Day 10 (In and around Edinburgh)

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It was a bit creepy last night. With no a/c and more insufferable heat I had to leave my floor to ceiling window wide open just to get some air flow. However, with all the construction being done on the facade of the hotel there was scaffolding right outside my window. If some enterprising thief had wanted to steal a nice digital camera, an MP3 player, a bottle of Scotch and an empty wallet, he could have easily shinnied his way up and into my room.

Breakfast was down in the deepest bowels of the hotel. It was a pretty decent spread but featured mostly cereals and juices. No eggs, bacon or hash browns. I made do with some toast and butter. Then washed it down with some decent orange juice.

When we left the hotel to board Mark's bus, the morning looked like the promise of rain with a thick mist settling over the town. This early in the morning there was a little nip in the air which was a welcome relief for me.

Mark drove us up the Royal Mile into a big parade ground just outside Edinburgh Castle. This is where the
Edinburgh Military Tattoo takes place during the month of August. In the evening military bands replete with bagpipers and kilts galore perform martial music for thousands of tourists in these very grounds.

It was at this point we met up with our kilted local guide who took us on a tour of the castle grounds. The castle is still an active military base but with a very small contingent of troops. The mist was much thicker up here at the top of the castle hill and the cobblestones were rather slippery. The tour was much too short. I could have spent hours looking around at the old historic rooms, museums and military paraphernalia.

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Photos

Edinburgh Castle
Here we wait in front of the castle standing in the area where the Edinburgh Tattoo takes place. To the left are the grandstands for spectators.

Main Entrance (Gatehouse)
Believe it or not, the Gatehouse of this 12th Centuy historic castle was actually added to the castle grounds in 1888. It's purely for decoration.
This is another castle built on the top of volcanic rock. Like Stirling Castle, Edinburgh Castle also features and commanding view of the countryside.

Portcullis Gate
After passing through the Gatehouse we entered the Lower Ward where the souvenir shop and toilets were located. Our guide led us uphill over the greasy wet cobblestones to the Portcullis Gate. In the castle's heyday this was the formidable entrance that featured two heavy wooden doors along with the spiked portcullis that could also be lowered as a barrier.

Scottish National War Memorial
Our climb eventually brought us to the Upper Ward where we stood in Crown Square. We were surrounded by history. This building is dedicated to the many, many Scots that fell defending the British Empire. It was almost a holy shrine. Inside there were a number of alcoves each dedicated to a different Scottish regiment. Each one of the alcoves featured a Role of Honour which listed those in the regiment that fell in combat. Each of these alcoves bore the name of a unit that I knew quite well as a fan of military history: The Royal Scots Fusiliers, the Glasgow Highlanders, the Black Watch, the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, the Scottish Rifles, the Cameronians, the Royal Scots, the Scots Guards, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the Lothians and Border Horse, and the Gordon Higlanders. The Memorial honors the Dead of the First World War up until the present, but many of these Scottish regiments are names I knew from the Napoleonic Wars and even the American Revolution.

Roofline of the Great Hall
On the opposite side of Crown Square stands the Great Hall. I found the building's roofline particularly interesting. That has to be the prettiest drainpipe in the World.

A great big fireplace in the Royal Residence
Our tour then took us all too quickly through the Royal Palace. Inside were the Honours of Scotland: the Crown, Sceptre and Sword of State (broken in two). There were a number of rather bare apartments that looked like they'd be bloody uncomfortable during a cold, damp winter. Many of the rooms made mention of the ill-fated Mary Queen of Scots.

Inside the Great Hall
The best part of the Great Hall was the military weaponry hanging on every wall. It reminded me of the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg. Lots of swords, guns and armor set on display in an effort to impress and intimidate visitors. Practically speaking it would have been rendered pretty well useless perched high above anyone's reach.

Swords
Here's a better view of the great variety of weapons on display in the Great Hall.

A view from above
While touring through the rooms of the castle Gail snapped this shot of the town beneath us. Meanwhile I was in the gift shopping enjoying a free sample of a chocolate and Scotch flavored liquor called "Heather Cream". I didn't buy it thinking I'd find it cheaper elsewhere. I never saw the stuff anywhere else in the UK.

Prison of War
When our guided tour concluded, Gail, her Mom and I walked through the grounds on our own. We followed signs leading to the dungeon. Here we found an exhibit entitled "Prison of War" which displayed the living conditions that enemy combatants had to endure when captured by the British. This room is where French, Spanish, Irish and even American soldiers bunked down as prisoners of His Majesty.

Royal Scots Regiment Museum
Inside the castle walls are a number of museums. We took some time to tour the Royal Scots Regiment Museum which chronicles the exploits of the oldest Infantry Regiment of the Line in the British Army. It was founded in 1633 and has won so many decorations, awards, medals and flags that they can only show a small fraction of the honors in the museum. This display shows one of the heroes of the regiment rescuing a fellow soldier during the Napoleonic Wars. Whoever he was, he later went on to capture a gold eagle from a French battle banner. At the time this was considered a major feat of bravery. Much like capturing the coup stick of an American Indian tribe.

Down the street to Holyrood Palace
Once again I could kick myself. In the Royal Scots Museum there were all manner of nifty military books, toy soldiers, badges, medals and memorabilia but I vacillated and before I knew it we had to run out of there to catch our tour bus. Our tour guide then directed Mark down the length of the Royal Mile to the grounds of Holyrood Palace. This is the current home away from home for the Royal Family.

Nice little place
We didn't tour the Palace but were given the option of returning during our free time in the afternoon. We didn't come back and now I wish we had. This was another place that figures prominently in the story of Mary Queen of Scots. It was here that she was crowned as queen and here her private secretary and confident, David Rizzio, was stabbed 57 times on orders from Lord Darnley, Mary's husband.

What happened here?
Our Scottish guide seemed a bit embarassed to point out this building just across the street from Holyrood. It is the recently completed Scottish Parliament building designed by Catalan architect Enrico Miralles. It looks like the construction crew forgot to clean up the left over rebar when they finished up the building. After laughing at that monstrosity we walked into the Holyrood Palace gift shop where one could buy pens, paper, mugs, cups, books and almsot anything else with the Queen's picture on it. They also sold a number of teas, coffees and candies given H.R.H.'s Royal Seal of Approval. The most interesting thing I saw was the memorabilia featuring the picture of Princess Di.

On our own
After saying goodbye to our gregarious Scottish guide Mark dropped the group off in front of the train station. We quickly seperated ourselves from the rest of the group as they argued over what to do next. We made our way to the main shopping and eating area on and around Prince's Street. As we headed toward the famous Jekyl and Hyde Pub we passed by the Scottish Academy, Edinburgh's premier art museum.

Cow Art
We walked a few more blocks to the Jekyl and Hyde Pub simply because James had praised its eccentric decor featuring hidden bathroom doors built into bookcases and oddball Victorian decorations. When we got there we learned they had had a fire in the kitchen so lunch was not being prepared. We reversed our walk down Hanover Street and opted to eat at Pret a Manger, the European cross between Starbucks and Panera. We had a so-so lunch of sandwiches and Cokes. After spending close to $15 each on fast food we decided to walk back to the Royal Mile where the tackiest souvenir shops were located. Along the way we passed by this side of the Scottish Academy which found a better place to put those silly painted cows that every major city in the world likes to foist upon the tourists.

Across Prince
That wacky looking monument honors the author Sir Walter Scott and is the biggest monument in the world that is dedicated to an author.

Not too hot for me today
For once I wasn't complaining about the heat. And as you can tell, the weather was spot on. I barely broke a sweat as we climbed up the Mound toward the castle and the Royal Mile.

The first of many, many pipers piping
We came on to the Royal Mile just above St. Giles Cathedral (in the background). On the street corner this bagpiper was belting out a tune but was almost drowned-out by another bagpiper catacorner from here.

And just a hundred yards away...
As we walked up toward Edinburgh Castle we passed a number of street performers and artists, but the instrument of choice today seemed to be the pipes. This guy packed-up his bagpipe and left the split second after I took this photo. Too much competition I suppose.

My choice for Piper of the Year
This guy was the smartest of the entire lot. We stood watching him for at least 20 minutes. First he spent a good five minutes opening his music case, then arranging the bagpipes comfortably on his chest. Meanwhile people kept coming up to have their pictures taken with him. Then he started talking with a couple of female tourists all the while fidgeting and adjusting the bagpipes. As he basically stood around doing nothing, tourists passing by kept dropping coins into his case. About ten minutes into our observation of his "performance" he vamped some more by taking his time inflating the bladder of his pipes. Soon more folks stood next to him for photo opportunities. Then he talked awhile with another group. In all that time he never played a note yet probably pocketed $20 in tips. We figured he had no idea of how to play the silly thing.