Scotland Trip Report--Day 14--Edinburgh

For breakfast, we were set up in a suite rather than the main restaurant. The downside was that the food was not nearly as good or as varied. The upside was knowing everyone there and being able to sit with someone else. I sat with Alanna and Carl. Afterwards, I ran out to the ATM to get some cash before boarding the coach for our tour of Edinburgh.
Our guide, Pat, was great. She was very knowledgeable (she’s been doing this for 26 years), and easy to hear and understand. It helped that I was in row 2 of the coach! We started our tour in New Town, and Pat told us all about Robert Louis Stevenson. We saw the house where he lived as a small, sickly boy, and heard about how he would watch the lamplighter come to light the street lamps each evening. It was kind of sad, really. We then drove past Arthur’s Seat, a flat area of the mountain which was formed from an old volcano.
Our first stop was the Palace of Holyrood (Holy Cross) Apparently the king was out hunting on a Holy Day, and was attacked by an animal. He prayed for forgiveness and promised to build an abbey on the site if he could be spared. The animal got tangled in his cross necklace, struggled free, and ran away. So he built the abbey and called it Holyrood. It’s from the 12th century, but is mostly in ruins. The part still standing is beautiful though. The palace itself was built by King James 4 and 5. It is enormous! The rooms (which we were unfortunately unable to photograph) were all huge, and very ornate. In the Grand Gallery there are paintings of all the kings and queens of Scotland. When the king had them all done, of course no one knew what these people had looked like (way, way, way before photographs!) so he rounded up people from around the countryside and painted them, and then just put the king’s nose on all of them!
We saw part of the royal apartments, where the current royal family stays when they visit. These are rooms they actually use! The queen comes up every June for a week, bringing 200 staff and servants!!! Good gussie, no wonder the taxes here are so high!
We drove up through the city, passing the University and the museum, and we got a nice closeup of Greyfriar’s Bobby. This little dog belonged to a policeman (long, long ago). When the man died, the dog marched along in the funeral procession and laid down on the grave. The local shopkeepers would entice him away with food, but every evening, before the graveyard was locked up for the night, Bobby would be back at his master’s grave. When he died, 14 years later, he was buried nearby. What a nice little doggie!
Next we went to the castle. Unlike last year, when we were totally fogged in, the view today was magnificent! I had already seen the Crown Jewels and the War Memorial, but I did go and see St. Margaret’s Abbey and also the POW display. I took lots of pictures too, of all the buildings there. I walked down from the castle to Princes Street, stopping to get a Tshirt for Danny and postcards for Mom. I also got some bottled water from M&S--much cheaper there than at the hotel!
Tea at the Palm Court was at 2:30, with Peg & Pete and Alice Ann & Dick. It was delicious! The sandwiches were sort of odd combinations, but were very good. I still like the egg mayonnaise best! There were 3 kinds of scones, with jam and clotted cream, and 4 different cakes. (one was mocha and another was just gross, so I skipped those 2) We had a good time.
From there I headed out in search of a luggage lock and a mohair coat. I had found a lock at Jenners department store, but it wasn’t TSA approved, and the one that was was a huge thing with a strap--not what I wanted. The concierge had sent me over to the shopping mall, but the store he mentioned didn’t have them. I finally did find one at the big department store in there. So now I can lock my luggage on the way home! I then went down to the store the concierge had called about the mohair coats. Unfortunately, he did not specify women’s coats, and they only had one, which was too small, and not a good color. So I guess I am out of luck on this one. Maybe I will treat myself to a cashmere sweater instead. In any event, it was a very long walk, so I probably burned off a good bit of my tea!
I went back to the room to rest awhile before setting out again for more shopping/browsing and a light dinner. I went out about 6 and walked up to the Royal Mile. The Fringe Festival people were out in force! 5 people dressed in Superman costumes, but with an ‘M’ instead of the ‘S’. People with hair dyed neon colors in bizarre styles. Street performers and speakers. And crowds. LOTS of crowds! I got some castle postcards for Mom and looked in quite a few cashmere and woolen stores. I found a really nice cashmere sweater for a reasonable price, but the Large was much too big, and the Medium was just a wee bit snug. Oh well. I love all the wool capes and wraps, but I honestly can’t see myself wearing one at home. And nothing else really struck my fancy.
About 7 I decided to find somewhere to have dinner. A few places looked good, but had long waits. I stumbled upon a tiny little place offering sandwiches and baked potatoes. Perfect! I ordered a baked potato with cheese and beans, and sat down with my Kindle for a nice, relaxing meal. When I finished, and started back down the Royal Mile, my feet and knees informed me in no uncertain terms that they had had quite enough walking for the day, thank you very much. So I returned to the hotel about 8 and gave them a much needed rest.