Blogs from Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 10

Geo: 55.9503, -3.18761Who would have thought that a weekend trip to Edinburgh would result in seeing the Queen! Twice!I had gone there to spend some time with my brother Richard, and Rikki.I was pleasantly surprised by Edinburgh, and at the time we were there, there were a few events happening which made it more action packed than first thought.In the morning we realised that the day coincided with the opening of Scottish Parliament and the Queen was there for a visit.We decided to see what the fuss was about and grabbed prime position to see the Crown and the Queen and Price Phillip arrive in to parliament, flanked by a big entourage of the Scottish Guard. Afterwards there was a parade and also the pride. The streets were pretty busy but it made for quite an ... read more

I started my journey yesterday, when my neighbor gave me a ride to the Beacon Metro North Station. The journey to Grand Central Station was uneventful, but once I got outside, the airport shuttle service I had used before wasn't there anymore. Admittedly, I hadn't used this service in the last 4 years. In all my preparations for this trip, I didn't check this....I naturally assume it would be there. I asked the nearby newspaper vendor and he pointed me in the right direction, the location was moved to a few blocks away. Considering I was taking an international flight and the horror stories I heard about long lines at security check at the airport, I was nervous until I found the shuttle location, paid and sat down. As it turned out, the rest of the ... read more

Geo: 55.9503, -3.18761 It has been a week since we flew to Scotland, and I am trying to remember what all we loved about Edinburgh. The Castle, Tron Kirk, George Heriot's School, and Greyfriars Kirk all stand out in memory since they are some of the impressive castles and cathedrals that delight the eye upon entering Edinburgh. Simply walking around looking at these marvelous structures is exciting and uplifting. And there are stories galore about body snatchers, grave robbers, ghosts, people who survived hangings, an underground city of the dead, haunted graveyards, all of which tend to lend a mysterious air to the city. And for Harry Potter fans visiting Edinburgh is a must! It is easy to understand why the medical school needed cadavers for their students to study anatomy, and therefore many freshly dead ... read more

Scotland: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Castles and Edinburgh As we tendered off the cruise ship into the port of Queensferry, we struck up a conversation with a lady and we asked where she was from, and she said “Fresno, California”. She was traveling alone but with a group of 9. The tender went under an incredible railroad bridge that has been designated as a UNESCO World heritage site. We also saw two other suspension bridges, one just under construction, for auto’s traveling into the City of Edinburg. Dave, Sharon and Jean have been to Edinburgh before. So Sharon and Dave decided to do their own walking tour and we decided to do the “Hop On, Hop Off” bus just to get an hour’s tour of the overall city before deciding on what we specially ... read more

The overnight bus puttered along. The guy next to me was sound asleep. A few hours earlier we had chatted about stem cells, regeneration, biomedicine. He was working on his PHd in pluripotent stem cell therapy. Never know who you'll meet on these long rides. The bus pulled into Edinburgh Station at around six in the morning. The weather was crisp and overcast. Scattered showers were abound. I walked passed Prince street and crossed the Waverley Bridge into the medieval looking old town. Edinburgh has a rich history that goes back a long time. It used to be called Auld Reek because of the putrid smell that was endemic a few centuries ago due to overpopulation and unsanitary conditions. Today it has beautiful Victorian style architecture and draws tourists from around the world. I walked towards ... read more