12 spectacular days in
sometimes sunny Scotland
sometimes sunny Scotland
Edinburgh and Stirling
Day One: Arrival in Edinburgh.
We thought about taking the bus from the airport, but opted for a taxi due to
the rain; for three people, it was only a few pounds more. Despite being so
well organized, Marisa somehow forgot to bring the exact address of the
hotel on Castle Street. After wheeling our rollaboards up and down the
street in the rain, we found it. We then made a beeline for the visitor
information center to buy the Historic Scotland pass and set out for the
castle. We explored the castle for awhile, until the rain stopped, then
headed to dinner at Est, Est, Est. Yes, it's a chain, but it was very
convenient and good Italian comfort food for tired, hungry travelers. We
managed to stay up until about 10pm in an attempt to kick the jet lag right
away.
Day Two: A glorious, sunny day in Edinburgh.
We headed first for Calton Hill to take in the views (darned all those cranes
in the way of good pictures), then down to Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Unfortunately, they were preparing it for the Queen's visit, and she didn't
want company. It was closed. So we spent some time exploring along the
Royal Mile, particularly the many closes, and stopped into the Museum of
the People at Canongate Tollbooth and St. Giles Cathedral. We arrived in
St. Giles just as a girls' choir was beginning a performance -- beautiful!
Edinburgh has a fascinating variety of architecture. Its small, compact
central area makes it a great city for just wandering around, and that's
pretty much what we did.
Back in New Town, we had a long, relaxing outdoor lunch at Dirty Dick's,
taking in the sun and a respectable street musician. We considered an
afternoon bus trip to see Rosslyn Chapel, but opted instead for a walk out
to Leith. A decent walk most of the way, until we ended up in a housing
project. Oops! Never really found the nice area of Leith, but we did visit the
Ocean Center to see the yacht Royal Britannia (from the outside only) and
to find some Claritin for Marisa, who hadn't really considered the need to
bring allergy medicine along on this trip. We had an average, overpriced
dinner at the Golden Dragon Chinese restaurant across from the hotel,
then a little walk around New Town and a stop at an Internet café (gotta
check on those Cubs!) before calling it a night.
Day Three: Stirling.
Rain, rain, go away. The day trip to Stirling was supposed to be a highlight
of our trip. After all, Stirling is a family name in Chris's family. We got there
(by train) just as the rain started to pour. After a steep, wet, cold hike up to
the castle, Allie declared that she hated Stirling (which also happens to be
her middle name). We took a 30-minute guided tour with an over-animated
guide, but it was well worth it. We did our best to check out the rest of the
castle, even sitting in the throne -- after all, as Stirlings, we were there to
reclaim it!
After a nice little lunch at Port Cullis tavern outside the castle, Allie decided
she liked Stirling after all, so we wandered off to check out Argyll's Lodging
and the Church of the Holyrude. We even found a resident genealogist,
who really wasn't able to shed much light other than that our Stirlings
probably didn't come from Stirling.
We had been looking forward to the back walk around the base of the
castle (we'd enjoyed this type of walk immensely last year in Segovia), but
alas it was a no go because of the rain.
We trained back to Edinburgh, had a decent dinner at Browns and then
decided to take the tour of Mary King's Close. It had a few cheesy parts, but
overall was very interesting. Essentially, in the late 1800s, new city
chambers were built right over the top of a few 1600s closes, but a
significant part of the closes still remain. They have researched the
residents of those closes, and take you through the actual rooms and
provide some personal stories. Not for the claustrophobic, but we would
highly recommend this. Gardez loo!
Next > The Moray
our travels
home
contact us
Day One: Arrival in Edinburgh.
We thought about taking the bus from the airport, but opted for a taxi due to
the rain; for three people, it was only a few pounds more. Despite being so
well organized, Marisa somehow forgot to bring the exact address of the
hotel on Castle Street. After wheeling our rollaboards up and down the
street in the rain, we found it. We then made a beeline for the visitor
information center to buy the Historic Scotland pass and set out for the
castle. We explored the castle for awhile, until the rain stopped, then
headed to dinner at Est, Est, Est. Yes, it's a chain, but it was very
convenient and good Italian comfort food for tired, hungry travelers. We
managed to stay up until about 10pm in an attempt to kick the jet lag right
away.
Day Two: A glorious, sunny day in Edinburgh.
We headed first for Calton Hill to take in the views (darned all those cranes
in the way of good pictures), then down to Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Unfortunately, they were preparing it for the Queen's visit, and she didn't
want company. It was closed. So we spent some time exploring along the
Royal Mile, particularly the many closes, and stopped into the Museum of
the People at Canongate Tollbooth and St. Giles Cathedral. We arrived in
St. Giles just as a girls' choir was beginning a performance -- beautiful!
Edinburgh has a fascinating variety of architecture. Its small, compact
central area makes it a great city for just wandering around, and that's
pretty much what we did.
Back in New Town, we had a long, relaxing outdoor lunch at Dirty Dick's,
taking in the sun and a respectable street musician. We considered an
afternoon bus trip to see Rosslyn Chapel, but opted instead for a walk out
to Leith. A decent walk most of the way, until we ended up in a housing
project. Oops! Never really found the nice area of Leith, but we did visit the
Ocean Center to see the yacht Royal Britannia (from the outside only) and
to find some Claritin for Marisa, who hadn't really considered the need to
bring allergy medicine along on this trip. We had an average, overpriced
dinner at the Golden Dragon Chinese restaurant across from the hotel,
then a little walk around New Town and a stop at an Internet café (gotta
check on those Cubs!) before calling it a night.
Day Three: Stirling.
Rain, rain, go away. The day trip to Stirling was supposed to be a highlight
of our trip. After all, Stirling is a family name in Chris's family. We got there
(by train) just as the rain started to pour. After a steep, wet, cold hike up to
the castle, Allie declared that she hated Stirling (which also happens to be
her middle name). We took a 30-minute guided tour with an over-animated
guide, but it was well worth it. We did our best to check out the rest of the
castle, even sitting in the throne -- after all, as Stirlings, we were there to
reclaim it!
After a nice little lunch at Port Cullis tavern outside the castle, Allie decided
she liked Stirling after all, so we wandered off to check out Argyll's Lodging
and the Church of the Holyrude. We even found a resident genealogist,
who really wasn't able to shed much light other than that our Stirlings
probably didn't come from Stirling.
We had been looking forward to the back walk around the base of the
castle (we'd enjoyed this type of walk immensely last year in Segovia), but
alas it was a no go because of the rain.
We trained back to Edinburgh, had a decent dinner at Browns and then
decided to take the tour of Mary King's Close. It had a few cheesy parts, but
overall was very interesting. Essentially, in the late 1800s, new city
chambers were built right over the top of a few 1600s closes, but a
significant part of the closes still remain. They have researched the
residents of those closes, and take you through the actual rooms and
provide some personal stories. Not for the claustrophobic, but we would
highly recommend this. Gardez loo!
Next > The Moray
our travels
home
contact us
Edinburgh, view from Princes Street
Cannon at Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh, Grassmarket
Edinburgh, New Town
