Blogs from Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 15

On September 27, 2014, I went to see a concert in Glasgow. Normally, this wouldn’t really be blog worthy but I didn’t really go under normal circumstances. First of all, the show I went to was a rap show. As many of you know very well, I have spent the majority of my life looking down my nose at rappers and those who enjoy such lowbrow rubbish. I would like to take this moment to issue a formal apology to the world for that. I’ve learned and I am sorry. While I still maintain that rap is largely derogatory towards women and overly glorifies material wealth, it has occurred to me that rap is not the only genre to do so and thus I’m a bit of a hypocrite for ignoring that flaw when enjoying music ... read more

Some highlights since last time: On Thursday, October 2, the GUU hosted their annual Oktoberfest party. I went with Ashlee, and we were really impressed by the event. They had long tables in the debate room, and a live band that played music and got everyone involved in different movements. There was a lot of swaying back and forth and raising your glass. They were selling beer steins, which I got as a souvenir from the evening. They were supposed to be charging more to fill them, since they hold around 2 pints. However, I got there early enough in the evening so they hadn't figured that out. Basically, I got two pints for the price of one. Always a great start to an evening. Saturday evening there was a whisky tasting at the QMU that ... read more

I checked this place out yesterday. It's a nice walk from my accommodation to the castle, which is about 3 miles outside of Edinburgh. Craigmillar Castle is a late-medieval stone castle built around the 1400s. Mary, Queen of Scots 'vacationed' at the castle at least two times that historians know of. The location was highly desirable because of its convenient distance from Edinburgh and because the area was rich with game. Mary and many other affluent people enjoyed the castle as a way to escape the constant scrutiny of the people in the city and to partake in hunting activity. Unfortunately, as time progressed, the castle was regarded as old and outdated; thus, it was abandoned for some time and fell into disrepair. There's virtually no props throughout the castle so all of the rooms are ... read more

Part 1: Edinburgh - Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle Part 2: Edinburgh - Calton Hill and Greyfriars Area Part 3: Scottish Highlands and Urquhart Castle/Loch Ness Whenever you see an image of Edinburgh from any travel magazine, it is nearly always from the top of Calton Hill with the Dugald Stewart Monument in the foreground. This is a very iconic part of the city and is a great place to have the kids run around, take in the city skyline, and have a picnic lunch. On top of Calton Hill, there are several buildings of differing origin showcasing an interesting mix of architecture. The unmistakably Greek-styled Dugald Stewart Monument sits across from the similarly styled National Monument of Scotland, which oddly sits unfinished and is therefore known by several names such as “Scotland’s Disgrace”. Next ... read more

Geo: 55.9503, -3.18761This report covers the final days of my stay in Edinburgh.The Royal Military Tattoo on Friday was wonderful so I looked forward to seeing it again on Saturday at 10:30 pm. This time my seat was on the side in order to get a different view of the tattoo. As it turns out this was a good decision: some of the performers never advanced down the parade ground – all their action took place in the area immediately in front of Edinburgh Castle so folks who had the most expensive seats did not get a good view. This is why there are no photographs of, for example, the New Zealand Maoris from Friday but there is one from Saturday.In addition to the massed pipe and drum players recruited from units throughout the Scottish military ... read more