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Published: October 15th 2005
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Dan and Greyrfriar's Bobby
the most photographed statue in Edinburgh This weekend my family (minus Meg) made it to Edinburgh for their first trip to Europe! It was a really special weekend and full of memorable moments. I have to say, I have missed my family more while abroad then I do at Swarthmore, despite not really seeing them at school either.
They arrived on Friday morning, and without sleeping jumped into the day. I met my parents and Dan near my flat. We stopped at a cafe called Elephants and Bagels for coffee and some breakfast. It is a cafe that I go to fairly regularly. We then walked through campus and headed to my flat. After showing off my flat we headed out to see the city.
The first sight we saw was Greyfriar's Bobby. Bobby was a skye terrier who after the death of his owner maintained vigil over his grave for 14 years. We went into Greyfriar's Kirk where we saw Bobby's grave, his owner’s grave, and the original Franciscan church.
While walking we also walked past the Elephant House (same owner as E&B) which is one of the cafes that JK Rowling worked on the first Harry Potter at. The main cafe isn't
Dan and Me
At Adam Smith's grave such an attraction, as it has since been converted into an all you can eat Chinese buffet.
Afterwards we made our way to the Royal Mile and we stared to walk down. We stopped to get lunch at a great sandwich shop and then went to the Museum of Childhood. This was an extremely enjoyable stop, housing an enormous collection of toys, games, and other childhood items. It had great displays on dolls, fairy tails, and brought back many memories of childhood for both my parents and myself.
At this point my friend and flat mate met up with us as he hadn’t seen the Palace yet either, which ultimately is where we were headed. Anyway, we kept going down the Royal Mile and stopped first at a cemetery where we saw the grave of Adam Smith. Also on the way down we passed the Scottish Parliament Building which was extremely modern and in my opinion seemed very out of place with respect to the rest of the cities architecture.
We then made our way into the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Among other notable facts, Mary Queen of Scots spent six years living in the Palace. The most
Family
At the Palace of Holyroodhouse impressive feature of the Palace however was not inside, but rather the Holyrood Abbey, 12th and 13th century ruins of a church.
After this Jay headed back to the flat and the rest of us went to the hotel to get ready for dinner. I had made reservations at the Tower Restaurant, a very nice 'modern Scottish' restaurant. The restaurant is situated above a museum and was fantastic. Our table had an amazing view of the castle lit at night and the food was superb. Dan ordered a pigeon appetizer that we all tried and all of our main courses where delicious (scallops, venison, sea bass, duck). I had my first 'legal' drink with my parents, two different types of scotch with my Dad. After dinner Mom, Dad, and Dan, all exhausted headed back for a nice twelve hours of sleep.
I met my parents again the next morning at the hotel for breakfast which was great. It was an all you can eat buffet style and we all tried some haggis. Also the smoked salmon was incredible. We then made our way back to Royal Mile and going the opposite direction of yesterday, started our way to
the castle. Jay also met us along the way since he hadn't seen the castle yet either. On the way up we passed the Scotch Whiskey Heritage Center which I had been to earlier in the week with Jay, Steve (Jay's friend from high school who goes to Haverford and plays lax) and Pat (another Haverford student who also plays lacrosse).
We then got to the castle which was absolutely unbelievable. We spent a few hours just doing everything their. We saw the one o'clock gun, the Honours of Scotland (the Scottish crown jewels, a sword, crown, and sceptre), the Stone of Destiny, the Scottish National War Memorial, the Half Moon Battery, Mons Meg (a giant cannon), the National War Museum of Scotland, statues of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce (Braveheart!), tons of great views and more. It was really a fantastic way to spend a day with my family. I think my parents and Dan really enjoyed it and I know I had a blast.
After this we went back to the hotel for a while. Jay went to say goodbye to Steve and Pat who were heading back home (they were here for fall break).
Family
In the Abbey We rested at the hotel for a while before heading downstairs to have dinner at one of the hotels two restaurants. Jay met us back at the hotel for dinner. Dinner was again fantastic and we spent a lot of time talking.
After this I went up stairs to grab some things my parents had kindly brought over for me and to say goodbye (since they were leaving on an early flight Sunday morning).
It was really a fantastic weekend and it was really great to see my family after so long. It was really special to experience another country with everyone.
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Uncle Frank
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Delighted!
Hey, Anthony, super special to share all this with you: THANKS! Frank