I've had a busy last 2 weeks. I started my travels last week in Edinburgh, possibly my favorite city that I've ever visited. I have two people to thank for my fantastic time- Emily, for recommending the Castle Rock Hostel, which was cheap, safe, friendly, and in a phenomenal location at the foot of Edinburgh Castle and right off the Royal Mile. The other person is sister Dee, who told me to just go with the flow in terms of travel as I poured over tourist guides. I had absolutely no preconceived notions of the city, or really any places that I had to see while I was there, and consequently, I wandered and enjoyed.
The weather was awful, as Scotland was experiencing the after effects of the rain from Hurricane Irene, and it was freezing. I spent the first day holed up in the National Museum of Scotland, touring exhibits and generally looking for any way to stay indoors. I did venture up to the roof for a panoramic view of the city- just in time! The wind and rain was so bad that they closed the roof terrace off for fear of safety. I met a lot of really lovely people at my hostel and went out with a few of them to a pub with great live music.
Slightly better weather, and some rays of sunshine the next day meant venturing down the Mile. I went up to the castle but decided I didn't want to pay 15 pounds entry or wait in the huge queue to enter. Instead, I walked down the Royal Mile towards the Palace of Holyrood, stopping when something looked interesting. St Giles Cathedral was stunning, and I stopped to listen to the brief 15 minute service they had. The museum of Edinburgh was fun as well, if a little cramped as they made way for new exhibits. They had a great exhibit on women suffragists in the UK, which was fascinating. I've taken a lot of classes on American suffragists, so it was lovely to see other views. I did go to the Scottish Parliament for a bit, which sits at the base of Arthur' Seat. All of the signs in the parliament are in both English and Gaelic. The Palace of Holyrood is the official queens residence when she is in Scotland. Luckily, she wasn't visiting at the time, so the palace was open for tours. The crumbling ruins of the abbey lie directly behind the palace.
Seeing Mary, Queen of Scots bedchamber and rooms was probably my favorite bit of the castle. I don't have a strong opinion of the queen- many do- but they told the story of when she was having dinner in her private chamber with her secretary David Rizzio, and her husband and several Protestant nobles burst in and attacked Rizzio. They slit his throat in front of a pregnant Mary. It seemed suddenly very real, standing in her bedchamber, hearing this story. You often don't get the feeling that these stories happened to real people, especially when they are royals. It was powerful.
Edinburgh as a whole was wonderful. I could definitely see myself living there someday, and this was after two days in the city. I can't fully articulate what it was that I loved so much, but it seemed almost magical.
Enough words! Pictures ahoy:
St Giles Cathedral- the blue was soo vibrant.
Stained glass window in St Giles- it was difficult to pick only one photo of the windows!
Outside of Parliament.
Courtyard of Palace of Holyrood
For dee :)
Directly across the street from my hostel.
The palace and abbey, from the gardens. You can see a bit of Arthur's Seat in the background (the mountain).
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