could have anything in the world, it would be that. For now, he said, he would have to be content to just visit when he could. I wish I had asked him his name. And yes, I am grateful that I get to live in the beautiful state of Florida.
Since visitors living outside the U.K. get to purchase their train tickets at a deeply-discounted rate, which includes up-grading to first class, and U.K. citizens pay through the nose for their tickets, Amanda and I traveled in separate classes to Edinburgh. Insert sad face here. But she told me some things to watch out for on the way up. One thing I did not get a photo of was a very, very tall rail bridge that we crossed over. With a curve in the middle of it. Very scary-looking it was, but as I'm alive to tell the tale, you know we made it across unscathed.
One note of correction -- in a post or two back, I included photos of the North Sea on my train ride. Well, I didn't take those on my train ride to Sheffield. I took them on my train ride to Edinburgh, as the train travels very close to the North Sea on that route. See, this is what happens when you allow too much time to pass before putting all these photos and narrative on a blog! The memories get a bit mixed up. Now that everything is sorted, on with the story.
When we arrived in Edinburgh, the first thing we did was locate our hotel, which was only 1/2 block from the train station--how convenient! The place was very basic; my room, clean but sparse. Again, I should have taken a photo of my view out the window. It was a brick wall. Amanda's room looked out onto the street, which sounds much more desirable until it was three in the morning and all the party-people decided to sing at the top of their lungs. But now I'm just getting ahead of myself.
We took a very few minutes to unpack and freshen up before out we went to explore. The great thing about our hotel was its location on one of the main city streets. This first view is the train station clock tower (only 1/2 block from the hotel), which Amanda informed me is always set five minutes fast so people are less likely to miss their train.
Walking along a little farther, this monument was built to honor Sir Walter Scott. To the left, you can see the Edinburgh Castle up on the hill. A very high hill.
Here's a better view of the castle from that same vantage point.
We walked down a block or two so I could get this unobstructed shot of the castle.
Amanda decided that we should waste no time and therefore should climb up to the castle straightaway. Yes, all the way on foot. Of course, she didn't inform me of her decision until we were about halfway there, and I had to ask. Until then, I was blissfully ignorant of her dastardly plan. From the main street, we took a left onto this road where all the tour buses began their trips.
When we reached those buildings you see past the tour buses (above photo), we took a right and went about a block before coming to this intersection. After crossing the intersection, we continued our climb in front of the scaffolded building and on to the tiny-in-the-distance stone wall that curves back to the left.
This is a close-up of that curved stone wall.
This is the view looking back once you reach the curve. Notice the clock tower and the Sir Walter Scott monuments? And the tour buses in the second photo below? And remember how we were just there? Mmmhmm.
Once you reach this curve, you kind of wish you hadn't because the steep view in front of you looks too daunting to take on. Or maybe that's just me. I did hear two little girls voice to their mother, "This is too steep!" "Keep walking, girls; you'll be fine," was her reply. Kind of the same thing that Amanda said to me. I think I only took one or two resting breaks on the way up. And if we'd had a tank of oxygen with us, I wouldn't have minded sucking on that tube for a few minutes. But we didn't, so I deeply inhaled fresh Scots' air and carried on.
Make it to the top I did, and here is the view looking back down the steep, cobbled road. That body of water in the distance is the Firth of Forth.
As I stood in that position in the photo above, then turned to my left, what did I see but . . . the entrance to the castle! And more climbing.
Before we entered the archway, we stepped over to the left to enjoy the view.
Special story about this place below, and I'm sure to get the story somewhat muddled but I'll do my best to recollect those foggy details. A noted Edinburgh gentleman wanted to be sure that his many, many employees would have a suitable place to educate their sons. Now, these employees were simple blue-collar-type workers who couldn't afford a good education for their kids, so the man built a school where their sons could receive that fine education. This is the place he built. But the story doesn't end there. When the movie-making people-responsible-for-that-sort-of-thing were scouting around and getting ideas for what Hogwarts (you know, of Harry Potter fame) should look like, they spied this building and said, "That's it! That's Hogwarts!" Bet you'll never watch another Harry Potter movie without thinking of this story.
After we got our fill of looking off to that side, we walked over and looked back down on the city of Edinburgh. There's a beautiful park that stretches down and away from the castle, too. The Firth of Forth is much better seen from here. So glad that Amanda tricked me into the climb! And I survived just fine, so I can't complain.
The town you see on the right across the firth is called Forth. Hence, the body of water (called a firth) is named the Firth of Forth. Trying saying that ten times real fast.
The buildings at the very top of the photo below . . . see the road in front of them and the teeny tiny people walking? Yeah, that's where we started our climb. I'll shut up now about how high it was and how far we climbed. Just know that we did it again the next day, too.
Once you reach the castle--which we did not tour; I didn't want to take the time--you are at the highest point of the Royal Mile, a street that is misnamed because it's not quite a mile. So walking from the castle was all downhill. And fun, because there are a ton of shops and places to eat on the Royal Mile. It's where Amanda and I bought postcards and souvenirs, including an official Scottish tartan wool blanket. At the bottom of the hill (which we never made it to) is Queen Elizabeth's castle, Holyrood House, where she stays when she's in Scotland.
Looking back up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle.
Looking down the Royal Mile to the Firth of Forth.
This was a little alleyway that jutted off the Royal Mile. It reminded me of the entry to Diagon Alley in Harry Potter.
As we were walking down the Royal Mile, Amanda pointed out a street and said, "The Elephant House is down this way." I had no idea what she was talking about. "You know, The Elephant House, the cafe where J. K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book because she was too poor to afford heat in her flat, so she bought a little pot of tea and made it last all day so she could sit in the warmth and write." Oh, that Elephant House. So of course we had to go in and buy a sweet and beverage and sit where J. K. Rowling sat. I didn't even know that she was from Edinburgh!
This is the plaque paying homage to her on the wall.
Then we visited a wonderful children's museum just so Amanda could show me the architecture inside.
This clock was the coolest thing ever! And very large!
By this time we were both getting hungry. Since we were still on the Royal Mile, there were so many places to choose from and I kept on insisting that it be an authentic Scottish place. When it started to rain, I wasn't so picky then and ran inside a restaurant. I had to laugh when Amanda pointed out to me the name--it was all American food! Fortunately, they still had a good selection of local fare. The waiter's Scottish accent was so thick I had a difficult time understanding him at first. And he was funny, cracking jokes and just a tad flirty. Though Amanda urged me on to try haggis, I just couldn't be that adventurous. Our waiter assured me their fish and chips were excellent, so I got that. Uh, wish I hadn't. But dessert was excellent.
So glad that the rest of our walking was all downhill back to the hotel. We turned in early to be fresh for the next day of Edinburgh sightseeing.
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