The Gil Dun Guest House is a traditional building - like a old grand house - on a cul-de-sac in Old Town. This place is what I would describe as sophisticated and classy. Probably the nicest B&B I've ever seen. My room made me feel like royalty and my private (I'm the only one with a key) bathroom was about 8 feet away and enormous. AND my favorite part was that the heat, in all rooms but especially my bathroom, came on automatically before sun-up so it was always nice and toasty. We even had a menu with a list of choices for breakfast.
My room was a true single and only cost me 40 pounds about $62.00. The draperies were padded about 2 inches thick for warmth and blocking noise & light. I love this place. I definitely recommend this place.
Edinburgh was once the most crowded city in Europe - famed for its skyscrapers and filth. The rich and poor lived atop one another in buildings that were often more than 12 stories high. Edinburgh was a walled city so they built up not out for safety. The Scots, a feisty people, enjoy reminding Americans that THEY had the first skyscrapers not New York.
Most buildings are about as black as this - it was a rainy day - and that makes it difficult to really see the beauty underneath. Edinburgh is divided into two parts: Old Town - a short bus ride away and New Town - a short walk away. Old Town is where I stayed - it's more atmospheric, more affordable and recommended by my fearless leader - Rick Steves.
The main attractions are all well within walking distance of each other along the Royal Mile. Although the Royal Mile is touristy - shameless attempts at selling you crap - but worth a visit. What we call alleyways, the Yorkers call snickleways, the Scots call a "close". In days of yore the narrow passageways were closed off with a large locked metal gate. The closes lead to large squares famous author's houses and other streets.
Each close has a name, just like a street would. This one is named Anchor Close - you can barely see it here. I know I've said this before but one of my favorite things to do was to walk down one of these closes and find out what is on the other side. I love that kind of exploring.
The Edinburgh Castle Museum is a bit expensive but so worth the money. The entire structure takes at least 3 hours or more. The audio guide is one of the best I've heard. The information is historical, interesting and short enough to keep you from being bored but long enough to help you understand what is in front of you. Some of the structures inside the castle walls include the battery, the barracks, a cemetery for dogs of the royalty and military leaders, St. Margaret's Chapel, the Royal Palace, crown jewels and countless other things. Also on the grounds are the National War Museum and the Scottish National War Memorial.
Here's a strange tidbit: I saw several marathons on this trip. There was one in Edinburgh on my first full day. I don't know how they can run on those cobblestones. The reason I wasn't able to stay in the countryside during my time in Scotland was because there was a marathon at Loch Ness - I couldn't find a room anywhere! Regretfully, I didn't get to see the Scottish highlands on this trip but I will on my next trip!
I scheduled some extra time in Scotland so I could have some "time off" so to speak. At this point in my journey I was just exhausted. At first I mistakenly thought I was getting bored - if you can imagine that. There were a few mornings when I got up for breakfast but then went back to my room for a nap, I was that tired. Of course, I had to leave when the wanted to clean my room. After I got some rest, my excitement for the trip returned, as I knew it would.
The thistle is the national flower or icon, or something, of Scotland, and here's how they used that word to name a cute shop on the Royal Mile. Enlarge your screen to see the sign of the neighboring close just to the right of the shop.
One of the tourist things I saw was Gladstone's Land. Land means tenement, and these multistory building - in which merchants had their shops on the ground floor and lived above - were typical of the time. It's a merchant's home from the 16th to 17th century. Here's the link to the site to see some information. The building in the photograph with the curving staircase is Gladstone's Land.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladstone's_Land
Holy Rood Palace is where the Queen stays when she's in Edinburgh, which apparently is often. Since this palace is still inhabited it had a homey quality to it. I saw the Mary of Scots rooms where she was confined, the Scottish Royal Jewels, lavish rooms, the ruins of a 12th century abbey, the extensive grounds and countless other exhibits. The audio guide for this location was timed really well - just enough information to keep me interested but not too long - everything about this site was super cool.
I was sorely tempted in the gift shop by a tea cup and saucer set that was part of the royal collection - for selling to the public. There really wasn't any way to get it home without it breaking and I didn't want to carry it for another month so I resigned to not buy it but I stood there looking at for a very long time. Maybe when I go back to work I will buy it online or something. For those of you who know me well, when I have money to spend, I do enjoy spending it on mementos. Surprisingly, I wasn't interested in shopping on most of this trip. Probably because everything I looked at was one more thing to carry around or ship home which is expensive. The other issue was that I saw the same things in every city. I saw the same scarves in Florence that I saw in Edinburgh - no kidding. Same color, same fabric, everything. Plus the expected trite souvenirs. Maybe when you see that much stuff over and over again it just loses its appeal.
I did really enjoy Edinburgh and I'm glad I had some extra days there for resting and taking my time.
No comments:
Post a Comment